“Elizabeth Taylor” - Diamonds, Despair, & the Price of Fame | Taylor Swift Lyric Analysis (TLOAS e2)
November 7, 2025 • 24 mins
Taylor’s track 2, “Elizabeth Taylor,” is about both the shine and the shadow of mega-celebrity life. In the lyrics, our showgirl narrator examines the way fame can make you priceless, but also untouchable.
In this analysis, we’ll explore how Taylor Swift exposes the grief of glamour, mourning the loneliness of being loved as an image instead of a person. Beneath the sparkle lies something devastatingly human: the longing to be seen, not just watched.
We’ll give some essential context into Elizabeth Taylor (hint: her name was Kitty), look at the parallels between the two Taylors in life and in love, then dive straight into the lyrics.
Rolling Stone Elizabeth Taylor Interview
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey everyone.
(00:00):
Welcome back to the Swiftly Sung Stories podcast.
I am Jen.
I am your Swifty English teacher, and today we are tackling track two on my track by track analysis of the life of a showgirl.
And we're gonna dive straight into Elizabeth Taylor.
In my last two episodes, I analyzed it tailors prologue poem, and track one, the fate of Ophelia.
(00:22):
So go check those out because.
It lays a lot of the groundwork for the themes and motifs that are running through this album and really helps us understand what Taylor's getting at.
Just to quickly let you know, all of this content is available on my website in text format where you can find these annotated lyrics, and if you're watching this on YouTube, you can find me wherever you get your podcasts and vice versa. 10 00:00:46,983.308460474 --> 00:00:50,559.898817398 Okay, let's roll straight into Elizabeth Taylor, line by line. 11 00:00:53,619.898817398 --> 00:00:59,319.898817398 Welcome to swiftly sung Stories where we unpack the Taylor Swift Universe one era album and lyric at a time. 12 00:00:59,499.898817398 --> 00:01:03,819.898817398 Think of it like English class, but it's all Taylor Swift and none of the boring stuff. 13 00:01:04,269.898817398 --> 00:01:09,669.898817398 I'm Jen, your Swifty English teacher and classes in session, so come on in and meet me in the margins. 14 00:01:09,905.898817398 --> 00:01:31,275.898817398 Now this is a really interesting track because our narrator switches points of view and it shifts between Elizabeth Taylor's point of view and the point of view of our Taylor, our narrator, uh, Taylor has referenced Elizabeth Taylor before in ready for It, where she says he can be my jailer Burton to this Taylor. 15 00:01:32,225.898817398 --> 00:01:50,285.8988174 That track alludes to Elizabeth Taylor's, on and off again marriage to fellow actor and celebrity in his own right, Richard Burton, and her marriage was under constant tabloid scrutiny, and their toxic relationship played out in the headlines for years. 16 00:01:50,975.8988174 --> 00:01:53,135.8988174 But in this track, Taylor's taking another angle. 17 00:01:53,135.8988174 --> 00:02:00,905.8988174 She seems to be comparing her life and loves to the world's first mega celebrity who also shares half her name. 18 00:02:02,135.8988174 --> 00:02:09,580.8988174 And there's less about relationships in here, but it's really more about life in the spotlight and how to juggle a private life when you're in the public eye. 19 00:02:10,955.8988174 --> 00:02:26,555.8988174 So where do these two Taylors lives parallel? listing Every similarity would take a dissertation, but for the context of just understanding these lyrics, here are what I think are just the most important bits that I found in my research. 20 00:02:28,25.8988174 --> 00:02:36,365.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor began as a child star and entered into a binding contract with a movie studio when she wasn't old enough to know any better. 21 00:02:37,325.8988174 --> 00:02:43,145.8988174 She felt like the studios owned her and she was promoted for their own pockets. 22 00:02:44,225.8988174 --> 00:02:52,140.8988174 Um, the second her personal life was used as public fodder, which likely contributed to her many divorces. 23 00:02:52,140.8988174 --> 00:02:57,300.8988174 The public spotlight was just too harsh for her relationships to survive. 24 00:02:57,300.8988174 --> 00:03:03,340.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor collected jewels that to her represented relationships or personal achievements. 25 00:03:03,890.8988174 --> 00:03:10,220.8988174 Her actually priceless jewels held more sentimental value than monetary value for her. 26 00:03:11,270.8988174 --> 00:03:20,510.8988174 Taylor has used a lot of gemstone imagery in the past, but she also referred to her life's work as infinity Stones in her infamous time magazine profile. 27 00:03:21,470.8988174 --> 00:03:31,250.8988174 And one final tidbit, Elizabeth Taylor was also a cat lover, like obsessed with cats, and her nickname was Kitten or Kitty, which will come back around in the title track. 28 00:03:31,820.8988174 --> 00:03:35,350.8988174 There will be a few more to add as we go along, and just one more thing. 29 00:03:35,410.8988174 --> 00:03:50,620.8988174 I found this quote from a Rolling Stone article in 1987, an interview that they did with Elizabeth Taylor at the Plaza Atenee, no less,, uh, because I think it really ties these two narrative threads between the two Taylors together. 30 00:03:51,310.8988174 --> 00:03:56,680.8988174 So Elizabeth Taylor said, you can always avert throwing yourself in front of an oncoming train. 31 00:03:57,490.8988174 --> 00:04:01,870.8988174 There's something that just pulls you away, and it has pulled me away because I'm not dead yet. 32 00:04:01,960.8988174 --> 00:04:04,900.8988174 Just at the brink of impact sometimes. 33 00:04:04,900.8988174 --> 00:04:11,500.8988174 I have been really grazed by that train the world and the press, and people have always enjoyed doing that. 34 00:04:11,680.8988174 --> 00:04:13,240.8988174 That's the nature of things. 35 00:04:13,240.8988174 --> 00:04:17,50.8988174 You create an idea, a star, they're yours. 36 00:04:17,110.8988174 --> 00:04:18,850.8988174 You have created this monster. 37 00:04:19,555.8988174 --> 00:04:22,615.8988174 So what do you do? It becomes boring unless you tear it down. 38 00:04:23,35.8988174 --> 00:04:29,125.8988174 I've been on that yo-yo trip all my life, except like the times where I almost lose myself. 39 00:04:29,815.8988174 --> 00:04:34,105.8988174 But I didn't lose myself, did I? Something always made me save myself. 40 00:04:35,635.8988174 --> 00:04:43,945.8988174 I find that last quote incredibly apropos, and so it's just something to keep on file in your brain as we go through these lyrics. 41 00:04:43,945.8988174 --> 00:04:45,985.8988174 Okay, starting with verse one. 42 00:04:45,985.8988174 --> 00:04:53,755.8988174 And just to clarify, I'm mostly gonna refer to Elizabeth Taylor as Liz, just to not confuse the two Taylors. 43 00:04:53,755.8988174 --> 00:05:02,635.8988174 I don't know if she was actually nicknamed anything other than kitten or kitty, but that's, it's just for clarity's sake and no disrespect is intended. 44 00:05:03,880.8988174 --> 00:05:06,310.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor, she begins in the intro. 45 00:05:06,520.8988174 --> 00:05:16,660.8988174 Do you think it's forever? Right now we are hearing from our showgirl narrator voice by Taylor, who is asking the subject a direct question. 46 00:05:17,860.8988174 --> 00:05:24,580.8988174 Obviously, Liz is gone, so it's hypothetical, but she's going to play out this narrative as if Elizabeth Taylor is speaking. 47 00:05:25,410.8988174 --> 00:05:32,100.8988174 But before we get into Liz's point of view, it's Taylor asking her idol or mentor this question. 48 00:05:32,250.8988174 --> 00:05:36,840.8988174 Is it forever? We need a little bit more context for this, and here it is. 49 00:05:37,500.8988174 --> 00:05:43,530.8988174 Liz famously starred in prolific ad campaigns for her fragrance line white diamonds. 50 00:05:44,220.8988174 --> 00:05:48,270.8988174 In those ads, she whispered the tagline, diamonds are forever. 51 00:05:49,315.8988174 --> 00:05:54,235.8988174 If you're an eighties baby like me, you can play those ads in your mind like a drive-in movie. 52 00:05:54,925.8988174 --> 00:06:02,425.8988174 But what this line really meant in the context of Elizabeth Taylor's life was men are disposable, but diamonds are forever. 53 00:06:03,115.8988174 --> 00:06:08,515.8988174 It was essentially using her many failed relationships as fodder to sell perfume. 54 00:06:09,415.8988174 --> 00:06:11,395.8988174 It worked and it worked really well. 55 00:06:11,395.8988174 --> 00:06:15,925.8988174 I think I saw that perfume in every Boomer mom's bathroom growing up. 56 00:06:15,925.8988174 --> 00:06:25,435.8988174 So we're not talking about physical diamonds, just like these ads weren't talking about physical diamonds, but what the diamond metaphor means is going to change. 57 00:06:25,555.8988174 --> 00:06:29,485.8988174 As the lyrics go on, we enter the first verse. 58 00:06:29,755.8988174 --> 00:06:45,15.8988174 That view of Portofino was on my mind when you called me at the plazaAtenee We had a quick intro where our showgirl was narrating, and now we are inside Elizabeth Taylor's mind, or Taylor Swift's interpretation of her mind. 59 00:06:46,95.8988174 --> 00:06:49,65.8988174 Portofino was significant in Liz's life. 60 00:06:49,65.8988174 --> 00:06:54,795.8988174 She enjoyed four of her honeymoons there, and Portofino was also where Richard Burton proposed. 61 00:06:55,875.8988174 --> 00:07:07,215.8988174 Portofino is known for its brightly colored, mostly orange buildings, and this bright blue ocean, which of course is the color theme of this album, but this is an interesting bit of trivia. 62 00:07:07,545.8988174 --> 00:07:13,395.8988174 It is just down the beach from the Gulf of poets poet Percy Shelley. 63 00:07:13,575.8988174 --> 00:07:17,805.8988174 Mary Shelley's husband actually drowned right there when his ship sank. 64 00:07:18,195.8988174 --> 00:07:21,195.8988174 And in his pockets they found a bunch of Keats poems. 65 00:07:22,110.8988174 --> 00:07:23,550.8988174 Hence the Gulf of Poets. 66 00:07:24,120.8988174 --> 00:07:28,980.8988174 But those perfect looking brightly colored houses, portofino are also an illusion. 67 00:07:29,760.8988174 --> 00:07:36,30.8988174 Many of them are just facades where windows and doors and flower boxes are painted on for effect. 68 00:07:36,690.8988174 --> 00:07:40,680.8988174 So that view of portofino is a loaded line. 69 00:07:40,680.8988174 --> 00:07:45,270.8988174 It's a gorgeous view, but once you look up close, it's not real. 70 00:07:45,750.8988174 --> 00:07:48,540.8988174 It's a facade like the facade of a showgirl. 71 00:07:49,950.8988174 --> 00:07:53,460.8988174 Now the Plaza AE had two locations, Paris and New York. 72 00:07:53,490.8988174 --> 00:07:56,700.8988174 Though New York has since closed either. 73 00:07:56,730.8988174 --> 00:08:02,910.8988174 Setting within these lyrics is possible, as Liz was known to frequent both, and it said that she even lived in both for periods of time. 74 00:08:03,810.8988174 --> 00:08:15,810.8988174 But the point is that wherever she is, she's thinking about that view of portofino, which likely means that she's thinking about better, more romantic, easier times. 75 00:08:16,590.8988174 --> 00:08:22,470.8988174 Why? Because the following line is oftentimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me. 76 00:08:23,535.8988174 --> 00:08:32,415.8988174 This also reflects that view of portofino, which when you think about it, is pretty on the outside and could be crumbling on the inside. 77 00:08:33,585.8988174 --> 00:08:35,985.8988174 If there is a thesis statement for the song, this is it. 78 00:08:37,125.8988174 --> 00:08:45,530.8988174 Sometimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to me, it's the invisible string that truly ties both Taylors together, the harsh spotlight of celebrity. 79 00:08:46,170.8988174 --> 00:08:48,270.8988174 It can blind the wrong people. 80 00:08:48,270.8988174 --> 00:09:04,410.8988174 Only the very strong and the very equipped can stand beside you when the world gets very loud and very bright, but it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me, comes right after that view of portofino, just like those pretty buildings in Portofino. 81 00:09:04,590.8988174 --> 00:09:12,480.8988174 The life of a mega celebrity is polished on the outside, but once you really look up close, it's all a facade. 82 00:09:14,295.8988174 --> 00:09:16,305.8988174 All the right guys promised they'd stay. 83 00:09:16,365.8988174 --> 00:09:19,95.8988174 She continues under bright lights. 84 00:09:19,95.8988174 --> 00:09:21,315.8988174 They withered away, but you bloom. 85 00:09:22,365.8988174 --> 00:09:27,210.8988174 She is both surprised and delighted that this new romance isn't fading. 86 00:09:27,210.8988174 --> 00:09:28,680.8988174 Away before her eyes. 87 00:09:29,250.8988174 --> 00:09:33,510.8988174 This new love grows under very harsh conditions, and she wasn't expecting it. 88 00:09:34,410.8988174 --> 00:09:37,830.8988174 The spotlight of celebrity is just too much for some people to handle. 89 00:09:38,10.8988174 --> 00:09:43,320.8988174 And for Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton was the one who could handle it because he was a celebrity too. 90 00:09:44,250.8988174 --> 00:09:49,650.8988174 But together they were both American royalty and incredibly toxic. 91 00:09:50,670.8988174 --> 00:09:55,440.8988174 She closes out the first verse, Portofino was up my mind, and I think, you know why. 92 00:09:56,835.8988174 --> 00:10:03,585.8988174 Something happened in Portofino for Liz or for Taylor or for both? We don't really get to know exactly what that is. 93 00:10:04,305.8988174 --> 00:10:09,975.8988174 This could be alluding to something romantic or something tragic or maybe a bit of both. 94 00:10:10,965.8988174 --> 00:10:28,245.8988174 But this is an inside joke that we don't get to understand, and that in and of itself describes this mega celebrity life, doesn't it? You can't say everything you wanna say out loud because everything you do is scrutinized just like those houses of Portofino. 95 00:10:28,245.8988174 --> 00:10:33,645.8988174 It looks serene on the outside, but on the inside it could be chaos and no one would ever know. 96 00:10:33,645.8988174 --> 00:10:43,815.8988174 The chorus comes in if your letters ever said goodbye, and this begins her transition out of Liz's perspective and into her own point of view. 97 00:10:44,265.8988174 --> 00:10:47,775.8988174 It's almost as if both characters are speaking this line. 98 00:10:48,555.8988174 --> 00:10:54,405.8988174 They both hope that this lover will stick around and she's going to lay this out more clearly. 99 00:10:54,405.8988174 --> 00:10:55,215.8988174 In the chorus. 100 00:10:56,115.8988174 --> 00:10:57,165.8988174 I'd cry my eyes. 101 00:10:57,165.8988174 --> 00:10:58,665.8988174 Violet, Elizabeth Taylor. 102 00:10:59,310.8988174 --> 00:11:04,920.8988174 So now it is definitely our showgirl narrator, Taylor Swift speaking in the chorus. 103 00:11:06,0.8988174 --> 00:11:14,430.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor was well known for her really unique violet, hued eyes, but violets are also important in Taylor Swift's universe. 104 00:11:15,300.8988174 --> 00:11:24,575.8988174 In the previous track, the Fate of Ophelia, she references Hamlet and in the play Ophelia's Violets have withered with her father's death. 105 00:11:25,425.8988174 --> 00:11:33,105.8988174 They've wilted from grief and in the Elizabethan era, purple Violets meant that love or heartbreak was on your mind. 106 00:11:34,260.8988174 --> 00:11:37,170.8988174 It's also not the first time that Taylor has mentioned violets. 107 00:11:37,170.8988174 --> 00:11:40,770.8988174 There was, my knuckles were bruised like violets from the Great War. 108 00:11:41,460.8988174 --> 00:11:42,840.8988174 So I'd cry my eyes. 109 00:11:42,840.8988174 --> 00:11:47,460.8988174 Violet as a metaphor, conjures this imagery of drastic change. 110 00:11:47,460.8988174 --> 00:11:53,940.8988174 She'd be so depressed or so despondent that even the color of her eyes would darken like a bruise. 111 00:11:54,480.8988174 --> 00:11:57,360.8988174 Her outlook would change, everything would change. 112 00:11:57,900.8988174 --> 00:12:02,100.8988174 This love that she hopes will stick around has transformed her for the better. 113 00:12:02,910.8988174 --> 00:12:05,910.8988174 And if it went away, it could transform her for the worst. 114 00:12:07,80.8988174 --> 00:12:08,910.8988174 It's almost another version of this. 115 00:12:08,910.8988174 --> 00:12:11,70.8988174 Love's left a permanent mark. 116 00:12:11,70.8988174 --> 00:12:11,700.8988174 She goes on. 117 00:12:11,700.8988174 --> 00:12:12,630.8988174 Tell me for real. 118 00:12:12,690.8988174 --> 00:12:23,220.8988174 Do you think it's forever? She's asking Elizabeth Taylor this question directly and it's a loaded question and in my view it's asking multiple things at once. 119 00:12:23,320.8988174 --> 00:12:57,160.8988174 It could be, is this love forever? Will it really last, or will it fade away like all the rest It could be, is fame forever or will I get canceled again? It could be Will I become as infamous as you, and if I do, will it be for my personal life or for my art? Can I have one without the other? Um, it could be will my diamonds, my achievements live on? Or is this all temporary? These are all possibilities, and let me know what you think in the comments, what this question is getting at. 120 00:12:58,540.8988174 --> 00:13:00,700.8988174 Been number one, but I never had two. 121 00:13:00,760.8988174 --> 00:13:04,0.8988174 She continues and I can't have fun if I can't have. 122 00:13:05,800.8988174 --> 00:13:06,875.8988174 And then there's an M dash. 123 00:13:08,365.8988174 --> 00:13:11,65.8988174 She's no longer speaking to Elizabeth Taylor. 124 00:13:11,65.8988174 --> 00:13:14,965.8988174 She's speaking to her lover or she's speaking to herself. 125 00:13:15,955.8988174 --> 00:13:19,855.8988174 There's a lot of speculation about this line, but here's how I read it. 126 00:13:20,875.8988174 --> 00:13:27,835.8988174 I've been at the top of the charts and I've been at the top of my game, but I've never had someone to share it with. 127 00:13:28,315.8988174 --> 00:13:33,355.8988174 She's never had a real partner be there standing beside her. 128 00:13:34,540.8988174 --> 00:13:39,880.8988174 You know that saying if you're doing great at work, you're probably failing at home, and vice versa. 129 00:13:40,930.8988174 --> 00:13:42,160.8988174 That's what I think she's getting at. 130 00:13:42,160.8988174 --> 00:13:45,760.8988174 She's conquered the industry, but there's still something missing. 131 00:13:46,720.8988174 --> 00:13:50,260.8988174 She won't reveal what it is until the final line of the chorus. 132 00:13:50,260.8988174 --> 00:13:55,870.8988174 We all know it's probably you, but the omission, this M dash at the end of the line. 133 00:13:56,620.8988174 --> 00:13:59,680.8988174 I can't have fun if I can't have blank. 134 00:14:00,310.8988174 --> 00:14:03,880.8988174 Reflects the meaning, the you is absent. 135 00:14:05,290.8988174 --> 00:14:07,630.8988174 Be my NY when Hollywood hates me. 136 00:14:07,660.8988174 --> 00:14:10,960.8988174 She says, looking for someone to be her haven. 137 00:14:10,960.8988174 --> 00:14:19,270.8988174 When the celebrity spotlight starts to burn, there's that duality again, and this time it's in the metaphor of these polar opposite cities. 138 00:14:19,990.8988174 --> 00:14:26,500.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor famously left Hollywood for the Jets at lifestyle, but she could never run away from bad press. 139 00:14:26,500.8988174 --> 00:14:31,270.8988174 That was mostly about her failed relationships, didn't matter where she went. 140 00:14:32,410.8988174 --> 00:14:33,280.8988174 But Hollywood hates me. 141 00:14:33,280.8988174 --> 00:14:43,540.8988174 It could also refer to the backlash Taylor received for her recent film Rollouts, where she partnered directly with theaters and bypass these traditional routes. 142 00:14:43,540.8988174 --> 00:14:49,150.8988174 But either way, it means be my refuge when the world gets too loud. 143 00:14:50,490.8988174 --> 00:14:53,220.8988174 You are only as hot as your last hit, baby. 144 00:14:53,250.8988174 --> 00:14:58,860.8988174 She continues, which is a sentiment I'm sure both of these superstars have felt. 145 00:14:59,640.8988174 --> 00:15:11,400.8988174 They know that the industry will chew you up and spit you out, and at points, it seems like none of your past work or achievements matter only what you're doing or not doing in the current moments matters. 146 00:15:11,430.8988174 --> 00:15:16,380.8988174 In our culture, life is long, but the public's memories are short and fickle. 147 00:15:17,310.8988174 --> 00:15:21,60.8988174 They'll often remember the scandals and forget your successes. 148 00:15:21,870.8988174 --> 00:15:31,470.8988174 It's only been proven by the controversy surrounding this very rollout of a showgirl where the chatter has been incredibly loud and incredibly mercurial. 149 00:15:33,180.8988174 --> 00:15:40,320.8988174 She closes out the chorus with bin number one, but I never have two and I can't have fun till I can't have you this time. 150 00:15:40,410.8988174 --> 00:15:41,400.8988174 She includes. 151 00:15:41,905.8988174 --> 00:15:45,595.8988174 The you, she tells us directly, I want this person. 152 00:15:46,135.8988174 --> 00:15:47,845.8988174 Life would be no fun without them. 153 00:15:49,255.8988174 --> 00:15:55,975.8988174 It is a sentiment likely shared by Liz who really wanted a partner she could trust and share her life with. 154 00:15:57,775.8988174 --> 00:16:14,440.8988174 The second verse begins, Hey, what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once? Our narrator is speaking as Elizabeth Taylor once again on the surface, both Taylors really do have it all. 155 00:16:14,440.8988174 --> 00:16:17,620.8988174 Jewels, money, fame, infamy. 156 00:16:18,520.8988174 --> 00:16:26,530.8988174 But if you have all that and no one who's on your level and really understands, it probably feels like a double-edged sword. 157 00:16:27,520.8988174 --> 00:16:34,685.8988174 Instead of letting people in, you have to build this small, secretive world to keep people out, and it probably feels really lonely. 158 00:16:36,10.8988174 --> 00:16:46,690.8988174 Liz had spoken many times about the really deep loneliness that she felt throughout her life, even when it looked to outsiders like she had this big, full glamorous existence. 159 00:16:47,260.8988174 --> 00:16:52,810.8988174 And Taylor has written about this predicament too in just songs like The Prophecy Mirror Ball. 160 00:16:52,990.8988174 --> 00:16:56,170.8988174 I look in people's windows, I hate it here many more. 161 00:16:56,950.8988174 --> 00:17:01,180.8988174 The pedestal of fame probably feels pretty isolating at the top. 162 00:17:02,950.8988174 --> 00:17:06,40.8988174 Babe, I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust. 163 00:17:06,430.8988174 --> 00:17:07,540.8988174 Just kidding. 164 00:17:08,20.8988174 --> 00:17:12,40.8988174 She's just being cheeky here and she's still speaking as Liz. 165 00:17:12,580.8988174 --> 00:17:18,520.8988174 But when she's speaking as Liz in this track, she's also speaking as herself now. 166 00:17:18,520.8988174 --> 00:17:25,300.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor would never give away her prize jewels, which she said were more sentimental than material in value for her. 167 00:17:25,960.8988174 --> 00:17:30,370.8988174 The jokes about trading Jewels for love and the Just kidding is cheek and cute, but it's. 168 00:17:31,15.8988174 --> 00:17:42,385.8988174 Really like she's wondering, would I actually give all this up? She's seriously thinking about it and in the prologue poem she wrote, it's worth everything it has cost you. 169 00:17:42,895.8988174 --> 00:17:56,665.8988174 And even at your darkest or drunkest, you couldn't say any different would you? In this album, she really is pondering all of these different fates, would she trade it for a real partner. 170 00:17:57,565.8988174 --> 00:17:59,335.8988174 It seems that part of her says, yes, absolutely. 171 00:18:00,430.8988174 --> 00:18:16,330.8988174 But then if she never became who she is, then who would Taylor Swift be? She's dealing with a lot of really heavy existential questions, sort of hidden behind the sequins and feathers of this album. 172 00:18:17,920.8988174 --> 00:18:18,700.8988174 She continues. 173 00:18:18,700.8988174 --> 00:18:21,220.8988174 We hit the best booth at Musso and Frank's. 174 00:18:21,310.8988174 --> 00:18:22,690.8988174 They say, I'm bad news. 175 00:18:22,690.8988174 --> 00:18:23,770.8988174 I just say thanks. 176 00:18:25,330.8988174 --> 00:18:37,330.8988174 She's narrating Elizabeth Taylor strutting into this classic Hollywood hotspot, and that place was once frequented by Old Hollywood, Rita Hayworth, Greta Garbo, and Marilyn Monroe. 177 00:18:37,720.8988174 --> 00:18:45,640.8988174 But as she imagines Liz going out to dinner, she also imagines the public perception of her that she's bad news. 178 00:18:46,690.8988174 --> 00:18:48,190.8988174 That her reputation is shot. 179 00:18:48,700.8988174 --> 00:18:53,560.8988174 And both of these superstars were and are really polarizing in public opinion. 180 00:18:53,560.8988174 --> 00:19:02,140.8988174 Both have been painted as these maneater, serial monogamists who already have the next guy lined up in the getaway car before dinner is even over. 181 00:19:02,770.8988174 --> 00:19:09,10.8988174 They've both learned to shake it off because haters gonna hate, and this flippant, I just say thanks. 182 00:19:09,370.8988174 --> 00:19:10,120.8988174 Is just that. 183 00:19:10,120.8988174 --> 00:19:11,650.8988174 It's shaking it off. 184 00:19:12,220.8988174 --> 00:19:16,840.8988174 People are going to think whatever they think, and there's nothing you can do to change their minds. 185 00:19:18,430.8988174 --> 00:19:19,600.8988174 But not everyone is. 186 00:19:19,600.8988174 --> 00:19:26,410.8988174 I hate her because then she looks at her date and you look at me like you're hypnotized, and I think you know why. 187 00:19:27,550.8988174 --> 00:19:29,920.8988174 Her lover stares at her in awe. 188 00:19:30,580.8988174 --> 00:19:34,660.8988174 As Elizabeth Taylor, she's hypnotized them with her violet eyes. 189 00:19:34,840.8988174 --> 00:19:49,720.8988174 But is he staring at the movie slash pop star or is he staring at the human woman underneath the facade? There's no way to know, and that applies to both Taylors. 190 00:19:50,380.8988174 --> 00:19:51,475.8988174 This is the duality that most. 191 00:19:51,940.8988174 --> 00:20:05,110.8988174 Of this album grapples with, even if it's in its title, the Life of a Showgirl, it's not the life of Taylor Swift, her public persona and the corporation that bears her name is not the same as the human inside. 192 00:20:06,100.8988174 --> 00:20:19,480.8988174 Is there a partner out there who can love both versions of her? Is there a partner who can tell the difference between the public facing life, the show, and the real person underneath the costume? The girl. 193 00:20:20,935.8988174 --> 00:20:24,595.8988174 The pre-course then repeats and it changes just the last line. 194 00:20:25,435.8988174 --> 00:20:33,925.8988174 And if your letters ever said goodbye, changes to, and if you ever leave me high and dry, and then the chorus repeats, I'd cry. 195 00:20:33,925.8988174 --> 00:20:40,735.8988174 My eyes Violet, if you ever leave me stranded, she's saying I'd be devastated. 196 00:20:41,515.8988174 --> 00:20:44,65.8988174 And this can't help but remind us of a similar line. 197 00:20:44,575.8988174 --> 00:20:49,705.8988174 How dare you say it's romantic, leaving me safe and stranded from down bad. 198 00:20:50,725.8988174 --> 00:20:57,85.8988174 The romantic thing to do is to stay, but as the rest of the song grapples with, it's really hard to get anyone to stay. 199 00:20:57,655.8988174 --> 00:21:02,485.8988174 The show gets in the way of the girl and the show blinds people to the girl. 200 00:21:04,465.8988174 --> 00:21:10,795.8988174 The chorus repeats with a short post chorus, and then we get into the bridge where we learn more about what the song is really saying. 201 00:21:12,10.8988174 --> 00:21:14,530.8988174 All my white diamonds and lovers are forever. 202 00:21:15,70.8988174 --> 00:21:20,110.8988174 She begins the bridge in the papers on the screen and in their minds. 203 00:21:21,370.8988174 --> 00:21:25,720.8988174 So in this section, it seems like she's, again, narrating from both points of view. 204 00:21:26,350.8988174 --> 00:21:32,860.8988174 She's again, alluding to Liz's iconic Diamonds are Forever a quote from the White Diamonds perfume ads. 205 00:21:33,430.8988174 --> 00:21:36,250.8988174 But the second line adds crucial meaning. 206 00:21:36,880.8988174 --> 00:21:39,430.8988174 They're not forever for her. 207 00:21:40,150.8988174 --> 00:21:52,300.8988174 They're forever for other people, the lover and the gemstones, which could symbolize her art or her achievements live on forever because they'll always be in the papers, on the screen and in their minds. 208 00:21:53,200.8988174 --> 00:21:55,265.8988174 So while you're only as hot as your last hit. 209 00:21:56,380.8988174 --> 00:22:02,800.8988174 Your mistakes too will be forever memorialized on the internet and in the court of public opinion. 210 00:22:03,730.8988174 --> 00:22:11,350.8988174 The people you've dated and the scandals you've endured will always be a part of your story even long after you've moved on. 211 00:22:12,520.8988174 --> 00:22:19,180.8988174 This is equally true for both Taylors, both the diamonds and the coal will always be a part of your mythology. 212 00:22:19,180.8988174 --> 00:22:20,170.8988174 There's no shaking it. 213 00:22:20,170.8988174 --> 00:22:22,240.8988174 All my white garmons and lovers are forever. 214 00:22:22,240.8988174 --> 00:22:29,890.8988174 She repeats, and this is emphasizing that all of her previous lovers will always be associated with her, but then she adds. 215 00:22:30,250.8988174 --> 00:22:32,890.8988174 Don't you ever end up anything but mine. 216 00:22:34,480.8988174 --> 00:22:41,170.8988174 What she's getting at here is that she doesn't want to see this new love in some internet archive. 217 00:22:41,980.8988174 --> 00:22:44,980.8988174 She doesn't wanna see this person in past tense ever. 218 00:22:44,980.8988174 --> 00:22:49,270.8988174 She wants them in the present as hers, just like her diamonds. 219 00:22:50,20.8988174 --> 00:22:51,640.8988174 She wants this person there forever. 220 00:22:52,840.8988174 --> 00:22:58,720.8988174 The chorus repeats and the outro echoes the bridge, but it adds one line. 221 00:22:59,680.8988174 --> 00:23:10,615.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor, do you think it's forever? She repeats this question and it feels like a protege asking their father figure for advice. 222 00:23:11,545.8988174 --> 00:23:16,675.8988174 If there's anyone Taylor could ask really applicable advice for it would be Elizabeth Taylor. 223 00:23:17,365.8988174 --> 00:23:22,110.8988174 She's one of the very few superstars who have trod this path of extreme fame before. 224 00:23:23,545.8988174 --> 00:23:27,865.8988174 But as Liz is no longer with us, she'll have to settle for imagining her answers. 225 00:23:27,865.8988174 --> 00:23:39,895.8988174 No one can tell us what the future holds, but we can see that as happy and as optimistic as this album is, there are tinges of worry and it's the same as she has always had. 226 00:23:40,915.8988174 --> 00:23:48,625.8988174 Who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay? That's it for Track two for Elizabeth Taylor. 227 00:23:48,625.8988174 --> 00:23:55,465.8988174 If you found this insightful or entertaining or just wanna keep geeking out about Taylor's Swift with me, please click all the buttons and like, and subscribe. 228 00:23:56,95.8988174 --> 00:24:00,115.8988174 I'm just starting this podcast and it really, really helps people find me. 229 00:24:00,955.8988174 --> 00:24:05,135.8988174 Stay tuned for my next episode where we are gonna dive into Opalite. 230 00:24:05,155.8988174 --> 00:24:07,75.8988174 Thank you so much for being here with me. 231 00:24:07,615.8988174 --> 00:24:08,665.8988174 See you in the next track. 232 00:24:08,673.3016096 --> 00:24:10,983.3016096 That's it for this chapter of Swiftly Sung Stories. 233 00:24:11,43.3016096 --> 00:24:14,763.3016096 If you enjoyed this deep dive, please don't forget to follow, subscribe, or leave a review. 234 00:24:14,823.3016096 --> 00:24:16,863.3016096 It helps other Swifties find their way here. 235 00:24:17,13.3016096 --> 00:24:19,833.3016096 I'm Jen and I had a marvelous time reading everything with you. 236 00:24:19,953.3016096 --> 00:24:20,463.3016096 See you next time.
Hey everyone.
(00:00):
Welcome back to the Swiftly Sung Stories podcast.
I am Jen.
I am your Swifty English teacher, and today we are tackling track two on my track by track analysis of the life of a showgirl.
And we're gonna dive straight into Elizabeth Taylor.
In my last two episodes, I analyzed it tailors prologue poem, and track one, the fate of Ophelia.
(00:22):
So go check those out because.
It lays a lot of the groundwork for the themes and motifs that are running through this album and really helps us understand what Taylor's getting at.
Just to quickly let you know, all of this content is available on my website in text format where you can find these annotated lyrics, and if you're watching this on YouTube, you can find me wherever you get your podcasts and vice versa. 10 00:00:46,983.308460474 --> 00:00:50,559.898817398 Okay, let's roll straight into Elizabeth Taylor, line by line. 11 00:00:53,619.898817398 --> 00:00:59,319.898817398 Welcome to swiftly sung Stories where we unpack the Taylor Swift Universe one era album and lyric at a time. 12 00:00:59,499.898817398 --> 00:01:03,819.898817398 Think of it like English class, but it's all Taylor Swift and none of the boring stuff. 13 00:01:04,269.898817398 --> 00:01:09,669.898817398 I'm Jen, your Swifty English teacher and classes in session, so come on in and meet me in the margins. 14 00:01:09,905.898817398 --> 00:01:31,275.898817398 Now this is a really interesting track because our narrator switches points of view and it shifts between Elizabeth Taylor's point of view and the point of view of our Taylor, our narrator, uh, Taylor has referenced Elizabeth Taylor before in ready for It, where she says he can be my jailer Burton to this Taylor. 15 00:01:32,225.898817398 --> 00:01:50,285.8988174 That track alludes to Elizabeth Taylor's, on and off again marriage to fellow actor and celebrity in his own right, Richard Burton, and her marriage was under constant tabloid scrutiny, and their toxic relationship played out in the headlines for years. 16 00:01:50,975.8988174 --> 00:01:53,135.8988174 But in this track, Taylor's taking another angle. 17 00:01:53,135.8988174 --> 00:02:00,905.8988174 She seems to be comparing her life and loves to the world's first mega celebrity who also shares half her name. 18 00:02:02,135.8988174 --> 00:02:09,580.8988174 And there's less about relationships in here, but it's really more about life in the spotlight and how to juggle a private life when you're in the public eye. 19 00:02:10,955.8988174 --> 00:02:26,555.8988174 So where do these two Taylors lives parallel? listing Every similarity would take a dissertation, but for the context of just understanding these lyrics, here are what I think are just the most important bits that I found in my research. 20 00:02:28,25.8988174 --> 00:02:36,365.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor began as a child star and entered into a binding contract with a movie studio when she wasn't old enough to know any better. 21 00:02:37,325.8988174 --> 00:02:43,145.8988174 She felt like the studios owned her and she was promoted for their own pockets. 22 00:02:44,225.8988174 --> 00:02:52,140.8988174 Um, the second her personal life was used as public fodder, which likely contributed to her many divorces. 23 00:02:52,140.8988174 --> 00:02:57,300.8988174 The public spotlight was just too harsh for her relationships to survive. 24 00:02:57,300.8988174 --> 00:03:03,340.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor collected jewels that to her represented relationships or personal achievements. 25 00:03:03,890.8988174 --> 00:03:10,220.8988174 Her actually priceless jewels held more sentimental value than monetary value for her. 26 00:03:11,270.8988174 --> 00:03:20,510.8988174 Taylor has used a lot of gemstone imagery in the past, but she also referred to her life's work as infinity Stones in her infamous time magazine profile. 27 00:03:21,470.8988174 --> 00:03:31,250.8988174 And one final tidbit, Elizabeth Taylor was also a cat lover, like obsessed with cats, and her nickname was Kitten or Kitty, which will come back around in the title track. 28 00:03:31,820.8988174 --> 00:03:35,350.8988174 There will be a few more to add as we go along, and just one more thing. 29 00:03:35,410.8988174 --> 00:03:50,620.8988174 I found this quote from a Rolling Stone article in 1987, an interview that they did with Elizabeth Taylor at the Plaza Atenee, no less,, uh, because I think it really ties these two narrative threads between the two Taylors together. 30 00:03:51,310.8988174 --> 00:03:56,680.8988174 So Elizabeth Taylor said, you can always avert throwing yourself in front of an oncoming train. 31 00:03:57,490.8988174 --> 00:04:01,870.8988174 There's something that just pulls you away, and it has pulled me away because I'm not dead yet. 32 00:04:01,960.8988174 --> 00:04:04,900.8988174 Just at the brink of impact sometimes. 33 00:04:04,900.8988174 --> 00:04:11,500.8988174 I have been really grazed by that train the world and the press, and people have always enjoyed doing that. 34 00:04:11,680.8988174 --> 00:04:13,240.8988174 That's the nature of things. 35 00:04:13,240.8988174 --> 00:04:17,50.8988174 You create an idea, a star, they're yours. 36 00:04:17,110.8988174 --> 00:04:18,850.8988174 You have created this monster. 37 00:04:19,555.8988174 --> 00:04:22,615.8988174 So what do you do? It becomes boring unless you tear it down. 38 00:04:23,35.8988174 --> 00:04:29,125.8988174 I've been on that yo-yo trip all my life, except like the times where I almost lose myself. 39 00:04:29,815.8988174 --> 00:04:34,105.8988174 But I didn't lose myself, did I? Something always made me save myself. 40 00:04:35,635.8988174 --> 00:04:43,945.8988174 I find that last quote incredibly apropos, and so it's just something to keep on file in your brain as we go through these lyrics. 41 00:04:43,945.8988174 --> 00:04:45,985.8988174 Okay, starting with verse one. 42 00:04:45,985.8988174 --> 00:04:53,755.8988174 And just to clarify, I'm mostly gonna refer to Elizabeth Taylor as Liz, just to not confuse the two Taylors. 43 00:04:53,755.8988174 --> 00:05:02,635.8988174 I don't know if she was actually nicknamed anything other than kitten or kitty, but that's, it's just for clarity's sake and no disrespect is intended. 44 00:05:03,880.8988174 --> 00:05:06,310.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor, she begins in the intro. 45 00:05:06,520.8988174 --> 00:05:16,660.8988174 Do you think it's forever? Right now we are hearing from our showgirl narrator voice by Taylor, who is asking the subject a direct question. 46 00:05:17,860.8988174 --> 00:05:24,580.8988174 Obviously, Liz is gone, so it's hypothetical, but she's going to play out this narrative as if Elizabeth Taylor is speaking. 47 00:05:25,410.8988174 --> 00:05:32,100.8988174 But before we get into Liz's point of view, it's Taylor asking her idol or mentor this question. 48 00:05:32,250.8988174 --> 00:05:36,840.8988174 Is it forever? We need a little bit more context for this, and here it is. 49 00:05:37,500.8988174 --> 00:05:43,530.8988174 Liz famously starred in prolific ad campaigns for her fragrance line white diamonds. 50 00:05:44,220.8988174 --> 00:05:48,270.8988174 In those ads, she whispered the tagline, diamonds are forever. 51 00:05:49,315.8988174 --> 00:05:54,235.8988174 If you're an eighties baby like me, you can play those ads in your mind like a drive-in movie. 52 00:05:54,925.8988174 --> 00:06:02,425.8988174 But what this line really meant in the context of Elizabeth Taylor's life was men are disposable, but diamonds are forever. 53 00:06:03,115.8988174 --> 00:06:08,515.8988174 It was essentially using her many failed relationships as fodder to sell perfume. 54 00:06:09,415.8988174 --> 00:06:11,395.8988174 It worked and it worked really well. 55 00:06:11,395.8988174 --> 00:06:15,925.8988174 I think I saw that perfume in every Boomer mom's bathroom growing up. 56 00:06:15,925.8988174 --> 00:06:25,435.8988174 So we're not talking about physical diamonds, just like these ads weren't talking about physical diamonds, but what the diamond metaphor means is going to change. 57 00:06:25,555.8988174 --> 00:06:29,485.8988174 As the lyrics go on, we enter the first verse. 58 00:06:29,755.8988174 --> 00:06:45,15.8988174 That view of Portofino was on my mind when you called me at the plazaAtenee We had a quick intro where our showgirl was narrating, and now we are inside Elizabeth Taylor's mind, or Taylor Swift's interpretation of her mind. 59 00:06:46,95.8988174 --> 00:06:49,65.8988174 Portofino was significant in Liz's life. 60 00:06:49,65.8988174 --> 00:06:54,795.8988174 She enjoyed four of her honeymoons there, and Portofino was also where Richard Burton proposed. 61 00:06:55,875.8988174 --> 00:07:07,215.8988174 Portofino is known for its brightly colored, mostly orange buildings, and this bright blue ocean, which of course is the color theme of this album, but this is an interesting bit of trivia. 62 00:07:07,545.8988174 --> 00:07:13,395.8988174 It is just down the beach from the Gulf of poets poet Percy Shelley. 63 00:07:13,575.8988174 --> 00:07:17,805.8988174 Mary Shelley's husband actually drowned right there when his ship sank. 64 00:07:18,195.8988174 --> 00:07:21,195.8988174 And in his pockets they found a bunch of Keats poems. 65 00:07:22,110.8988174 --> 00:07:23,550.8988174 Hence the Gulf of Poets. 66 00:07:24,120.8988174 --> 00:07:28,980.8988174 But those perfect looking brightly colored houses, portofino are also an illusion. 67 00:07:29,760.8988174 --> 00:07:36,30.8988174 Many of them are just facades where windows and doors and flower boxes are painted on for effect. 68 00:07:36,690.8988174 --> 00:07:40,680.8988174 So that view of portofino is a loaded line. 69 00:07:40,680.8988174 --> 00:07:45,270.8988174 It's a gorgeous view, but once you look up close, it's not real. 70 00:07:45,750.8988174 --> 00:07:48,540.8988174 It's a facade like the facade of a showgirl. 71 00:07:49,950.8988174 --> 00:07:53,460.8988174 Now the Plaza AE had two locations, Paris and New York. 72 00:07:53,490.8988174 --> 00:07:56,700.8988174 Though New York has since closed either. 73 00:07:56,730.8988174 --> 00:08:02,910.8988174 Setting within these lyrics is possible, as Liz was known to frequent both, and it said that she even lived in both for periods of time. 74 00:08:03,810.8988174 --> 00:08:15,810.8988174 But the point is that wherever she is, she's thinking about that view of portofino, which likely means that she's thinking about better, more romantic, easier times. 75 00:08:16,590.8988174 --> 00:08:22,470.8988174 Why? Because the following line is oftentimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me. 76 00:08:23,535.8988174 --> 00:08:32,415.8988174 This also reflects that view of portofino, which when you think about it, is pretty on the outside and could be crumbling on the inside. 77 00:08:33,585.8988174 --> 00:08:35,985.8988174 If there is a thesis statement for the song, this is it. 78 00:08:37,125.8988174 --> 00:08:45,530.8988174 Sometimes it doesn't feel so glamorous to me, it's the invisible string that truly ties both Taylors together, the harsh spotlight of celebrity. 79 00:08:46,170.8988174 --> 00:08:48,270.8988174 It can blind the wrong people. 80 00:08:48,270.8988174 --> 00:09:04,410.8988174 Only the very strong and the very equipped can stand beside you when the world gets very loud and very bright, but it doesn't feel so glamorous to be me, comes right after that view of portofino, just like those pretty buildings in Portofino. 81 00:09:04,590.8988174 --> 00:09:12,480.8988174 The life of a mega celebrity is polished on the outside, but once you really look up close, it's all a facade. 82 00:09:14,295.8988174 --> 00:09:16,305.8988174 All the right guys promised they'd stay. 83 00:09:16,365.8988174 --> 00:09:19,95.8988174 She continues under bright lights. 84 00:09:19,95.8988174 --> 00:09:21,315.8988174 They withered away, but you bloom. 85 00:09:22,365.8988174 --> 00:09:27,210.8988174 She is both surprised and delighted that this new romance isn't fading. 86 00:09:27,210.8988174 --> 00:09:28,680.8988174 Away before her eyes. 87 00:09:29,250.8988174 --> 00:09:33,510.8988174 This new love grows under very harsh conditions, and she wasn't expecting it. 88 00:09:34,410.8988174 --> 00:09:37,830.8988174 The spotlight of celebrity is just too much for some people to handle. 89 00:09:38,10.8988174 --> 00:09:43,320.8988174 And for Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton was the one who could handle it because he was a celebrity too. 90 00:09:44,250.8988174 --> 00:09:49,650.8988174 But together they were both American royalty and incredibly toxic. 91 00:09:50,670.8988174 --> 00:09:55,440.8988174 She closes out the first verse, Portofino was up my mind, and I think, you know why. 92 00:09:56,835.8988174 --> 00:10:03,585.8988174 Something happened in Portofino for Liz or for Taylor or for both? We don't really get to know exactly what that is. 93 00:10:04,305.8988174 --> 00:10:09,975.8988174 This could be alluding to something romantic or something tragic or maybe a bit of both. 94 00:10:10,965.8988174 --> 00:10:28,245.8988174 But this is an inside joke that we don't get to understand, and that in and of itself describes this mega celebrity life, doesn't it? You can't say everything you wanna say out loud because everything you do is scrutinized just like those houses of Portofino. 95 00:10:28,245.8988174 --> 00:10:33,645.8988174 It looks serene on the outside, but on the inside it could be chaos and no one would ever know. 96 00:10:33,645.8988174 --> 00:10:43,815.8988174 The chorus comes in if your letters ever said goodbye, and this begins her transition out of Liz's perspective and into her own point of view. 97 00:10:44,265.8988174 --> 00:10:47,775.8988174 It's almost as if both characters are speaking this line. 98 00:10:48,555.8988174 --> 00:10:54,405.8988174 They both hope that this lover will stick around and she's going to lay this out more clearly. 99 00:10:54,405.8988174 --> 00:10:55,215.8988174 In the chorus. 100 00:10:56,115.8988174 --> 00:10:57,165.8988174 I'd cry my eyes. 101 00:10:57,165.8988174 --> 00:10:58,665.8988174 Violet, Elizabeth Taylor. 102 00:10:59,310.8988174 --> 00:11:04,920.8988174 So now it is definitely our showgirl narrator, Taylor Swift speaking in the chorus. 103 00:11:06,0.8988174 --> 00:11:14,430.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor was well known for her really unique violet, hued eyes, but violets are also important in Taylor Swift's universe. 104 00:11:15,300.8988174 --> 00:11:24,575.8988174 In the previous track, the Fate of Ophelia, she references Hamlet and in the play Ophelia's Violets have withered with her father's death. 105 00:11:25,425.8988174 --> 00:11:33,105.8988174 They've wilted from grief and in the Elizabethan era, purple Violets meant that love or heartbreak was on your mind. 106 00:11:34,260.8988174 --> 00:11:37,170.8988174 It's also not the first time that Taylor has mentioned violets. 107 00:11:37,170.8988174 --> 00:11:40,770.8988174 There was, my knuckles were bruised like violets from the Great War. 108 00:11:41,460.8988174 --> 00:11:42,840.8988174 So I'd cry my eyes. 109 00:11:42,840.8988174 --> 00:11:47,460.8988174 Violet as a metaphor, conjures this imagery of drastic change. 110 00:11:47,460.8988174 --> 00:11:53,940.8988174 She'd be so depressed or so despondent that even the color of her eyes would darken like a bruise. 111 00:11:54,480.8988174 --> 00:11:57,360.8988174 Her outlook would change, everything would change. 112 00:11:57,900.8988174 --> 00:12:02,100.8988174 This love that she hopes will stick around has transformed her for the better. 113 00:12:02,910.8988174 --> 00:12:05,910.8988174 And if it went away, it could transform her for the worst. 114 00:12:07,80.8988174 --> 00:12:08,910.8988174 It's almost another version of this. 115 00:12:08,910.8988174 --> 00:12:11,70.8988174 Love's left a permanent mark. 116 00:12:11,70.8988174 --> 00:12:11,700.8988174 She goes on. 117 00:12:11,700.8988174 --> 00:12:12,630.8988174 Tell me for real. 118 00:12:12,690.8988174 --> 00:12:23,220.8988174 Do you think it's forever? She's asking Elizabeth Taylor this question directly and it's a loaded question and in my view it's asking multiple things at once. 119 00:12:23,320.8988174 --> 00:12:57,160.8988174 It could be, is this love forever? Will it really last, or will it fade away like all the rest It could be, is fame forever or will I get canceled again? It could be Will I become as infamous as you, and if I do, will it be for my personal life or for my art? Can I have one without the other? Um, it could be will my diamonds, my achievements live on? Or is this all temporary? These are all possibilities, and let me know what you think in the comments, what this question is getting at. 120 00:12:58,540.8988174 --> 00:13:00,700.8988174 Been number one, but I never had two. 121 00:13:00,760.8988174 --> 00:13:04,0.8988174 She continues and I can't have fun if I can't have. 122 00:13:05,800.8988174 --> 00:13:06,875.8988174 And then there's an M dash. 123 00:13:08,365.8988174 --> 00:13:11,65.8988174 She's no longer speaking to Elizabeth Taylor. 124 00:13:11,65.8988174 --> 00:13:14,965.8988174 She's speaking to her lover or she's speaking to herself. 125 00:13:15,955.8988174 --> 00:13:19,855.8988174 There's a lot of speculation about this line, but here's how I read it. 126 00:13:20,875.8988174 --> 00:13:27,835.8988174 I've been at the top of the charts and I've been at the top of my game, but I've never had someone to share it with. 127 00:13:28,315.8988174 --> 00:13:33,355.8988174 She's never had a real partner be there standing beside her. 128 00:13:34,540.8988174 --> 00:13:39,880.8988174 You know that saying if you're doing great at work, you're probably failing at home, and vice versa. 129 00:13:40,930.8988174 --> 00:13:42,160.8988174 That's what I think she's getting at. 130 00:13:42,160.8988174 --> 00:13:45,760.8988174 She's conquered the industry, but there's still something missing. 131 00:13:46,720.8988174 --> 00:13:50,260.8988174 She won't reveal what it is until the final line of the chorus. 132 00:13:50,260.8988174 --> 00:13:55,870.8988174 We all know it's probably you, but the omission, this M dash at the end of the line. 133 00:13:56,620.8988174 --> 00:13:59,680.8988174 I can't have fun if I can't have blank. 134 00:14:00,310.8988174 --> 00:14:03,880.8988174 Reflects the meaning, the you is absent. 135 00:14:05,290.8988174 --> 00:14:07,630.8988174 Be my NY when Hollywood hates me. 136 00:14:07,660.8988174 --> 00:14:10,960.8988174 She says, looking for someone to be her haven. 137 00:14:10,960.8988174 --> 00:14:19,270.8988174 When the celebrity spotlight starts to burn, there's that duality again, and this time it's in the metaphor of these polar opposite cities. 138 00:14:19,990.8988174 --> 00:14:26,500.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor famously left Hollywood for the Jets at lifestyle, but she could never run away from bad press. 139 00:14:26,500.8988174 --> 00:14:31,270.8988174 That was mostly about her failed relationships, didn't matter where she went. 140 00:14:32,410.8988174 --> 00:14:33,280.8988174 But Hollywood hates me. 141 00:14:33,280.8988174 --> 00:14:43,540.8988174 It could also refer to the backlash Taylor received for her recent film Rollouts, where she partnered directly with theaters and bypass these traditional routes. 142 00:14:43,540.8988174 --> 00:14:49,150.8988174 But either way, it means be my refuge when the world gets too loud. 143 00:14:50,490.8988174 --> 00:14:53,220.8988174 You are only as hot as your last hit, baby. 144 00:14:53,250.8988174 --> 00:14:58,860.8988174 She continues, which is a sentiment I'm sure both of these superstars have felt. 145 00:14:59,640.8988174 --> 00:15:11,400.8988174 They know that the industry will chew you up and spit you out, and at points, it seems like none of your past work or achievements matter only what you're doing or not doing in the current moments matters. 146 00:15:11,430.8988174 --> 00:15:16,380.8988174 In our culture, life is long, but the public's memories are short and fickle. 147 00:15:17,310.8988174 --> 00:15:21,60.8988174 They'll often remember the scandals and forget your successes. 148 00:15:21,870.8988174 --> 00:15:31,470.8988174 It's only been proven by the controversy surrounding this very rollout of a showgirl where the chatter has been incredibly loud and incredibly mercurial. 149 00:15:33,180.8988174 --> 00:15:40,320.8988174 She closes out the chorus with bin number one, but I never have two and I can't have fun till I can't have you this time. 150 00:15:40,410.8988174 --> 00:15:41,400.8988174 She includes. 151 00:15:41,905.8988174 --> 00:15:45,595.8988174 The you, she tells us directly, I want this person. 152 00:15:46,135.8988174 --> 00:15:47,845.8988174 Life would be no fun without them. 153 00:15:49,255.8988174 --> 00:15:55,975.8988174 It is a sentiment likely shared by Liz who really wanted a partner she could trust and share her life with. 154 00:15:57,775.8988174 --> 00:16:14,440.8988174 The second verse begins, Hey, what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once? Our narrator is speaking as Elizabeth Taylor once again on the surface, both Taylors really do have it all. 155 00:16:14,440.8988174 --> 00:16:17,620.8988174 Jewels, money, fame, infamy. 156 00:16:18,520.8988174 --> 00:16:26,530.8988174 But if you have all that and no one who's on your level and really understands, it probably feels like a double-edged sword. 157 00:16:27,520.8988174 --> 00:16:34,685.8988174 Instead of letting people in, you have to build this small, secretive world to keep people out, and it probably feels really lonely. 158 00:16:36,10.8988174 --> 00:16:46,690.8988174 Liz had spoken many times about the really deep loneliness that she felt throughout her life, even when it looked to outsiders like she had this big, full glamorous existence. 159 00:16:47,260.8988174 --> 00:16:52,810.8988174 And Taylor has written about this predicament too in just songs like The Prophecy Mirror Ball. 160 00:16:52,990.8988174 --> 00:16:56,170.8988174 I look in people's windows, I hate it here many more. 161 00:16:56,950.8988174 --> 00:17:01,180.8988174 The pedestal of fame probably feels pretty isolating at the top. 162 00:17:02,950.8988174 --> 00:17:06,40.8988174 Babe, I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust. 163 00:17:06,430.8988174 --> 00:17:07,540.8988174 Just kidding. 164 00:17:08,20.8988174 --> 00:17:12,40.8988174 She's just being cheeky here and she's still speaking as Liz. 165 00:17:12,580.8988174 --> 00:17:18,520.8988174 But when she's speaking as Liz in this track, she's also speaking as herself now. 166 00:17:18,520.8988174 --> 00:17:25,300.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor would never give away her prize jewels, which she said were more sentimental than material in value for her. 167 00:17:25,960.8988174 --> 00:17:30,370.8988174 The jokes about trading Jewels for love and the Just kidding is cheek and cute, but it's. 168 00:17:31,15.8988174 --> 00:17:42,385.8988174 Really like she's wondering, would I actually give all this up? She's seriously thinking about it and in the prologue poem she wrote, it's worth everything it has cost you. 169 00:17:42,895.8988174 --> 00:17:56,665.8988174 And even at your darkest or drunkest, you couldn't say any different would you? In this album, she really is pondering all of these different fates, would she trade it for a real partner. 170 00:17:57,565.8988174 --> 00:17:59,335.8988174 It seems that part of her says, yes, absolutely. 171 00:18:00,430.8988174 --> 00:18:16,330.8988174 But then if she never became who she is, then who would Taylor Swift be? She's dealing with a lot of really heavy existential questions, sort of hidden behind the sequins and feathers of this album. 172 00:18:17,920.8988174 --> 00:18:18,700.8988174 She continues. 173 00:18:18,700.8988174 --> 00:18:21,220.8988174 We hit the best booth at Musso and Frank's. 174 00:18:21,310.8988174 --> 00:18:22,690.8988174 They say, I'm bad news. 175 00:18:22,690.8988174 --> 00:18:23,770.8988174 I just say thanks. 176 00:18:25,330.8988174 --> 00:18:37,330.8988174 She's narrating Elizabeth Taylor strutting into this classic Hollywood hotspot, and that place was once frequented by Old Hollywood, Rita Hayworth, Greta Garbo, and Marilyn Monroe. 177 00:18:37,720.8988174 --> 00:18:45,640.8988174 But as she imagines Liz going out to dinner, she also imagines the public perception of her that she's bad news. 178 00:18:46,690.8988174 --> 00:18:48,190.8988174 That her reputation is shot. 179 00:18:48,700.8988174 --> 00:18:53,560.8988174 And both of these superstars were and are really polarizing in public opinion. 180 00:18:53,560.8988174 --> 00:19:02,140.8988174 Both have been painted as these maneater, serial monogamists who already have the next guy lined up in the getaway car before dinner is even over. 181 00:19:02,770.8988174 --> 00:19:09,10.8988174 They've both learned to shake it off because haters gonna hate, and this flippant, I just say thanks. 182 00:19:09,370.8988174 --> 00:19:10,120.8988174 Is just that. 183 00:19:10,120.8988174 --> 00:19:11,650.8988174 It's shaking it off. 184 00:19:12,220.8988174 --> 00:19:16,840.8988174 People are going to think whatever they think, and there's nothing you can do to change their minds. 185 00:19:18,430.8988174 --> 00:19:19,600.8988174 But not everyone is. 186 00:19:19,600.8988174 --> 00:19:26,410.8988174 I hate her because then she looks at her date and you look at me like you're hypnotized, and I think you know why. 187 00:19:27,550.8988174 --> 00:19:29,920.8988174 Her lover stares at her in awe. 188 00:19:30,580.8988174 --> 00:19:34,660.8988174 As Elizabeth Taylor, she's hypnotized them with her violet eyes. 189 00:19:34,840.8988174 --> 00:19:49,720.8988174 But is he staring at the movie slash pop star or is he staring at the human woman underneath the facade? There's no way to know, and that applies to both Taylors. 190 00:19:50,380.8988174 --> 00:19:51,475.8988174 This is the duality that most. 191 00:19:51,940.8988174 --> 00:20:05,110.8988174 Of this album grapples with, even if it's in its title, the Life of a Showgirl, it's not the life of Taylor Swift, her public persona and the corporation that bears her name is not the same as the human inside. 192 00:20:06,100.8988174 --> 00:20:19,480.8988174 Is there a partner out there who can love both versions of her? Is there a partner who can tell the difference between the public facing life, the show, and the real person underneath the costume? The girl. 193 00:20:20,935.8988174 --> 00:20:24,595.8988174 The pre-course then repeats and it changes just the last line. 194 00:20:25,435.8988174 --> 00:20:33,925.8988174 And if your letters ever said goodbye, changes to, and if you ever leave me high and dry, and then the chorus repeats, I'd cry. 195 00:20:33,925.8988174 --> 00:20:40,735.8988174 My eyes Violet, if you ever leave me stranded, she's saying I'd be devastated. 196 00:20:41,515.8988174 --> 00:20:44,65.8988174 And this can't help but remind us of a similar line. 197 00:20:44,575.8988174 --> 00:20:49,705.8988174 How dare you say it's romantic, leaving me safe and stranded from down bad. 198 00:20:50,725.8988174 --> 00:20:57,85.8988174 The romantic thing to do is to stay, but as the rest of the song grapples with, it's really hard to get anyone to stay. 199 00:20:57,655.8988174 --> 00:21:02,485.8988174 The show gets in the way of the girl and the show blinds people to the girl. 200 00:21:04,465.8988174 --> 00:21:10,795.8988174 The chorus repeats with a short post chorus, and then we get into the bridge where we learn more about what the song is really saying. 201 00:21:12,10.8988174 --> 00:21:14,530.8988174 All my white diamonds and lovers are forever. 202 00:21:15,70.8988174 --> 00:21:20,110.8988174 She begins the bridge in the papers on the screen and in their minds. 203 00:21:21,370.8988174 --> 00:21:25,720.8988174 So in this section, it seems like she's, again, narrating from both points of view. 204 00:21:26,350.8988174 --> 00:21:32,860.8988174 She's again, alluding to Liz's iconic Diamonds are Forever a quote from the White Diamonds perfume ads. 205 00:21:33,430.8988174 --> 00:21:36,250.8988174 But the second line adds crucial meaning. 206 00:21:36,880.8988174 --> 00:21:39,430.8988174 They're not forever for her. 207 00:21:40,150.8988174 --> 00:21:52,300.8988174 They're forever for other people, the lover and the gemstones, which could symbolize her art or her achievements live on forever because they'll always be in the papers, on the screen and in their minds. 208 00:21:53,200.8988174 --> 00:21:55,265.8988174 So while you're only as hot as your last hit. 209 00:21:56,380.8988174 --> 00:22:02,800.8988174 Your mistakes too will be forever memorialized on the internet and in the court of public opinion. 210 00:22:03,730.8988174 --> 00:22:11,350.8988174 The people you've dated and the scandals you've endured will always be a part of your story even long after you've moved on. 211 00:22:12,520.8988174 --> 00:22:19,180.8988174 This is equally true for both Taylors, both the diamonds and the coal will always be a part of your mythology. 212 00:22:19,180.8988174 --> 00:22:20,170.8988174 There's no shaking it. 213 00:22:20,170.8988174 --> 00:22:22,240.8988174 All my white garmons and lovers are forever. 214 00:22:22,240.8988174 --> 00:22:29,890.8988174 She repeats, and this is emphasizing that all of her previous lovers will always be associated with her, but then she adds. 215 00:22:30,250.8988174 --> 00:22:32,890.8988174 Don't you ever end up anything but mine. 216 00:22:34,480.8988174 --> 00:22:41,170.8988174 What she's getting at here is that she doesn't want to see this new love in some internet archive. 217 00:22:41,980.8988174 --> 00:22:44,980.8988174 She doesn't wanna see this person in past tense ever. 218 00:22:44,980.8988174 --> 00:22:49,270.8988174 She wants them in the present as hers, just like her diamonds. 219 00:22:50,20.8988174 --> 00:22:51,640.8988174 She wants this person there forever. 220 00:22:52,840.8988174 --> 00:22:58,720.8988174 The chorus repeats and the outro echoes the bridge, but it adds one line. 221 00:22:59,680.8988174 --> 00:23:10,615.8988174 Elizabeth Taylor, do you think it's forever? She repeats this question and it feels like a protege asking their father figure for advice. 222 00:23:11,545.8988174 --> 00:23:16,675.8988174 If there's anyone Taylor could ask really applicable advice for it would be Elizabeth Taylor. 223 00:23:17,365.8988174 --> 00:23:22,110.8988174 She's one of the very few superstars who have trod this path of extreme fame before. 224 00:23:23,545.8988174 --> 00:23:27,865.8988174 But as Liz is no longer with us, she'll have to settle for imagining her answers. 225 00:23:27,865.8988174 --> 00:23:39,895.8988174 No one can tell us what the future holds, but we can see that as happy and as optimistic as this album is, there are tinges of worry and it's the same as she has always had. 226 00:23:40,915.8988174 --> 00:23:48,625.8988174 Who could ever leave me darling, but who could stay? That's it for Track two for Elizabeth Taylor. 227 00:23:48,625.8988174 --> 00:23:55,465.8988174 If you found this insightful or entertaining or just wanna keep geeking out about Taylor's Swift with me, please click all the buttons and like, and subscribe. 228 00:23:56,95.8988174 --> 00:24:00,115.8988174 I'm just starting this podcast and it really, really helps people find me. 229 00:24:00,955.8988174 --> 00:24:05,135.8988174 Stay tuned for my next episode where we are gonna dive into Opalite. 230 00:24:05,155.8988174 --> 00:24:07,75.8988174 Thank you so much for being here with me. 231 00:24:07,615.8988174 --> 00:24:08,665.8988174 See you in the next track. 232 00:24:08,673.3016096 --> 00:24:10,983.3016096 That's it for this chapter of Swiftly Sung Stories. 233 00:24:11,43.3016096 --> 00:24:14,763.3016096 If you enjoyed this deep dive, please don't forget to follow, subscribe, or leave a review. 234 00:24:14,823.3016096 --> 00:24:16,863.3016096 It helps other Swifties find their way here. 235 00:24:17,13.3016096 --> 00:24:19,833.3016096 I'm Jen and I had a marvelous time reading everything with you. 236 00:24:19,953.3016096 --> 00:24:20,463.3016096 See you next time.
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