#krisrambles

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)

A august

B betty

The 1

I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit, been saying "yes" instead of "no"

As she said when she won woman of the decade - "And as for me, lately I've been focusing less on doing what they say I can't do and more on doing whatever the hell I want."

I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn't though

This kind of nonchalance of thinking she saw an ex but didn't reflects her growth (she wasn't frightened by the thought of seeing them), but also her longing and reflection (a la "I see your face in every crowd", but grown up)

I hit the ground running each night, I hit the Sunday matinée

She's out and about and doing fun things, she's not stuck in the memory of them

You know the greatest films of all time were never made

Sometimes the thought of what could have been is better than what could have been. Sometimes, the synopsis of the movie is more romantic than the movie could ever portray

I guess you never know, never know, and if you wanted me, you really should've showed

He lost his chance with her, if he wanted her he should've tried harder. She's reflecting on it, with a smile in her voice

And if you never bleed, you're never gonna grow, and it's alright now

There's no beauty without pain, no growth without failure, but that's all in the past - it's alright now!

But we were something, don't you think so?

They had a great thing, whilst it lasted

Roaring twenties, tossing pennies in the pool

A way to wish - tossing pennies in a fountain or body of water.

And if my wishes came true, it would've been you

At the time, she wished it was him on every penny she tossed in that pool 

In my defense, I have none for never leaving well enough alone

She's alluded to this before in ME! that she never leaves things alone, she always has to nut them out and tease them out until she makes sense of it all 

But it would've been fun if you would've been the one

Again, a nonchalant wistful reminisce of a lover gone by

I have this dream you're doing cool shit having adventures on your own

You meet some woman on the internet and take her home

She wishes the best for him

We never painted by the numbers, baby

They never followed a rule book 

But we were making it count 

Despite that, they made their love count at the time

You know the greatest loves of all time are over now

That could include theirs

I guess you never know, never know and it's another day waking up alone

I, I, I persist and resist the temptation to ask you if one thing had been different would everything be different today

Safe and Sound

Ronan

The Archer

Mad Woman

What did you think I'd say to that?    

Scott selling her masters to Scooter springs to mind immediately. What did he expect? That she’d say “thank you” and bow out? Especially if what she says is true - the only time his name passed her lips was in tears. 

Does a scorpion sting when fighting back? They strike to kill, and you know I will  

Scott should've know better - she’s said this over and over, but she doesn’t sit down “like a good girl”. She’s also said that she wants to be like a snake - “Grow a backbone, trust your gut, and know when to strike back. Be like a snake — only bite if someone steps on you.” 

What do you sing on your drive home?  

Probably her music because she's catchy and incredible, and he’s been known to say he loves her music (considering his profession, that’s a no brainer)

Do you see my face in the neighbor's lawn? 

She's everywhere, she's artist of the decade! It’s not uncommon for people who have a guilty conscience to see their victims everywhere... 

Does she smile? Or does she mouth, "Fuck you forever"? 

In my head, she's said this to SB, but basically the question is what version of Taylor does SB see? The All American Sweetheart who smiles, or the true Taylor who hates him now?

Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy, what about that? 

Probably told her she was crazy and over reacting and all that bullshit. As she once famously said -  A man does something, it’s strategic. A woman does the same thing, it’s calculated. A man is allowed to react. A woman can only overreact.

And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry 

Because women being placated and told to be quiet has gone on long enough. Being told to “calm down” will never make us calm down. Saying we seem angry will only make us angry. Telling us we’re crazy will only make us “more crazy”. It’s time we stop belittling and shaming women’s experiences and emotions.    

And there's nothing like a mad woman, what a shame she went mad. 

No one likes a mad woman, you made her like that. 

And you'll poke that bear 'til her claws come out

They pushed her into a corner - she tried to buy her masters, they refused, and they poked her until she had no choice but to speak up and speak out. She tried to do it in private. 

And you find something to wrap your noose around

They made her "the enemy”, something to "hunt down" (vs. the implication of the suicide of their careers?) 

And there's nothing like a mad woman Now I breathe flames each time I talk  

All I think about is the IDSB set from Rep Tour, all the flames. It could also indicate that everytime she speaks now she has strong meaning behind her words, which light up and aren’t necessarily all nice. 

My cannons all firin' at your yacht 

Another image that springs to mind is from The Man MV, as well as the implication that they’re rich. 

They say "move on," but you know I won't  

She won't move on until she owns her masters and future artist’s don’t have the same issue/s she has

And women like hunting witches too 

They're burning all the witches... even if you aren’t one. Also, correct me if I’m mistaken, but several people under Scooter’s label spoke out to defend him (including Demi) - women like “hunting” too. 

Doing your dirtiest work for you 

Taylor basically made BMR what it was if she’s indicating herself as a woman who likes hunting witches, but it also indicates that Scooter had people like Demi standing up for him. 

It's obvious that wanting me dead has really brought you two together 

Not in the literal sense; but her career (and seeming to want to end it/own it) bought together two people - SB squared 

I'm taking my time, taking my time, cause you took everything from me

she's a genius, figuring out what to do   to keep/own her whole life's work

Watching you climb, watching you climb over people like me   

other artists like Taylor have been taken advantage of, and Taylor won’t stop until that stops.

The master of spin has a couple side flings, good wives always know 

I'm not sure if this reflects either wives in the literal sense, or if this means other artists like Ariana Grande and Demi Lovato who are under SB...

She should be mad, should be scathing like me, but no one likes a mad woman....

Hoax

My only one, my smoking gun, my eclipsed sun, this has broken me down My twisted knife, my sleepless night, my win-less fight, this has frozen my ground 

When the whole world was against them, when the fighting died down, when everything seemed done and unfair and cruel - he was there. 

Also, her ground was Holy once (Holy Ground), and now it’s frozen - a deep blue (but he painted her golden)

Stood on the cliff-side screaming, "Give me a reason"

What's the point if everyone hates her? What’s the point in her art? In finding love?

Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in

Their love isn't based on faith and hope, it's just reality. And even if it sounds fake. It's the only fake thing (hoax) she'll believe in

Don't want no other shade of blue but you

His colour is blue in all her songs, which she mentioned a LOT in the last three albums

Delicate - "Oh damn, never seen that colour blue" 

Gorgeous - "Ocean blue eyes, looking in mine" 

Dancing With Our Hands Tied - "My love had been frozen deep blue, but you painted me golden"

Lover - “my hearts been borrowed and yours has been blue”

Paper Rings - “I’m with you even if it makes me blue”

Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince - “we’re so sad we paint the town blue”

I Think He Knows - “lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh”

London boy - “and you know I love Springsteen, faded blue jeans”

Afterglow - “I blew things out of proportion, not you’re blue”

Cruel Summer - “It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got”

No other sadness in the world would do 

The emotions with him are the only ones that matter

My best laid plan 

Nothing went the way she planned from 2016

Your sleight of hand

It seemed like a trick he'd stick around

My barren land, I am ash from your fire

The ash from fire tends to bring enrichment and life; she was cold (frozen ground) and he is the fire, and the ashes give her life

You know I left a part of me back in New York 

She can't move on from her old life, she's New York City 

False God - “I’m New York City... I still do it for you babe”

You knew the hero died so what's the movie for?

He knows the ending; he knows her legacy may die, she's cynical. Also a nice callback to the fact he's an actor? 

You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart 

She comes with baggage, she's not healed fully, she hopes he knows that and doesn't expect her to be shiny and new 

You knew the password so I let you in the door 

He unlocked her heart? 

You knew you won so what's the point of keeping score? 

I'm not sure.... but the lyric that comes to mind here was about “baby, who’s counting” in So It Goes...

You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart but what you did was just as dark, darling, this was just as hard, as when they pulled me apart 

Sounds like the breakup alluded to in Cornelia Street, maybe he made her take a good hard look at herself (so to speak) and made her face something she didn't want to?

My only one, my kingdom come undone 

He's king of her heart, even when her heart breaks

My broken drum, you have beaten my heart