Singer-songwriter Taylor Swift pivots in style from her last two albums and settles in for a melancholic documentation of relationships and life in her latest record, Folklore. In the midst of a pandemic, its self-reflective charm paints a narrative escape just like that of an oasis in the desert. Folklore takes us through Swift’s musings, rants, and belief systems, a far cry from the controversial Reputation but nowhere near the energising pop anthems on Lover. Swift goes back to her singer-songwriter roots in this one, hardened from past battles, yet open and vulnerable.
Swift draws inspiration from her vault of past experiences, coupled with historic figures, events, and even movies, whilst encircling her tried and tested theme of love and its failings. It all begins with “the 1”, a post-breakup meditation where Swift fantasises about what could have been and looks back on a past relationship with rose-tinted glasses. This track’s easy-listening vibe carries on throughout the album, but the themes are anything but light.
In “mad woman”, Taylor does her take on the phrase “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”. Here, she laments the injustice of how a toxic ex-boyfriend gets away with everything, being able to seamlessly move on to his next “victim”, while she is left carrying the grudges and hurts of their broken relationship. She points to the notion that not all anger is unfounded, playing out scenes of retaliation but biding her time and choosing inaction while simultaneously seething inside.
The whole album soon fades to an end with the beautifully haunting melodies on “hoax”, its repetitive melody resembling that of a music box that gets wound up only to play out the same expected outcome. It’s a sad tale of a protagonist who longs for love from a partner even though she knows the love isn’t true: “Your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in / Don’t want no other shade of blue but you / No other sadness in the world would do.”
Though the album is catchy and fun to listen to, I would proceed with a guarded heart. Swift is a master of making us feel wistful about young love (even if we’ve never even been through it!), and while this album’s ethereal quality may make you long for the experience, clearly not all the love she describes is healthy.
Don’t get me wrong — I love the album. It’s a beautiful tribute to the Taylor I knew and loved. It also shows her growth as a person and as a musician. Yet, it’s easy to be drawn into romanticising, or longing, for a broken relationship at the strum of a tune.
I think that’s why the Bible warns us to “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it” (Prov 4:23). It would be much more fulfilling to let the wisdom of God guide our thinking and feeling instead of songs and songwriters, no matter how much we admire them.
