November 24, 2025 • 17 mins
Buckle up, because we’re about to scale the tallest living organism on the planet!
In “Wood”, track 9 of The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift uses superstitions, double entendres, and superstitions as double entendres to show us the forest through the trees. But is this song all cheeky innuendo, or is she erecting something more sentimental here?
In this episode of the Swiftly Sung Stories Podcast, we’re chopping down the lyrics of Wood, one ring at a time. We’ll uncover Taylor’s past superstitions, how they didn’t measure up to any measure of a man, and see if she’s finally found her redwood tree in a sea of Pinnochios.
✨ Swiftly Sung Stories dives deep into Taylor Swift’s storytelling craft, exploring her lyrics through the lens of literature, emotion, and the art of songwriting.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hey everyone.
(00:00):
Welcome back to the Swiftly Song Stories podcast.
I'm your host, Jen, your Swiftie English teacher, and today we are tackling Track nine in my track by track analysis of the life of Showgirl, and we are diving straight into wood.
This is one of the funniest and cheekiest tracks Taylor has ever written, but is it just straight up sexual satire or is she erecting.
(00:23):
Something more complex in these lyrics.
We're gonna get into that and more line by line.
In my last few episodes, I analyzed Taylor's prologue poem and the first eight tracks of this album, so go check those out.
It lays a lot of groundwork for understanding all of the themes and motifs that Taylor's exploring in this album.
Also, all of this content is available on my website if you want the text version with the annotated lyrics.
(00:45):
If you're watching this on YouTube, you can also find me wherever you get your podcasts and vice versa.
Okay.
First let's lay a little foundation of the themes within the song, and then we will roll into our dissection of wood line by line. 13 00:01:00,759.552144483 --> 00:01:06,459.552144483 Welcome to swiftly sung Stories where we unpack the Taylor Swift Universe one era album and lyric at a time. 14 00:01:06,639.552144483 --> 00:01:10,959.552144483 Think of it like English class, but it's all Taylor Swift and none of the boring stuff. 15 00:01:11,409.552144483 --> 00:01:16,809.552144483 I'm Jen, your Swifty English teacher and classes in session, so come on in and meet me in the margins. 16 00:01:17,95.552144483 --> 00:01:25,735.552144483 So the whole shtick of this song is using superstitions and double entendres and sometimes superstitions as double entendres. 17 00:01:26,95.552144483 --> 00:01:32,605.552144483 So a double entendre is just when something would have two different meanings, and one of the meanings is risque. 18 00:01:33,385.552144483 --> 00:01:44,515.55214448 So the song is funny and it's lighthearted, but it's also still well within the central themes of the album, which is what could have been versus what is now. 19 00:01:44,725.55214448 --> 00:01:50,965.55214448 She's been thinking a lot about fate on this album and in past albums and many of the tracks on showgirl. 20 00:01:50,965.55214448 --> 00:01:58,115.55214448 She's pondering how she got to where she is today, what wasn't fated versus what was fated. 21 00:01:58,630.55214448 --> 00:02:03,820.55214448 And what it means to choose one path and not take the other in wood. 22 00:02:03,820.55214448 --> 00:02:08,830.55214448 She's taking a more lighthearted approach to this whole idea of fate and destiny. 23 00:02:08,830.55214448 --> 00:02:20,620.55214448 She looks at her past superstitions, comparing them to her present circumstances, and through humor and hyperbole, she's contrasting her past self and her present self. 24 00:02:21,365.55214448 --> 00:02:30,785.55214448 So while the song might seem a bit out of pocket upon first listen, it's still fairly consistent with all of the themes she's presented in showgirl so far. 25 00:02:31,865.55214448 --> 00:02:43,415.55214448 Before I go into detail, a quick PSA, I only discuss Taylor's personal life in my lyrical analysis when it's essential to understanding the song or when it just really helps us put the lyrics into context. 26 00:02:43,415.55214448 --> 00:02:46,355.55214448 I'm not here to discover what Taylor did. 27 00:02:46,385.55214448 --> 00:02:47,990.55214448 I'm not here to discover what Travis did. 28 00:02:48,600.55214448 --> 00:02:53,370.55214448 I'm just here to look at the art and the writing and see what that does. 29 00:02:54,270.55214448 --> 00:03:01,590.55214448 I'm also dissecting Taylor's lyrics through my lens and my opinion, and that doesn't have to be your lens and your opinion. 30 00:03:02,250.55214448 --> 00:03:05,340.55214448 All art is subjective and it means different things to different people. 31 00:03:05,520.55214448 --> 00:03:14,550.55214448 So in this analysis, I'm not saying that everything I say is true or fact, I'm just here to point out different interpretations and you can draw your own conclusions. 32 00:03:14,940.55214448 --> 00:03:16,200.55214448 So take what resonates. 33 00:03:16,475.55214448 --> 00:03:19,325.55214448 Leave the rest and let me know what you think in the comments. 34 00:03:20,615.55214448 --> 00:03:24,275.55214448 So the first verse of wood begins, Daisy's bare naked. 35 00:03:24,395.55214448 --> 00:03:25,385.55214448 I was distraught. 36 00:03:26,555.55214448 --> 00:03:31,930.55214448 At first, we're thinking, who is Daisy? Is this a character? Kind of and kind of not. 37 00:03:32,230.55214448 --> 00:03:36,940.55214448 So she's picking the petals off of the Daisy playing the, he loves me. 38 00:03:36,970.55214448 --> 00:03:37,540.55214448 He loves me. 39 00:03:37,540.55214448 --> 00:03:43,470.55214448 Not game, but all the petals have been plucked off, and the daisy is now naked with no petals. 40 00:03:43,900.55214448 --> 00:03:48,820.55214448 She's landed on, he loves me not, and she's distraught because of this. 41 00:03:49,555.55214448 --> 00:03:59,595.55214448 This is both a way of setting up the sexual themes with using Bare Naked to describe the Daisy and a real look back at where she was in the past. 42 00:04:00,465.55214448 --> 00:04:01,245.55214448 And in the past. 43 00:04:01,245.55214448 --> 00:04:04,295.55214448 She has used this same metaphor before in your, on your own kid. 44 00:04:04,295.55214448 --> 00:04:06,275.55214448 She says, I picked the petals. 45 00:04:06,455.55214448 --> 00:04:07,535.55214448 He loves me not. 46 00:04:08,255.55214448 --> 00:04:25,415.55214448 Those are almost exactly the same line and in wood, she could either be referring to you're on your own kid or where she was during the whole midnights era, or she could be referring to how she's done this over and over, hoping for a different result. 47 00:04:25,445.55214448 --> 00:04:31,500.55214448 Picking the petals, which really means looking for love to be reciprocated, but it never is. 48 00:04:32,435.55214448 --> 00:04:34,85.55214448 And that's the definition of insanity. 49 00:04:34,85.55214448 --> 00:04:42,35.55214448 Doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result, which he or she describes not as insane, but as distraught. 50 00:04:43,295.55214448 --> 00:04:43,925.55214448 She repeats. 51 00:04:43,925.55214448 --> 00:04:46,325.55214448 He loves me, not, he loves me not. 52 00:04:46,715.55214448 --> 00:04:48,425.55214448 This is intentional. 53 00:04:49,25.55214448 --> 00:04:54,905.55214448 It mirrors wishlist where she says, I thought I had it right once, twice, but I did not. 54 00:04:55,685.55214448 --> 00:05:00,5.55214448 So twice before she thought she'd be loved and twice she was wrong. 55 00:05:01,100.55214448 --> 00:05:03,140.55214448 She goes on with another superstition. 56 00:05:03,710.55214448 --> 00:05:04,820.55214448 Penny's unlucky. 57 00:05:05,60.55214448 --> 00:05:06,20.55214448 I took him back. 58 00:05:06,20.55214448 --> 00:05:08,0.55214448 Now she's playing the old find a penny. 59 00:05:08,150.55214448 --> 00:05:08,540.55214448 Pick it up. 60 00:05:08,540.55214448 --> 00:05:10,340.55214448 And all day long you'll have good luck game. 61 00:05:11,210.55214448 --> 00:05:16,70.55214448 Some people believe that finding the penny heads up is good luck and tails is bad luck. 62 00:05:16,670.55214448 --> 00:05:29,440.55214448 She seems to have found this penny in the unlucky position and she takes back an old lover amidst this spate of bad omens and then her bad luck continues and then stepped on a crack and the black cat laughed. 63 00:05:29,440.55214448 --> 00:05:30,670.55214448 Stepping on a crack is another. 64 00:05:30,670.55214448 --> 00:05:32,890.55214448 Superstition considered a bad omen. 65 00:05:33,370.55214448 --> 00:05:35,410.55214448 Uh, step on a crack break your mother's back. 66 00:05:35,410.55214448 --> 00:05:36,310.55214448 That old rhyme. 67 00:05:37,405.55214448 --> 00:05:42,655.55214448 And the black cat crossing her path is also considered bad luck in some cultures. 68 00:05:42,655.55214448 --> 00:05:46,15.55214448 But black cats are also considered good fortune in other cultures. 69 00:05:46,495.55214448 --> 00:05:51,475.55214448 So whatever this cat is, good or bad, it laughs at her misfortune. 70 00:05:51,475.55214448 --> 00:05:56,545.55214448 She can't catch a break no matter how many cracks and cats she avoids. 71 00:05:57,805.55214448 --> 00:06:00,470.55214448 By the way, she's written this first verse by using. 72 00:06:01,225.55214448 --> 00:06:06,445.55214448 Daisy and Penny both as nouns and as names, which is really interesting. 73 00:06:06,955.55214448 --> 00:06:11,125.55214448 And a lot of the themes in this album are about past and present self. 74 00:06:11,125.55214448 --> 00:06:25,435.55214448 This duality within her, it's the showgirl versus the girl, and it's almost as if she is naming these past versions of herself, the version that took him back or was distraught or stepped on a crack. 75 00:06:25,495.55214448 --> 00:06:28,315.55214448 That's Penny and that's Daisy, as in. 76 00:06:28,865.55214448 --> 00:06:37,835.55214448 Old versions of Taylor, but in any case, she's about to tell us why she's thrown out all of these superstitions and rituals in the first pre-chorus. 77 00:06:38,637.87521266 --> 00:06:41,727.87521266 And baby, I'll admit I've been a little superstitious. 78 00:06:42,362.87521266 --> 00:06:56,402.87521266 Not only has she laid out all of her superstitions in the previous verse, but we know that Taylor herself is heavy into numerology and astrology and has the lucky number 13, which is normally a number that the wider world perceives as unlucky. 79 00:06:56,822.87521266 --> 00:06:59,132.87521266 So superstition is a big part of her career. 80 00:06:59,282.87521266 --> 00:07:01,562.87521266 So here she's saying, I've been a little superstitious. 81 00:07:01,562.87521266 --> 00:07:02,912.87521266 It's it's hyperbole. 82 00:07:02,912.87521266 --> 00:07:04,592.87521266 She's been a lot superstitious. 83 00:07:05,312.87521266 --> 00:07:08,312.87521266 So she goes on, fingers crossed until you put your hand on mine. 84 00:07:08,957.87521266 --> 00:07:14,357.87521266 Um, she was crossing her fingers hoping that her luck would turn around in the love department. 85 00:07:15,227.87521266 --> 00:07:22,487.87521266 It all changed when he metaphorically placed his hand on hers, and this imagery is really potent. 86 00:07:22,907.87521266 --> 00:07:29,717.87521266 We can imagine her crossing her fingers and then this new love comes and places his hand on hers. 87 00:07:29,717.87521266 --> 00:07:35,627.87521266 With this kind of Midas touch, it's calming, and it's broken this spate of bad luck. 88 00:07:35,837.87521266 --> 00:07:37,787.87521266 She can uncross her fingers now. 89 00:07:38,672.87521266 --> 00:07:41,642.87521266 It seems that you and me, we make our own luck. 90 00:07:41,672.87521266 --> 00:07:49,162.87521266 She goes on, they don't need these superstitious rituals anymore because their combined power is stronger than luck or whatever. 91 00:07:49,162.87521266 --> 00:07:54,772.87521266 Force brought them together, like she talks about in the fate of Ophelia, is stronger than luck. 92 00:07:54,922.87521266 --> 00:07:57,352.87521266 It's cosmic or karmic. 93 00:07:58,222.87521266 --> 00:07:59,662.87521266 A bad sign is all good. 94 00:07:59,662.87521266 --> 00:08:00,532.87521266 She continues. 95 00:08:00,622.87521266 --> 00:08:01,762.87521266 I ain't gonna knock on wood. 96 00:08:02,662.87521266 --> 00:08:07,522.87521266 So now that she's in the comfort of this new secure place, bad signs don't scare her anymore. 97 00:08:07,522.87521266 --> 00:08:10,942.87521266 Superstitions don't scare her anymore, and she's given them up. 98 00:08:11,602.87521266 --> 00:08:14,392.87521266 She doesn't have to knock on wood anymore to bring herself luck. 99 00:08:15,292.87521266 --> 00:08:22,702.87521266 But the last line also sets up the central metaphor slash double entendre of the song, which she will expand upon later. 100 00:08:22,702.87521266 --> 00:08:23,992.87521266 The first chorus begins. 101 00:08:23,992.87521266 --> 00:08:27,802.87521266 All that bitching and wishing on a falling star never did me any good. 102 00:08:28,222.87521266 --> 00:08:40,192.87521266 So all of these previous superstitious rituals never worked, and she can see that now all that bitching is probably referring to the previous longings of midnights and TTPD. 103 00:08:40,192.87521266 --> 00:08:43,852.87521266 It was her attempt at trying to turn the tides, but it was never gonna work. 104 00:08:44,692.87521266 --> 00:08:47,662.87521266 And to wish upon a star is an old superstition. 105 00:08:47,662.87521266 --> 00:08:53,542.87521266 But the phrase was really popularized by Disney's 1940 animated feature Pinocchio. 106 00:08:53,722.87521266 --> 00:09:01,192.87521266 And in the New Heights podcast, which Taylor announced the life of showgirl on a Pinocchio figurine, sat behind them on the shelf. 107 00:09:01,582.87521266 --> 00:09:04,282.87521266 That was likely an Easter egg for this song both. 108 00:09:04,492.87521266 --> 00:09:14,932.87521266 In the wood construction and in the Falling Star Lyric, the full lyrics of that song are when you Wish Upon A star makes no difference who you are. 109 00:09:14,932.87521266 --> 00:09:20,32.87521266 Anything your heart desires will come to you if your heart is in your dream. 110 00:09:20,92.87521266 --> 00:09:23,662.87521266 No request is to extreme when you wish upon a star. 111 00:09:23,722.87521266 --> 00:09:26,542.87521266 As dreamers do, fate is kind. 112 00:09:26,602.87521266 --> 00:09:35,202.87521266 She brings those to love the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing, like a bolt out of the blue fate steps in and sees you through. 113 00:09:35,832.87521266 --> 00:09:38,802.87521266 When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true. 114 00:09:38,802.87521266 --> 00:09:42,192.87521266 This old song actually sums up all of the themes of this album. 115 00:09:42,192.87521266 --> 00:09:51,342.87521266 A sudden change of fate, longings fulfilled, the prophecy changed, and all these previous wishes never did me any good. 116 00:09:51,342.87521266 --> 00:09:51,942.87521266 She says. 117 00:09:52,347.87521266 --> 00:09:57,987.87521266 Because fate was always in charge and fate decided when it was time to turn the tables. 118 00:09:57,987.87521266 --> 00:09:59,127.87521266 I ain't got a knock on wood. 119 00:09:59,127.87521266 --> 00:09:59,637.87521266 She repeats. 120 00:09:59,637.87521266 --> 00:10:07,557.87521266 She no longer has to tempt fate or ward off bad luck because what she has and has always wanted is right in front of her. 121 00:10:09,57.87521266 --> 00:10:12,567.87521266 She goes on, it's you and me forever dancing in the dark. 122 00:10:13,92.87521266 --> 00:10:24,807.87521266 This phrase has a double meaning because it both refers to bedroom activities, which she's really gonna get into the next verse, and the iconic Bruce Springsteen song, dancing in the Dark. 123 00:10:26,472.87521266 --> 00:10:31,2.87521266 That song, like much of the life of Showgirl, was Springsteen's confession. 124 00:10:31,62.87521266 --> 00:10:35,322.87521266 That fame isn't always fulfilling in the lyrics. 125 00:10:35,322.87521266 --> 00:10:44,712.87521266 He searches for inspiration in love when his professional life hits a roadblock, and he's hoping that even scraps of romance will help him reach contentment. 126 00:10:45,402.87521266 --> 00:10:49,332.87521266 So for Springsteen, dancing in the dark means a bit of excitement. 127 00:10:49,662.87521266 --> 00:10:58,602.87521266 Even if it doesn't lead anywhere, even if the path doesn't light up before him, he can have this temporary bit of happiness. 128 00:10:58,962.87521266 --> 00:11:05,772.87521266 Taylor says they're forever dancing in the dark, which could just flat out mean that, you know, you'll always be my bed partner. 129 00:11:06,402.87521266 --> 00:11:10,482.87521266 Or it could mean I don't know where we're going, but we're going there together. 130 00:11:10,482.87521266 --> 00:11:13,242.87521266 She concludes the first chorus with all over me. 131 00:11:13,272.87521266 --> 00:11:14,142.87521266 It's understood. 132 00:11:14,292.87521266 --> 00:11:21,282.87521266 I ain't gonna knock on wood, so as they dance in the dark, her lover is all over me. 133 00:11:21,912.87521266 --> 00:11:31,767.87521266 But you can also read this as it's all over for me, as in I don't need to go searching anymore because I've found everything I want and it's right here. 134 00:11:31,767.87521266 --> 00:11:41,337.87521266 If there were only twinges of innuendo in the lyrics up until this point, she goes full throttle in the post chorus and that begins, forgive me, it sounds cocky. 135 00:11:41,397.87521266 --> 00:11:45,27.87521266 He ah-matized me and opened my eyes. 136 00:11:45,687.87521266 --> 00:11:48,237.87521266 So it sounds cocky is a double entendre. 137 00:11:48,237.87521266 --> 00:11:49,827.87521266 On one hand means, sorry. 138 00:11:49,947.87521266 --> 00:11:58,137.87521266 I don't mean to be boastful or bragging about this new love that I found, but on the other hand, cocky refers to his manhood. 139 00:11:58,137.87521266 --> 00:12:00,117.87521266 This is the first real hint we get. 140 00:12:00,717.87521266 --> 00:12:05,697.87521266 If you know you haven't read ahead by now, that wood is also a double entendre. 141 00:12:05,697.87521266 --> 00:12:13,497.87521266 He ah-matized me, alludes to hypnotism, which ties into the mystical superstitious themes of this song. 142 00:12:14,67.87521266 --> 00:12:21,357.87521266 But what she means, but doesn't say out loud is he stigmatized me or he showed me pleasure in the sheets that I didn't know was possible. 143 00:12:22,602.87521266 --> 00:12:33,462.87521266 Open my eyes describes this newfound world of sexual gratification, but also describes how this lover has changed her entire outlook on fate and superstition. 144 00:12:33,462.87521266 --> 00:12:36,852.87521266 She goes on redwood tree, it ain't hard to see. 145 00:12:37,542.87521266 --> 00:12:39,912.87521266 So here the innuendo isn't subtle at all. 146 00:12:39,962.87521266 --> 00:12:42,392.87521266 She's comparing his manhood to a redwood tree. 147 00:12:43,562.87521266 --> 00:12:48,572.87521266 Redwoods are of course, one of the largest living organisms on the planet, known for their. 148 00:12:49,307.87521266 --> 00:12:53,327.87521266 New heights as well as they're girth. 149 00:12:54,257.87521266 --> 00:12:55,877.87521266 I hate that word, but I had to say it. 150 00:12:55,877.87521266 --> 00:13:01,787.87521266 It ain't hard to see, is a cheeky nod to how large and in charge he is. 151 00:13:01,847.87521266 --> 00:13:05,237.87521266 But it also means like obviously this person is right for me. 152 00:13:05,237.87521266 --> 00:13:07,337.87521266 It's not hard to see that we are perfect together. 153 00:13:08,447.87521266 --> 00:13:12,827.87521266 She closes the post chorus with his love was the key that opened my thighs. 154 00:13:13,277.87521266 --> 00:13:20,237.87521266 So here she's talking about both sexual pleasure and his romantic love for her, and they kind of go hand in hand throughout this whole song. 155 00:13:20,957.87521266 --> 00:13:23,657.87521266 She's finally found a best friend who I think is hot. 156 00:13:23,687.87521266 --> 00:13:31,937.87521266 So the key that opened my thighs means he's not only incredible in the sack, but he's also found the key to her heart. 157 00:13:32,852.87521266 --> 00:13:42,472.87521266 And if it's locked inside my memory and only you possess, the key beyond the door is pleasure and happiness beyond both of their wildest dreams. 158 00:13:43,462.87521266 --> 00:13:49,612.87521266 There's a very short second verse, which is kind of an odd structure for Taylor, but it works here to give us a little bit more backstory. 159 00:13:49,652.87521266 --> 00:13:56,432.87521266 And that very short second verse is, girls, I don't need to catch the bouquet to know a hard rock is on the way. 160 00:13:56,432.87521266 --> 00:14:04,562.87521266 So on the surface, this means that she doesn't need the wedding superstition of the bridesmaid, catching the bouquet to know that she'll be the next one to get married. 161 00:14:05,192.87521266 --> 00:14:06,542.87521266 She knows she'll get that ring. 162 00:14:06,902.87521266 --> 00:14:13,532.87521266 And funny enough or fated enough, this line actually predicts what happened to her in her personal life. 163 00:14:13,532.87521266 --> 00:14:27,302.87521266 She wrote the song before Travis proposed, I'm assuming, with a very large rock, but it's also another double entendre an engagement ring is on the way, but so is a very hard piece of manhood. 164 00:14:27,302.87521266 --> 00:14:35,582.87521266 The second pre-chorus repeats, and baby, I'll admit, I've been a little superstitious, and then the curse on me was broken by your magic wand. 165 00:14:35,582.87521266 --> 00:14:38,612.87521266 The magic wand is of course, another innuendo. 166 00:14:39,302.87521266 --> 00:14:45,992.87521266 It's a redwood tree by any other name, but the curse is something that she sung about before, seriously, in the prophecy. 167 00:14:46,877.87521266 --> 00:14:50,537.87521266 Where she thought she caught lightning in a bottle, but then it just keeps disappearing. 168 00:14:50,537.87521266 --> 00:15:00,827.87521266 This curse has been broken by this magician, and she also referred to this new lover as kind of magician in the fate of Ophelia, where you were just honing your powers. 169 00:15:01,607.87521266 --> 00:15:08,417.87521266 So with a wave of his quote unquote magic wand, the spell is broken and our princess is saved. 170 00:15:08,687.87521266 --> 00:15:09,827.87521266 Tale as old as time. 171 00:15:10,817.87521266 --> 00:15:12,977.87521266 Seems that you and me, we make our own luck. 172 00:15:13,7.87521266 --> 00:15:17,357.87521266 She repeats, but then she changes the line that follows new heights of manhood. 173 00:15:17,957.87521266 --> 00:15:19,127.87521266 I ain't got a knock on wood. 174 00:15:20,297.87521266 --> 00:15:27,887.87521266 New heights is of course, Travis and Jason Kelsey's podcast on which Taylor appeared and announced this album. 175 00:15:28,187.87521266 --> 00:15:33,617.87521266 But this is also a double entendre and it's another name for his manhood, but there's also something. 176 00:15:34,412.87521266 --> 00:15:40,82.87521266 Sincere about this lyric as a reply to the smallest man who ever lived. 177 00:15:40,772.87521266 --> 00:15:42,782.87521266 He's the tallest man who ever lived. 178 00:15:43,622.87521266 --> 00:15:47,882.87521266 The smallest man who ever lived didn't measure up to any measure of a man. 179 00:15:48,362.87521266 --> 00:15:58,442.87521266 But this new man is new heights of what a man can and should be, and together they make their own luck and it's new heights of what she thought was even possible. 180 00:15:59,672.87521266 --> 00:16:06,512.87521266 The chorus and the post chorus repeat, and by the end we can see that for our showgirl, the sky is a limit When it comes to happiness and contentment. 181 00:16:06,512.87521266 --> 00:16:11,732.87521266 There are no more cracks to step on or pennies to toss or daisies to pluck. 182 00:16:12,482.87521266 --> 00:16:18,662.87521266 She no longer has to knock on hollow wood of any other man or any other Pinocchio who wants to be a real boy. 183 00:16:19,577.87521266 --> 00:16:30,467.87521266 Because what she has standing right in front of her is solid and secure and immovable like a redwood tree, and as full of innuendo and humor as the song is, it's also sweet. 184 00:16:30,527.87521266 --> 00:16:33,947.87521266 She wished upon a star and then all the stars aligned. 185 00:16:35,117.87521266 --> 00:16:37,517.87521266 But here she can see that none of it was accidental. 186 00:16:37,517.87521266 --> 00:16:41,507.8752127 It was fated and all of the heartbreaks and feeling cursed. 187 00:16:42,137.8752127 --> 00:16:45,317.8752127 That's all over because he changed the prophecy. 188 00:16:47,102.8752127 --> 00:16:53,282.8752127 That's it for my analysis of wood and please like and subscribe so you don't miss my next episode where we are diving into canceled. 189 00:16:53,942.8752127 --> 00:16:56,582.8752127 That song is a bit more surprising than you might think. 190 00:16:57,272.8752127 --> 00:17:00,182.8752127 All of this content is available on my website, swiftly song stories.com. 191 00:17:00,692.8752127 --> 00:17:04,352.8752127 Thank you so much for being here and for spending your valuable time with me. 192 00:17:04,352.8752127 --> 00:17:06,842.8752127 I appreciate it more than you will ever know. 193 00:17:07,832.8752127 --> 00:17:10,622.8752127 That is all for now and we will see you in the next track. 194 00:17:10,622.8752127 --> 00:17:12,932.8752127 That's it for this chapter of Swiftly Sung Stories. 195 00:17:12,992.8752127 --> 00:17:16,712.8752127 If you enjoyed this deep dive, please don't forget to follow, subscribe, or leave a review. 196 00:17:16,772.8752127 --> 00:17:18,812.8752127 It helps other Swifties find their way here. 197 00:17:18,962.8752127 --> 00:17:21,782.8752127 I'm Jen and I had a marvelous time reading everything with you. 198 00:17:21,902.8752127 --> 00:17:22,412.8752127 See you next time.
Hey everyone.
(00:00):
Welcome back to the Swiftly Song Stories podcast.
I'm your host, Jen, your Swiftie English teacher, and today we are tackling Track nine in my track by track analysis of the life of Showgirl, and we are diving straight into wood.
This is one of the funniest and cheekiest tracks Taylor has ever written, but is it just straight up sexual satire or is she erecting.
(00:23):
Something more complex in these lyrics.
We're gonna get into that and more line by line.
In my last few episodes, I analyzed Taylor's prologue poem and the first eight tracks of this album, so go check those out.
It lays a lot of groundwork for understanding all of the themes and motifs that Taylor's exploring in this album.
Also, all of this content is available on my website if you want the text version with the annotated lyrics.
(00:45):
If you're watching this on YouTube, you can also find me wherever you get your podcasts and vice versa.
Okay.
First let's lay a little foundation of the themes within the song, and then we will roll into our dissection of wood line by line. 13 00:01:00,759.552144483 --> 00:01:06,459.552144483 Welcome to swiftly sung Stories where we unpack the Taylor Swift Universe one era album and lyric at a time. 14 00:01:06,639.552144483 --> 00:01:10,959.552144483 Think of it like English class, but it's all Taylor Swift and none of the boring stuff. 15 00:01:11,409.552144483 --> 00:01:16,809.552144483 I'm Jen, your Swifty English teacher and classes in session, so come on in and meet me in the margins. 16 00:01:17,95.552144483 --> 00:01:25,735.552144483 So the whole shtick of this song is using superstitions and double entendres and sometimes superstitions as double entendres. 17 00:01:26,95.552144483 --> 00:01:32,605.552144483 So a double entendre is just when something would have two different meanings, and one of the meanings is risque. 18 00:01:33,385.552144483 --> 00:01:44,515.55214448 So the song is funny and it's lighthearted, but it's also still well within the central themes of the album, which is what could have been versus what is now. 19 00:01:44,725.55214448 --> 00:01:50,965.55214448 She's been thinking a lot about fate on this album and in past albums and many of the tracks on showgirl. 20 00:01:50,965.55214448 --> 00:01:58,115.55214448 She's pondering how she got to where she is today, what wasn't fated versus what was fated. 21 00:01:58,630.55214448 --> 00:02:03,820.55214448 And what it means to choose one path and not take the other in wood. 22 00:02:03,820.55214448 --> 00:02:08,830.55214448 She's taking a more lighthearted approach to this whole idea of fate and destiny. 23 00:02:08,830.55214448 --> 00:02:20,620.55214448 She looks at her past superstitions, comparing them to her present circumstances, and through humor and hyperbole, she's contrasting her past self and her present self. 24 00:02:21,365.55214448 --> 00:02:30,785.55214448 So while the song might seem a bit out of pocket upon first listen, it's still fairly consistent with all of the themes she's presented in showgirl so far. 25 00:02:31,865.55214448 --> 00:02:43,415.55214448 Before I go into detail, a quick PSA, I only discuss Taylor's personal life in my lyrical analysis when it's essential to understanding the song or when it just really helps us put the lyrics into context. 26 00:02:43,415.55214448 --> 00:02:46,355.55214448 I'm not here to discover what Taylor did. 27 00:02:46,385.55214448 --> 00:02:47,990.55214448 I'm not here to discover what Travis did. 28 00:02:48,600.55214448 --> 00:02:53,370.55214448 I'm just here to look at the art and the writing and see what that does. 29 00:02:54,270.55214448 --> 00:03:01,590.55214448 I'm also dissecting Taylor's lyrics through my lens and my opinion, and that doesn't have to be your lens and your opinion. 30 00:03:02,250.55214448 --> 00:03:05,340.55214448 All art is subjective and it means different things to different people. 31 00:03:05,520.55214448 --> 00:03:14,550.55214448 So in this analysis, I'm not saying that everything I say is true or fact, I'm just here to point out different interpretations and you can draw your own conclusions. 32 00:03:14,940.55214448 --> 00:03:16,200.55214448 So take what resonates. 33 00:03:16,475.55214448 --> 00:03:19,325.55214448 Leave the rest and let me know what you think in the comments. 34 00:03:20,615.55214448 --> 00:03:24,275.55214448 So the first verse of wood begins, Daisy's bare naked. 35 00:03:24,395.55214448 --> 00:03:25,385.55214448 I was distraught. 36 00:03:26,555.55214448 --> 00:03:31,930.55214448 At first, we're thinking, who is Daisy? Is this a character? Kind of and kind of not. 37 00:03:32,230.55214448 --> 00:03:36,940.55214448 So she's picking the petals off of the Daisy playing the, he loves me. 38 00:03:36,970.55214448 --> 00:03:37,540.55214448 He loves me. 39 00:03:37,540.55214448 --> 00:03:43,470.55214448 Not game, but all the petals have been plucked off, and the daisy is now naked with no petals. 40 00:03:43,900.55214448 --> 00:03:48,820.55214448 She's landed on, he loves me not, and she's distraught because of this. 41 00:03:49,555.55214448 --> 00:03:59,595.55214448 This is both a way of setting up the sexual themes with using Bare Naked to describe the Daisy and a real look back at where she was in the past. 42 00:04:00,465.55214448 --> 00:04:01,245.55214448 And in the past. 43 00:04:01,245.55214448 --> 00:04:04,295.55214448 She has used this same metaphor before in your, on your own kid. 44 00:04:04,295.55214448 --> 00:04:06,275.55214448 She says, I picked the petals. 45 00:04:06,455.55214448 --> 00:04:07,535.55214448 He loves me not. 46 00:04:08,255.55214448 --> 00:04:25,415.55214448 Those are almost exactly the same line and in wood, she could either be referring to you're on your own kid or where she was during the whole midnights era, or she could be referring to how she's done this over and over, hoping for a different result. 47 00:04:25,445.55214448 --> 00:04:31,500.55214448 Picking the petals, which really means looking for love to be reciprocated, but it never is. 48 00:04:32,435.55214448 --> 00:04:34,85.55214448 And that's the definition of insanity. 49 00:04:34,85.55214448 --> 00:04:42,35.55214448 Doing the same thing over and over and hoping for a different result, which he or she describes not as insane, but as distraught. 50 00:04:43,295.55214448 --> 00:04:43,925.55214448 She repeats. 51 00:04:43,925.55214448 --> 00:04:46,325.55214448 He loves me, not, he loves me not. 52 00:04:46,715.55214448 --> 00:04:48,425.55214448 This is intentional. 53 00:04:49,25.55214448 --> 00:04:54,905.55214448 It mirrors wishlist where she says, I thought I had it right once, twice, but I did not. 54 00:04:55,685.55214448 --> 00:05:00,5.55214448 So twice before she thought she'd be loved and twice she was wrong. 55 00:05:01,100.55214448 --> 00:05:03,140.55214448 She goes on with another superstition. 56 00:05:03,710.55214448 --> 00:05:04,820.55214448 Penny's unlucky. 57 00:05:05,60.55214448 --> 00:05:06,20.55214448 I took him back. 58 00:05:06,20.55214448 --> 00:05:08,0.55214448 Now she's playing the old find a penny. 59 00:05:08,150.55214448 --> 00:05:08,540.55214448 Pick it up. 60 00:05:08,540.55214448 --> 00:05:10,340.55214448 And all day long you'll have good luck game. 61 00:05:11,210.55214448 --> 00:05:16,70.55214448 Some people believe that finding the penny heads up is good luck and tails is bad luck. 62 00:05:16,670.55214448 --> 00:05:29,440.55214448 She seems to have found this penny in the unlucky position and she takes back an old lover amidst this spate of bad omens and then her bad luck continues and then stepped on a crack and the black cat laughed. 63 00:05:29,440.55214448 --> 00:05:30,670.55214448 Stepping on a crack is another. 64 00:05:30,670.55214448 --> 00:05:32,890.55214448 Superstition considered a bad omen. 65 00:05:33,370.55214448 --> 00:05:35,410.55214448 Uh, step on a crack break your mother's back. 66 00:05:35,410.55214448 --> 00:05:36,310.55214448 That old rhyme. 67 00:05:37,405.55214448 --> 00:05:42,655.55214448 And the black cat crossing her path is also considered bad luck in some cultures. 68 00:05:42,655.55214448 --> 00:05:46,15.55214448 But black cats are also considered good fortune in other cultures. 69 00:05:46,495.55214448 --> 00:05:51,475.55214448 So whatever this cat is, good or bad, it laughs at her misfortune. 70 00:05:51,475.55214448 --> 00:05:56,545.55214448 She can't catch a break no matter how many cracks and cats she avoids. 71 00:05:57,805.55214448 --> 00:06:00,470.55214448 By the way, she's written this first verse by using. 72 00:06:01,225.55214448 --> 00:06:06,445.55214448 Daisy and Penny both as nouns and as names, which is really interesting. 73 00:06:06,955.55214448 --> 00:06:11,125.55214448 And a lot of the themes in this album are about past and present self. 74 00:06:11,125.55214448 --> 00:06:25,435.55214448 This duality within her, it's the showgirl versus the girl, and it's almost as if she is naming these past versions of herself, the version that took him back or was distraught or stepped on a crack. 75 00:06:25,495.55214448 --> 00:06:28,315.55214448 That's Penny and that's Daisy, as in. 76 00:06:28,865.55214448 --> 00:06:37,835.55214448 Old versions of Taylor, but in any case, she's about to tell us why she's thrown out all of these superstitions and rituals in the first pre-chorus. 77 00:06:38,637.87521266 --> 00:06:41,727.87521266 And baby, I'll admit I've been a little superstitious. 78 00:06:42,362.87521266 --> 00:06:56,402.87521266 Not only has she laid out all of her superstitions in the previous verse, but we know that Taylor herself is heavy into numerology and astrology and has the lucky number 13, which is normally a number that the wider world perceives as unlucky. 79 00:06:56,822.87521266 --> 00:06:59,132.87521266 So superstition is a big part of her career. 80 00:06:59,282.87521266 --> 00:07:01,562.87521266 So here she's saying, I've been a little superstitious. 81 00:07:01,562.87521266 --> 00:07:02,912.87521266 It's it's hyperbole. 82 00:07:02,912.87521266 --> 00:07:04,592.87521266 She's been a lot superstitious. 83 00:07:05,312.87521266 --> 00:07:08,312.87521266 So she goes on, fingers crossed until you put your hand on mine. 84 00:07:08,957.87521266 --> 00:07:14,357.87521266 Um, she was crossing her fingers hoping that her luck would turn around in the love department. 85 00:07:15,227.87521266 --> 00:07:22,487.87521266 It all changed when he metaphorically placed his hand on hers, and this imagery is really potent. 86 00:07:22,907.87521266 --> 00:07:29,717.87521266 We can imagine her crossing her fingers and then this new love comes and places his hand on hers. 87 00:07:29,717.87521266 --> 00:07:35,627.87521266 With this kind of Midas touch, it's calming, and it's broken this spate of bad luck. 88 00:07:35,837.87521266 --> 00:07:37,787.87521266 She can uncross her fingers now. 89 00:07:38,672.87521266 --> 00:07:41,642.87521266 It seems that you and me, we make our own luck. 90 00:07:41,672.87521266 --> 00:07:49,162.87521266 She goes on, they don't need these superstitious rituals anymore because their combined power is stronger than luck or whatever. 91 00:07:49,162.87521266 --> 00:07:54,772.87521266 Force brought them together, like she talks about in the fate of Ophelia, is stronger than luck. 92 00:07:54,922.87521266 --> 00:07:57,352.87521266 It's cosmic or karmic. 93 00:07:58,222.87521266 --> 00:07:59,662.87521266 A bad sign is all good. 94 00:07:59,662.87521266 --> 00:08:00,532.87521266 She continues. 95 00:08:00,622.87521266 --> 00:08:01,762.87521266 I ain't gonna knock on wood. 96 00:08:02,662.87521266 --> 00:08:07,522.87521266 So now that she's in the comfort of this new secure place, bad signs don't scare her anymore. 97 00:08:07,522.87521266 --> 00:08:10,942.87521266 Superstitions don't scare her anymore, and she's given them up. 98 00:08:11,602.87521266 --> 00:08:14,392.87521266 She doesn't have to knock on wood anymore to bring herself luck. 99 00:08:15,292.87521266 --> 00:08:22,702.87521266 But the last line also sets up the central metaphor slash double entendre of the song, which she will expand upon later. 100 00:08:22,702.87521266 --> 00:08:23,992.87521266 The first chorus begins. 101 00:08:23,992.87521266 --> 00:08:27,802.87521266 All that bitching and wishing on a falling star never did me any good. 102 00:08:28,222.87521266 --> 00:08:40,192.87521266 So all of these previous superstitious rituals never worked, and she can see that now all that bitching is probably referring to the previous longings of midnights and TTPD. 103 00:08:40,192.87521266 --> 00:08:43,852.87521266 It was her attempt at trying to turn the tides, but it was never gonna work. 104 00:08:44,692.87521266 --> 00:08:47,662.87521266 And to wish upon a star is an old superstition. 105 00:08:47,662.87521266 --> 00:08:53,542.87521266 But the phrase was really popularized by Disney's 1940 animated feature Pinocchio. 106 00:08:53,722.87521266 --> 00:09:01,192.87521266 And in the New Heights podcast, which Taylor announced the life of showgirl on a Pinocchio figurine, sat behind them on the shelf. 107 00:09:01,582.87521266 --> 00:09:04,282.87521266 That was likely an Easter egg for this song both. 108 00:09:04,492.87521266 --> 00:09:14,932.87521266 In the wood construction and in the Falling Star Lyric, the full lyrics of that song are when you Wish Upon A star makes no difference who you are. 109 00:09:14,932.87521266 --> 00:09:20,32.87521266 Anything your heart desires will come to you if your heart is in your dream. 110 00:09:20,92.87521266 --> 00:09:23,662.87521266 No request is to extreme when you wish upon a star. 111 00:09:23,722.87521266 --> 00:09:26,542.87521266 As dreamers do, fate is kind. 112 00:09:26,602.87521266 --> 00:09:35,202.87521266 She brings those to love the sweet fulfillment of their secret longing, like a bolt out of the blue fate steps in and sees you through. 113 00:09:35,832.87521266 --> 00:09:38,802.87521266 When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true. 114 00:09:38,802.87521266 --> 00:09:42,192.87521266 This old song actually sums up all of the themes of this album. 115 00:09:42,192.87521266 --> 00:09:51,342.87521266 A sudden change of fate, longings fulfilled, the prophecy changed, and all these previous wishes never did me any good. 116 00:09:51,342.87521266 --> 00:09:51,942.87521266 She says. 117 00:09:52,347.87521266 --> 00:09:57,987.87521266 Because fate was always in charge and fate decided when it was time to turn the tables. 118 00:09:57,987.87521266 --> 00:09:59,127.87521266 I ain't got a knock on wood. 119 00:09:59,127.87521266 --> 00:09:59,637.87521266 She repeats. 120 00:09:59,637.87521266 --> 00:10:07,557.87521266 She no longer has to tempt fate or ward off bad luck because what she has and has always wanted is right in front of her. 121 00:10:09,57.87521266 --> 00:10:12,567.87521266 She goes on, it's you and me forever dancing in the dark. 122 00:10:13,92.87521266 --> 00:10:24,807.87521266 This phrase has a double meaning because it both refers to bedroom activities, which she's really gonna get into the next verse, and the iconic Bruce Springsteen song, dancing in the Dark. 123 00:10:26,472.87521266 --> 00:10:31,2.87521266 That song, like much of the life of Showgirl, was Springsteen's confession. 124 00:10:31,62.87521266 --> 00:10:35,322.87521266 That fame isn't always fulfilling in the lyrics. 125 00:10:35,322.87521266 --> 00:10:44,712.87521266 He searches for inspiration in love when his professional life hits a roadblock, and he's hoping that even scraps of romance will help him reach contentment. 126 00:10:45,402.87521266 --> 00:10:49,332.87521266 So for Springsteen, dancing in the dark means a bit of excitement. 127 00:10:49,662.87521266 --> 00:10:58,602.87521266 Even if it doesn't lead anywhere, even if the path doesn't light up before him, he can have this temporary bit of happiness. 128 00:10:58,962.87521266 --> 00:11:05,772.87521266 Taylor says they're forever dancing in the dark, which could just flat out mean that, you know, you'll always be my bed partner. 129 00:11:06,402.87521266 --> 00:11:10,482.87521266 Or it could mean I don't know where we're going, but we're going there together. 130 00:11:10,482.87521266 --> 00:11:13,242.87521266 She concludes the first chorus with all over me. 131 00:11:13,272.87521266 --> 00:11:14,142.87521266 It's understood. 132 00:11:14,292.87521266 --> 00:11:21,282.87521266 I ain't gonna knock on wood, so as they dance in the dark, her lover is all over me. 133 00:11:21,912.87521266 --> 00:11:31,767.87521266 But you can also read this as it's all over for me, as in I don't need to go searching anymore because I've found everything I want and it's right here. 134 00:11:31,767.87521266 --> 00:11:41,337.87521266 If there were only twinges of innuendo in the lyrics up until this point, she goes full throttle in the post chorus and that begins, forgive me, it sounds cocky. 135 00:11:41,397.87521266 --> 00:11:45,27.87521266 He ah-matized me and opened my eyes. 136 00:11:45,687.87521266 --> 00:11:48,237.87521266 So it sounds cocky is a double entendre. 137 00:11:48,237.87521266 --> 00:11:49,827.87521266 On one hand means, sorry. 138 00:11:49,947.87521266 --> 00:11:58,137.87521266 I don't mean to be boastful or bragging about this new love that I found, but on the other hand, cocky refers to his manhood. 139 00:11:58,137.87521266 --> 00:12:00,117.87521266 This is the first real hint we get. 140 00:12:00,717.87521266 --> 00:12:05,697.87521266 If you know you haven't read ahead by now, that wood is also a double entendre. 141 00:12:05,697.87521266 --> 00:12:13,497.87521266 He ah-matized me, alludes to hypnotism, which ties into the mystical superstitious themes of this song. 142 00:12:14,67.87521266 --> 00:12:21,357.87521266 But what she means, but doesn't say out loud is he stigmatized me or he showed me pleasure in the sheets that I didn't know was possible. 143 00:12:22,602.87521266 --> 00:12:33,462.87521266 Open my eyes describes this newfound world of sexual gratification, but also describes how this lover has changed her entire outlook on fate and superstition. 144 00:12:33,462.87521266 --> 00:12:36,852.87521266 She goes on redwood tree, it ain't hard to see. 145 00:12:37,542.87521266 --> 00:12:39,912.87521266 So here the innuendo isn't subtle at all. 146 00:12:39,962.87521266 --> 00:12:42,392.87521266 She's comparing his manhood to a redwood tree. 147 00:12:43,562.87521266 --> 00:12:48,572.87521266 Redwoods are of course, one of the largest living organisms on the planet, known for their. 148 00:12:49,307.87521266 --> 00:12:53,327.87521266 New heights as well as they're girth. 149 00:12:54,257.87521266 --> 00:12:55,877.87521266 I hate that word, but I had to say it. 150 00:12:55,877.87521266 --> 00:13:01,787.87521266 It ain't hard to see, is a cheeky nod to how large and in charge he is. 151 00:13:01,847.87521266 --> 00:13:05,237.87521266 But it also means like obviously this person is right for me. 152 00:13:05,237.87521266 --> 00:13:07,337.87521266 It's not hard to see that we are perfect together. 153 00:13:08,447.87521266 --> 00:13:12,827.87521266 She closes the post chorus with his love was the key that opened my thighs. 154 00:13:13,277.87521266 --> 00:13:20,237.87521266 So here she's talking about both sexual pleasure and his romantic love for her, and they kind of go hand in hand throughout this whole song. 155 00:13:20,957.87521266 --> 00:13:23,657.87521266 She's finally found a best friend who I think is hot. 156 00:13:23,687.87521266 --> 00:13:31,937.87521266 So the key that opened my thighs means he's not only incredible in the sack, but he's also found the key to her heart. 157 00:13:32,852.87521266 --> 00:13:42,472.87521266 And if it's locked inside my memory and only you possess, the key beyond the door is pleasure and happiness beyond both of their wildest dreams. 158 00:13:43,462.87521266 --> 00:13:49,612.87521266 There's a very short second verse, which is kind of an odd structure for Taylor, but it works here to give us a little bit more backstory. 159 00:13:49,652.87521266 --> 00:13:56,432.87521266 And that very short second verse is, girls, I don't need to catch the bouquet to know a hard rock is on the way. 160 00:13:56,432.87521266 --> 00:14:04,562.87521266 So on the surface, this means that she doesn't need the wedding superstition of the bridesmaid, catching the bouquet to know that she'll be the next one to get married. 161 00:14:05,192.87521266 --> 00:14:06,542.87521266 She knows she'll get that ring. 162 00:14:06,902.87521266 --> 00:14:13,532.87521266 And funny enough or fated enough, this line actually predicts what happened to her in her personal life. 163 00:14:13,532.87521266 --> 00:14:27,302.87521266 She wrote the song before Travis proposed, I'm assuming, with a very large rock, but it's also another double entendre an engagement ring is on the way, but so is a very hard piece of manhood. 164 00:14:27,302.87521266 --> 00:14:35,582.87521266 The second pre-chorus repeats, and baby, I'll admit, I've been a little superstitious, and then the curse on me was broken by your magic wand. 165 00:14:35,582.87521266 --> 00:14:38,612.87521266 The magic wand is of course, another innuendo. 166 00:14:39,302.87521266 --> 00:14:45,992.87521266 It's a redwood tree by any other name, but the curse is something that she sung about before, seriously, in the prophecy. 167 00:14:46,877.87521266 --> 00:14:50,537.87521266 Where she thought she caught lightning in a bottle, but then it just keeps disappearing. 168 00:14:50,537.87521266 --> 00:15:00,827.87521266 This curse has been broken by this magician, and she also referred to this new lover as kind of magician in the fate of Ophelia, where you were just honing your powers. 169 00:15:01,607.87521266 --> 00:15:08,417.87521266 So with a wave of his quote unquote magic wand, the spell is broken and our princess is saved. 170 00:15:08,687.87521266 --> 00:15:09,827.87521266 Tale as old as time. 171 00:15:10,817.87521266 --> 00:15:12,977.87521266 Seems that you and me, we make our own luck. 172 00:15:13,7.87521266 --> 00:15:17,357.87521266 She repeats, but then she changes the line that follows new heights of manhood. 173 00:15:17,957.87521266 --> 00:15:19,127.87521266 I ain't got a knock on wood. 174 00:15:20,297.87521266 --> 00:15:27,887.87521266 New heights is of course, Travis and Jason Kelsey's podcast on which Taylor appeared and announced this album. 175 00:15:28,187.87521266 --> 00:15:33,617.87521266 But this is also a double entendre and it's another name for his manhood, but there's also something. 176 00:15:34,412.87521266 --> 00:15:40,82.87521266 Sincere about this lyric as a reply to the smallest man who ever lived. 177 00:15:40,772.87521266 --> 00:15:42,782.87521266 He's the tallest man who ever lived. 178 00:15:43,622.87521266 --> 00:15:47,882.87521266 The smallest man who ever lived didn't measure up to any measure of a man. 179 00:15:48,362.87521266 --> 00:15:58,442.87521266 But this new man is new heights of what a man can and should be, and together they make their own luck and it's new heights of what she thought was even possible. 180 00:15:59,672.87521266 --> 00:16:06,512.87521266 The chorus and the post chorus repeat, and by the end we can see that for our showgirl, the sky is a limit When it comes to happiness and contentment. 181 00:16:06,512.87521266 --> 00:16:11,732.87521266 There are no more cracks to step on or pennies to toss or daisies to pluck. 182 00:16:12,482.87521266 --> 00:16:18,662.87521266 She no longer has to knock on hollow wood of any other man or any other Pinocchio who wants to be a real boy. 183 00:16:19,577.87521266 --> 00:16:30,467.87521266 Because what she has standing right in front of her is solid and secure and immovable like a redwood tree, and as full of innuendo and humor as the song is, it's also sweet. 184 00:16:30,527.87521266 --> 00:16:33,947.87521266 She wished upon a star and then all the stars aligned. 185 00:16:35,117.87521266 --> 00:16:37,517.87521266 But here she can see that none of it was accidental. 186 00:16:37,517.87521266 --> 00:16:41,507.8752127 It was fated and all of the heartbreaks and feeling cursed. 187 00:16:42,137.8752127 --> 00:16:45,317.8752127 That's all over because he changed the prophecy. 188 00:16:47,102.8752127 --> 00:16:53,282.8752127 That's it for my analysis of wood and please like and subscribe so you don't miss my next episode where we are diving into canceled. 189 00:16:53,942.8752127 --> 00:16:56,582.8752127 That song is a bit more surprising than you might think. 190 00:16:57,272.8752127 --> 00:17:00,182.8752127 All of this content is available on my website, swiftly song stories.com. 191 00:17:00,692.8752127 --> 00:17:04,352.8752127 Thank you so much for being here and for spending your valuable time with me. 192 00:17:04,352.8752127 --> 00:17:06,842.8752127 I appreciate it more than you will ever know. 193 00:17:07,832.8752127 --> 00:17:10,622.8752127 That is all for now and we will see you in the next track. 194 00:17:10,622.8752127 --> 00:17:12,932.8752127 That's it for this chapter of Swiftly Sung Stories. 195 00:17:12,992.8752127 --> 00:17:16,712.8752127 If you enjoyed this deep dive, please don't forget to follow, subscribe, or leave a review. 196 00:17:16,772.8752127 --> 00:17:18,812.8752127 It helps other Swifties find their way here. 197 00:17:18,962.8752127 --> 00:17:21,782.8752127 I'm Jen and I had a marvelous time reading everything with you. 198 00:17:21,902.8752127 --> 00:17:22,412.8752127 See you next time.
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