In case you have been living under a rock for the past few days, or you don't have Internet access, Taylor Swift did something. She released an album. Her seventh album, entitled Lover. And she didn't release just any old album, she released a great album.
Seriously, on an album with 18 tracks, you can't skip any of them. That is not easy to do.
1. "Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince"
Hands down, this song reigns supreme. Taylor's track sevens have a reputation of being underrated gems, however, the fans are deservedly giving this song love. The beat is reminiscent of "So It Goes..." another track 7, by the way, and the lyrics are reminiscent of "Call It What You Want." The song is about supporting someone who is going through a tough time and even when others are saying that you shouldn't, likely alluding to Taylor's boyfriend, English actor Joe Alwyn. They began dating not long after Snake-gate 2016. However, some other theories have popped up. Some fans believe this is about her trouble with former record executive, Scott Borchetta, while Halsey has claimed, jokingly, to be the heartbreak prince. The song is chock full of gems from "you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes," "so sad we paint the town blue," and "boys will be boys then, where are the wise men? Darling, I'm scared." The song also uses a lot of high school metaphors, including prom, football games, and yearbook superlatives.
2. "The Man"
A feminist anthem! Mainly because every line is the truth. For almost her entire career, especially since her transition to pop, Taylor has been the victim of unfair double-standards. She dates a ton of people, she's labeled a slut. Leonardo DiCaprio, who is older and has had a longer career, dates a lot of people, no one cares. She even uses Leo as an example with the lyric "I'd be like Leo in San Tropez." Taylor Swift is political, y'all. She's the man.
3. "Cruel Summer"
No this is not a dig at Kanye. Not everything is about Kanye, people. Written by Taylor, her longtime collaborator, Jack Antonoff, and St. Vincent, the song features vocoder and what happens when your relationship begins to deteriorate and you can't help but try to fix it again and again with no luck. She admits so in the line "and I snuck in through the garden gate, every night that summer just to seal my fate," and "what doesn't kill me makes me want you more." This is a staple of Taylor's earlier songs, where she talked about relationships that would end up in fights and reconciliations. I think the song is about Calvin Harris and how their relationship went from seemingly perfect, to so toxic that Taylor thought she could bleach her hair. Mainly because her relationship with Tom Hiddleston seemed like a rebound, which she already admitted in "Getaway Car." This song goes from great to spectacular at the bridge, where Taylor ends it singing "I love you, ain't that the worst thing you've ever heard? He looks up grinning like a devil."
4. "Lover"
GiphyTaylor's first title track since Red, this song is incredible. Intimate and well-written, this song details what it's like to have your partner living with you and how you want them never to go away. The video is a depiction of exactly that, with Taylor and her love interest dancing in the multicolored rooms of their house. Fun fact, each room represents one of Taylor's albums.
5. "Cornelia Street"
Heartbreaking as hell. This song is about Taylor's fear of losing a good relationship, and what would happen if it would ever did end. If it did, she'd "never walk Cornelia Street again." Taylor's been through so much with her personal life, both romantically and with her friends, and naturally, when she finds someone who seems good for her, she doesn't want to lose that. I think we all never want to lose a good person in our lives, and never want to think that someone is "too good to be true."
6. "The Archer"
GiphyOne of the common criticisms of Taylor is that she always "plays the victim." However, you can't say that after this song. Taylor admits her past faults, and her past mistakes, "I've been the archer, I've been the prey. Who could ever leave me darling? But who could stay?" She admits that people can "see right through her," and gives us some of her best most surprising lyrics. My favorite is "I cut off my nose just to spite my face." This continues a trend of track 5 being heartbreaking.
7. "Daylight"
GiphyWhat better way to end the album than with a song about new beginnings, and with the first lyric we got of this new era. The line "step into the daylight and let it go," was one of Taylor's 30 Things I Learned Before Turning 30 article in March. This song is about moving forward after finding someone or something, and accepting your past mistakes. The standout moment is a recording of Taylor speaking about how she wants to be defined by love, instead of the things she hates or is afraid of. Taylor was often referenced in her celebrity feuds or her ex-boyfriends, but now she wants to change that. "You are what you love," she ends the album with.
8. "Afterglow"
GiphyAfterglow and Daylight seem to be a two parter, and not just because of their similar titles. Both songs are about looking back and accepting your mistakes and moving forward. However, while Daylight is about moving forward, Afterglow is about the realization. "Put you in jail for something you didn't do," and "I lived like and island, punished you with silence, went off like sirens, just cryin'." The music is gorgeous, and Taylor sounds incredible, particularly on the line "Why'd I have to break what I love so much?''
9. "Paper Rings"
One of the happiest songs on the album, this track is pure pop. It is quite a shift from Cornelia Street, which is about fearing losing a relationship, while this song is about just being happy in your relationship and realizing you want a future with them. Taylor also might have confirmed that her and Joe were friends with benefits before officially hooking up, with her trying to "stalk him on the internet" and them playing "cat and mouse for a month or two or three." But now, she'd marry him with paper rings. Joe, ask her to marry you already! Unless you already did, with the references to weddings in this song, and in Lover.
10. "Soon You'll Get Better"
Okay, I know this song should technically be higher. It's lyrics and music are beautifully simple, the Dixie Chicks add amazing harmonies, and critics are raving. However, I can't even get three seconds into this song without breaking down and crying, so that's why I put it here. The song is about Taylor's mother, Andrea's battle with cancer, and how she and her family are processing it.
11. "London Boy"
GiphyI like to think of this as a prequel to "King Of My Heart," since this album was supposed to come out before reputation. It even has some of the same lyrics and ideas, like "motown" and "queen." Both songs are about Joe, who is quickly winning best Taylor boyfriend award. This is an uptempo danceable love song, that even features Taylor's Cats co-star, and another London boy, Idris Elba, at the beginning. We also get hints of Taylor using English terms and slang, like "best mates," which seemingly works.
12. "False God"
I think this is an underrated jam off the album. I think this song could be featured in an emotional moment of a sitcom or movie set in New York City. Seriously, this song might be more New York than Cornelia Street and the actual song she wrote about moving to New York, you know the one. The song features a saxophone at times, as if it was taken from a street or subway performer busking. The religious undertones are apparent in the chorus, with the lines "the altar is my hips, even if its a false god, we'd still worship this love." However, the lyric "They say the road gets hard and you get lost when you're lead by blind faith," is my favorite. This seems to be the more optimistic version of Cruel Summer, where Taylor and her man actually work through their relationship problems.
13. "You Need To Calm Down"
GiphyIs this song lyrically complex? No. But not all of Taylor Swift's songs have to be. And it's not like this song isn't meaningful. Taylor not only shows her solidarity with the LGBTQ+ community with the lines, "why be mad, when you could be glaaad," and "shade never made anybody less gay," as well as with her star studded video and VMA performance, and support of the Equality Act. It also takes aim at protesters, "making that sign, must've taken all night," and people on Twitter who get mad over the smallest things, "you say it in a tweet, that's a cop out," and who compare successful female artists, "we see you over there on the Internet, comparing all the girls who are killing it." Plus, the video is amazing, features many LGBT icons, and took home two VMAs, Video Of The Year and Video For Good. Deservedly so. Plus, isn't it fun to sing along with the chorus? And if you have a problem, well, look at the title.
14. "Death By A Thousand Cuts"
Written about the movie "Someone great..." fans think this song was a last minute edition to the album, but it is welcome on it. With an almost religious opening, and a disparity between the upbeat music and the heartbreaking lyrics. The standout line is "I ask the traffic lights if it'll be alright, they say 'I don't know,'" which is painfully relatable to anyone going through heartbreak or a rough patch. I also love "Tryna find a part of my body that you didn't touch."
15. "I Forgot That You Existed"
Sassy as hell. And a great opening to the album. If Calvin, and other fans, were wondering why he didn't get a specific song on reputation, well the title of this song is why. However, this song might be about him or Kanye and Kim, who knows with Taylor. The first verse seems to be about Kimye, while the second leans more towards Calvin, so maybe this is like "I Did Something Bad" or "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things," that are about multiple people. The chorus is also catchy as hell and will be stuck in your head for days.
16. "I Think He Knows"
This song is a cute jam about when you know someone else wants you, over a low key techno beat reminiscent of MGMT. But, like most of the songs on the album, the song picks up at the bridge, where the song slows down, and picks up tempo into the last chorus. The rest of the song is great, but not spectacular. There are a few standout lines, like "He's so obsessed with me and boy I understand."
17. "ME!"
GiphyTaylor continued her trend of releasing an extremely catchy, not complex lyrically, likely to get a ton of airplay and attention, lead single. And this one isn't as good as "Shake It Off" or "Look What You Made Me Do." However, it is a lot of fun to sing along to, Brendon Urie is a welcome edition, and the video is amazing and chock full of Easter eggs. I'd call that a success.
18. "It's Nice To Have A Friend"
I actually really like the lyrics of this song. While it's not complex, it is meaningful. The problem with this song is the music. It's simultaneously something you would hear in a movie based off of a young adult novel, or a horror movie before someone is unexpectedly killed. And it sounds like there's an unnecessary steel drum in the background. Lastly, the song is only 2 and a half minutes, making it kind of a filler track.
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