History Music / Folklore2020

** The incident of Inez [[ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive pulling up and telling James to get in the car]] is discussed in the bridges of "august" and "betty."

* LoveTriangle: "cardigan," "august," and "betty" are each written from the perspective of one of the teenagers in a tumultuous summer love triangle: Inez, Betty, and James.

** The IncitingIncident of the "Teenage Love Triangle" saga is James cheating on Betty with Inez over one summer. "august," "betty," and "cardigan" all discuss this.

* TruckDriversGearChange: The last chorus of "betty" shifts up a key to capture the singer's more hopeful mood.

* LoveTriangle: ''cardigan'', ''august'', and ''betty'' are each written from the perspective of one of the teenagers in a tumultuous summer love triangle: Inez, Betty, and James.

* ContinuityNod: The [[Music/{{Lover}} previous album]]'s song "ME!" says, "I never leave well enough alone," self-deprecatingly but [[IAmGreatSong proudly]]. "the 1" says, "In my defense, I have none / For never leaving well enough alone" in ItsAllMyFault fashion.

** "mad woman" uses ''mad'' in both of its senses (''angry'' and ''insane'') simultaneously.

** Like most of Swift's albums, this has one.

* ProductionThrowback: "betty" is reminiscent of Swift's early country work--[[SillyLoveSongs songs like "Love Story"]] from ''Fearless''--with its harmonica, jaunty chorus, and teenage heartache lyrics. It even has a TruckDriversGearChange in the final chorus!

The project was unlike anything Swift had ever put out. It has a folksy, alternative sound, as contrasted with her earlier country work and more recent SynthPop. Swift worked with her frequent collaborator and producer Jack Antonoff, but brought some new faces to her team, including Music/BonIver as her only feature and brothers Bryce and Aaron Dessner from Music/TheNational as writers and producers.

The project was unlike anything Swift had ever put out. It has a folksy, alternative sound, as contrasted with her earlier country work and more recent SynthPop. Swift worked with her frequent collaborator and producer Jack Antonoff, but brought some new faces to her team, including Music/BonIver as her only feature and the Dessner brothers from Music/TheNational as writers and producers.

* ShoutOut: "the cardigan" references the ending of ''Literature/PeterPan''.

The tracks are:

--> Tried to change the ending\\

* AllLowerCaseLetters: The album and all of the tracks are stylized in all lower case letters.

# "invisible strings" (4:12)

# "indivisible strings" (4:12)

* EasterEgg: The video for “the cardigan” contains a picture of Swift’s grandfather Dean in his military uniform. His service in the South Pacific inspired “epiphany”.

->''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.''

* NewSoundAlbum: Swift's previous albums range anywhere from pure country to pure pop to a hybrid between the two. However, ''folklore'' is classified as an alternative album and is considerably more low-tempo than anything else she'd ever put out. The closest thing she'd ever done to it was "Safe and Sound", a collaboration with Music/TheCivilWars created for the first ''[[Film/TheHungerGames Hunger Games]]'' movie.

* YourCheatingHeart: "illicit affairs" is a {{deconstruction}} of this sort of relationship (specifically, [[TheMistress the long-term kind]]), illustrating how the fun and excitement can wear off, and if one party is more invested than the other, it just leads to needless heartache all around.

* PrecisionFStrike: Her first album to be given an explicit content label, with five songs considered explicit. "mad woman" and "betty" use the word "fuck", "the last great american dynasty" contains "bitch", and "the 1" and "peace" use "shit".

The project is unlike anything Swift had ever put out. It is a folksy alternative album compared to her earlier country work and more recent SynthPop work. Swift worked with her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff but some new faces to her team include Music/BonIver as her only feature and the Dessner brothers from Music/TheNational as writers and producers.

* ChildrenAreInnocent: A heartbreaking example in "seven." The narrator notices that her friend's father is [[AbusiveParents angry all]] [[DomesticAbuse the time]]... and assumes it must be because their house is haunted.
* LoveTriangle: ''cardigan'', ''august'', and ''betty'' are written from the perspective of each teenager in a tumultuous summer love triangle: Inez, Betty, and James.
* NewSoundAlbum: Swift's previous albums range anywhere from pure country to pure pop to a hybrid between the two. However, this is considered an alternative album and is also considerably more low tempo than anything else she's ever put out. The closest thing she's ever done to it is "Safe and Sound", a collaboration with the Civil Wars, that she did for one of the ''Film/TheHungerGames'' movies.

* PrecisionFStrike: Her first album to be given an explicit content label, with five songs being considered explicit. "mad woman" and "betty" use the word "fuck", "the last great american dynasty" contains "bitch", and "the 1" and "peace" use "shit"

-->''She had a marvelous time ruining everything.''
* TextlessAlbumCover: Neither the standard cover nor any of the eight special editions have any text on them.

* WidowWoman: "the last great american dynasty" is about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebekah_Harkness eccentric Standard Oil heiress Rebekah Harkness]] who became one of the richest women in America after being widowed by her husband Bill. She previously owned Swift's beach house in Rhode Island.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: In "my tears ricochet," the narrator laments, "I can go anywhere I want, anywhere I want--just not ''home''."
* YourCheatingHeart: "illicit affairs" is a {{Deconstruction}} of this sort of relationship (specifically, [[TheMistress the long-term kind]]), illustrating how the fun and excitement can wear off, and if one party is more invested than the other, it just leads to needless heartache all around.

[[caption-width-right:300: I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit]]

''folklore'' is American singer and songwriter Music/TaylorSwift's eighth studio album. It was released on July 24, 2020 after being announced with no prior marketing only the day before. The album was written throughout the Spring and while Swift was in quarantine during the [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19]] pandemic.


This project is unlike anything she's ever put out. It is a folksy alternative album compared to her earlier country work and more recent SynthPop work. Swift worked with her frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff but some new faces to her team include Music/BonIver as her only feature and the Dessner brothers from Music/TheNational as writers and producers.

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: ''epiphany'' was inspired by stories Taylor heard growing up about her grandfather fighting in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guadalcanal_campaign Guadacanal campaign]] in the South Pacific during World War II.

-->''She had such a wonderful time ruining everything.''