Taylor Swift Historians Investigate Her Insane JOEVER Playlists... 🐍 Evolution of a Snake Podcast

[@theswiftologist]

*LOW TICKET WARNING, we've got less than 20 tix left!* GET TICKETS TO EVOLUTION OF A SNAKE LIVE IN LONDON: www.eventbrite.com/e/evolution-of-a-snake-the-taylor-swift-podcast-live-tickets-847113588547?aff=oddtdtcreator

[@glampingo]

谢谢

[@digitaldorothy]

You sold out, yay! 😂 not upset for myself bc not feasible… excited for you guys!

[@kitschesque]

Zach speaking in fluent Taylor lyrics off the top of his head is sending me

[@antonia9547]

the way she said “some boys are trying too hard he don’t try at all though” from ready for it… literally the first ever song about joe we got the info that he doesn’t even try 😭

[@brunett93]

that's quite crazy when you think about it. and she made it sound like a good thing in the song like ????

[@marthajimenez3798]

As soon as I heard this for the first time, I knew it (granted, I was going through a toxic breakup, so everything sounded too good to be true to me) but I just knew he was too little for her. Relationships usually end the same way they start, and when people tell you who they are, believe them.

[@DaOneField]

Of course she’ll blame her ex.

[@malicestar13]

Maybe that was appealing in the beginning, but that got old. He needed to try at some point.

[@Mar1293]

@@malicestar13he was the polar opposite of Tom Hiddleston so it makes sense she liked the change but later just felt tolerated.

[@uravergeswiftie3408]

pls we’re being fed like inmates on their last day of death row 😭😭😭😭😭

[@rosecoloredbby]

😭😭

[@leilaklara]

HELPPPP

[@violet12345]

FR AND WERE STILL HUNGRY

[@Susiehighschool]

HahaayshauauahaauauajsshhAhaahahhha man swifties are freaking hilarious I swear. Most seem to have such a way w words

[@TheAquamarine4]

Soon well be fresh out the slammer

[@andreeacrime]

The fact that Midnights starts with ‘All they keep asking me is if I'm gonna be your bride’ and ends with ‘I wouldn’t marry me either’ 🫢

[@isabelleb.3653]

🤯

[@snowfoxxie]

Damn… 😢

[@iamthatbxtxh]

🥺 stop

[@soaribb32]

Well, these are nor the first or the last phrases of the album.

[@emmysbear]

@@soaribb32they mean tracks

[@JulietteRobin-n2k]

im so happy that people are finally talking about how sweet nothing 100% has a melancholic tone because when people talk about that song and say "awe its so sweet" i do a double take- "all you ever wanted from me was.. nothing" HOW IS THAT SWEET ITS SAD

[@theswiftologist]

so true

[@kianna270]

It always been such a sad song to me. I’m actually shocked people find it sweet

[@Junelily89]

​@@kianna270 what i think, people find this song sweet because of the melody, i bet they never focus or read the lyrics

[@ellenkristiantisitompul5683]

​​@@Junelily89that is my thoughts when i first listen to sweet nothings, the melody sounds so sweet so i find it romantic, but then after that i pay attention to the lyrics and go "wait a minute 🤔" i will admit i only start to question their relationship after midnights came out, before that i really thought they are soulmates and will be together forever and always 😂

[@claudia273]

Sweet nothing is sweet. ‘I find myself running home to your sweet nothings’ literally means that she unconsciously runs home (note that she uses the word home) to his affirmation. It’s probably in denial because she (again probably) wrote it at a moment when she needed a reason to stay with him. He loved her and never expected anything in return. Not her fame, not her money.. imo the ‘all you wanted from me was nothing’ sounds like disbelieve. That she still can’t imagine that he doesn’t want anything in return. Maybe you’ll need to be familiar with the feeling to understand.

[@DaisyMae13]

I always joke with my mom that she just never told him about renegade and he didn’t care enough about her music he just never found out that it existed.

[@mill15150]

OMG!

[@mallorymyers7525]

Hahahaha

[@imawakemymindisalive13]

this is canon 😂 i believe it

[@TheAmyBryans]

HEAR ME, Betty makes sense! This is a song about a teenage romance, in which a girl takes back her first true love after he broke her heart! Whenever I listen to Betty I feel warm but also a cynical part of me feels a little sad knowing in the real world, these kids won’t make it longterm. James IS a red flag, he ditched her for a summer fling and then she takes him back on the porch! I don’t think Betty and James are built to last- but they give their intense, somewhat delusional love a second chance despite all previous events indicating they are doomed. While I don’t think it’s a LITERAL call to Tay and Joe- the parallels are there.

[@purplebutterfly314]

It's funny how Taylor said she imagined James and Betty end up together, like what do you mean you "imagine"? You literally made them up 😂 She was even in denial herself how much of a red flag James is

[@justwonder1404]

​@@purplebutterfly314 to be fair, authors 'imagining' things about their characters isn't new. The way some authors speak about their stories, you'd think they only have limited control over how it goes, especially when the story is finished. Some things work in their head and some don't, if that makes sense.

[@rebekahdempsey3966]

Love this! Alternative read, Taylor is identifying with James. James was drawn to something new and different, but also missed the safety in the established relationship he had and likes the challenge of winning her back/rebuilding the relationship. So he throws himself into that, but is really in *denial*. James and Betty are not actually a great match long term and he should have listed to his instincts from the beginning that he was looking for something else.

[@dogwalker97]

James would have not made it through a mid-life crisis without straying

[@KieranP-wr9nl]

My friend said it’s denial because he pretty much denies that he did anything wrong, putting all the blame on the fact that he’s “only 17”

[@lindabelcher974]

I feel like she put Bejeweled at the end of the denial playlist because that’s where the denial for her ended.

[@elizzybec]

100%

[@bethlovesthings]

Love this take

[@Beach_flower]

💯💯💯💯

[@saima.nijhum]

I often found myself perplexed with how can people think sweet nothing is a romantic song. This song is sad. Her voice is sad. The rhythm is sad. The lyrics is sad. She is verbatim saying 'my partner wants nothing from me'. How can you perceive that as romantic? She is worried sick about everything and he is clueless in the kitchen humming. Sweet nothing is such a sad song. I'm just glad that people are seeing this now.

[@nadergeeugene]

my first thought with betty being in the denial playlist, was during the folklore long pond sessions she said that she always envisioned betty and james getting back together and being end game in a sense. maybe she’s making a call back to that and how she was delusional in thinking that…

[@ashtynbritt7889]

I feel like Bejeweled is in Denial because she's trying to deny the pain she was feeling at first and act like it doesn't bother her, but Heirloom Turkey was around for 7 years. That's a long Thanksgiving. When it was over, it did hurt for her. She couldn't deny the pain anymore which is why we have TTPD when she could've left it at Midnights.

[@sageslittlechannel]

that’s a long thanksgiving 💀💀

[@walkingtheline1729]

I think its because she was saying she can walk away in a snap but the reality is that she can't their lives are so intertwine that its going to take a second to get out of that knot.

[@reneesmith983]

Maybe she felt like she denied how much she would miss sparkling? Or maybe she was delusional to think she could give up sparkling?

[@jackielehman8945]

"By the way... Im going out tonight..." is all you need to know. 😬

[@elizzybec]

Bejeweled is Anger, babes. After being hurt from your man ignoring you so long, the next step is anger. "I think it's time to teach some lessons" is NOT denial. I think it was put there because she still had hopes he'd come around.

[@sydneyprather8668]

Another point on Jack Antonoff, he’s now the main producer for St Vincent, who’s music sounds nothing like Taylor’s aside from Cruel Summer (since Annie Clark worked on it). He is incredibly versatile, and he is ultimately a vessel for whatever artist he is working with. Any lack of diversity in his work with Taylor is largely on Taylor imo (but like you said, he’s more diverse with Taylor than people give him credit for)

[@Illyriamars]

This man did Melodrama AND Clairo's Sling AND Norman Fucking Rockwell AND Midnights. Show me the lack of range. Is the lack of range in the room with us now??

[@onlyonecaca]

Yes. Jack is brilliant but most only know him bc of taylor.

[@PandoraStolen]

​@onlyonecaca well she's the biggest artist in the world and he has credited her for allowing him to produce. No one really took him seriously or would give him a chance as a producer but taylor did and all of a sudden every main pop girl was begging to work with him and now he's pretty much the biggest producer in music.

[@prophetessoftroy]

So I gotta be honest, I am one of those people who gets tired of her working with Jack all the time, and I absolutely do not mean it in a disrespectful way. It isn’t because I don’t think he has range or is talented-he’s incredibly talented, and he creates diverse, gorgeous music. I DO find that the way he builds a soundscape starts to sound samey to me, but there are far, far worse things. I also know that Jack is a safe place for her to create and do what she does. Eve try artist needs that, and having someone she feels like she can create with in that way is a beautiful, valuable thing. For me, it’s that I want to see her keep growing and keep stretching her musical muscles. Like when she was still our country princess and was working with Shellback and Max Martin. Groundbreaking? Maybe not, but it was a strong deviation from what she HAD been doing, and it created some really interesting new opportunities for her musically. I don’t see her ever not working with Jack, barring significant misadventure or some horrible happenstance, and I’m good with that. I genuinely look forward to hearing it. I also love the stuff she makes with Aaron. But especially as she’s wrapping up the turkey/rat chapter of her life, I am hoping that she stretches herself to collab with more and different people who push her music in previously unexplored (or underexplored) directions.

[@frank.e.underwood]

The confusing part of Taylor’s obfuscations since Lover, for me, is like, did Joe NOT listen to her music? Cause if he was listening to these songs how could he not know? How? She gave so many signs.

[@megandelynn6114]

Because the pretentious heirloom turkey thought she was never trying to signal that anything was wrong under the surface story she was telling everybody the songs were about, because he was perfect and amazing and so above her🙄 Fried. Turkey.

[@aditipankaj3553]

i gave so many signs and you didn't even see the signs...

[@annaphallactic]

He obviously didn't listen to anything she wrote unless he wrote it with her. His past interview responses speak volumes.

[@elizzybec]

I thought that too! Like, he must have really been checked out. Didn't she like, noodle around and practice them around him? Wow, he literally didn't read too much into her melancholia. Her notebooks remained closed around him. N if he did, wow. He heard Renegade didn't he? Did they BOTH gaslight each other about who the songs were about?

[@AC-cu6ij]

but didn't she say on stage she plays all her songs to him​@@annaphallactic

[@purplebutterfly314]

It's funny how newer swifties are so shocked with how public Taylor has been with Travis because they only started following her post-Joe. She was always a public person that enjoyed being famous, she kissed Harry Styles in Times Square at midnight on NYE and she was papped with him on Central Park, she was photographed with Calvin Harris all over the place and posted him on Instagram and let's not even get into how public her relationship with Tom Hiddleston was. Even during her private relationship with Joe, she was out here with heart eyes serenating him in public, giving interviews and Grammy speeches praising his songwriting skills and always posting about his new movies coming out. Meanwhile, did he ever post anything supporting her new album releases? He never wanted to go into "that part of the world", even though that was literally just his girlfriend's world. Taylor being private is the exception, not the norm. I think she only did it at first because she got cancelled and felt like the whole world hated her and figured that it would be better for her to just rely on the love from her family, friends and boyfriend and not crave the acceptance of the public and the critics. But that's not how she really is to her core and you can really see how much she loves performing and feeling the love of the public now with the Eras Tour. At the end of the day, she's still the girl trying everything to keep us looking at her. She was denying a huge part of what makes her fulfilled in order to keep Joe happy.

[@user-hw5ys6ng1l]

So, I don't know most of the TS lore but from what I just interpreted from your post is that POSSIBLY after her big cancellation, Taylor was wanting to hide so she meets this introverted guy who has ALWAYS been private and at that time, she felt she needed PRIVACY. Sounds to me like he is currently who he... always has been. She's switched up on him and they didn't know how to communicate that they no longer wanted the same things in life.

[@purplebutterfly314]

@@user-hw5ys6ng1l Yes, I agree, I was just speculationg about Taylor's perspective on the break up. I don't think he's a terrible person, they simply wanted different things in life and only realized later on that they're incompatible. Sometimes relationships are seasonal in your life and can suit you for a period of time and not be right for you in the long run and I'm sure Taylor appreciates the fact that he was with her when she was in a low point. Although I do find it a bit delusional on his part to want a super private life while dating one of the most famous people in the world.

[@ayomidedareabel5525]

Exactly. This is the same girl who said her ideal relationship isn't hiding like a fugitive but she'd compromise if that is what her partner wants. It seemed right from rep that she was bending over backwards to keep Joe just because she thought she would never find anyone who'd be interested in her. And honestly her and travis were only this overexposed because of the eras tour and her going to his games. Now we are begging for crumbs to see them anywhere together as they are both off😂😂

[@reneesmith983]

I am a Chieftie but its other Swifties that told me that how she was with TK was abnormal. I wouldn't know. And this whole "felt like the world hated her" narrative. A more encouraging partner would have helped her out of that space. The question is whether not doing so was intentional. Keeping your partner doubting is a strategy (the host has a video about that). I can't wait for TTPD to tell me what TSwift thinks.

[@ayomidedareabel5525]

@@reneesmith983 she's very much a place person the only difference is she's with a man who reciprocates her energy.

[@jessicatredway3760]

Yes! I think the folklore and evermore writing period is probably when Joe was happiest in the relationship. And Taylor was miserable and depressed and she realized that he would do this forever, that he loves being stuck home, doing nothing, reading books and playing piano to an audience of cats and no one else. Not seeing other people for months on end. And that's when Taylor realized the fundamental differences between them.

[@Jellybeansatdusk]

Reason number 300 why I would be very wrong for Taylor Swift 😂 because that sounds like a dream

[@leeann6662]

Joe sounds just like me! Homebody and introvert

[@natalienavarro2335]

Zach’s obsession with …question? Is a cornerstone of the snake fandom

[@wa11ie]

this is your friendly reminder that joe alwyn has a grammy. what an unhinged moment in time

[@theswiftologist]

I want to forget again

[@elizzybec]

@@theswiftologist like everything else, Swift gifted him this most precious award.

[@belle90150]

what the fuck

[@Mrs.Currie]

​@elizzybec I thought he co-wrote two songs? Unless Taylor is fibbing about his level of involvement... otherwise he deserves it for contributing to the album, I would say...

[@kalebutevil]

“i’m drunk in the back of the car and i cried like a baby coming home from the bar…many such cases!” the funniest fucking thing i’ve ever heard in my life

[@ulasimonic5894]

Will never understand how you are able to have this insane response time and put out so much content AND have it all be such high quality. Ate.

[@hkandm4s23]

Agreed... and with captions! Accessibility ftw❤

[@MissteriousMisstress]

Nom nom nom nom

[@mk21718]

Maybe we haven't *all* been there, but showing the positive side of your relationship to the whole world while privately struggling is definitely a common experience and even more prevalent in social media accounts. Denial Denial Denial

[@lexipreddie8909]

My pipe dream is after we get Reputation (TV) she goes back and updates the playlists. BECAUSE SHE KNOWS WHERE THEY FIT

[@snowfoxxie]

My delulu clown dream is she has “vault songs” to add to lover.

[@caldickman]

@@snowfoxxieshe does, she released one of them. “All of the girls you loved before”

[@prophetessoftroy]

I mean she did with TTPD, so the odds seem strongly in favor 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@lcpharm]

I have always heard Betty as a sad song. She doesn’t value herself enough, gets it from James. I imagine they are the high school sweethearts who get married and have a sad little life. He keeps cheating, she maybe kicks him out and he’s standing on her porch saying “this is me trying”. the lyrics of that song FIT so well.

[@Beach_flower]

Oooo love this take

[@larrainelage]

THANK YOU!! I honestly hate this song. The fact that he calls her friends stupid but thinks she should take him back?

[@jadekatch]

The “something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire” to “where’s that man who put blankets over my barbed wire” linked tolerate it to Joever to me since 2020 whew chile we made it out 😂

[@elizzybec]

Same! Omg when I heard that line I was like 😳 ! That's from 'Invisible String'! Now THAT guy is gone. Since 2020 yup.

[@jon.callaghan4165]

The two sparkly microphones are serving!! 🌟🎤✨️ this will be a great unhinged episode 😊

[@theswiftologist]

best believe we're still bejeweled....

[@gabbyhasleft]

Have I already heard the podcast? Of course! Will I sit and gladly watch this? But of course!!

[@theswiftologist]

QUEENDOM!

[@Tess7]

Same lol

[@mill15150]

me 3!

[@SaraIsFangirling]

Same here lol the facial expressions are IT

[@ailbheoreilly4816]

Sames

[@xSilverFernx]

DESPERATE for a revisit of the “Joever playlists” aka the Ratty infestation.

[@dianematlick5729]

Yesssss

[@LoriTerry-zp2xk]

When Midnights came out, I would describe myself as a very casual Taylor Swift listener. I was not invested in her lore, etc., so when I listened to Midnights, I immediately thought this is an album about a relationship imploding. Midnights til Dawn led me down the Evermore and Folklore path, which led me to the Swiftologist. While I wouldn’t necessarily say I am a swiftie, I do quite enjoy the conversation and am looking forward to her new album.

[@ima.ekenes]

Same! I was so surprised to find out she was in a relationship that everyone seemed to believe was great. 😅

[@areynaschmidt2497]

“Meet me at midnight” *raptor screech* 😂 can’t wait to see y’all in London

[@theswiftologist]

LMAOOOO see you there diva!! cant wait!!

[@senseshchepin]

the subtitles with the purple highlighter are very sweet and impressive, you are eating it up with your hard work again and again

[@ShadowKaiserin]

It's absolutely hilarious coming back to this 6 months later and hear you guys SO HEAVILY FOCUSED on Joe. The evil giggling cannot be muffled.

[@breyannahiebert]

I would like an update to this video for sure 👀

[@alccla13]

On snow at the beach: snow at the beach is strange and beautiful and different, but it’s going to melt. It’s not the beach at its peak in the summer full of people. The love is new and different from what she usually does (being more private) she’s not usually walking on an empty snowy beach in winter but on a crowded beach in summer. So it was nice for a time but now she’s ready to go back to summer, doesn’t need her vision blurred anymore

[@thegreatsalad]

...Are we like Snow on the beach? Are we seconds away from disappearing? :/

[@alexnicole6806]

Did I already listen on Spotify? Yes. Will I watch this video anyways because you two are the best? WELL YES 🙌🏻

[@theswiftologist]

as you should!!

[@sierracrum6040]

I'm doing the same thing 😅

[@anniekraemer1444]

I always thought of the line in tolerate it "youre so much older and wiser" as being sarcastic because she has always put him on this high pedestal and he has always given off the impression of being sanctimonious

[@Im_Julissa]

Maybe cause she’s older but never grew up due to her role in the limelight that she’s aware of.

[@elizzybec]

She likes to throw red herrings to shake ppl off the trail

[@heronmarkedhooks]

“Love is like a weight around her neck” please now see the bonus track, the albatross….. which I believe to be loosely based off rime of the ancient mariner…. In which the captain of the ship has an albatross tied around his neck………. Are we ready for thanksgiving in April????

[@heronmarkedhooks]

COOK THE TURKEY

[@sydniii]

EXACTLY WHAT I THOUGHT

[@elizzybec]

I thought that too! Plus in the poem they get punished for killing the albatross so they can't move. They're stuck. The albatross is then hung around his neck cuz everyone was mad.

[@heronmarkedhooks]

@@elizzybec LIKE SHE HAS TO MIRROR THIS IN THE ALBATROSS I CANT BE CONVINCED OTHERWISE

[@chaoticgrace6203]

THANK YOU I immediately thought of Coleridge and Rime of the Ancient Mariner when I saw The Albatross!!

[@charlottesometimes4]

Nooo guys, as someone who just got out of a 5 year marriage, I fully believe that Labyrinth is about being scared to love again after such an involved, long term relationship. And I think snow on the beach is about finding love after a shitty relationship, and how intoxicating it is to feel that again after so long. I think during the period of time when she was still with Joe but knew it was over, she maybe had infatuation with someone?? That’s how it fits on the timeline in my mind

[@julya2207]

I think she was just remember one old lover, midnights have songs about her past, she seeing them with other eyes.

[@cc1526]

Ya labyrinth is perfect for the “I can do it with a broken heart” playlist. Between her singing it (presumably) about her new relationship with Travis or if we interpret it to be about the fans and how the plane was going down but her fans were there for the eras tour to “turn the plane right around” and convince her “she can do it with a broken heart.”

[@RackPaperScissors]

Hahaha i’m dying at your breakdown of cruel summer. “Breakable heaven? No thanks.” 😂😂😭☠️ The entirety of Lover just became infinitely more interesting through this new lens and i’m here for it 🙋🏻‍♀️

[@variousint]

I think she put betty on the first playlist because she wrote it because of another experience where joe came in to save her at the last second after hurting her. He shows up at the very end and gets betty back. "You squeeze my hand as i'm about to leave". I think she might be writing about the moment in cornelia street from an outsider perspective. She saw the red flag of him only showing up for her at the last second.

[@kirstilaura3632]

"A pebble that we picked up last July Down deep inside your pocket We almost forgot it Does it ever miss Wicklow sometimes?" is really interesting to me. She's the pebble! Joe saw her, wanted her, and whisked her away from her home and her life. Sweet Nothing represents her realising how much she is sacrificing to be with him. He's forgetting about her and neglecting her while she's given up everything she loves for him.

[@redraddash2140]

Omg you're right!!!

[@redraddash2140]

She also realizes that all these sacrifices were for nothing, he never wanted that! He wanted nothing!

[@kirstilaura3632]

@@redraddash2140 ahhhh we've cracked it!!

[@bubblegumbitch2191]

Such a great interpretation

[@philjan23]

It's the perfect "initially sweet and content, slowly turning sad, now completely ruined" type of song that captures _Midnights_ premise SO WELL ! :o :o :o :o :o And all this time I've been saying that if it wasn't for this and Snow, the album would make perfect sense ^^" I'm an @ss God, _Midnights_ REALLY is the gift that keeps on giving, ain't it? Cosmic, intergalatic gag....

[@britaineakin9107]

The lyric from Dear Reader when she says "where I pace in my pen" struck me hard when I really listened to the song. I suspected then that the pen could be the confines of her relationship.

[@oluwatumininuakinnifesi6385]

I think it means she wants to be truthful in her writing i.e stop pretending it's about fictional characters, but for some reason she can't. So she paces in her pen

[@elizzybec]

​@@oluwatumininuakinnifesi6385both are correct. This is a play on words.

[@danielamarshmallow]

also on "tolerate it", the line "use my best colors for your portrait" sounds to me of how she hasn´t been completely free of what light she can paint him, meaning her lyrics, since anything she would write would obviously mean something about him. (english not my first language, sorry :S)

[@abigailalma]

something i always think about is that interview she did in the lover era where she talks about how you don't have to forgive to move on from something and the interviewer is like 'do you believe in forgiveness at all?' and tay goes like EMPHATICALLY 'YES, FOR PEOPLE WHO BRING VALUE INTO YOUR LIFE' and all this stuff. i remember seeing it and being like 'damn girl what did you have to forgive joe for?'

[@LZ2ME]

You did her DIRTY with that thumbnail 😭

[@cnwd3295]

🤪

[@oliviaj7335]

For real

[@VampiresRead]

relistening to The Lakes after this analysis is truly heartbreaking 💔

[@theswiftologist]

amen

[@lindabelcher974]

“Where all the poets went to die” 😭

[@justwonder1404]

I wonder if Taylor has ever tried therapy. She'd probably have to kill the therapist afterwards.

[@SaraIsFangirling]

I think she once said that she would never try therapy lol 😅

[@justwonder1404]

​@@SaraIsFangirling that... explains a lot.

[@drkolia]

I have this theory she actually started therapy in reputation era and thats what really saved her. Rep is such that time in therapy when everything is so fresh and hurtful, you are so angry, then it cames that mania phase when you think you are cured that was Lover. In folklore she probably did online therapy as everybody and dealed with everything alone for the first time. At the same time she probably went deep into it since she seems to have progress a lot between lover and folklore. And started to use psych slang.

[@SaraIsFangirling]

⁠@@drkoliaonly I don’t think she was “cured” or even moved on from her trauma on Lover. It was very clear she wasn’t all that butterflies and happiness and she just had had her masters stolen. She kept on singing about the whole cancellation/masters situation until evermore. She probably has read about psychology and stuff, or maybe has gone to therapy, but Idk I don’t think she has completed a psychological process. I could be wrong ofc.

[@jackielehman8945]

Lover (album)= "When you look at someone through rose-coloured glasses all the red flags just look like flags..." Wanda Pierce, Bojack Horseman.

[@Herberth889]

This month is going to be a rollercoaster of emotions and I'm here for it. 😭

[@theswiftologist]

We're seated....

[@glampingo]

another records will happen no one will stand the chance

[@jackielehman8945]

Im so READY FOR IT! 😂❤

[@anikaschulz4541]

A song is a song is a song! The playlists were created long AFTER these songs came out - I would still put on Lover at my wedding. The meaning of a song can change for everyone every time, even for the creator of said song

[@Lbbrooke]

Betty has left a bad taste in my mouth from the beginning!! When I saw it I had half a second of hmm interesting then I was like no that makes PERFECT sense. In the long ponds she was going on and on about how she thought James ended up with Betty and it all worked out in the end because they were just meant for each other. Very “I don’t want no other shade of blue than you” coded. Which also has given me the ick from the beginning.

[@theswiftologist]

it all clicks in hindsight...

[@ayomidedareabel5525]

I think some of the older songs do kinda relate to her life now with either travis or joe. Like with Ours which basically spoke about her friends and family not liking john mayer the same could be said about their feelings on the turkey too. And then begin again with her kinda moving on to travis and kinda comparing how he is handling their relationship as opposed to Joe. I think bejeweled is on denial/delusion because she said she was going to do those things but still ended up staying with him for another year. I will say as a newer swiftie this Playlist is one of the smartest things she's done. Cause it just kinda makes it easier to listen to the songs I have never listened to from older albums and lover. I know if rep had a TV that majority of the "love" songs would be on the delulu playlist

[@LisaBright15]

I always thought Sweet Nothing was this: He wants nothing from me but me. So many guys would now want her for her money, fame etc but he didn't care about any of that. That's how I saw the song anyway!

[@doe.little]

When Lover came out, I was a young preteen and was going through a very hectic transitional period that left me with many questions and anxieties. It's actually my favorite album from her for this reason. Sure, it may not be the best objectively speaking, but it helped younger me find some solace where I was feeling lost (which is why I can appreciate the archer y'all can't 🙃). But any who, as I got older, listening to this album, I progressively realized how much fear and anxiety was intertwined with this album. I didn't really question when I was young because I was not only young, but my anxiety-stricken ass was like "I would feel worried as well, girl." Jumping back to now, I appreciate this album even more. She may not have always been the most honest/transparent with herself in this album, but that makes it even more human. She felt and loved that deeply, and I'm happy she got to experience that in her lifetime.

[@blve.january]

and it's funny bc "lavender haze" is about being obliviously in love, to the point where you don't think about or talk about anything else but your lover. and now shes putting it on the delusion playlist so were we really surprised?

[@philjan23]

6:49 "Who has green eyes?" I'VE BEEN SAYING THIS BEFORE, she's comparing her current relationship (on the making of the album) with past ones, and Snow On The Beach is her and Harry feeding the seagulls in Staten Island

[@whisperedwish348]

Omg we are being SO fed. The God of Swifties is raining blessings on our heads. 🛐

[@ButterBunBooks]

Im beginning to think the line in Bejeweled “the shoes i gave you as a present” is about Joe getting writing credits on Folklore and Evermore. I think it was her parting gift or maybe a settlement they agreed on.

[@kianna270]

I’ve always seen lavender haze as copium 😂 it never sounded like a lovey dovey love song to me. It reminded me a lot of the anxious love feeling from lover 😅

[@theswiftologist]

copium lololol so true

[@ayomidedareabel5525]

Yeah it always had the same delusion of the "marriage is just a piece of paper" girlies who obviously want commitment but they are sucking up for their loser bfs

[@EponineReads]

Midnights is still about her life. You cannot tell me that she can just rerecord her masters and do it like she is brushing her teeth or mowing the lawn. These playlists are about more than Joe. If you rerecord your songs you need to capture the same tone in your voice that you had back then. You have to listen to it over and over again to lay down the right guitar sounds and etc etc. She is in turmoil guys. I wrote diaries of my own but I have made so many mistakes and had my own heartbreaks that I refuse to read them ever again. I won't burn them but they will stay buried in my closet.

[@ThatsSoAnne]

In The Podcast “sentimental garbage” they discussed that “Sweet Nothing” is co - written by Joe and that maybe it’s from HIS perspective. Especially “I’m just too soft for all of it” (her fame ..) idk. Just thought it was an interesting idea!😊

[@manonxg]

I truly believe Taylor is watching your videos to refresh her memory about certain stages in her life. Also she should hire you as an advisor for the TTPD merchandise.

[@danichiong6727]

Two queens coming together to maximize their joint slay

[@theswiftologist]

WELL YES

[@Kikidevo1966]

Whaaat?! A mid morning treat from the Swiftologist!!!

[@yogurtfordinner]

The way I screamed 'LIKE AN ALBATROSS' at 25:00 when he said that keeping love a secret love makes it feel like a weight around your neck 📢📢📢 ***See Bastille's Weight Of Living, Pt. I

[@korgaupisc129]

Your Albatross, let it go, let it gooooooo

[@yogurtfordinner]

@@korgaupisc129 YOU GET IT 👏🏻👏🏻

[@nikkig1146]

Thank you for uploading the video version of the podcast episode!

[@imk3879]

I love how madeline uses the phrase "this, that and the other thing" you guys have an amazing vocabulary overall

[@megandelynn6114]

You two literally make me feel less alone because when I listened to Midnights the first time & said to everyone "I don't think things are going very well with her and Joe" everyone said you're crazy, it's so romantic🙄 I feel vindicated my Queens! Also, I kind of feel that pretty much since she started dating the heirloom turkey, & especially Lover & Midnights, her songwriting basically made it seem like she'd been kidnapped & was trying desperately to get us a message without alerting her kidnapper that anything was wrong! When I read the titles of So Long, London and the Smallest Man Who Ever lived, I could clearly hear Taylor cackling cuz she's free & cannot wait for us to hear all of this! Thank you both so much for the early morning cuntyness! I appreciate you! (& May Scott and Scooter never be able to keep their laces on their shoes tied or money in their wallets ever again! Amen!)

[@michellealdrich]

Two thoughts - 1) Joe isn’t a 🦃 but an ostrich? 2) Them writing songs together was part of his severance package 💰

[@MeganZemke]

To me Glitch gives Ross “WE WERE ON A BREAK” vibes. We know Taylor and Joe were on/off a lot during their relationship, maybe this was during an off time, the “situationship she’s in”, and there was someone else that had been a friend and caught her attention for a moment, then she and Joe made up and she thinks of that guy as a “glitch”, something that wasn’t really supposed to happen and she just pretends didn’t.

[@eamarwen]

I have a theory. Maybe she put out renegade as a test to see if he even listened to her music? Hmm... Indie record that's much cooler than mine?

[@julya2207]

I think about it with question, that she put it in the albun to see if he react, like: Im thinking about other guys, do you care...

[@r1tw1k]

podcast video 😭 we clapped and cheered

[@Popnerding]

Wherever you stray, I follow- these lyrics I feel absolutely talk about infidelity. Straying is another word for having an affair, an illicit one? The entire of Willow is about cheating and then does ‘follow’ mean… she knows or that she does the same… this song is haunting my mind. And I appreciate the complexity of thought that Taylor gifted us. So I say you guys are absolutely right about your theory on Betty and indiscretions. Btw, I was waiting for this video and have been refreshing my feed repeatedly. I think you are the best and most analytical theorist I have ever come across. I love your content Zach. Been glued to your channel. Been catching up on all your videos.

[@sonnymc4677]

I love watching these videos to see how accurate you were about things. I have to say you clocked Matty as being the "Glitch" pre-TTPD, that was impressive. Thank you for your explanation of Willow. The video is sweet, but I always thought the lyrics were snarky.- "Every bait and switch was a work of art." -"Wreck my plans." Even "That's my man" seems like a sarcastic statement, after she says "the that you say, the less I know".

[@Rosachisp]

I can’t stop thinking about bigger than the whole sky , and the emotional conflicts the loss of a child creates in a relationship. I can tie a lot , if not all of these songs around that topic. And it’s extremely sad for both parties. Not saying this happened to them. but that’s what I think about. The not talking, the avoidance, the not seeing signs, the keeping counts , the self guilt . But still loving each other but can’t be with each other because neither knows how to handle the grief. And talking from a personal view. It’s what I relate to.

[@itsspelledgiulia1203]

35:54 maybe bejeweled is the last song on denial playlist because it's the transition to anger?

[@amandasoul]

THANK U ZACK 🫶🫶🫶 edit: omg watching you find out about catching Kelce 💀💀💀 edit2: ok u convinced me i joined the patreon 🐍

[@yogurtfordinner]

SHUT UP I READ THIS JUST AS IT CAME UP LMAO

[@swaggyleemiller00]

Okay so i do think there was a book and a movie and that she did read/watch it. What i think happened was that she read that book/saw that movie and really related to it/felt seen/whatever and that it DID inspire her to write those songs. BECAUSE she felt that same way. so im convinced the feelings described in these songs are very real but the initial inspiration came from where shes saying

[@hyperheadphones3636]

Going from “Read my sentence all over” in The Alcott to “fresh out the slammer” is INSANE

[@Cinderblox_]

Betty is on the delulu playlist cause taylor really thought betty was gonna forgive james and they would end up together.

[@walkingtheline1729]

Bejeweled makes sense in the fact that she saying she can walk away any time when in reality of the situation she can't they live together, he was part of her work, she had commitments going on and we dont know what the financials are like we don't know if she was paying his phone bill.

[@gauri1922]

Writing good songs about it him was her way of wooing him. She def played all them to him and it's such a great moment for her to foster a bond and I think she kept wanting to do it. That plays into her also trying to address her insecurities in a way like is it me?...maybe to also get a response and convey her psyche...give him signs

[@lorafrost9628]

A tiny thing here, and I'm sure someone has already said it: many artists refer to their work as their children (baby). Taylor gave him songs. And I think this fits with the surprised reaction we saw from Jack during the interview where she started he wrote a song.

[@linnisabeleielsen1691]

in my head she wrote labyrinth after you're losing me! turned the plane back around, we need to revisit labyrinth

[@reereadstoomuch]

Omg wait..... you might be onto something

[@sydniii]

MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY and maybe post the Great War too

[@onlyonecaca]

Yes!

[@andreacaballero3579]

You're losing me!-hee-hee-hee

[@rabbiteboy7436]

Lover has more red flags than that one line you pointed at like “have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?” He’s mirroring or love bombing you girl and also “at every table I’ll save your seat” exactly WHICH TABLE 😭😭 he didn’t want to be seen with you and was so afraid of paparazzi and all that stuff

[@elizzybec]

" and if it was an open shut case, I never would have known by the look on your face" (he faked her out? was he really faking though?) "every bait and switch was a work of art" (he kept me guessing, I was never sure) on Cardigan, where we only hear the pretty parts, she's hinting at reclusiveness and indecisiveness: "playin hide and seek and givin me your weekends" "flowing like water, running like a father" and she knew "you'd come back to me" (so did he occasionally just take off on her?) Then when I'd post something, everyone would get so so angry at me for saying anything other than it's perfect, all is perfect. I felt like she did herself a disservice by romanticizing his aloofness for mysterious. She's been love bombed before but probably lacked the experience to know it at the time: with "Better man" for example, she writes "it was always on your turns, hanging on every careless word, hoping they might turn sweet again, like it was in the beginning" reeks of love bombing trauma. My suspicions are that she is well aware of all of this ofc, being the author of her own story. But it's her life and it's her story. As a muse, it worked brilliantly and motivated the creation of the most breathtaking songs of her career.

[@smitanjalisahu2682]

​@@elizzybec better man was already out before she got into a relationship with Joe tho

[@elizzybec]

no, I didn't mean that that song was about Joe, but that she would recognize love bombing when she sees it since it seemed to have happened long ago with that song. Somebody mentioned love bombing and I remembered that line. So she might be older now and able to call it out.

[@carolla_michelle]

I see Bejewled as a threat. I wonder if the delulu was that he’d change in response to it

[@TheFrancoPhiler]

Literally who is surprised about this….

[@annaphallactic]

I haven't finished the video yet but I wanna highlight Jack's verse on the Anti-Hero remix: Sometimes, I feel like everybody is an art bro lately And I just judge them on the hill Too hurt to hang out, talking shit about your famous baby Pierced through the heart of '90s guilt I mean...this is pretty heavily Joe-coded, right? Just me? Maybe I'll get to the end of the video and discover that y'all addressed it but I think this answers the question of "how much did Jack know." Dude knew ALL.

[@megandelynn6114]

Jack is just waiting for Taylor to let him say whatever he wants to say about Joe! Fried Turkey anyone?

[@annaphallactic]

​@@megandelynn6114 "Taylor, please let me break my NDA just this once!"--Jack Antonoff (probably)

[@megandelynn6114]

@@annaphallactic 🤣🤣🤣

[@onlyonecaca]

Direct shot at the heirloom turkey 😅

[@julya2207]

He also say in this version "Taylor you'll be fine", to me this means a lot.

[@indierock79]

"I didn't have a partner I climbed it with that i could high five. I didn't have anyone I could talk to that could relate. I wondered shouldn't I have someone I could call right now?" Everything you accomplished doesn't mean anything if you don't have anyone to share it with. This is a basic human desire that not even Taylor Swift is immune from. Ppl that don't understand this just haven't had enough life experience to grasp it.

[@kitkatkay2049]

Street lights in an arrowhead leading us home and she ends up with a man who not only plays at arrowhead but it’s where she was playing that got it all started. Tayvoodoo hard at work!

[@mckayaitch7335]

“She literally was like “I’ve had enough of you you beast.”” WHY must you say these things 😂😭

[@megantaylormakeupart]

Listening to Labyrinth especially after You’re Losing Me which provides a different context to Labyrinth. The relationship is repeatedly up and down which kept her trapped in her anxiety. She is trying to make it to the center of the Labyrinth (herself, she needs to love herself), So Taylor saying that she is on her path to the center of the labyrinth but keeps being halted by her lover on the path tells us that she knows that she can only find herself in losing him but she keeps getting lost and distracted by her own insecurities and Joe Alwyn who would do anything for her if she stays and is the version of herself he likes. Just when Taylor starts to accept that it's over "Break up, break free, break through, break out" Joe is right there and she goes back to him "I thought the plane was going down How'd you turn it right around". In You’re Losing Me Taylor describes herself as grey (My face was grey, but you wouldn't admit that we were sick) Color represents the different phases of her life, the eras of her career, the way she loves and the way she presents herself to the world. To be grey is to be separated from all of those things. This ties into Taylor's Bejeweled she says "and I miss you, but I miss sparkling". To be bejweled is to be adorned in color. Being a star is what she believes she was born to do and she is not willing to be grey, even for the love of her life.

[@hannahella6563]

WOW. Mind blown! Midnight Rain being about Joe… the signs were all there, but we were just so trained to stay out of it with Joe, that we didn’t even dare go there in our minds. She’s at the Alwyn’s for christmas, observing the shiny, normal, intact family life and then she realises, this isn’t even special for him. So she peers through a window, deep portal, time travels to see what her life would be like if she stayed and gave away all that success for Joe, gave her life away essentially to be with him, and realises she’d be bored to death. Mind blown! Also what you said in your other video, I never realised that the “it” that came like a postcard, was the realisation that it was over between them. Like it just plopped through the mailbox of her mind. wow, such great writing.

[@LWYMMD]

Pretty certain bigger than the whole sky is about her longtime friend Claire’s miscarriage. The timing works out to make sense with when she wrote midnights. Claire posted about the loss publicly on her IG acct and used the phrase bigger than the whole sky at some point in a post after the album came out.

[@BRIANNA7660]

THANK YOU!! This session of EoaS is a must!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!!

[@AMoniqueOcampo]

Thank you for putting captions on this episode!

[@dellblue7764]

Thank you so much for the built-in closed captioning :,) You both know her work so well and this was an excellent episode 👏

[@kellybennett1790]

When I first heard Folklore, I was like, "oh, Joever," but she heeelllddd onnnn.

[@auroraborealisgreen]

In Long Pond her conversations w Jack and Aaron have a certain quality like they know more than they’re saying-they know it’s been terrible for her w HT 🦃 e.g., all the references to someone you love betraying you, becoming your enemy, the references to divorce…

[@nickd2557]

yesss one for the commoners 😍😍 we stan

[@theswiftologist]

[@mira_oria]

Anyone else doing a countdown to poets by listening to all Taylor's albums

[@greentogrey]

41:23 hot take: but i actually do think illicit affairs could be a song where taylor expresses her feelings within the fictional built up of the story. think about it… illicit affairs is about a woman who has an affair with a taken man. affairs have to take place in private, they aren’t allowed to express their feelings or want towards each other to the outside world & that might be how taylor was feeling at times. like she was someone who couldn’t love the man she adores in public. lots of parallels between affairs and Joe and Taylor’s relationship dynamics (from what we know). i think even though the storyline isn’t the same (no cheating involved) Taylor might have similar feelings like the protagonist in illicit affairs. some lyrics to prove my point (there are a lot more) : - having to hide their relationship: “Make sure nobody sees you leave Hood over your head, keep your eyes down”, “clandestine meetings”, “Like you don't even exist” - the excitement in the beginning overshadows the actual need to express their connection in public. having to hide slowly destroys the situation “And that's the thing about illicit affairs And clandestine meetings and longing stares It's born from just one single glance But it dies, and it dies, and it dies A million little times” - feeling like her needs are not being taken seriously and being frustrated about it “And you wanna scream Don't call me "kid" Don't call me "baby"” - being codependent “You know I can't see with anyone else”

[@amylawyer8336]

After the line "your integrity makes me seem small" it changed everything. Why does someone with integrity make another person feel bad about them self unless the person is holding it over the other? I think giving Joe writing credit was him diminishing the fact that she is one of the greatest song writers of all time. Like, 'it's not that hard. I can do it too. So she ran with it to make him feel good about himself. Where Jack on Long Pond was like, nah. I also think him diminishing her abilities is what led her to write anti-hero.

[@loose.cannon]

Bingo

[@themoodylibrarian]

yes, THIS. Also, the makes me "seem" small, she's not even saying "oh, it makes me FEEL small" like it's just her own insecurities. I don't know, I always thought that choice of words was odd?

[@menchiesholo]

you guys are so real for the iconic bedazzled microphones.

[@abisloth.]

I feel like TTPD is going to either give us more answers or thickens the plot of everything… This is the deep dive I didn’t know I needed btw😭