ATRL Moderator Popular Post feelslikeadream Posted June 16 ATRL Moderator Popular Post Share Posted June 16 Swifties are honest and objective in noting that TTPD is a very strong album in Taylor's discography, and that at times, it marks a return to strong lyricism (that was missing on much of Midnights), even if it isn't quite as consistent as some previous albums. The album has been received generally favorable reviews from critics, but of course due to Taylor's overexposure and full-scale domination, ATRLers are quick to dismiss the album and the songwriting—mostly because of a few clunky lyrics that appear over the 2.5-hour album. In the spirit of a recent thread that asked us to consider the quality of this record, I thought it would be fitting to discuss some of the lyrical strong points of the album. Of course, this is all just my opinion as someone who listens to a lot of music, cares about lyrics, teaches creative writing, etc., so surely others will disagree with some of my assessments! There are also a lot of other lyrics people must like, so please comment below with your other favorites, if I missed them I said, "I don't mind, it takes time" / I thought I was better safe that starry-eyed. I love how this lyric is a play on "better safe than sorry," but reframes "sorry" as "starry-eyed" to make it positive; still, the line is so bittersweet and just very moving. What if I roll the stone away? / They're gonna crucify me anyway / What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy? In a song built on the premise of love = sinning, this is just a beautiful climax moment where she switches it around, quickly and effectively. What a valiant roar / What a bland goodbye / The coward claimed he was a lion. A pretty straightforward metaphoric line, but I love how "roar" comes back in "lion." I also don't love perfect rhymes every time, so the slant rhyme of "bye" and "lion" (shared vowel sound) pleases me. For a moment, I knew cosmic love / Now I'm down bad crying at the gym. Ironically, this lyric made the list of "terrible lyrics" from another user, but this is one of my favorite moments lyrically, as it subverts expectations in both imagery and language; the lofty, breathy delivery of "I knew cosmic love" (which is celestial and otherworldly) is followed by the most pedestrian lyric: "down bad" is a colloquial phrase and "at the gym" is a mundane and dull scene. This perfectly encapsulates the tension that the whole song is built on, i.e. how everything feels disappointing after the high of the relationship/alien abduction. You look like Taylor Swift / In this light, we're loving it / You've got edge, she never did / The future's bright, dazzling. You simply have to be an OTH to not acknowledge how this very end-of-song plot twist is perfect and adds so much meaning to the track. When it's all roses, portrait poses / Central Park Lake in tiny rowboats / What a charming Saturday / That's when she sees the littlest leaks / Down in the floorboards / And she just knows / She must bolt. OK The Bolter is my fave song so I almost put the whole thing But I love this verse: she sticks to a single field of imagery, efficiently creating this scene of a Saturday in the park. But what I like best is how the leaks in the floorboards of the rowboat are what tells the protagonist to leave: this is a direct callback to the song's refrain in which she almost drowns: "It feels like the time / She fell through the ice / Then came out alive." Smart of TS to use imagery of water/drowning to represent her relationship anxiety this way. I dream of cracking locks / Throwing my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks / Crashing into him tonight. What I love about these lines is the shift from really dark (suicidal) imagery, to the lover, through the phrase "ocean rocks." At first, you think she means suicide by drowning, but the phrase "crashing into him tonight" subverts the imagery of the body crashing on the rocks to turn the body into a symbol for waves that crash into the lover instead. In other words, the only way out of her bone-deep boredom is through suicide or having this seemingly unattainable man. I know I'm just repeating mysеlf / Put me back on my shelf / But first, pull the string and I'll tell you that he runs because he loves me. Small thing, but I appreciate the "repeating myself" being reinforced with "pull the string"—i.e. as a doll, she only says a few phrases. This song in general is a good example of Taylor using a conceit (central metaphor) without mucking it up and layering in a bunch of other metaphors! Sticking with the toy imagery works well here. I guess a lesser woman would've lost hope / A greater woman wouldn't beg / But I looked to the sky and said / "Please, I've been on my knees / Change the prophecy / Don't want money, just someone who wants my company." This is a long section, but the move from the verse into the chorus here is really effective. Love the reversal of "lesser woman" and "greater woman," and the start of the chorus is a strong example of how she can be very straightforward but very emotive. The chorus of I Hate it Here. The album is full of literary references, but this is the best one imo. The imagery of the secret garden is clear, focused, and poignant. Tail between your legs you're leaving / ... Old habits die screaming. The tail line is a clever place to end on given the song's title The Black Dog. And Taylor loves to rework a cliche, and "old habits die screaming" is one of her best ones. You swore that you loved me but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waiting for the proof. Doesn't require a lot of explanation: just a great couplet. A nice touch: "Swore" and "altar" mirror each other at the start the line while "clues" and "proof" mirror at the end of the lines. Bonus for my fellow Stevie Nicks stans: You look like Stevie Nicks / In '75, the hair and lips / Crowd goes wild at her fingertips / Half moonshine, a full еclipse. Throughout the song, Taylor describes the allure of the stars using light imagery. For Nicks, she writes specifically about the moon—which is such a nice touch given how Nicks sings "Sisters of the Moon," has used moon imagery on album covers, and famously always wears a crescent moon necklace. So what did I miss? Let's celebrate the writing and share some other favorite lines here! 18 7 3 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATRL Moderator Popular Post feelslikeadream Posted June 16 Author ATRL Moderator Popular Post Share Posted June 16 (And before you ask "hOw mUcH TiMe dO yOu HaVe oN yOuR hAnDs" please remember I'm a mod on ATRL so of course I have time on my hands ) 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgalbriel Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 Great album, she really did that 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Bhabylon Posted June 16 Popular Post Share Posted June 16 5 2 12 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tost1 Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 This is like Normani releasing a compilation of greatest hits 11 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel is Desire Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 This thread acknowledging good lyrics won't get 1/4 the amount of pages though 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vegvisir Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dear Reader Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 As the men masqueraded, I hoped you'd return With your feet on the ground, tell me all that you'd learned 'Cause love's never lost when perspective is earned 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mercurialworld Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 i unironically like "we declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist" it's just so unserious and silly 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dear Reader Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 When the first stone's thrown, there's screamin' In the streets, there's a raging riot When it's "Burn the *****," they're shrieking When the truth comes out, it's quiet 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoOneDiesFromLove Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 best songwriter ever and this is her magnum opus 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rage Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 1 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catch22 Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 2 minutes ago, Dear Reader said: When the first stone's thrown, there's screamin' In the streets, there's a raging riot When it's "Burn the *****," they're shrieking When the truth comes out, it's quiet 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruel Summer Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I really love that you called out The Prophecy - it's still my favorite thing she's ever done. Everything from the lyrical songwriting to the vocal melodies to the instrumentation is just peak. It's the song I dreamed about when pining for her to do something like Sufjan Stevens' best work (ie. The Only Thing) but somehow even better than what I imagined she'd make. Maybe it's because I've felt some of those words myself lately. In any case, so long as that one song exists, TTPD is worth it all; that I love the rest of the album is just an added bonus compared to being given that song. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloodflowers. Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 We were blind to unforeseen circumstances We learn the right steps to different dances (ohh) And fell victim to interlopers' glances Lost the game of chance, what are the chances? 6 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel is Desire Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 But even statues crumble if they're made to wait I'm so afraid I sealed my fate No sign of soulmates I'm just a paperweight In shades of greige Spending my last coin so someone will tell me It'll be ok 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folklore89sm Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 There are some stinkers of lyrics on TTPD (the title track is indefensible in particular) as well as some excellent ones. If you take any lyric out of context from any song by any artist you can convince yourself it's badTaylor is held to a different standard to other artists where suddenly haters play dumb and lose all comprehension skills and ability to analyse literary devices just to take every word at face-value. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
réveuse Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Folklore89sm Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I'm combing through the braids of lies "I'll never leave" ... "Never mind" Our field of dreams, engulfed in fire Your arson's match your somber eyes And I'll still see it until I die You're the loss of my life 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Both Sides Now Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 (edited) I liked The Prophecy and the metaphor she used in I Look In People's Windows/Down Bad. Clara Bow was also nice although better executed in Nothing New. Honestly, I couldn't really tell you any specific good lyrics because the album is too unwieldy. I listen to Taylor a lot but trying to digest 31 tracks was difficult - especially since they all sound very much alike. Edited June 16 by Both Sides Now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanyelP23 Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 35 minutes ago, feelslikeadream said: Swifties are honest and objective in noting that TTPD is a very strong album in Taylor's discography, and that at times, it marks a return to strong lyricism (that was missing on much of Midnights), even if it isn't quite as consistent as some previous albums. The album has been received generally favorable reviews from critics, but of course due to Taylor's overexposure and full-scale domination, ATRLers are quick to dismiss the album and the songwriting—mostly because of a few clunky lyrics that appear over the 2.5-hour album. In the spirit of a recent thread that asked us to consider the quality of this record, I thought it would be fitting to discuss some of the lyrical strong points of the album. Of course, this is all just my opinion as someone who listens to a lot of music, cares about lyrics, teaches creative writing, etc., so surely others will disagree with some of my assessments! There are also a lot of other lyrics people must like, so please comment below with your other favorites, if I missed them I said, "I don't mind, it takes time" / I thought I was better safe that starry-eyed. I love how this lyric is a play on "better safe than sorry," but reframes "sorry" as "starry-eyed" to make it positive; still, the line is so bittersweet and just very moving. What if I roll the stone away? / They're gonna crucify me anyway / What if the way you hold me is actually what's holy? In a song built on the premise of love = sinning, this is just a beautiful climax moment where she switches it around, quickly and effectively. What a valiant roar / What a bland goodbye / The coward claimed he was a lion. A pretty straightforward metaphoric line, but I love how "roar" comes back in "lion." I also don't love perfect rhymes every time, so the slant rhyme of "bye" and "lion" (shared vowel sound) pleases me. For a moment, I knew cosmic love / Now I'm down bad crying at the gym. Ironically, this lyric made the list of "terrible lyrics" from another user, but this is one of my favorite moments lyrically, as it subverts expectations in both imagery and language; the lofty, breathy delivery of "I knew cosmic love" (which is celestial and otherworldly) is followed by the most pedestrian lyric: "down bad" is a colloquial phrase and "at the gym" is a mundane and dull scene. This perfectly encapsulates the tension that the whole song is built on, i.e. how everything feels disappointing after the high of the relationship/alien abduction. You look like Taylor Swift / In this light, we're loving it / You've got edge, she never did / The future's bright, dazzling. You simply have to be an OTH to not acknowledge how this very end-of-song plot twist is perfect and adds so much meaning to the track. When it's all roses, portrait poses / Central Park Lake in tiny rowboats / What a charming Saturday / That's when she sees the littlest leaks / Down in the floorboards / And she just knows / She must bolt. OK The Bolter is my fave song so I almost put the whole thing But I love this verse: she sticks to a single field of imagery, efficiently creating this scene of a Saturday in the park. But what I like best is how the leaks in the floorboards of the rowboat are what tells the protagonist to leave: this is a direct callback to the song's refrain in which she almost drowns: "It feels like the time / She fell through the ice / Then came out alive." Smart of TS to use imagery of water/drowning to represent her relationship anxiety this way. I dream of cracking locks / Throwing my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks / Crashing into him tonight. What I love about these lines is the shift from really dark (suicidal) imagery, to the lover, through the phrase "ocean rocks." At first, you think she means suicide by drowning, but the phrase "crashing into him tonight" subverts the imagery of the body crashing on the rocks to turn the body into a symbol for waves that crash into the lover instead. In other words, the only way out of her bone-deep boredom is through suicide or having this seemingly unattainable man. I know I'm just repeating mysеlf / Put me back on my shelf / But first, pull the string and I'll tell you that he runs because he loves me. Small thing, but I appreciate the "repeating myself" being reinforced with "pull the string"—i.e. as a doll, she only says a few phrases. This song in general is a good example of Taylor using a conceit (central metaphor) without mucking it up and layering in a bunch of other metaphors! Sticking with the toy imagery works well here. I guess a lesser woman would've lost hope / A greater woman wouldn't beg / But I looked to the sky and said / "Please, I've been on my knees / Change the prophecy / Don't want money, just someone who wants my company." This is a long section, but the move from the verse into the chorus here is really effective. Love the reversal of "lesser woman" and "greater woman," and the start of the chorus is a strong example of how she can be very straightforward but very emotive. The chorus of I Hate it Here. The album is full of literary references, but this is the best one imo. The imagery of the secret garden is clear, focused, and poignant. Tail between your legs you're leaving / ... Old habits die screaming. The tail line is a clever place to end on given the song's title The Black Dog. And Taylor loves to rework a cliche, and "old habits die screaming" is one of her best ones. You swore that you loved me but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waiting for the proof. Doesn't require a lot of explanation: just a great couplet. A nice touch: "Swore" and "altar" mirror each other at the start the line while "clues" and "proof" mirror at the end of the lines. Bonus for my fellow Stevie Nicks stans: You look like Stevie Nicks / In '75, the hair and lips / Crowd goes wild at her fingertips / Half moonshine, a full еclipse. Throughout the song, Taylor describes the allure of the stars using light imagery. For Nicks, she writes specifically about the moon—which is such a nice touch given how Nicks sings "Sisters of the Moon," has used moon imagery on album covers, and famously always wears a crescent moon necklace. So what did I miss? Let's celebrate the writing and share some other favorite lines here! I didn't generally vibe with the lyricism on this album mainly because it's too wordy and it sometimes feels like it shoots certain songs in the foot and prevents them from being easy to listen, but let me leave a quick like to this post cuz I'm tired of all the popular threads that drag her all day. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NEX Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 First of all: looool. But ye, TTPD has a lot of great lyrics no doubt. Although I'm curious about how you all assess albums in general? Do you look for great lyrics/songs and go like "hmm, this album has a lot of great stuff on it, so it's a great album"? Or do you start with a theoretically perfect album and then subtract points for any bad songs/lyrics. If you do it the former way, then TTPD is a great album. But then so is Lover and Midnights. If you do it the latter way, TTPD loses a ton of points for bad lines, bad production and several truly stinky songs. I always assess albums the latter way. So for those reasons TTPD could never be a great album in my eyes, regardless of how many great songs or lyrical moments are on it. It would never be anything more than mid in my eyes. Whereas for example Folklore scores almost perfect points across the board - no lyrical, production or melodic missteps. Hence the difference between the two is like heaven and earth. I guess for this reason one could focus on all the negatives or all the positives to paint a different picture, but I think the true value of this record lies somewhere in the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taylor fanboy Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 (edited) I'm reading all that Happy for us Free Palestine Edited June 16 by Taylor fanboy 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Badgalbriel Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 10 minutes ago, NEX said: First of all: looool. But ye, TTPD has a lot of great lyrics no doubt. Although I'm curious about how you all assess albums in general? Do you look for great lyrics/songs and go like "hmm, this album has a lot of great stuff on it, so it's a great album"? Or do you start with a theoretically perfect album and then subtract points for any bad songs/lyrics. If you do it the former way, then TTPD is a great album. But then so is Lover and Midnights. If you do it the latter way, TTPD loses a ton of points for bad lines, bad production and several truly stinky songs. I always assess albums the latter way. So for those reasons TTPD could never be a great album in my eyes, regardless of how many great songs or lyrical moments are on it. It would never be anything more than mid in my eyes. Whereas for example Folklore scores almost perfect points across the board - no lyrical, production or melodic missteps. Hence the difference between the two is like heaven and earth. I guess for this reason one could focus on all the negatives or all the positives to paint a different picture, but I think the true value of this record lies somewhere in the middle. Ok boo. We get it that you know how to write. Let's learn how to read now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartender Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 It's just a shame that these songs were either discarded from the standard or bundled up with the other atrocities on this album And let's be real Down Bad shouldn't even be on this list if you're trying to make a case the chorus is one of her most tragic Anyways yeah the worse songs overshadow and ruin this album 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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