Following reputation, Taylor Swift’s theme took a sharp turn. She went from snakes and dark colors in the reputation era to butterflies and pastel colors with the Lover era. With this album, you can tell that Taylor has truly accepted who she is and is just going to be herself, no matter what. With this album, you can also tell that Taylor has found the true-love she has always been searching for.
I Forgot That You Existed: This is the perfect opening song for the album. It’s a very “who cares, I’m moving on” type of song that just makes you want to dance and be happy. By opening the album with this song, you can tell that Taylor is done caring what everyone thinks and she’s ready to just be herself. This is the perfect transition from the reputation era to the Lover era. She shows how she has moved on from caring so much about what other people think with lyrics such as “Lived in the shade you were throwing til all of my sunshine was gone," showing how she used to care about the shade people threw at her and used to let it affect her but now she realizes that she didn’t need to. You can hear Taylor laugh multiple times in the song so you can tell that she was just very happy and had so much fun while writing this song. It is just such a free-spirited and happy song.
Cruel Summer: This song is the story of a hopeless summer fling that you know is going to end badly but you keep going with it anyway. This is a story of how she was dating the bad guy, and she knew it. Lyrics such as “Bad bad boy, shiny toy with a price, you know that I bought it” show that she knew he was bad and knew she was going to have a price to pay, but she bought it anyway. “What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more” shows how dangerous he is and the bad guys are always what drags us in, it’s the thrill of being with them so this adrenaline makes her want him more. “Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes” is a line in this song that seems to be one of Taylor’s favorite lines in the album because she had a mural painted in New York City with these lyrics on it. It also seems like this song is describing a very unhealthy relationship, as seen in lyrics such as “Said ‘I’m fine’ but it wasn’t true, I don’t want to keep secrets just to keep you." To me, this song also seems like a parallel to Taylor’s hit song “Love Story," which is the story of a relationship that they are trying to hide and that her parents don’t approve of, but they do it anyway. The line “And I snuck in through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate” reminds me a lot of the mysterious romance that is described in “Love Story."
Lover: This is the perfect title track for this album. Taylor has said numerous times that this album is a love letter to love itself, and this song wraps that whole idea up and puts a bow on it. This song is just so magical and pure and makes you want to fall in love. Taylor has said that she originally thought “Daylight” would be the title of this album but once she wrote “Lover," she knew that this had to be the title. With lyrics such as “there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear, have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?” to “Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close?" This song makes you want to find the love of your life as soon as possible. It’s pretty obvious that this song is about Taylor’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn, considering how in love they are, along with the lyric “I’ve loved you three summers now honey, but I want them all” since they have been together for a little over three years now. Many famous singer/songwriters such as Keith Urban have praised this song on social media, saying humbling things such as “every now and then you hear a song that you love and wish you’d written." This song was also produced by Bleachers member Jack Antonoff and has a very cozy 80’s vibe to it.
The Man: Feminism. This is a song where Taylor theorizes how she would be treated differently if she was a man. Firing back against the media’s views on her dating life, saying “They’d say I played the field before I found someone to commit to” if she was a man, instead of shaming her for “having numerous boyfriends." She is saying how sick she is of the male-dominated industry with the line “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can, wondering if I’d get there quicker if I was a man." Saying that no matter how hard women work, sometimes men get there faster just because they are men, and she (and women in general) are sick of it. She has said that this is a song she has wanted to write for a very long time and finally did. The bridge in this song is very important in how Taylor asks “What’s it like to brag about raking in dollars and getting bitches and models, and it’s all good if you’re bad, and it’s okay if you’re mad?" She wants to know what it’s like to be able to write about your love life and not get hate for it or get called a player and be told that you date too many people. She is pointing out how men are not dragged for writing about their love life and “getting bitches and models” but when Taylor writes about genuine relationships, she is dragged for it and told that she dates too many people. I think that writing this song was such a power- move for Taylor and I am so glad that she finally wrote it.
The Archer: The Archer is a very emotional and vulnerable song. The line “who could ever leave me darling... but who could stay?” is so important because this is Taylor realizing that so many people can, and will leave you, but the person that stays with you through all of the ups and downs of life is who’s most important. This is a song where Taylor is very vulnerable in acknowledging some of her insecurities, such as wondering if anyone could ever stay with her or being insecure about her appearance (as seen in the line “I cut off my nose just to spite my face then I hate my reflection for years and years”). Taylor has been through a few break-ups and feels as though it’s hard for people to stay with her, this is the reason for the line, and overall question, “but who could stay?" Following up to that, Taylor is currently in a relationship with British actor Joe Alwyn, and she does not want to lose him, hence the lyric “help me hold on to you." The part of the bridge that says “all of my enemies started out friends” is very important because all of Taylor’s enemies have started out as her friends and they have turned on her, so she wants to hold on to Joe and never wants him to turn on her.
I Think He Knows: Possibly one of the most upbeat and dance-worthy songs on this album! “He got my heartbeat skipping down 16th avenue," and the whole chorus in general, just makes you want to dance around. “Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh, we could follow the sparks I’ll drive” is such a good bridge and just shows you how in love she is with him. This whole song is basically just Taylor talking about how in love she is with Joe and how she doesn’t even have to tell him because he already knows.
Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince: This whole song is a metaphor of the current political climate but based in a high school setting. “American glory faded before me” shows how American patriotism has dwindled and isn’t super existent anymore like it used to be. With how the political climate is evolving, many people just don’t want to be patriotic for the country anymore because the leaders don’t support ideas that parts of society stand for, so the sense of patriotism is fading. “I saw the scoreboard and ran for my life” shows how things are stacked against minorities. Taylor has not had big Fourth of July parties in the past few years and this could be due to the current political climate, but this could be the reasoning behind the line “no cameras catch my pageant smile”, because she’s not smiling her pageant smile anymore, her teeth are out and she is standing up for what she believes is right. She’s no longer having parties to support a country that doesn’t have the same idea of rights as she does. There is also this whole theme of running way in this song, which is seen in lyrics such as “I’ve counted days, I’ve counted miles” and “Voted most likely to run away with you”. This could be about how America’s political climate is falling apart and she just wants to run away and get away from it all. I believe that political parties are also referenced, such as when she says “So sad we paint the town blue” because blue is the color of the Democratic party, which Taylor openly aligns with. She also says “My team is losing, battered and bruising, I see the high fives between the bad guys," which could be implying that the Democrats are currently losing and she is seeing all the Republicans high fiving and celebrating because they are winning. Sexism and the Me Too movement is also hinted at when she says “boys will be boys then, where are the wise men?” because she is trying to raise awareness for how “boys will be boys” has become such a common thing to say when a boy does something wrong, instead of making them take responsibility for their actions. The bridge takes an interesting twist on the common “Go, Fight, Win” chant, which circles back to the high school theme. But with this chant Taylor also reassures listeners that this is a fight that someday we’re going to win, so we should keep fighting and not give up.
Paper Rings: Perhaps the happiest song on the album! This is such a fun, dance-worthy song and is overall just so cute. This song is Taylor saying how in love she is with Joe because she likes fancy things, but the ring doesn’t even matter, she would marry him with paper rings. She flashes back to before they started dating with “Cat and mouse for a month or two or three” and follows it up with “Now I wake up in the night and watch you breathe." She also throws in personal details such as “I’m with you even if it makes me blue, which takes me back to the color that we painted your brother’s wall." She also appreciates their past with the lyric “Honey without all the exes, fights, and flaws, we wouldn’t be standing here so tall," noting how they wouldn’t be where they are now if none of their past had happened.
Cornelia Street: A heartbreaking song that foreshadows a breakup that she is terrified of occurring. Taylor is reminiscing on all these memories and saying how if they ever broke up, there are so many things that she would never be able to do again because they hold so many memories, such as walking Cornelia Street. This is such a vulnerable and emotional song that holds so many personal details. This is the type of personal songwriting that is seen in some of Taylor’s previous songs, such as “All Too Well”. “I don’t wanna lose you, I hope it never ends” are just such heartbreaking lyrics, it’s like when you realize how much you’re going to miss a moment as it is happening. “I get mystified by how this city screams your name” is also one of the strongest lyrics on this album, in my opinion. “Barefoot in the kitchen, sacred new beginnings that became my religion” is just such a warm lyric that shows how in love they are and how proud she is of this life that they’re building together.
Death By A Thousand Cuts: Taking on explaining the pain of a break-up, this song hides heart-breaking lyrics behind dance-worthy melodies. She starts by saying that “Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts, flashbacks waking me up, I get drunk but it’s not enough because the morning comes and you’re not my baby," which is heartbreaking in itself. “Death By A Thousand Cuts” is a really good title and overall concept for this song because breakups are like a thousand cuts, there are a thousand different things that hurt you and they could be tiny or small cuts, but there are thousands of them and they all hurt and sting. Taylor also tells the narrative from the side of being broken up with and finding the relationship hard to get over. This is seen in lyrics such as “If the story’s over, why am I still writing pages?” and “Gave up on me like I was a bad drug, now I’m searching for signs in a haunted club."
Soon You’ll Get Better: This is the most heartbreaking song on the album. This song was written in honor of her mother, Andrea's battle with cancer. It is a very beautiful and encouraging song to her mother, saying how she will get better soon. Taylor also goes into detail with her own battles during this time and how she copes with them, which I, personally, think is very helpful to make people who are listening feel less alone if they are going through something similar with a loved one. With lines such as “Who am I supposed to talk to, if there’s no you?” This song will tear your heart into a million pieces. Please keep Andrea in your thoughts and prayers.
You Need To Calm Down: Taking on haters and homophobes all in one song. Taylor shows her love and support for the LGBTQ+ community in this song with lines such as “Why are you mad when you could be GLAAD?” and “Shade never made anybody less gay." She shows how all the hate she got never tore her down with the powerful line “Snakes and stones never broke my bones." She also acknowledges men pitting women in the music industry against each other and blows them off by saying “We all know now that we all got crowns." Taylor just takes on the haters with this song and is saying that it is not worth your time to tear others down, you just need to calm down.
Daylight: As the original title of this album, I feel like this song is a perfect ending to the album and overall a perfect recap to the album in general. This song is all about moving on and letting things go that you don’t need to hold on to. This song makes me so proud of Taylor and happy for her because she has been through so much and with this song, you can tell that she is finally happy. “I only see daylight” is implying how she is now only focusing on the good in her life and is not letting anything else bother her. In this song, love is compared to a lot of colors. I think that is very important because one of her previous albums, Red, was titled that way because she believed that love was defined as being red, which she felt described a handful of emotions. But in “Daylight,” she even says “I once believed love would be burning red, but it’s golden, like daylight." She once believed so many different things about love but now that she has found and experienced true love, she realizes that it’s nothing like she thought, it’s golden. “You gotta step into the daylight and let it go” is one of my favorite lyrics on the album because it is just such a freeing line and just feels very comforting. I think that the spoken part at the end of this song is very important. Taylor says “I want to be defined by the things that I love. Not the things that I hate, not the things I’m afraid of, the things that haunt me in the middle of the night. I just think that...you are what you love." I think this is a perfect way to close out this album because this whole album is about love and all the different forms of it and to close the album out with Taylor speaking those lines, it’s just perfect. Daylight is such a good way to end the album.
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