When searching up the definition of “folklore” on the internet, instead of getting the definition of “folklore”, you get results for Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album folklore. Being my personal favorite of Taylor Swift’s discography, I was first drawn into the album with the song “cardigan”. On March 21, 2021, I was tuned in to the 63rd annual Grammy Awards to watch my true love Harry Styles. But, in addition to being encapsulated by his performance of “Watermelon Sugar”, I was also in awe of Taylor Swift’s performance mashup of “august”, “cardigan”, and “betty”. Not only was it her ability to perform, but it was also the songs themselves, and how beautifully written they were. As said, I first truly connected to Taylor Swift with her song “cardigan”. I had never really connected with her music before that moment. It’s not that I didn’t like it, I just didn’t listen to her. From that moment on, I began to listen to everything Taylor Swift and fall more in love with her work. folklore would slowly, but surely, not only become my favorite Taylor Swift album, but also one of my favorite albums of all time. Though I love a lot of her other music, the storytelling of folklore is what makes it stand out from the others and awards it my favorite. I am fascinated by how Taylor Swift can create such deep and intricate stories through her lyricism. Not discounting that other music artists also create stories in their music, but Taylor Swift crafts lyrics in a way that sets her apart from other artists. Specifically, Taylor Swift’s album folklore generates storytelling and expresses larger themes through the composition of diction and figurative language within its lyrics which also connects to and found in fairy tale stories.
“… My storytelling is what it is for me…” (Miss Americana 2019 0:11:26-0:11:29) Taylor Swift comments on what her artist “niche specialty” is. She approaches her art and craftsmanship to writing lyrics in a unique way that heavily contrasts those of other artists. But it’s just composing words to a beat? What’s so interesting about that? Well, Taylor Swift has three different types of songs she writes: Fountain Pen, Quill Pen, and Glitter Gel Pen. “I came up with these categories based on what writing tool I imagine having in my hand when I scribbled it down…” she reveals at the NSAI’s Songwriter-Artist of the Decade awards. Each lyric type exhibits her writing approach and what kind of story she intends to tell. Taylor Swift then goes on by what means by these three “types of lyrics”.
Firstly quill pen lyrics “…sound like a letter written by Emily Dickinson’s great grandmother while sewing a lace curtain, that’s me writing in the Quill genre…”. In her speech, she references “ivy” from the album evermore as falling into this category. Just from “your touch brought forth an incandescent glow” (0:16-0:19), which demonstrates the warmth of love and care that one brings to another, presents this type of lyric.
Then, “…fountain pen style means a modern storyline or references, with a poetic twist. Taking a common phrase and flipping its meaning. Trying to paint a vivid picture of a situation, down to the chipped paint on the door frame and the incense dust on the vinyl shelf. Placing yourself and whoever is listening right there in the room where it all happened…”. She recalls her epitome fountain pen song is “All Too Well” (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) from the album Red (Taylor’s Version). This track vividly paints an autumn scene of heartbrokenness. The following scene exemplifies this: “Oh, your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze we’re singing in the car, getting lost upstate autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place and I can picture it after all these days” (0:53-1:14). The scene illustrates the naivety of the relationship, and the metaphorical loss destined from the start.
And finally, “…the third category is called Glitter Gel Pen and it lives up to its name in every way. Frivolous, carefree, bouncy, syncopated perfectly to the beat. Glitter Gel Pen lyrics don’t care if you don’t take them seriously because they don’t take themselves seriously. Glitter Gel Pen lyrics are the drunk girl at the party who tells you that you look like an Angel in the bathroom…” (Swift). Sounding similar to “glitter gel pen”, “Bejeweled” from Midnights, fits in this category. Though it contrasts heavily sound-wise from the other two types, “Bejeweled” still fits into the lyric heavy album of Midnights. “Best believe I’m still bejeweled when I walk in the room I can still make the whole place shimmer” (2:24-2:29) is guaranteed to make one feel like a shining diamond as described in the song. This is everything a glitter gel pen song is supposed to do, they’re the type of feel good sing-along songs.
With that said, Taylor Swift’s writing process allows one to better understand the ideology of what goes into the song itself. The lot of folklore fits into the quill pen and fountain pen categories, and has none in the glitter gel pen category. A lot of people can read into her songs too literally, but a lot of the time it’s just the metaphors talking. Similarly to this however, various authors of fairy tales use similar writing techniques with figurative language. And like Taylor Swift, a lot of what you read, is not what it means. There are plentiful underlying themes and messages revealed when delving deep into the true implications of a story that were once not quite so obvious before.
“the last great american dynasty”, is arguably the most underrated track on the album. This track stands out for its detailed storytelling. When listening to the track, you’re not in your car, or your room, or wherever, but on the coast of Rhode Island, living in the story of Rebekah Harkness. The song follows the true story of socialite and heiress Rebekah Harkness, and her lavishness and outgoing reputation. Her reputation proceeds as “filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names and blew through the money on the boys and the ballet and losin’ on card game bets with Dalí” (1:42-1:53). The song expertly describes the lavish parties she would hold at her Rhode Island mansion. It alludes to some of the significant guests that would attend, being renowned Spanish painter Salvador Dalí. She was deemed a “disgrace” to her family name, hence being the last great American dynasty. On that note, a lot of fairy tales are particularly negative towards women. In the tale “Bluebeard”, by Charles Perrault, goes through the liberating confinement of a wife who discovers the past wifes of her new husband. As noted in the introduction by Maria Tatar, “‘Bluebeard’ is a story about a woman’s martial disobedience or sexual infidelity…” (185). Like how “the last great american dynasty” notes how scandalous the infidelity of Rebekah Harkness was at the time of her multiple marriages. This is shown through the writing of dialogue/commentary from the town, “and the town said, “How did a middle-class divorcee do it?” (0:31-0:36). The two pieces go through motifs of disgraceful actions on the woman’s end. How Rebekah Harkness was criticized for her actions, and how the wife in “Bluebeard” was deemed “unloyal” to her husband by entering into the forbidden room, which is a motif for sexual infidelity.
However, Taylor Swift’s intention for the track was to show the elaborate backstory behind the previous owner of her Rhode Island mansion, “Holiday House”, which she reveals after the bridge in the song (2:46-2:48). She doesn’t have malicious intentions towards Rebekah Harkness, but actually admires her courageousness.
On a similar note, the track “mad woman” goes through the misogynistic views of women, by men and women included. As previously stated, fairy tales have a lot of misogynistic views and underlying tones. In the song “mad woman”, the song addresses the ideology of women being called “crazy” or “mad” through normal emotional responses. “Every time you call me crazy I get more crazy what about that? And when you say I seem angry I get more angry” (0:49-0:54). As said, the song goes that only women are considered “mad” for feeling this way. The track also highlights the internalized misogyny in other women as well with the line, “and women like hunting witches, too” (1:56-1:59). Misogyny is something that has been implicated in society since the dawn of time. In folklore: the long pond studio sessions, Taylor Swift references the “gaslighting” that women are expected to absorb from men over centuries (1:05:56-1:07:27). It’s unfortunate to see that the issue is still relevant today with the song “mad woman”, and also in fairy tale stories centuries ago.
“mirrorball”, the most reflective storyline on the album. More traditionally, a disco ball, it’s a “shimmering beautiful” (0:33-037) reflective object. This song is what first prompted me to connect Taylor Swift’s lyrics and songs to fairy tales. When reading Snow White, the significance and meaning of the mirror was a big motif to focus on in the story. For the step-mother, the mirror revealed her true intentions and was a reflection of her true self. In the song “mirrorball”, which is a metaphor for oneself, and how something so beautiful is actually broken down in a million pieces. The song goes through how one tremendously tries to fit into society and how they wish to be perceived. The song can also symbolize how someone can “mirror” another person, but this results in them not being their true self and is behind the image of someone else. This entire song is a big metaphor of revealing how someone can be broken and beautiful, and how genuine that can be. Like, how in Snow White, the step-mother wanted to know the fairest of them all, and how the mirror revealed the truth. Taylor Swift also makes an honest message with how she expertly makes reference to another song on folklore, “this is me trying”, with the line “I’ve never been a natural all I do is try, try, try” (2:51-2:56). How beauty can be fabricated to fit within the reality of exceeding societal pressures of your mirror image. Both Snow White and “mirrorball” use this mirror metaphor to reflect the perception of one’s self image.
“cardigan”, “august”, and “betty”, also known as Betty, Augustine, and James, also known as the folklore love triangle. The three songs, which can all be stand alone songs, have an intertwining love story wrapped in it. “betty” is the story through James’ point of view, the perpetrator, and how he still has feelings for Betty. James cheated on Betty with Augstine. In the song, James claims that it was “the worst thing that I ever did”, was cheating on Betty. The song “august” is in the perspective of Augustine, who was deemed “the other woman” and is who James cheated on Betty with. Taylor Swift comments on “august” in folklore: the long pond studio sessions, and how “the other woman” is usually seen as a villain, but August genuinely loved James and cherished their relationship(0:45:46-0:46:10). At the end of the summer love, Augustine recognized that James was “never mine”. Lastly, “cardigan” is in the perspective of Betty, who was with James. This perspective is from 20-30 years after the breakup, and is looking back at it reflectively. Betty mourns the loss of her love James, and how she felt like “an old cardigan under someone’s bed”. There is reference to other fairy tale characters to portray this loss: Peter Pan and Wendy (2:31-2:32). Meaning that while she grew up, like Wendy, and James stayed a child, like Peter Pan. Like Fairy tales, the songs paint the scenes from the perspectives of different characters. They all share the stories as if we are the ones living in them. The perspective writing envelops us into the stories to live and feel them ourselves.
“cardigan”, “august”, and “betty” have lyrical connections, can you find them all?
“seven”, also satisfyingly track 7, is a story through the eyes of a seven year old. “Please picture me in the weeds before I learned civility” (1:52-2:02), expresses the naivety of childhood innocence, before gaining consciousness about the world. In folklore: the long pond studio sessions, Taylor Swift discusses with her collaborators, Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dressner about where and when that feeling leaves. Fairy tales are a similar concept. We grow up reading them and being engrossed in this magic-like feeling and carefree wonder. It’s also how don’t birthdays feel the same as they did when we were at the ripe time of childhood. There is a time where that feeling switches to maturity and understanding. Like, with all of the hidden messages spun into fairy tales, when did we begin to understand them?
“the lakes” is an emblem of the destiny of a far away land. “Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die” (0:43-0:46) refers to the Lake District in northern England.
In the 18th and 19th century, the Lake District was a place where famous romance poets would retreat to and become influenced by their surroundings. The Lake District is where Taylor Swift pictures herself escaping to. Being one of the biggest artists in the world, she wishes for a sense of escapism every now and then. She homages to those poets and artists who had that escape plan and how she admires how those artists left the ridicule of society behind in a healthy way (folklore: the long pond studio sessions 1:38:33-1:41:44). Fairy tales provide this sense of escapism too. They bring the readers to far away lands of princesses, fairies, and magic. Every once in a while, we all need that break from reality and grounding ourselves.
From top to bottom, folklore transports me to places and scenes beyond my reality. It is the album that truly made me feel connected to Taylor Swift. Especially during the time when it came out, in the midst of the pandemic, it brought me feelings of a magical faraway land. It took me away from the chaos of the world around me, and allowed me to be in the stories. If I told myself during this time that I would experience that album performed live 5 feet away from me, I wouldn’t believe myself. Being the pinnacle of my existence, I jokingly say that experiencing folklore live in concert made me a changed person, but I will always have that feeling I felt encapsulated in me when I heard the bridge of “august” being played to me and just feet away. Like fairy tales, I wouldn’t have been transported to the 20th century east coast, or the Lake District, or to a small town had it been without Taylor Swift’s insane ability to compose lyrics. I will forever have folklore kept in a special place in my heart and it will always mean the world to me. I hope this piece inspires you to appreciate her artistry. I was told that you don’t have to like something, but you can always find room to appreciate it.
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