anna loves tay

While I still believe that all of folklores songs are connected to each other, I think evermore has segregated chapters of songs. In her Rolling Stone and Apple Music interview, Taylor mentions reading Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

The two songs that are very obviously inspired by the book are ‘no body, no crime’ and ‘tolerate it’.

no body, no crime:

In Rebecca, Rebecca’s husband is still in love with his ex-wife, and we later find out that he murdered her. There is a weak connection between the book and song with a love triangle in both.

However, in the book, his ex-wife’s body is found in a sunken boat. “Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen // and I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene”.

tolerate it:

In the Apple Music interview, Taylor mentions that the whole song ‘tolerate it’ was based on the book. She said “he just tolerated her” and that is reflected in the line “I know my love should be celebrated // but you tolerate it”.

Taylor dives deeper into the book with the lyrics “use my best colours for your portrait” which is a reference to a scene from the book where Rebecca dresses up in the same colours, clothing, and attire as her husband’s ex-wife’s portrait.

There are other references like “you’re so much older and wiser” which could simply show the toxicity of the relationship or could literally describe Rebecca’s husband from the story.

HAPPY 1 YEAR OF FOLKLORE YALL !!! thank you to everyone who got involved - IT WAS SO MUCH FUN !!

#folklore is 1 year old already ????

The first lyrics that made me think of the situation were:

This part of the first verse is so obviously about Karlie. “Allegedly”, Karlie told Sc*oter about Taylor’s business plans in regards to changing record labels and masters which could be the inspiration for the lyrics “words of a sister comes back in whispers” and that whole situation made Taylor realise that Karlie wasn’t her “sister”, instead “she [was] a crook who got caught” because Taylor and Karlie were basically inseparable until just before the Sc*oter situation.

The lyrics “you know when it’s time to go” is used in many different contexts but I think its overarching theme is “what’s happened has happened and now you’ve just got to live with it and move on”

Imma be completely honest, I have no clue what verse 2 is about but let’s move on :)

This is probably the most obvious reference to her masters. The song was written and (originally) released in 2020, making 15 years ago 2005 - the year she signed with Sc*tt. “I gave it my all, he gave me nothing at all // Then wondered why I left” could reference how, despite their decade long partnership, he didn’t give her the opportunity to buy her masters from him which is why she left. “He sits on his throne in his palace of bones” because Taylor was BMG’s only major artist. Without her, Sc*tt and his record label were basically nothing. “Prayin’ to his greed” $300 million wbk. “He’s got my past frozen behind glass // But I’ve got me” He has all her music, catalogs, merch, art from Debut - reputation but there’s not much he can do with it now. It’s “frozen”. The line “but I’ve got me” shows that’s even though that was all her work, without her, that work is nothing. So rather than salvaging that mess, she could just continue to do what she does because she still has that talent/drive/motivation. It reminds me of that interview where she says “I could stay back and earn back one album for each one I put out, or I could leave and start over” or something along those lines.

In dorothea, the Este’s husband is in love with this woman who he went to school with, his (maybe) first-love, Dorothea. In the song, he’s longing for Dorothea to come back and rekindle a any form of relationship. Lyrics such as “are you still the same soul I met under the bleachers?” suggest that he is still in love with her. “It’s never too late to come back to my side” shows that he still thinks of her and, in the song, he describes their fondest memories “skipping the prom” or being “down in the park”.

‘tis the damn season, in my opinion, is when Dorothea comes back to her hometown from LA, and finds her ex-lover, Este’s husband. The lyric parallels between “you know you’ll always know me” and “wonder about the only soul who can tell which smiles I'm fakin'” or “It's never too late to come back to my side” and “I escaped it too, remember how you watched me leave” show a very obvious bridge or connection between both songs. The theory of them being in the same high school is solidified by the bleachers reference in dorothea and “I parked my car [near] the school that used to be ours”. In ‘tis the damn season, Dorothea comes back and hooks up with Este’s husband, probably not knowing he was married. The whole bridge suggests that they had this short rekindled love affair “sleep in half the day [...] don’t ask me to stay // so I’ll go back to LA”

The final connection, I found, was between no body, no crime and ‘tis the damn season. In ‘tis the damn season, Dorothea notices “messy as the mud on your truck tires” which is a direct reference to no body, no crime where Este’s friend writes “and I noticed, when I passed his house, his truck had got some brand new tires”. This could mean that, after Dorothea and Este’s husband hooked up, he killed Este, his her body, and changed his truck tired to remove any suspicious links. His “mistress mov[ing] in [and] sleep[ing] in Este’s bed” could be a reference to Dorothea staying the night, or she could’ve come back from LA to be with him.

My bonus theory is that champagne problems is the first failed relationship between Este’s husband and Dorothea. “Soon they’ll have the nerve to deck the halls that we once walked through” links to ‘tis the damn season because Dorothea comes back to her hometown and old school during the holiday season. “Dropped your hand while dancing” could also be a reference to the prom that they skipped. Este’s husband asked Dorothea to marry him when they were younger but she had dreams to “sell makeup and magazines” in LA, while he intended on saying in his hometown. Since she broke it off during the holiday season, she comes back with ‘tis the damn season.

11 Dec 2020, first listen

1. no body, no crime

2. champagne problems

3. tis the damn season

4. long story short

5. dorothea

6. closure

7. ivy

8. coney island

9. tolerate it

10. gold rush

11. evermore

12. marjorie

13. happiness

14. willow

15. cowboy like me

13 Dec 2020

1. no body, no crime

2. champagne problems

3. long story short

4. dorothea

5. ‘tis the damn season

6. coney island

7. willow

8. gold rush

9. ivy

10. evermore

11. marjorie

12. tolerate it

13. happiness

14. cowboy like me

15. closure

18 Dec 2020, 1 week after release

1. no body, no crime

2. coney island

3. champagne problems

4. ‘tis the damn season

5. long story short

6. ivy

7. cowboy like me

8. dorothea

9. willow

10. gold rush

11. marjorie

12. evermore

13. happiness

14. tolerate it

15. closure

10 Jan 2021, 1 month after release

1. coney island

2. ‘tis the damn season

3. ivy

4. champagne problems

5. right where you left me

6. no body, no crime

7. dorothea

8. cowboy like me

9. it’s time to go

10. long story short

11. gold rush

12. marjorie

13. evermore

14. willow

15. tolerate it

16. happiness

*edit in pink, 11 DEC 2020

willow: I think willow will be very much like the lakes: soft string quartet, very rustic and acoustic sounds. Probably have one layer of delicate vocals like seven. I think it’ll be about a memory at a willow tree. So the acoustic sound and delicate instrumentation was right. I’d say it sounds more like invisible string than the lakes and the willow is a metaphor rather than a physical place.

champagne problems: it’s a track 2 so it’s probably gonna slap. It’s already giving me the 1 vibes and is probably about being young and dumb and in love. IT SLAPS and is like if the 1 and New Years Day had a child. I wouldn’t say it’s “dumb” and in love though

gold rush: this gives me mad woman vibes as the plot but softer story-telling, maybe like mirrorball where the subject is very heavy but told very gracefully (??) pffft mad woman????? I do think my mirrorball connection was alright but I did NOT expect this.

tis the damn season: I THINK this might be a break up song but more of a “imma celebrate rn and cry later” situation (but a bop, like a toned down version of AYHTDWS). Maybe there’s a lyric of her being the “bored girl at the holiday party” 👀 ok so my initial idea wasn’t completely wrong but I’d scrap the AYHTDWS connection

tolerate it: something along the lines of “I’m a mess and I make you sad and I don’t think you should tolerate it” 🥺 “I am not worthy of your love” (TRACK 5!!!) or mad woman part 2 I think, with this one, I was on the right track but looked at it from the wrong perspective. The character knows they deserve better

no body, no crime: probably something referencing her masters, maybe a continuation of my tears ricochet? BAHAHAHHHAHA no.

happiness: there’s no way this is a happy song. This will be the song we all break down to. Wbk. Wbk

dorothea: Blake Lively and Ryan Rynolds are probably having another girl, named Dorothea 💀 I think this will be about a specific perosn like tlgad, rather than betty. Turned out to be like betty rather than tlgad

coney island: I’m getting MAJOR Cornelia street vibes minus the synth sounds and heavy drums PLS NOOOOO AHAHA. COULDNT BE MORE WRONG. Arguably the saddest song on the album.

ivy: if evermore is folklore’s sister, the ivy is illicit affairs’ sister and WE ARE NOT READY this song is the perfect evermore song. It’s not my favourite but it’s the most evermore song.

cowboy like me: probably about how you can change and you can grow but you can’t lose where you came from. You can’t take away what you once knew to be home. She’s an NYC/London/LA girl now but you can’t take the Tennessee out of her. Uhm not really. I still can’t figure out tf the song is about but I think it’s about two con artists falling for each other

long story short: def a break up song and probably sounds similar to mirrorball where it sounds like she’s in a very large space. “Long story short you/I fucked up” ok this was just wrong. “Long story short, I’m over it”

marjorie: looking up and wanting to be like her grandmother, Andrea’s mum. “Oh Marjorie you taught me to be the person I am today” or something to some extent, I think this is right. Each verse starts with a lesson.

closure: I’m getting heavy this is me trying vibes. “I just need closure” “I just want to know what went wrong”. The part of the break up when you’re desperate to know what went wrong and why. The opposite lmao. She doesn’t need closure.

evermore: honestly have no idea. B E A U T Y

right where you left me: I think this will be a continuation of closure. When one person moves on from the break up but the other doesn’t. Maybe a bit like the 1 or cardigan’s lyric “chasing shadows in the grocery line”

it’s time to go: there is no way closure, rwylm and ittg aren’t a continuation. The first is desperate, second is broken, and this is learning that you need to move on.

(WATCH ME GET THESE WRONG 🤪)

If she changes it, then there are 2 versions of Love Story: the old version, and the new version. As soon as that happens, y’all will complain about how “tHe oLd vErSiOn wAs bEtTeR”. It’s not a new song. She’s only re-recording her old music so she can own it now.

It would make sense to her to change things up if she releases a “13 Years of Fearless” compilation of some of her favourite songs from the album but recorded in a new way. As for master recordings, they almost always try to make it as similar to the original as possible - even in the case of other artists who had to remaster their work

James Betty August Taylor

1. seven is the first song in the folklore story and it’s told by James and it’s about him falling in love with Betty when they were younger. “Your braids like a pattern” “our love lasts so long” this lyric shows the naïve-ness of childhood love. The lyric “your dad is always mad” comes up when Betty writes cardigan “leaving like a father” so we can assume James is talking to and about Betty.

2. peace is the story of August and James’ affair and is told by August. Lyrics like “I never had the courage of my convictions” & “as long as danger is near” suggest that this is at the start of the affair and she knows that she can’t ever be “the one” for him but she can keep him company “I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm”. She also shows that it isn’t serious in the lyric “I talk shit about you to my friends, it’s like I’m wasting your honour”.

3. mirrorball is also told by August about the affair “Hush, when no one is around, my dear” “shining just for you” but as the affair is coming to an end “I know they said the end is near”. She is more invested in their relationship than James is; a contrast to peace. She doesn’t want it to end just yet “I’m still trying everything to keep you looking at me”

4. my tears ricochet is written as Betty when she first finds out about the affair. “did I deserve, babe, all the hell you gave me?” and “I swear I loved you” shows the initial hurt and regret she feels about being invested into a relationship in which he was not.

5. exile is the dialogue between August and James as their relationship ended. We can deduce that it’s between the two of them by lyrics such as “we always walked a very thin line” is complementary to “as long as danger is near” in peace, and “now I’m leaving out the side door” which suggests that people didn’t know about the two of them being in the same place so they needed to leave separately or maybe she didn’t want to face anyone else by leaving through the main door.

6. illicit affairs is then told by August who is reflecting on the end of the affair. “Put the perfume back on the shelf that you picked out just for him so you leave no trace behind, like you don’t even exist” shows that she feels unwanted or she genuinely fell in love with James. “it dies a million little times” is a continuation of mirrorball’s “and when I break, it’s in a million pieces”. The anger and resentment is shown clearest in the lyric “look at this idiotic fool that you made me” which suggests instant regret.

7. hoax is a continuation of my tears ricochet but the two have a little bit of distance in between. “Screaming ‘give me a reason’” and “your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in” suggests that she truly loves James but he took it for granted. She’s confused as to why he did what he did.

8. this is me trying is James’ inner monologue as he’s apologising to Betty. This track comes between betty’s bridge and last verse which is proved by the lyric “I’m here in your doorway” while, in betty, it’s “so I showed up at your party”

9. betty is James’ apology to Betty for cheating on her. He confesses that “it was just a summer thing”, wants to “make it up to [her]” and asks for forgiveness.

10. cardigan is Betty’s inner monologue during James’ apology where she feels loved again “you put me on and said I was your favourite”. We know that this is only the initial reaction because of how quickly she accepts his apology in betty and her need to be loved.

11. august is August’s reflection on her relationship with James but the maturity of the lyrics suggests that it is a while after they ended. “Whispers of ‘are you sure?’ ‘Never have I ever before’” suggest innocence with a tint of secrecy. Those lyrics also suggest that James was important to her because she lost her virginity to him.

12. invisible string is told by Betty about her falling in love with Bill. “Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven” is a reference to her relationship with James and so is “cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart” because of him cheating on her.

13. the 1 is Betty’s reflection on her relationship with James and how naïve they were to believe they would last forever. This is suggested in lyrics like “if my wishes came true, it would’ve been you”. However, we can deduce that Betty is older while writing this because of her acknowledgement of August “chase two girls, lose the one” and “if you wanted me, you should’ve shown”

14. the last great american dynasty is Betty’s story told by Taylor and it’s the song which allows her to enter her own story because of Betty owning Taylor’s home before her. Betty inherited a lot of money from Bill and the town questions her motives.

15. mad woman is told by Betty and is possibly about the people who drove her out of Rhode Island with lyrics like “you poke that bear til the claws come out” and “women like hunting witches too” which suggests that everyone was after her. The most powerful lyric is probably “you made her like that” suggesting that Betty became the way she is because of how people saw and treated her.

16. epiphany, in the storyline, tells the end of each of the characters’ endings told by Taylor. James goes to war where her has a flesh wound and he’s “bleeding out” while the women are “crashing out”. It doesn’t necessarily say that they all died but it wraps up their endings and Taylor will “serve” and “fall” with the characters she’s made up.

*edited 27/08

24/07/2020 (release day)

‪1. the last great american dynasty ‬

‪2. the 1‬

‪3. exile‬

‪4. illicit affairs‬

‪5. this is me trying‬

‪6. cardigan‬

‪7. epiphany ‬

8. invisible string

‪9. mirrorball‬

10. seven

11. betty‬

12. mad woman‬

13. my tears ricochet ‬

14. august

15. peace

16. hoax

(this was so hard)

(1 week after folklore’s release, 31/07/2020)

1. exile

2. illicit affairs

3. august

4. cardigan

5. betty

6. mirrorball

7. the last great american dynasty

8. the 1

9. seven

10. my tears ricochet

11. mad woman

12. invisible string

13. peace

14. hoax

15. epiphany

16. this is me trying

‪‬the ranking hasn’t gotten easier

(13 days after folklore’s release, 06/08/2020)

1. illicit affairs

2. august

3. exile

4. my tears ricochet

5. mirrorball

6. this is me trying

7. betty

8. august

9. cardigan

10. the 1

11. hoax

12. invisible string

13. peace

14. the last great american dynasty

15. mad woman

the 1: basically Lover but I have a feeling it will have more synth sounds and probably happier with a faster beat and some techno-ish stuff like DWOHT

cardigan: I have a feeling that it will be something like Conan Gray’s Heather where it’s a memory attached to a... cardigan. But like “you gave me your cardigan and I knew it was love”. I’m getting Lover-like lyrics but a MAATHP music vibes

the last great american dynasty: ok I’m getting A LOT of Lana Del Rey vibes from this... maybe Mariner’s Apartment Complex or Venice Bitch kinda sounds but I think this is a political song. I think it’s gonna be an anti-Trump kind of song where she mocks his “dynasty”.

exile: this is DEFINITELY about # TaylorSwiftIsOverParty and how she went into hiding. Maybe it’s super soft like Exhale by Sabrina Carpenter or it’s more of Halsey’s 3AM (contrasting ideas, I know)

my tears ricochet: I’m getting soft vibes from this. The kind where you sit in a field with headphones on. Maybe something like INTHAF. I also think this might have a genre Taylor hasn’t explored yet.

mirrorball: her AMAs dress. No, I’m joking. It’s probably about her living her life as a reflection of what people see her as. Maybe Blank Space or The Lucky One vibes

seven: album 7? Lover? No clue but I feel like it will have Cruel Summer vibes

august: I have a STRONG feeling that this song will be like Cornelia Street. Idk why but it’s a feeling

this is me trying: I feel like this will be like Halsey’s Still Learning where she’s trying to love herself the way she is and the things she’s gone through to love herself. But if it’s tackling such a strong topic, it might be a BOP so it’s not too sad

illicit affairs: I can’t think of anything. Wildest Dreams??? Paper Rings??? No clue

invisible string: maybe this is about BMG and how Scott and Scooter are puppet masters controlling people with an invisible string? The Man vibes

mad woman: “A man is allowed to react but a woman can only overreact?” I think this is either about Taylor in the media (Blank Space) or Hilary in 2016 or maybe both or women in general

epiphany: I feel like this will be our Cornelia Street. “I had an epiphany and fell in love with you” kind of thing. The song’s instrumentation would be like False God with lyrics like All Too Well (but happy)

betty: maybe about how she wishes she was an average girl who fell in love with Joe without all the media frenzy. I’m getting Sad Beautiful Tragic vibes

peace: this HAS to be about Katy and how she found our peace > fighting. Girl At Home or How You Get The Girl kind of music

hoax: I honestly do believe that Taylor is over Kanye but after the full phone call was released I think this might be a way of her saying that y’all believed a lie, a hoax, then pissed someone off who released the whole call. Definitely IFTYE vibes

the lakes: I feel like she’s talking about England and in the song she talks about lakes in general but Joe will know exactly which lakes. Love Story vibes for sure