Line #204 Music/Folklore2020


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/614zgjtfrl_sy780.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:''"I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit."'']]
3
4	->''"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.\
5	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.\
6	Now it's up to you to pass them down."''
7	-->-- '''Taylor Swift''' for [[https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/9423740/read-taylor-swift-primer-folklore billboard]]
8
9	''Folklore'' (stylized [[AllLowercaseLetters lowercase]] as ''folklore'') is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Music/TaylorSwift. It was released at midnight on July 24, 2020, after being announced with no prior marketing only the morning before. The album was written throughout the spring and while Swift was in quarantine during the UsefulNotes/COVID19Pandemic.
10
11	The project carved a new path for Swift's discography. It has a [[NewSoundAlbum folksy, alternative sound]], as contrasted with her earlier country work and more recent SynthPop. It likewise marked a shift in her lyrical content, focusing more on fictional storytelling and worldbuilding rather than the personal narratives that Swift had previously been known for. Swift continued to work 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 album also feature prominent writing (and production) credit of William Bowery, who was later revealed by Taylor to be her boyfriend at the time Creator/JoeAlwyn.
12
13	While ''folklore'' lacked the pop radio appeal of her earlier works, it was still an immense commercial and critical success and demonstrated her continued commitment to exploring new artistic avenues. This new path exposed Swift to a host of new fans and led to a general reevaluation of her entire oeuvre. ''folklore'' was named Album of the Year at the 63rd UsefulNotes/{{Grammy Award}}s, making Swift the first female artist to win the award three times.
14
15	Less than five months after its release, Swift once again announced a surprise midnight album: ''folklore'''s "sister record," ''Music/{{evermore\|2020}}'', which she described as a continuation of the same project and which shares many lyrical and technical similarities with its predecessor.
16
17	----
18	Preceded by ''Music/{{Lover}}'', succeded by ''Music/{{evermore\|2020}}''.
19	----
20	'''Tracklist:'''[[note]]singles italicized[[/note]]
21	# ''"the 1"'' (3:30)
22	# ''"cardigan"'' (3:59)
23	# "the last great american dynasty" (3:51)
24	# ''"exile"'' (ft. Music/BonIver) (4:45)
25	# "my tears ricochet" (4:15)
26	# "mirrorball" (3:29)
27	# "seven" (3:28)
28	# "august" (4:21)
29	# "this is me trying" (3:15)
30	# "illicit affairs" (3:10)
31	# "invisible string" (4:12)
32	# "mad woman" (3:57)
33	# "epiphany" (4:49)
34	# ''"betty"'' (4:49)
35	# "peace" (3:54)
36	# "hoax" (3:40)
37	# ''"the lakes"'' (Bonus Track) (3:31)
38
39	----
40	!!"I had a marvelous time troping everything":
41
42	* AbusiveParents: Heavily implied in "seven":
43	-->I think your house is haunted\
44	Your dad is always mad, [[InnocentInaccurate and that must be why]]\
45	And I think you should come live with me\
46	and we can be pirates\
47	Then you won't have to cry\
48	Or hide in the closet
49	* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: The (real) house in "the last great american dynasty" is named "'''H'''oliday '''H'''ouse."
50	* AlbumClosure: Out of keeping with her normal pattern, Swift concludes ''folklore'' with its saddest song: "hoax," a quiet piano ballad about feeling broken by a lover's betrayal but staying anyway.
51	* AlbumTitleDrop: The word "folklore" never appears in the album, but "seven" includes several variations on the line:
52	-->Passed down like folk songs\
53	Our love lasts so long
54	* AllLowercaseLetters: The album and all of the tracks are stylized in all lower case letters.
55	* AlternativeIndie: It was Taylor's first album to be classified as "Alternative" rather than {{country\|music}} or {{pop}}, and the visual and sonic aesthetic incorporate elements commonly associated with soft {{indie pop}}, but it's difficult to make a case for such a mainstream artist being either.
56	* AmbiguousEnding: Does Betty takes James back? [[spoiler:Accordig to Word of God, [[https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/folklore-the-long-pond-studio-sessions-taylor-swift-things-learned-taylor-swift-9490082/ yes]]. Despite being the first of the three songs to appear, the storytelling of "cardigan" happens 20 or 30 years later, as Betty recalls the separation and enduring optimism of her relationship with James.]]
57	* AmbiguousSituation:
58	** While "cardigan," "august," and "betty" are all part of the same story, the way ''other'' songs on the album tie in (or if they do at all) is completely up for listeners' interpretation.
59	** Did James outright cheat on Betty, or were they not really "together" when James had his fling with “August”?
60	* AmicableExes: Referenced in "invisible string" to illustrate how much the narrator has grown and matured over the years. She ''used'' to hold grudges against ex-boyfriends who hurt her, but has now let go of her anger enough to send gifts for their children.
61	* AntiLoveSong:
62	** "august" took this up to eleven, with every verses and chorus started by expressing the singer's longing for the guy... Only to subverted at the end of verse by concluding that "You aren't mine to lose".
63	** "illicit affairs" starts with the singer setting up all the way the she and her love interest conducts an affair... right before revealing that all the lies and secrecy has eaten away and exhausted her for the rest of the song and ended the song stating that she can't end the relationship because she loves the man so much.
64	* BackToCameraPose: The inner artwork is a monochrome photograph of Swift's back while she looks out at a grassy field. It is appropriate for the melancholy, self-reflective tone of the album's songs.
65	* BigFancyHouse: Swift's Rhode Island beach mansion, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holiday_House_(Watch_Hill) Holiday House]], features heavily in "the last great american dynasty", which is about its previous owner, a NouveauRiche woman who didn't fit in with the OldMoney. The song mentions how she turned the respectable home into quite the party place, "[filling] the pool with champagne and [swimming] with the big names".
66	* Bittersweet17: The main characters in the “teenage love triangle” plot are 17 years old and experiencing heartbreak for the first time.
67	* {{Bowdlerise}}: On the radio edition of "betty", "would you tell me to go fuck myself?" gets edited to "would you tell me to go straight to hell?"
68	* BreakupSong:
69	** "exile," a duet between both parties to a failed relationship.
70	--->You were my town\
71	Now I'm in exile seein' you out
72	** It's not clear whether "my tears ricochet" is about a breakup, a literal death, or something else entirely (such as, like some fans believe, Taylor's departure from Big Machine Records and long fight for ownership of her discography), but it can certainly be interpreted as one of these.
73	--->Cursing my name, wishing I stayed\
74	You turned into your worst fears\
75	And you're tossing out blame, drunk on this pain\
76	Crossing out the good years
77	* BreakoutCharacter: "the lakes" was originally a deluxe release. However, the song's popularity has caused Swift to release the original version of the song for the 1 year anniversary of the album.
78	* BurnTheWitch: Used metaphorically in "mad woman":
79	-->And women like hunting witches too\
80	Doing your dirtiest work for you
81	* ChildhoodFriends: "seven" is written to the singer's childhood best friend, whom she has fallen out of touch with but still remembers with great fondness.
82	-->And though I can't recall your face\
83	I still got love for you
84	* 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.
85	* ColorfulSong: "invisible string" mentions green grass, teal shirt, gold leaves, "the blues and then purple pink skies," and, of course, "one single thread of gold" that [[RedStringOfFate tied the narrator to her lover]].
86	* ConceptAlbum: Loosely organized around the topic of "folklore"--stories that get told and retold and morphed as they travel.
87	* ContinuityNod: "cardigan," "august," and "betty" contain numerous subtle internal references that clue the listener into their connection to each other.
88	** "cardigan" says, "Chase two girls, lose the one," setting up the LoveTriangle.
89	** "betty" and "cardigan" both mention walking on cobblestones and kissing in cars. Both also mention James coming back to Betty, standing on her porch, and saying he misses her.
90	** The incident of the unnamed mistress [[ComeWithMeIfYouWantToLive pulling up and telling James to get in the car]] is discussed in the bridges of "august" and "betty."
91	** "betty" mentions the song's subject "standing in [her] ''cardigan''."
92	* DarkerAndEdgier: Undoubtedly the darkest album she had ever done. The album has multiple songs with PrecisionFStrike, exploration of heavy themes like death, abuse, alcoholism and sexism, and a lack of definitive happy endings for the characters involved.
93	* DelayedNarratorIntroduction: “the last great american dynasty” tells the story of Rebekah Harkness’s life in the third person until the bridge:
94	--> Holiday House sat quietly on that beach\
95	Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits\
96	And then it was bought by me.
97	* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The album's cover is achromatic, effecting a sense of age (like folk songs and tales) and loneliness (like the solitude it was written in).
98	* {{Deconstruction}}: "illicit affairs" deconstruct being TheMistress, showing that the all the sneaking up and lies eventually worn out the woman despite still loving the married man so much.
99	* DestructiveRomance:
100	** The relationship described in "hoax" is obviously ''not'' a good one, with the narrator hinting that her lover is cheating on her, implying she has [[DrivenToSuicide suicidal feelings]] because of her lover's behavior, and outright admitting she's unhappy--but still not wanting to leave, because if she's going to be unhappy, she'd rather do it with someone than without.
101	** Depending on how you interpret "illicit affairs," it could also be seen as unhealthy, as the narrator clearly hates the sneaking around, and the final verse sounds a lot like a vicious argument.
102	--->Don't call me "kid"\
103	Don't call me "baby"\
104	Look at this godforsaken mess you've made me
105	** "exile" implies that the two lovers [[PoorCommunicationKills have extreme difficulties]] communicate with each other and the male singer (Bon Iver) ignores the signs that their relationship isn't working as well as willing to beat up guys for the female singer. The female singer on her part runs away without any words to the male singer.
106	* DoubleEntendre: The line in the first chorus of "illicit affairs," which speaks of love "[dying] / A million little times," may refer to the euphemism, "little death," for sexual orgasm.
107	* DoubleMeaning:
108	** "seven" uses the phrase "hit my peak" to refer both to hitting the highest point in the arc of a swing and having the best time of your life.
109	--->I hit my peak at seven\
110	Feet in the swing over the creek\
111	I was too scared to jump in
112	** "mad woman" uses ''mad'' in both of its senses (''angry'' and ''insane'') simultaneously. A ''madwoman'', it suggests, is often simply a ''mad woman''.
113	--->Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy\
114	What about that?\
115	And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry\
116	And there's nothing like a mad woman\
117	What a shame she went mad
118	* DownerEnding:
119	** While all of Taylor's previous albums end on a [[EarnYourHappyEnding happy]] or [[BittersweetEnding bittersweet]] note, this album closes out with "hoax," a ''very'' sad and emotional track about a toxic relationship.
120	--->Your faithless love's the only hoax I believe in
121	** Subverted with the album's physical CD version, which ends with "the lakes", a love ballad about wanting to escape from the modern life to the aforementioned lake with her significant other.
122	* DrivenToSuicide:
123	** Implied in "hoax."
124	--->[[SpitefulSuicide Stood on the cliffside screaming, "Give me a reason"]]
125	** Heavily implied in "this is me trying":
126	---> Pulled the car off the road to the lookout\
127	Could've followed my fears all the way down
128	* EasterEgg: The video for "cardigan" contains a picture of Swift’s grandfather Dean in his military uniform. His service in the South Pacific inspired "epiphany".
129	* FamilyOfChoice: "the 1" states that the subject of the narrator has one and the narrator reminiscing about celebrating with her subject chosen family and wish she could have been a part of that family:
130	--->We were something, don't you think so?\
131	Rosé flowing with your chosen family\
132	And it would've been sweet\
133	If it could've been me
134	* FemaleMisogynist: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in "mad woman". "Women like hunting [[WitchWithACapitalB witches]] too..."
135	* FolkMusic: Sort of. It's hard for an artist with the ''Billboard'' stats Taylor has to release what could be considered "authentic" folk, and the album's production is a lot more polished that usual for the genre. But it manages to capture the ethos and concerns of folk brilliantly.
136	* GriefSong: "epiphany," a song about the [[UsefulNotes/CoronavirusDisease2019Pandemic COVID-19]] pandemic.
137	-->Something med school did not cover\
138	Someone's daughter, someone's mother ...\
139	And some things you just can't speak about
140	* TheGrovel: All of "betty" is James groveling to the titular character for her to forgive and take him back. He admits he's cheated on and hurt her, argues that his fling with another girl wasn't anything serious, and says he misses Betty and wants to make it up to her.
141	* ImmediateSelfContradiction: In "betty," James does this twice.
142	** "Betty, I won't make assumptions about why you switched your homeroom / But I think it's 'cause of me."
143	** On the subject of his infidelity:
144	--->You heard the rumors from Inez\
145	You can't believe a word she says\
146	Most times, but this time, it was true
147	* InMediasRes: The "Teenage Love Triangle" trilogy is arranged on the album on opposite order, with "cardigan" is clearly about an adult Betty, while "betty" takes place in high school, and "august" is about James' unnamed mistress [[LoveNostalgiaSong reminiscing about their romance]] after it's over.
148	* InnocentInaccurate: "seven" says the narrator's friend cries and hides in the closet, and their father is always mad; the narrator is too young to know anything about AbusiveParents and thinks this is because their house is haunted.
149	* IronicEpisodeTitle: "peace" [[SongOfManyEmotions expresses a lot of tumultuous emotions]] as the narrator warns her beloved that she can never give them peace.
150	* ItsAllMyFault:
151	** "the 1" uses a variation:
152	--->In my defense, I have none\
153	For digging up the grave another time
154	** In "betty," James admits:
155	--->The worst thing that I ever did\
156	Was what I did to you
157	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: "the 1" has the narrator dreaming about her former lover, whom she still misses, being happy without her:
158	-->I have this dream you're doing cool shit\
159	Having adventures on your own\
160	You meet some woman on the Internet and take her home
161	* LastDisrespects: "my tears ricochet" is about someone who made the protagonist's life a living hell coming to their funeral as a proverbial last middle finger.
162	* Letters2Numbers: "the 1." Bonus as it's the first track on the album.
163	* LocationSong: Played with. "the last great american dynasty" is about both [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebekah_Harkness Rebekah Harkness]] and Swift herself, whose connection is the beachside house they both owned, fifty years apart.
164	* LoveIsADrug: "illicit affairs" is a LoveMartyr song about "A drug that only worked / The first few hundred times."
165	* LoveMartyr:
166	** The narrator of "illicit affairs" admits she's this.
167	--->Look at this idiotic fool that you made me\
168	You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else\
169	And you know damn well\
170	For you I would ruin myself\
171	A million little times.
172	** The narrator of "hoax" knows her lover is "faithless" and is obviously very broken up about it, but stays anyway.
173	--->You have beaten my heart\
174	Don't want no other shade of blue but you\
175	No other sadness in the world would do
176	* LoveNostalgiaSong:
177	** In "the 1," the singer reminisces about an old love and wonders what could have happened if they had stayed together.
178	--->We never painted by the numbers, baby\
179	But we were making it count\
180	You know the greatest loves of all time are over now
181	** "august" looks back at a summer romance which would never have worked out but which the singer still misses:
182	--->But I can see us lost in the memory\
183	August slipped away into a moment in time\
184	'Cause it was never mine
185	* LoveTriangle: "cardigan," "betty," and "august" are each written from the perspective of one of the teenagers in a tumultuous love triangle: Betty, James, and the unnamed girl James had an affair with. "cardigan" spells this out with the line, "Chase two girls, lose the one."
186	* LyricalDissonance: "seven" is set to light piano tune. The lyric of the song is about the narrator begging her childhood friend to not forget her while reminiscing about their relationship and innocently plotting the friend's escape from their abusive father.
187	* MiseryBuildsCharacter: In "the 1," the narrator says, "And if you never bleed, you're never gonna grow," trying to justify the pain of losing her love.
188	* TheMistress: The narrator of "illicit affairs" has been in a secret relationship with her married lover for quite a while. Much of the song is about how the sneaking around and always being in second place is really wearing her down, but she loves them too much to end it.
189	* MoodWhiplash: "invisible string" is a SillyLoveSong sandwiched between the very angsty Deconstruction of being TheMistress in "illicit affairs" and the incredibly rageful "mad woman" that decries sexism.
190	* {{Motif}}:
191	** In "mirrorball," the singer uses the central image of a disco ball to discuss various facets of her personality--her sparkle, her reflectivity, and, ultimately, her fragility.
192	** Movies/films are mentioned in several songs, in accord with the album's theme of storytelling.
193	*** "the 1" says, "You know the greatest films of all time were never made," paralleling the narrator's thoughts about her lost love being the greatest.
194	*** "exile" has the line, "I think I've seen this film before and I didn't like the ending."
195	*** "this is me trying" says, "You're a flashback in a film reel / On the one screen in my town."
196	*** "hoax" is the album's DownerEnding [[note]]not counting the deluxe edition bonus track[[/note]] that says, "You knew the hero died, so what's the movie for?"
197	* NewSoundAlbum: Swift's previous albums range anywhere from pure country to pure pop to a hybrid between the two. ''folklore'', on the other hand, is classified as an alternative album and is considerably more low-tempo and minimalist than her work in other genres. 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.
198	* NeverMyFault: "mad woman" calls out men who blame their own poor behavior and inadequacies on the women in their lives.
199	* NouveauRiche: Rebekah Harkness in "the last great american dynasty" came into her fortune by marrying the heir to an oil baron. She has trouble fitting in with the OldMoney "Rhode Island set."
200	-->The wedding was charming, if a little gauche\
201	There's only so far new money goes
202	* NoNameGiven: The girl James has a summer fling with is never named by the narrative.
203	* OneWomanSong: "betty", named for the object of the singer's affection.
204	* OneWordTitle:
205	** Like most of Swift's albums, ''folklore'' has one.
206	** "cardigan," "exile," "mirrorball," "seven," "august," "epiphany," "betty," "peace," and "hoax," also have them.
207	* PatriotInExile: The duet song "exile", comparing two ex lovers relationship to this trope:
208	--->(Music/BonIver) You're not my homeland anymore
209	--->So what am I defending now?
210	--->You were my town
211	--->Now I'm in exile seein' you out
212	--->...
213	--->(Taylor) You were my crown
214	--->Now I'm in exile, seein' you out
215	* PerspectiveFlip: "cardigan," "august," and "betty" give the perspectives of each of the three teens involved in a LoveTriangle.
216	* PlatonicDeclarationOfLove: "seven" says, "Love you to the moon and to Saturn" to a childhood friend.
217	* PrecisionFStrike: Swift's 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".
218	** "mad woman" particularly is the only one that uses it degradingly and almost viciously.
219	--->Do you see my face in your neighbor's lawn?\
220	Does she smile\
221	or does she mouth 'Fuck you forever'?
222	* PoorCommunicationKills: Miscommunication is one of the major problems in "[[BreakupSong exile]]."
223	-->You didn't even hear me out\
224	Didn't even hear me out\
225	[[NeverMyFault You never gave a warning sign]]\
226	I gave so many signs.
227	* ProductionThrowback:
228	** 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.
229	** "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!
230	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: Apparently averted. In stark contrast to Swift's previous albums, which made her notorious for writing about her real interpersonal relationships, ''folklore'' is supposedly composed of stories that aren't about her. Some, like "the last great american dynasty," tell stories which have a clear connection to her life, but the inspiration behind many of the other tracks has been the subject of much speculation.
231	* RecoveredAddict: The narrator of "this is me trying" is implied to be an [[TheAlcoholic alcoholic]] in recovery.
232	-->Pouring my heart out to a stranger\
233	But I didn't pour the whiskey
234	* RedStringOfFate: The concept behind “invisible string,” although here the string is [[ColorMotif gold.]]
235	-->A string that pulled me\
236	Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar\
237	Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire\
238	Chains around my demons\
239	Wool to brave the seasons\
240	One single thread of gold tied me to you
241	* TheScapegoat: Rebekah in "the last great american dynasty" gets blamed for everything, up to and including her husband's untimely death by heart attack.
242	-->She had a marvelous time ruining everything
243	* SelfDeprecation: "mirrorball" has a lot of lines where Swift admits to her vulnerability and her great effort to keep people to pay attention to her.
244	-->Shimmering beautiful\
245	And when I break, it's in a million piece\
246	...\
247	I'm still on that tightrope\
248	I'm still trying everything to get you laughing at me\
249	And I'm still a believer, but I don't know why\
250	I've never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try\
251	I'm still on that trapeze\
252	I'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me
253	* SelfReferentialTrackPlacement: ''Three'' of the album's tracks are arranged in numerological order. Track #1 is called "the 1," track #7 is called "seven," and track #8 is called "august" (August being the eighth month of the year).
254	* ShoutOut:
255	** "cardigan" references the ending of ''Literature/PeterPan''.
256	-->Tried to change the ending\
257	Peter losing Wendy
258	** In "invisible string", the repeated use of the phrase ''[X] is the [Y] of'' ("Green was the color of the grass", "Cold was the steel of my axe", "Gold was the color of the leaves") is almost certainly one to the most famous and often-covered Appalachian folk songs, "Black is the Color (Of My True Love's Hair)".
259	* SillyLoveSongs:
260	** "invisible string" plays this the most straight, with the narrator recount all the events that brought her and her love interest together by the string of fate starting from their teenage years. This is the song most explicitly based on Swift and Alwyn's relationship, containing details from their personal lives.
261	** "peace" is about the narrator recounting all the things that threaten their relationship but also all the things she is willing to give him. Finally, the narrator asking her love interest if all the things she offers would be enough "if [she] could never give [them] peace?".
262	** The narrator in "the lakes" wants to escape with her muse from the business of the world to a quiet nature retreat (more specifically, the Lake Country of England).
263	* SongOfManyEmotions: "peace" has Swift first lament her journey to maturity and [[CelebrityIsOverrated the downsides]] of celebrity, then proclaims her love for her significant other before asking if that would make up for never giving him peace.
264	* StealthPun: "the 1", "seven" and "august" are all arranged to position in the album to exploit their number-related title.
265	* SwitchingPOV: In the "teenage love triangle" trilogy, every character gets their turn in telling the story: "cardigan" is narrated by Betty many years after she's reconciled with James, "betty" is James groveling to her after his summer of infidelity, and "august" is James' unnamed mistress reminiscing about their past romance.
266	* TakeThat: While the majority of this album is much more subtle than Swift's usual works towards people she dislikes, the "peace" lyric video gave us the most obvious dig. Especially notable since the person she insulted wasn't even the main subject of the song.
267	-->Clown to the [[Music/KanyeWest West]].
268	* TextlessAlbumCover: Neither the standard cover nor any of the eight special editions has any words.
269	* TheirFirstTime: "august" implies that the unnamed girl and James lost their virginity to each other.
270	-->"Are you sure?"\
271	"Never have I ever before..."
272	* {{Tuckerization}}: James, Inez, and Betty are named after Creator/RyanReynolds and Creator/BlakeLively’s three daughters.
273	* TitleDrop:
274	** "seven" drops its title in the first verse:
275	--->Please picture me in the trees\
276	I hit my peak at seven\
277	Feet in the swing over the creek
278	** "betty" is the first word in the song (and its subject), rather than part of the hook.
279	* TranquilFury: Part of what makes "mad woman" so disquieting is how Taylor delivers it in a completely calm, even tone, even as she spits venom.
280	** The song scorns those that treat women like they're crazy and irrational, when in reality they're justifiably angry over being mistreated.
281	--->There's nothing like a mad woman\
282	What a shame she went mad\
283	No one likes a mad woman
284	** Threats are delivered serenely, too:
285	--->Does a scorpion sting when fighting back?\
286	They strike to kill and you know I will
287	* TruckDriversGearChange: The last chorus of "betty" shifts up a key to capture the singer's more hopeful mood and to make it sound like a ''Music/{{Fearless}}''-era country pop tune.
288	* UnfocusedDuringIntimacy: Implied in "betty":
289	-->Slept next to her, but\
290	I dreamt of you all summer long
291	* WarIsHell: The first verse of "epiphany" draws on Swift's grandfather's traumatizing experiences as a soldier in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.
292	-->Crawling up the beaches now\
293	"Sir, I think he's bleeding out"\
294	And some things you just can't speak about
295	* WhamLine: The ending of "betty" delivers one of these: "I know I miss you...'' standing in your cardigan"'' revealing that the subject of the song is the narrator of "cardigan", Betty.
296	* WiseBeyondTheirYears: Betty in "cardigan" observes that "When you are young, they assume you know nothing," then says she foresaw all the twists and turns of her romance with James concluding, "I knew everything when I was young." That's in stark contrast to James who, in his POV song, uses his youth as an excuse: "I'm only seventeen / I don't know anything."
297	* YouCantGoHomeAgain: In "my tears ricochet," the narrator laments:
298	-->I can go anywhere I want\
299	Anywhere I want--\
300	Just not ''home''

Context Music / Folklore2020