evermore Album Review
A comprehensive analysis on why evermore is Taylor Swift’s best album
Written by Shelby Evans, Lifestyle Editor
evermore carefully replaces pieces of your broken heart that have been missing for years, but the comfort that yields is only a facade for the pieces it takes away with it. Thankful that a piece of you has returned, the realization that something else broke comes too late.
While listening I first thought about Peter Pan then Bridge to Terabithia, and eventually the alternate reality montage from La La Land. Swift’s second act to folklore is a blinding finale (or perhaps a great act two to the three act tragedy ?).
The characters she sings about are starry-eyed lovers, spiteful comrades and broken hearted friends. She writes with such precision that this album will sit up there with the best- evermore.
WILLOW – “life was a willow, and it bent right to your wind”
A new take on “you’ll fall in love when you least expect it.” Swift’s muse, longtime partner Joe Alwyn, is often the subject of her stanzas, “willow” is no exception. A cello, a violin and a french horn are just some of the instruments that paint the audio backdrop of this profession of true love. Telling her lover that she will follow him wherever he goes, he can wreck her plans, it’s her man. It’s a romance of otherworldliness, she says “as if you were a mythical thing.” As the intro track It is an excellent connection to Swift’s July album, evermore’s sister album, folklore.
CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS – “your heart was glass, I dropped it. Champagne Problems”
The piano in this song is reminiscent of Swift’s “new years day” from her album, Reputation. Swift tells the story of college sweethearts breaking up after a proposal. The narrator knows that their significant other suspects the changing sentiments but they continue on regardless. They reminisce about dorms and old friend groups and it’s a nostalgic hug of youthfulness. The final chorus of the song switches up slightly, the narrator is telling their rejected lover that they will find a girl who won’t do the things she is right now. “She won’t remember my champagne problems.” It’s a song about knowing you made the right difficult choice, even if no one else understands it.
GOLD RUSH – “what must it be like to grow up that beautiful?”
Co-writer Jack Antonoff tweeted that “gold rush” is “for my little august heads out there.” referring to the song “august” from folklore. This song is a romantic daydream of what can never be. The chorus states “everybody wonders what it would be like to love you,” so in the chorus the narrator lets themself imagine, “I see me padding across your wooden floors.” The synths in the background sets a quick tempo for the song with quick punches, and the piano, percussion and guitar mimic the butterflies that appear in your chest when you allow yourself to daydream. Eventually the narrator declares “I can’t dare to dream about you anymore.”
This is a great opportunity to introduce the sapphic undertones of Taylor Swift’s writing. In her long pond studio session of folklore she admitted that most of her albums have always been mostly autobiographical, but with these two she finally let herself dream and write about other people’s stories. In “willow” she clearly declares the object of her affection saying “that’s my man.” But often times she writes in genderless longings, referring to romantic interests as “you.” folklore’s “betty” caused fans to wonder if it really was from a man’s point of view. While the narrator was named James, the name was borrowed from and paired with the names of Blake Lively’s and Ryan’ Reynolds three daughters. Some Fan’s found the lyrics familiar to their closeted high school experiences, allowing for multiple meanings of the songs to develop in the hearts of fans with different sexual orientations.
As a women loving women listening to Taylor Swift, I find that listening to her songs in a queer context is more relatable. I will be drawing attention to some of these undertones throughout the album. Many fans theories that Taylor Swift is bisexual, they even go as far as believing she has dated celebrities like Diana Aragon and Karlie Kloss. I will leave those musings out of my reflections because I do not want to further the practice of claiming someone’s sexuality for them. It is a testament to her expert writing that these lyrics can mean something different for every listener and still be true.
“gold rush” is an incredible example of a woman pining for a relationship that is not possible. “And the coastal town we wandered ’round had nеver seen a love as pure as it. And thеn it fades into the gray of my day-old tea ‘Cause it could never be.” Perhaps the daydream is so magical because in this built world it is acceptable to be in love in public. But when the narrator returns to reality she remembers that the outward affection of two women in love aren’t condoned.
‘TIS THE DAMN SEASON – “and the road not taken looks real good right now”
A struggling actress returns to her hometown for the holidays and rekindles an old love. She tells them “you can call me babe for the weekend.” While exploring her roots, with a steady guitar to accompany, the lyrics declare that the road not taken, “always leads to you and my hometown.” While re-falling in love the narrator is already breaking their love’s heart again. With held breath she tempts herself to wonder about what could be possible if she had never left to chase her dreams, it’s a melancholic soliloquy.
TOLERATE IT – “now i’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life”
Taylor Swift always reserves the fifth track on her albums for the most emotionally charged songs. Perhaps this song is about a woman trapped in an abusive, or just unfulfilling, marriage. But when she says “I know my love should be celebrated but you tolerate it,” I’m transported to a house with a homophoic parent. She tries to please this person, only to come up short. Even after growing up “I take your indiscretions all in good fun.” It feels an awful lot like a parent forcing their child to stay in the closet because they think they know what’s best. All the narrator wants to do is “take this dagger in me and remove it.” It’s a song filled with gentle piano notes and whispered lyrics, almost like the very existence of these thoughts could get them into trouble.
NO BODY, NO CRIME – “she thinks I did it but she just can’t prove it”
Taylor Swift’s country routes have stayed with her throughout her career when it comes to her lyrical ability. This song proves that she never lost her country touch. Joined by Haim, the four women sing about a cheating man who murders his wife, and the wife’s friend seeking her own revenge. Reminiscent of the Chicks “Goodbye Earl” and Carrie Underwood’s “Two Black Cadillacs” it is an empowering country song filled with female rage. After listening to this song it’s almost tempting to contemplate murdering a man who’s done you wrong because “no body, no crime.”
HAPPINESS – “I haven’t met the new me yet”
Contrary to the title, this is not a happy song. The instrumental intro is a slow sway of sounds, like hair floating freely underwater. It’s about reflecting on arguments or breakups, like the heated moments when you can’t see beyond your pain and often say regretful things. Even when we are upset we can reflect on the insignificance: “When I’m above the trees I see this for what it is.” Admitting that after an argument there was wrong done on both sides is hard, but just because there is happiness ahead doesn’t mean there wasn’t happiness in the relationship.
DOROTHEA- “the stars in your eyes shined brighter in Tupelo”
A hometown friend reminisces about their relationship with the now famous Dorothea. The narrator is likely the object of affection from “‘tis the damn season.” The girl did go back to LA and she did succeed. She wonders if Dorthea ever thinks of her too, and offers that if Dorothea ever grows tired of the fame she’ll be waiting for her. The piano with the light drums is like remembering the breaking up with your first love. So tragic in the moment, but filled with gratification when you’re a little less naive. But it’s filled with enough Naivety to hope that Dorothea might yearn for her sometimes still.
CONEY ISLAND – “sorry for not making you my centerfold”
Aaron Dessner of the band “The National” collaborated with and produced folklore and evermore with Swift. But the rest of “The National” joined her for this song. Long time fans of Taylor Swift have long applauded her ability to write the bridge of a song. This song is no exception. The theme of the song is a sorrowful recollection of how she could get so lost in her past loves. Her bridge references multiple of her exes: “did I leave you hanging every single day? Were you standing in the hallway with a big cake, happy birthday” is a reference to Jake Gyllenhaal, who did not come to her twenty first birthday party. “Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest grey” is a reference to her song “Dear John” about John Mayer. “And when I got into the car accident” is a nod to Harry Styles, who she got in a car accident with. “But when I walked up to the podium I think that I forgot to say your name,” is about how Calvin Harris didn’t mention Swift as a co-writer after their breakup. Within the short section of the bridge, sung with Matt Berninger, she concedes that these were all lost “over and over lost again with no surprises.” In just 4:35 she is able to sum up so many lessons she has learned in her 31 years from love and heartbreak.
IVY – “I’d live and die for moments that we stole”
A banjo played like it’s fairies dancing gently renders the story of a woman in an affair. Like Emily Dickinson with her lover Sue, or the characters of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” the affair feels like a story of women in love in the nineteenth century. “Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow Tarnished but so grand,” is a sexual awakening occuring in a setting that it shouldn’t exist. “He’s in the room. Your opal eyes are all I wish to see. He wants what’s only yours,” declares that no affection is given to her husband. Letting the possibility of their romance bloom in her dreamland is as contagious as ivy, it’s all consuming to the narrator. Even though it is going to explode the narrator can’t shy away from her lover.
COWBOY LIKE ME – dancing is a dangerous game
It’s traditonal that LGBTQ individuals have ways to signal to each other that they are interested. These signals have to be discrete enough so that others who might cause harm to them can’t catch on. Singing “takes one to know one, you’re a cowboy like me,” and “Perched in the dark Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear Like it could be love,” are all illusions to these kinds of secret interactions. It’s a song about deciding if a love is worth the risk of coming out of the closet. There will be backlash and the narrator doesn’t know if they are ready for the possible rejection from others. The slow sway of music is like a long con of staying in the closet and the looming event of coming out as inevitable but unrecognizable until it’s over with. Because even in 2020 being gay still feels like you’re an outlaw, like a cowboy.
LONG STORY SHORT – “if the shoe fits, walk in it ‘til your high heels break”
Have you ever claimed to not like Taylor swift because she is a people pleaser? She feels the same way sometimes. We all do what is expected of us and sometimes we do what we think is safe, but living that way can really bite us in the ass. She tells us, “I fell from the pedestal, right down the rabbit hole, long story short it was a bad time.” The rest of the instrumentals continue with the dreamy spectrum of floating notes and instruments that frequent the album. This song is a more upbeat song that features quick thumps from the drums that punch through the dreamy synths. The beat of the drums is insisting “past me, I wanna tell you not to get lost in these petty things.”
MARJORIE – “if i didn’t know better I’d think you were listening to me now”
Written about her grandmother, Marjorie, Swift captures the feeling of loss and grieving in a hauntingly absolute way. Wednesday night, before evermore’s release, I dreamt I was back on my papa’s boat with him willing myself to believe it was real. Thursday night I was told “what died didn’t stay dead, you’re alive, you’re alive in my head.” When we grieve we grab on to memories and try desperately to hang on to moments that we’d already lost. “marjorie” is about the process of keeping loved ones near after they have passed. The song is a hand reaching out of the darkness to hold yours when there’s no one else.
CLOSURE – “I know I’m just a wrinkle in your new life”
The intro to this song is a jarring tone shift. It sounds like old metal scraps that are scattered around a forgotten car park are being banged on in quick succession. That’s what it feels like when a forgotten someone reaches out in an attempt to form “closure.” It digs up an angry feeling because the situation didn’t call for that. “Yes I got your letter, yes i’m doing better, I know that it’s over, I don’t need your closure.” Sometimes ending things can be as simple as leaving it alone.
EVERMORE – “writing letters addressed to the fire”
Lyricists, poets, authors, Taylor Swift, they all are writing about the human condition. Taylor Swift and Justin Vernon capture depression so forcibly in this song. When I’m lying on the floor in the middle of a panic attack it feels like it will last evermore. When I’m heartbroken over a girl it feels like all my life I’ll be unlovable for evermore. When I was sixteen and had no way to feel okay I thought that would be evermore. But there were always signs, and people, and moments that made me remember that those feelings were not absolute “this pain wouldn’t be for evermore.” The song feels like walking through Wisconsin’s first snow alone and barefoot in the woods, but on returning home with frozen feet and pink cheeks there is a raging fire and a cup of tea waiting.
I will tell you that there are a million “right ways” to listen to this album: Get in the car at sunset and drive, pour yourself a cup of tea as the snow begins to fall, sit in the middle of a field at sunrise, or pour yourself an entire bottle of red wine. It all feels like the ethereal music of the ninth album from Taylor Swift. But no matter where you are or who you’re with, when the music starts, Swift will be there for an hour to put missing pieces of your heart back into place.