E18: Deep Dive - Death By a Thousand Cuts

My, my, my, my. We get deep into our feelings on this deep dive today with “Death By a Thousand Cuts,” from Lover. With a title referencing an imperial form of torture, what is this Taylor Swift song really about? As always, our hosts look at the lyrics from very different perspectives based on our own personal experiences, from moving out of a childhood home (“chandelier still flickering here”) to a breakup (“You said it was a great love”) to Spiderman (“I see you everywhere”). We talk about idioms, loss, grief, the emotional burden of pain, and how asking the traffic lights for answers maybe isn’t as far-fetched as some of us originally thought. Will we ever hear this song the same way again? “I don’t know!”

Mentioned in this episode: 

• The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
• “Death By a Thousand Cuts,” Lover (2019)
• “Death By a Thousand Cuts” Tiny Desk Concert
• Wikipedia definition of “death by a thousand cuts”
• Tom Holland’s Umbrella Lip Sync Battle
• Finding Nemo 
• Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
• The Notebook
• Moby Dick, Herman Melville 
• Love Again 
• Someone Great 
• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb 

 

***

Episode Highlights: 

[02:15] Defining “death by a thousand cuts”

[08:18] My, my, my, my: What is this opening?

[15:50] United we stand: The things shared in a relationship 

[20:03] Paper thin plans: Connecting this song to “Paper Rings”

[22:11] Trying to find a part of me you didn't take up: Why this love is so hard to get over 

[28:11] I ask the traffic lights: Looking anywhere for answers

[34:00] It's just a thousand cuts: The purpose of the song

 

Subscribe to get new episode updates: aptaylorswift.substack.com/subscribe

 

Follow us on social! 

• TikTok → tiktok.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Instagram → instagram.com/APTaylorSwift
• YouTube → youtube.com/@APTaylorSwift
• Link Tree → linktr.ee/aptaylorswift
• Bookshop.org → bookshop.org/shop/apts

 

This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.