There’s a brand-new fever sweeping the UK and Europe. That’s right, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has officially made its way across the pond, and we are all enchanted.
Having visited Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff, and with her sights now set on Dublin and London, Taylor has also been debuting performances of her latest album – The Tortured Poets Department – which quickly sparked major speculation online as rumours circulated about whether it was written about her ex-boyfriend of six years, or possibly someone else… Interesting.
Of course, Taylor’s popularity and success go hand-in-hand with the support of her loyal fandom, colloquially known as Swifties. And over the years, the Swiftie community have become FBI-level code crackers, scouring Taylor’s lyrics, social channels, music videos and even setlists to unearth clues as to what she’ll do next. It’s clear that Taylor herself is a fan of wordplay, so much so that she partnered with Apple Music for her latest release to reveal a word of the day – which launched on World Scrabble Day, by the way – that would send fans hunting for clues ahead of the new release.
To celebrate this magical moment for European Swifties, and in recognition of Taylor’s songwriting prowess, we’ve picked nine words from Taylor’s lyrics to share the definitions of these select terms, and offer some analysis of their use in these songs. Ready to dive in?
Sanctimonious
The lyric:
God save the most judgmental creeps / Who say they want what’s best for me / Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see
– But Daddy I Love Him / The Tortured Poets Department
The definition:
If you say that someone is sanctimonious, you disapprove of them because you think that they are trying to appear morally better than other people.
The analysis:
After Taylor’s split with Joe Alwyn, her boyfriend of six years, the fandom set to speculating as to when the break-up album would drop. What they didn’t expect was a fling with Matty Healy, lead singer of The 1975, and previously briefly linked to Taylor. However, some fans were in uproar, begging Taylor to dump him through monologues on the internet. Clearly But Daddy I Love Him is a stern rebuttal from Ms. Swift to those people, telling them to stay out of her personal life and let her be with who she wants to be with.
Clandestine
The lyric:
And that’s the thing about illicit affairs / And clandestine meetings and longing stares
– illicit affairs / folklore
The definition:
Something that is clandestine is hidden or kept secret, often because it is illegal.
The analysis:
Telling the story of a forbidden love affair, illicit affairs is all about longing for someone you shouldn’t. In this context, clandestine doesn’t mean illegal, but it certainly means forbidden, given that the pursuit of this fictional lover is likely to lead to heartbreak. The word itself first appeared in English in the 16th century and is derived from the Latin clandestīnus, which means ‘secret’.
Petulance
The lyric:
Now I’m down bad, cryin’ at the gym / Everything comes out teenage petulance
– Down Bad / The Tortured Poets Department
The definition:
Petulance is unreasonable, childish bad temper over something unimportant.
The analysis:
As any Swiftie will tell you, The Tortured Poets Department is fraught with emotion as she reflects on her public and private life, sharing her rage, joy, sorrow, and elation amidst her growing fame and the demands of the Eras tour over the last couple of years. Down Bad is about infatuation and the frustration of being love bombed and abandoned, which can lead to some dramatic and petulant behaviour reminiscent of being a teenager. This is epitomized in the song by the lyric: … if I can’t have him/ I might just die/ It would make no difference. The word ‘petulance’ again comes from Latin, related to the adjective petulāns, meaning ‘impudent’.
Narcissism
The lyric:
Did you hear my covert narcissism / I disguise as altruism / Like some kind of congressman?
– Anti-Hero / Midnights
The definition:
Narcissism is the habit of always thinking about yourself and admiring yourself.
The analysis:
An incredibly catchy tune that demonstrates Taylor’s own exhausting sense of self-awareness, Anti-Hero is both candid and catchy. There’s also some fantastic lyrical wordplay, including this line, which essentially describes someone who hides their own obsessive self-interest (narcissism) behind generous behaviour (altruism). The terms narcissism and narcissist have mythological roots, coming from the Greek Narkissos, the name of a handsome youth who fell in love with his own reflection and was turned into a flower, a narcissus, as punishment for his vanity.
Rivulet
The lyric:
Rivulets descend my plastic smile / But you should’ve seen him / When he first got me
– My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys / The Tortured Poets Department
The definition:
A rivulet is a small stream.
The analysis:
As The Mills Brothers once said, you always hurt the one you love, and My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys is Taylor’s own modern twist on that sentiment. This poignant track tells the story of a man who plays with the people he loves and eventually breaks their hearts, like a child who plays with a favourite toy until it falls apart. We particularly love the use of ‘rivulets’ to describe tears, evoking the image of a ruined doll with tears creating track marks in the plastic.
Antithetical
The lyric:
Bet I could still melt your world / Argumentative, antithetical dream girl
– Hits Different / Midnights
The definition:
Something that is antithetical to something else is the opposite of it and is unable to exist with it.
The analysis:
Originally released as a bonus track on the Midnights: Lavender Edition, this track calls back to Taylor’s country pop roots. It also ties in to previous songs through her use of language. For example, this use of ‘argumentative, antithetical’ harks back to songs like gold rush from her evermore album, where she describes herself as ‘contrarian’. The use of antithetical here speaks to the contradiction of being both completely in love with someone, and yet unable to co-exist with them because their views, or personalities, are in complete opposition.
Esoteric
The lyric:
Were you making fun of me with some esoteric joke?
– The Black Dog / The Tortured Poets Department
The definition:
If you describe something as esoteric, you mean it is known, understood, or appreciated by only a small number of people.
The analysis:
An innocent song title has catapulted one south London pub to fame, as fans flock to visit the pub in which Taylor describes a man who betrays her. There’s some excellent wordplay in the title alone, as the phrase ‘black dog’ is used as a synonym for depression, which works well for this torrid tale. As for the term ‘esoteric’, it means something that is known or understood by a small number of people; derived from the Greek esōterō, meaning ‘inner’, the use of the word in this context emphasizes the feeling of being belitted by someone she cares about.
Achilles heel
The lyric:
You’re my Achilles heel / This is the golden age / Of something good and right and real
– State of Grace / Red
The definition:
Someone’s Achilles heel is the weakest point in their character or nature, where it is easiest for other people to attack or criticize them.
The analysis:
Taylor knows her Greek mythology well, and she puts this knowledge to work in many of her albums. In State of Grace, she describes her love for her partner as her weak spot, or her Achilles heel. This phrase comes from the story of Achilles, one of the bravest and greatest warriors in the Trojan War, whose mother is believed to have dipped him in the waters of the River Styx as a baby; this made him invulnerable, except for the part of the heel by which she held him, leading to his demise when he was struck by a poisoned arrow. The term is now widely used in English as a metaphor for vulnerability.
Alchemy
The lyric:
Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?
– The Alchemy / The Tortured Poets Department
The definition:
Alchemy is the power to change or create things in a way which seems mysterious and magical.
The analysis:
Our final selection from Taylor’s illustrious work comes from The Alchemy, which fans believe is written about her new love Travis Kelce, American football player and tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. It features multiple references to sport, including ‘warming the benches’, ‘winning streaks’ and ‘cutting amateurs’ from the team. The use of the word alchemy is particularly evocative, given that alchemy was a form of chemistry in the Middle Ages which concerned itself with trying to transform ordinary metals into gold. Is Taylor saying that her relationship with Travis can transform ordinary love into something magical? We hope so.
By Rachel Quin
Rachel Quin is a freelance marketer and copywriter with a love of language, books and cats.
All opinions expressed on this blog are those of the individual writers, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company, HarperCollins.
