Little Danny

A tale that becomes folklore is one that is passed down and whispered around. Sometimes even sung about. The lines between fantasy and reality blur and the boundaries between truth and fiction become almost indiscernible. Speculation, over time, becomes fact. Myths, ghost stories, and fables. Fairytales and parables. Gossip and legend. Someone’s secrets written in the sky for all to behold. In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness. Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history, and memory. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down.

“I was walking home on broken cobblestones,” - Betty “High heels on cobblestones,” - Cardigan

“When you are young, they assume you know nothing,” - Cardigan “I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything,” - Betty

“Stopped at a streetlight,” - Betty “Drunk under a streetlight,” - Cardigan “August sipped away like a bottle of wine,” - August

“And when I felt like I was an old cardigan,” - Cardigan “Standing in your cardigan,” - Betty

“Chase two girls, lose the one,” - Cardigan “'Cause you weren’t mine to lose,” - August

“Would you trust me If I told you it was just a summer thing?” - Betty “So much for summer love and saying ‘us’,” - August

“You heard the rumors from Inez,” - Betty “And say, ‘Meet me behind the mall’,” - August

“She pulled up like a figment of my worst intentions; she said ‘James, get in, let’s drive’,” - Betty “Remember when I pulled up and said ‘Get in the car’,” - August

“Slept next to her,” - Betty “And I can see us twisted in bedsheets,” - August

“To kiss in cars and downtown bars,” - Cardigan “Kissin’ in my car again,” - Betty

“Will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends?” - Betty “And you’d be standin’ in my front porch light,” - Cardigan

Listening twice through

the 1

And if you bleed, you’re never gonna grow - And if I bleed, you’ll be the last to know (Cruel Summer)

Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool - Jump in to the pool from the balcony // feeling so Gatsby for that whole year (This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things)

In my defense, I have none, for never leaving well enough alone - I never leave well enough alone (ME!)

cardigan

Chase two girls, lose the one - Call back to “Girl at Home”?

the last great american dynasty

There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen - Mad Woman

Filled up the pool with champagne and swam with the big name - Everyone’s swimming in a champagne sea (This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things)

I had a marvelous time - I said oh my, what a marvelous tune (Starlight)

exile

With his arms around your body, laughin’ but the joke’s not funny at all - Reminds me of the photos of her with TH on the rocks

You’re not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending now? - Keep your helmet, keep your life, son, just a flesh wound, here’s your rifle, crawling up the beaches now, "Sir, I think he’s bleeding out" //  With you I serve, with you I fall down  (epiphany)

I think I’ve seen this film before and I didn’t like the ending - You knew the hero died so what’s the movie for? (hoax)

You were my crown, now I’m in exile, seein’ you out - They took the crown but it’s alright (Call It What You Want)

We always walked a very thin line - You and I walk a fragile line, I have known it all this time (Haunted)

my tears richochet

And if I’m on fire, you'll be made of ashes, too

- I am ash from your fire (hoax)  - But I’m a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm (peace)

We gather stones, never knowing what they’ll mean, some to throw, some to make a diamond ring - People throw rocks at things that shine (Ours)

You wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me - LWYMMD MV

mirrorball

Spinning in my highest heels, love  - Spinning like a girl in a brand new dress (Holy Ground)

I’m still on that tightrope - You and I walk a fragile line, I have known it all this time (Haunted)

august

Whispers of “Are you sure?” “Never have I ever before” - We are alone, just you and me, up in your room and our slates are clean (State of Grace)

And I can see us twisted in bedsheet - I can see it all in my head, back and forth sneaking in your bed (Daylight) - All of you, all of me intertwined (Daylight)

And say, “Meet me behind the mall” - You can meet me in the back (Delicate)

Remember when I pulled up and said “Get in the car” - She said “James, get in, let’s drive” (betty)

this is me trying

I had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting - Salt air, and the rust on your door (august)

I just wanted you to know that this is me trying - This is me swallowing my pride, standing in front of you saying I’m sorry for that night (Back to December)

They told me all of my cages were mental - Gold cage hostage to my feelings (So It Goes…)

And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad - Mad woman

illicit affairs

Hood over your head, keep your eyes down - My baby’s fit like a daydream, walking with his head down, I’m the one he’s walking to (Call It What You Want)

Don’t call me “kid,” don’t call me “baby” - My baby’s fit like a daydream (Call It What You Want) - Call my bluff, call you babe (It’s Nice To Have a Friend)

You showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else - and ode to all of her lyrics about colour!

invisible string

Green was the color of the grass // Teal was the color of your shirt - another ode to lyrical colours

Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to LA - Now we’ve got bad blood (Bad Blood)

Out of all the wrong arms, right into that dive bar - dive bar on the east side, where you at? (Delicate)

One single thread of gold // Gold was the colour of the leaves - I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden, like daylight (Daylight)

Gave me the blues and then purple-pink skies - Light pink sky up on the roof, sun sinks down, no curfew (It’s Nice To Have a Friend)

And it’s cool, baby with me - it’s cool, that’s what I tell them no rules in breakable heaven (Cruel Summer)

mad woman

And women like hunting witches too - they’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one (I Did Something Bad)

I’m taking my time, taking my time - time, wondrous time (invisible string) - time, mystical time (invisible string) - time, curious time  (invisible string)

hoax

My only one - only 1

My smoking gun // my twisted knife - bought a knife to a gun fight (Call It What You Want)

Don't want no other shade of blue but you - it’s blue the feeling I’ve got (Cruel Summer) (and a million references to Blue she’s had!)

You know I left a part of me back in New York - back and forth, from New York (Daylight)

You knew it still hurts underneath my scars - You drew stars around my scars (cardigan)

My kingdom come undone - my castle crumbled overnight (Call It What You Want)

peace

Suddenly this summer, it’s clear - Cruel Summer

I would die for you in secret  - Remember how I said I’d die for you? (False God) - Your love is a secret I’m hoping, dreaming, dying to keep (King of My Heart)

You paint dreamscapes on the wall - We never painted by the numbers, baby (the 1)

But there’s robbers to the east, clowns to the west - ‘nuf said

The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me - It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Sit with you in the trenches - epiphany

Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother - Trust him like a brother (Call It What You Want)

betty

When I passed your house it’s like I couldn’t breathe - Windows down, I pass my street the memories start // Headlights pass the window pane, I think of you (I Wish You Would)

You can’t believe a word she says most times, but this time it was true - So I guess all the rumors are true (London Boy)

Or lead me to the garden? - I snuck through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate (Cruel Summer)

Listening twice through

the 1

And if you bleed, you’re never gonna grow - And if I bleed, you’ll be the last to know (Cruel Summer)

Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool - Jump in to the pool from the balcony // feeling so Gatsby for that whole year (This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things)

In my defense, I have none, for never leaving well enough alone - I never leave well enough alone (ME!)

cardigan

Chase two girls, lose the one - Call back to “Girl at Home”?

the last great american dynasty

There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen - Mad Woman

Filled up the pool with champagne and swam with the big name - Everyone’s swimming in a champagne sea (This is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things)

I had a marvelous time - I said oh my, what a marvelous tune (Starlight)

exile

With his arms around your body, laughin’ but the joke’s not funny at all - Reminds me of the photos of her with TH on the rocks

You’re not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending now? - Keep your helmet, keep your life, son, just a flesh wound, here’s your rifle, crawling up the beaches now, "Sir, I think he’s bleeding out" //  With you I serve, with you I fall down  (epiphany)

I think I’ve seen this film before and I didn’t like the ending - You knew the hero died so what’s the movie for? (hoax)

You were my crown, now I’m in exile, seein’ you out - They took the crown but it’s alright (Call It What You Want)

We always walked a very thin line - You and I walk a fragile line, I have known it all this time (Haunted)

my tears richochet

And if I’m on fire, you'll be made of ashes, too

- I am ash from your fire (hoax)  - But I’m a fire and I'll keep your brittle heart warm (peace)

We gather stones, never knowing what they’ll mean, some to throw, some to make a diamond ring - People throw rocks at things that shine (Ours)

You wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me - LWYMMD MV

mirrorball

Spinning in my highest heels, love  - Spinning like a girl in a brand new dress (Holy Ground)

I’m still on that tightrope - You and I walk a fragile line, I have known it all this time (Haunted)

august

Whispers of “Are you sure?” “Never have I ever before” - We are alone, just you and me, up in your room and our slates are clean (State of Grace)

And I can see us twisted in bedsheet - I can see it all in my head, back and forth sneaking in your bed (Daylight) - All of you, all of me intertwined (Daylight)

And say, “Meet me behind the mall” - You can meet me in the back (Delicate)

Remember when I pulled up and said “Get in the car” - She said “James, get in, let’s drive” (betty)

this is me trying

I had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting - Salt air, and the rust on your door (august)

I just wanted you to know that this is me trying - This is me swallowing my pride, standing in front of you saying I’m sorry for that night (Back to December)

They told me all of my cages were mental - Gold cage hostage to my feelings (So It Goes…)

And my words shoot to kill when I’m mad - Mad woman

illicit affairs

Hood over your head, keep your eyes down - My baby’s fit like a daydream, walking with his head down, I’m the one he’s walking to (Call It What You Want)

Don’t call me “kid,” don’t call me “baby” - My baby’s fit like a daydream (Call It What You Want) - Call my bluff, call you babe (It’s Nice To Have a Friend)

You showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else - and ode to all of her lyrics about colour!

invisible string

Green was the color of the grass // Teal was the color of your shirt - another ode to lyrical colours

Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to LA - Now we’ve got bad blood (Bad Blood)

Out of all the wrong arms, right into that dive bar - dive bar on the east side, where you at? (Delicate)

One single thread of gold // Gold was the colour of the leaves - I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden, like daylight (Daylight)

Gave me the blues and then purple-pink skies - Light pink sky up on the roof, sun sinks down, no curfew (It’s Nice To Have a Friend)

And it’s cool, baby with me - it’s cool, that’s what I tell them no rules in breakable heaven (Cruel Summer)

mad woman

And women like hunting witches too - they’re burning all the witches, even if you aren’t one (I Did Something Bad)

I’m taking my time, taking my time - time, wondrous time (invisible string) - time, mystical time (invisible string) - time, curious time  (invisible string)

hoax

My only one - only 1

My smoking gun // my twisted knife - bought a knife to a gun fight (Call It What You Want)

Don't want no other shade of blue but you - it’s blue the feeling I’ve got (Cruel Summer) (and a million references to Blue she’s had!)

You know I left a part of me back in New York - back and forth, from New York (Daylight)

You knew it still hurts underneath my scars - You drew stars around my scars (cardigan)

My kingdom come undone - my castle crumbled overnight (Call It What You Want)

peace

Suddenly this summer, it’s clear - Cruel Summer

I would die for you in secret  - Remember how I said I’d die for you? (False God) - Your love is a secret I’m hoping, dreaming, dying to keep (King of My Heart)

You paint dreamscapes on the wall - We never painted by the numbers, baby (the 1)

But there’s robbers to the east, clowns to the west - ‘nuf said

The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me - It’s Nice to Have a Friend

Sit with you in the trenches - epiphany

Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother - Trust him like a brother (Call It What You Want)

betty

When I passed your house it’s like I couldn’t breathe - Windows down, I pass my street the memories start // Headlights pass the window pane, I think of you (I Wish You Would)

You can’t believe a word she says most times, but this time it was true - So I guess all the rumors are true (London Boy)

Or lead me to the garden? - I snuck through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate (Cruel Summer)

Cardigan: Betty’s pov

August: the girl James is cheating with

Betty: James’s pov

Here is why:

In August she sings “Remember when I pulled up and said "Get in the car"”. In Betty she sings “When she pulled up like. A figment of my worst intentions. She said "James, get in, let's drive"”. Connecting the two together

In Betty she also sings “Standing in your cardigan” and “I was walking home on broken cobblestones.” connecting it to Cardigan. As in Cardigan she sings “High heels on cobblestones. When you are young, they assume you know nothing”. With this I feel she’s almost saying as if you don’t know your significant other is cheating on you because you’re to young.

I think illicit affairs is a part of a whole other triangle. I think it’s connected to the last great american dynasty and mad woman.

I think mad woman is the woman Rebekah’s pov. She talks about being seen as a mad woman. the last great american dynasty talks about a town that outcast a woman who’s mad and crazy.

But in mad woman she sings

What a shame she went mad. No one likes a mad woman. You made her like that

And

And women like hunting witches too. Doing your dirtiest work for you. It's obvious that wanting me dead. Has really brought you two together

To me it speaks about a woman who’s man is having an affair. Which I think he eventually ends (as heard in the lyrics of illicit affairs “Don't call me "kid," don't call me "baby". Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me”.) Somewhere he must have died as in TLGAD says his heart gave out

OK SO OBVIOUSLY I’M FREAKING OUT ABOUT folklore LIKE WHAT A MASTERPIECE

This morning, I watched the lyric video to my tears ricochet and literally ONE PERSON posted that it was about Sc*tt B*rchetta and I was like ‘THIS IS SO OBVIOUS’ so here is my theory! Feel free to add some more, I would LOVE to discuss this with you fellow Swifties!

And if I’m on fire, you’ll be made of ashes, too Could be referencing the fact that both were depending on each other for so long. We all know that Big Mach*ne’s success relies on Taylor, but Taylor also had the support of Big Mach*ne for the first 6 albums of her career.

Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe, all the hell you gave me? We know for a fact that Taylor’s last years at Big Mach*ne were complicated because she tried to buy her masters back, but Sc*tt did not want to. Remember when Taylor said that Sc*tt did not like the idea of making a pop album when she created 1989, and that she had to fight to put out the project. And that’s only what we know, we don’t know what happened behind closed doors.

I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace I just remember Sc*tt making a comment when he sold her masters, that she was not handling the issue in a professional manner.

You’re the hero flying around, saving face When her masters were sold and Taylor was angry (with good reason), Sc*tt tried to position himself as a businessman who was just acting rightly for the sake of his hard work. In Big Mach*ne’s statement, he said that Taylor was lying about many points in the situation.

And if I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake? Cursing my name, wishing I stayed, look at how my tears ricochet THAT is one of the line that gives it all for me. We all know that it was Taylor’s decision to leave Big Mach*ne - it was not good news for them because she was the label’s most important artist in terms of money. I think that Sc*tt was mad and tried to sabotage her to get back at her for leaving. As Taylor said, they had almost a father-daughter relationship, so for him to lose this as well must have been hurting for Sc*tt.

You know I didn’t want to have to haunt you I think she’s referencing at the special bond she had with Sc*tt. He believed in her before her career even began. It’s clear that they had a close relationship during many years of them working together. I believe that if he wouldn’t have sold her masters, she would have not made waves about the downfall of her relationship with Big Mach*ne.

You wear the same jewels that I gave you as you bury me THAT ALSO IS VERY IMPORTANT. Sc*tt’s reputation relies on Big Mach*ne’s credibility. The label earned its credibility thanks to Taylor’s work. When Sc*tt sold her masters, he sold a part of her soul, her body of work to an enemy of hers (that he knew of). He clearly was out to hurt her with this move. The money that was given to him was due to the value of Taylor’s body of work, so we could consider that she gave these jewels to him.

And I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want, just not home I think she was talking about when she left Big Mach*ne, she had the opportunity to go anywhere, to any label. An artist as huge as Taylor would be welcomed in any music label. I figured that home was Big Mach*ne as she helped build the label since she was 14, and that it was just like home to her.

And you can aim for my heart, go for blood, but you would still miss me in your bones Again, another reference at the special bond they have. He took on her career since she was 14 until she was 29. She grew up with him and he certainly grew with her. As savage as his move was when he sold her masters, I believe that he still cares for Taylor.

And when you can’t sleep at night, you hear my stolen lullabies JAW-DROPPING LINE RIGHT HERE. Stolen lullabies references all of the songs that were sold to Sc**ter. Usually, when you can’t sleep at night, it’s because something torments you, haunts you. Her stolen lullabies haunts Sc*tt because he KNOWS that it’s his fault that she does not possess them anymore, and he knows that is what created an irremediable cut between him and Taylor.

And so the battleships will sink beneath the waves She knows that nobody is going to win this battle for her masters. On one part, Sc**ter and the other investors will lose money because she will re-record her albums 1-5 in November 2020. On the other part, recording all of her previous albums will be costly in time and money for Taylor. This situation is a lose-lose for everybody.

You had to kill me, but it killed you just the same Sc*tt had to keep Taylor’s masters so Big Mach*ne could still have value to the eyes of a buyer. By doing this, he ‘’killed’’ her, but her speaking out about it showed what kind of businessman he is. I would be very surprised if an artist would work with him after what he did to Taylor, his most important artist (and with whom he had a special connection).

You turned into your worst fears When Sc*tt created Big Mach*ne, I believe that he was trying to go on another route than the big label route. He was working with a major company before, left them and risked it all to start his own business. I don’t know him, but at the time, maybe he was trying to position himself as ‘’one of the cool guys’’, a manager that would not be the typical stereotype that you have of a manager.

And you’re tossing out blame, drunk on this pain When Taylor spoke up about her masters, remember that bullsh*t statement of Big Mach*ne, that Taylor was lying and that they did not do anything wrong. That they offered her to purchase her masters - though they did not say that their offer was toxic for her, but hey, PR. 

Crossing out the good years THAT LINE TOO. By doing this to Taylor, it was like he had forgotten where they both came from, and how they helped each other. I believe (with no proof but with a feeling still) that their last years of working together were complicated, and that they had tensions about what she should / should not do. Mentioning the good years feels to me as if there were some bad. 

VOILÀ, that was my theory about my tears ricochet. It’s such a powerful song and I know that it translates also as a song about domestic ab*se, but I really think that she spoke up about the Sc*tt situation. I can only imagine the feeling when the most precious thing you have is taken away from you by a person you care deeply about.