Taylor Swift's Fame & Anxiety: A Deep Dive Through Her Discography

[@theswiftologist]

Use SWIFT to get 55% off your first month at Scentbird sbird.co/3T5veYn! Which of my faves are you keen to try? 👁

[@raphynette]

If your past 100 videos on Taylor weren’t proof enough, this video is truly a testament to your deep love and understanding of her public persona & dare I say it - of her overall character and personhood. A master class of an essay 👏🏻

[@shnnnmcknn]

Could not agree more! The convergence of journalistic prowess and intimate knowledge of the TS canon is SOOO satisfying and this video essay demonstrates it particularly well.

[@theswiftologist]

thank you raph

[@Beach_flower]

I just discovered him and WOW. So incredibly impressive!! You said it all!!!

[@jkmacrunnel]

Dear Reader is one of my favorites on Midnights, its just soooo thought provoking!

[@Cvinkavich1]

Surprised you didn’t talk about Mean or Castles Crumbling!

[@croissant2961]

destroying girl at home is sooooo real, I just downloaded it off of some web to listen to it

[@maggiestorz6892]

idc if if this was a movie is on fearless tv it is and always will be from SPEAK NOW

[@annamarijaskudra5018]

Amen

[@meghandeshetler]

Drop everything now THE Swiftologist has posted

[@furnish5_]

the realest comment ever

[@MeadowBlake-b2d]

Best part of my Sundays

[@somethingseriouslyserious420]

Where is the pouring rain when you need it 😭

[@K.A.T6]

@@somethingseriouslyserious420I just want someone too kiss me on the side walk and take away the pain from my stubborn toe 😭

[@michaelkeller5555]

Listen in the pouring rain?

[@lolalaise4530]

Taylor is the definition of “it takes 20 years to become an overnight success” ❤

[@theswiftologist]

yup yup yup

[@nishthagupta1357]

Exactly

[@nataliaprador.4760]

I think mirrorball is an insane song because it truly is quintessentially taylor: talking about her experiences in a romanticized way, yet somehow being able to stay relatable enough for the fans... "i'm still a believer, but i don't know why, i've never been a natural, all i do is try try try" in hindsight is about her fame and having to rebrand herself for every album to stay fresh, but people pleasers (or people who have experimented some kind of abandonment by friends/family) can relate to that line because of the pain of not feeling good enough for the people they care about.

[@ElectroSocketBlues]

So true haha. And I think that's because Taylor *is* a people-pleaser--and Mirrorball, like The Archer, is about her relationship to fame/the audience, but also about her relationship to love/her romantic partner.

[@sateliteschinos]

Mirrorball is so incredibly amazing to me for that reason. With it she’s perpetuating the very same things she talks about in the song, in trying to be vulnerable she finds herself performing even further. It’s paradoxical and beautiful and 100% intentional.

[@Barbz013]

WELL YES!!! Seated for the gospel

[@MeadowBlake-b2d]

PREACH!

[@causeimnachoprincess]

went from watching your eras tiktoks to this yt notification HOW ARE YOU SO PRODUCTIVE JESUS

[@tammycombs167]

RIGHT!!!!!

[@afiefswift5403]

Learning from the master, Mother Taylor Alison Swift who keep feeding us content.

[@JulietteRobin-n2k]

I'm SO glad you talked about dear reader properly. I think it was a very smart way to close midnights as it questions her entire body of songwriting. I think that the bolter will be the newest contribution to her archeresque body of work

[@avlrealestatesource]

Ohhh you think she’s the bolter and not Joe? Interesting!

[@cupcakewithouttheicing]

"she can't promise the turkey..." said so casually TOOK ME OUT. I didn't see that one coming

[@stevenstewart782]

Funniest thing ever,

[@shar3859]

I love zach's nonchalant serves, he's so funny 😭

[@ishitachausalkar1567]

I was cackling😂

[@ghazalabedi7110]

yes and with a dead serious face 😭 I bursted out laughing

[@evolved1665]

This might sound a bit unhinged but she's giving me the kind of person that has horrible insomnia having a breakdown obsessively asking herself why can't she be content with what she has like i just know she's malding over the fact that she can't be careless and effortless. Like there's a weird void that won't go away no matter what you do. As you pointed out, which is a really interesting idea to me, she's a STUDENT. Things don't come naturally to her and I relate so much to that. (This might be just me projecting my own shit but she def strikes me as being the same kind of person)

[@Porcelynnn]

I wonder if she sleeps much because she has an album called Midnights, so many lyrics about being up at night, and she gives off someone who stays up thinking/writing/working into the early morning

[@angellombness4371]

Student was an interesting observation. There is a model called the Empowerment Triangle, where it's considered to be empowering if you act/behave as a Student/Learner, Guide/Teacher, & Creator in various atmospheres (void Drama behaviors - victim, savor, prosecutor).

[@MS-bs8dd]

Taylor is so relatable.

[@giuliabonechi1864]

Well, after all, “life is just a classroom”.

[@maggieeee54]

You can really hear the journalism in this video! Soooo impressive and wise

[@theswiftologist]

thank you for noticing!

[@maggieeee54]

@@theswiftologist of course!

[@oliviawilliams5127]

“You weren’t at the creek gathering tadpoles and milking the goats that’s for sure” 😂

[@angelamarie4137]

I think she has a ton of songs we may never hear. However, she may be like Ed Sheeran and "will" them all to us after she's gone, as he's stated he will do.

[@SamanthaEatsCookies]

I've been obsessing over Dear Reader since that very first listen. The depth that it has is highly overlooked. Also the distortion just adds to the chaotic thought spiral it feels like. The breakdown and disillusionment of what we thought her life was is all in there. I think it will hit heavier with people only after Tortured Poets comes out

[@lizz372]

Please do a whole video breaking down dear reader! Listening to that for the first time made my jaw drop, I feel like there is still so much to parse through and discuss about it

[@beatrizgomes4094]

Yesssss I would eat that uppppp To this day I’m still perplexed with that song, I just love it

[@erinbsvids]

Echoing this!!

[@PaulaEsquerdoR]

omg yes, that song was so mindblowing

[@Shekoodoo17]

9:40 “this is a very polarizing scent. you either love it or you hate it, just like me and my content in the swiftie community!! 😃” OMG IM GAGGEDDDD 😭😭😭 I LITERALKY ALMOST SPIT OUT MY WATERRRRR

[@theswiftologist]

Did I lie ??

[@takemetothelakes13]

i love when u post, it's so rare to find a taylor swift fan who is sane

[@theswiftologist]

[@andreacaballero3579]

When I heard mirrorball, I remembered Rachel Berry saying " I'm like Tinkerbell, I need applause to live "

[@AmIAllowedToCry013]

I LITERALLY THOUGHT OF THAT

[@AmIAllowedToCry013]

like i write songs just as my personal therapy to deal with all my shit and i literally just wrote a song that didn’t have a title i just called it tinkerbell/mirrorball

[@zoc.6922]

Yes! It makes sense that Slut! was a vault track. She had to give that "I don't care" image at the time. Songs like I Know Places, Blank Space, and Shake It Off talked about her dating while in the public eye but, those weren't emotionally vulnerable.

[@blueowl3474]

Thank you for giving dear reader the credit it deserves

[@timarahmcintosh3592]

Taylor being so perpetually anxious in her relationships has always stood out to me and something that’s really spoken to my heart over the years but seeing that anxiety through this lens of the loss of sense of self through fame is definitely something I’ll be listening closer for now. The tightrope she walks between specificity and vagueness is truly the most masterful part of her brand. I just love love love your takes

[@colekayve]

Her fame is lowkey scary ngl

[@henrywayne5724]

The Ed pic on your profile has always been my favourite pic of him lol

[@colekayve]

@@henrywayne5724 ug finally. Someone sees the vision

[@jedhead25]

Who's afraid of little old Taylor Swift?

[@maciejsochacki8297]

Great video! I Would add Castles Crumbling and Mastermind. I think you are The Swiftologist for a reason. You have watched Taylor for so many years and really you can analize and see things about her that almost nobody can do it. Your video broadened my perception of Taylor's character-her way of thinking.

[@pghtaylorsversion]

I agree with both of those! I also wonder if I Can Do It With a Broken Heart might end up in this category, like talking about having to put the public persona on despite what is going on in her personal life.

[@espindola1989]

cant wait for some vlogging about the Singapore concert

[@Desiree-Laine]

Same!!!👍🥰

[@theswiftologist]

coming soooooon@@Desiree-Laine

[@Desiree-Laine]

@@theswiftologist 👍❤️👏🥰

[@suestewart6590]

The way "you should find another" sneaks in and out of Dear Reader before being fully stated.....exceptional songwriting. And the fact that she's so prolific and churns these out like others write grocery lists....

[@Ob-sw9sd]

"the manuscript" could be about a manuscript that outlined their fate "the bolter" being about her running away from the hands of fate 'the albatross" might allude to how he was turning into a heavy burden to her heart "the Black Dog" can be about how she was destroyed by him in some way

[@JLX1373]

me when I'm delusional

[@goldeb.8553]

my first thought upon learrning that there was gonna be a bonus track called "the bolter" was that it's the turkey who bolted

[@ATWTMVTVFTVSGAVRALPS]

Or maybe The Black Dog is similar to You're Losing Me. It's about what she felt as it was falling apart

[@Nittanyarn]

I thought maybe albatross is about fame being so heavy that it weighs down the relationship/ruined it. She just couldn’t get over her fame. Bolter I thought bc she basically proposed to him on Lover with the paper rings and all… and then she was like, “ok… it’s Joe-ver, I gotta bolt…”

[@bubblegumnnebula]

I always interpreted the "they're burning all the witches even if you aren't one" as her being ambigious to whether she is a witch or not. She lets the listener decide if she's guilty or if she's innocent. And she ends it with "so light me up" which adds to the ambiguity even more.

[@AshAshBaby]

Taylor Swift is, I think, very good at hiding in plain sight. She's a master at keeping her real feelings under lock and key while still giving these tantalizing little glimpses into her psyche that feel like open windows, but really the curtains are always drawn. It's fascinating to watch but I think I'm always aware that, on some level, she is deeply unknowable and that is on purpose.

[@jdlmendhdjdoeken3864]

“whether it be destroying girl at home” LMAOOOO too real like was this your eras tour vocal warmup take?

[@kianna270]

Beyoncé is great and all but I really don’t get the hype of saying she’s the greatest artists ever and now at least 3 different times people have said she deserves a reward over someone else. It’s tacky and annoying . Beyoncé ain’t saying anything, but y’all feel the need to speak on her behalf at award shows? Ma’am she has 32 Grammys! She’s been appreciated in the music Industry plenty.

[@BEYONCEOLOGIST]

beyoncé is iconic, noone is better than anyone else. but she alongside Taylor, madonna even Micheal Jackson, they are iconic ppl in music and pop culture. it's just that as stans we feel like she's disrespected & undervalued by the general public.

[@kianna270]

@@BEYONCEOLOGIST I guess but isn’t she a household name, at least in America? I grew up hearing nonstop about Beyoncé so idk. And people will compare any woman artist to her. She’s great, I just don’t understand why we can’t appreciate other artists without the constant comparisons, or saying this person deserved it over this person. We all know these awards can be bias. Esp fan voted ones. Some of the most influential artists don’t even have Grammys or get appreciated much (like classical rock bands that have influenced so many major acts) but we all know they have great influences on the music we hear today.

[@BEYONCEOLOGIST]

@@kianna270 i live in South Africa, across the globe from where u r & all i hear is non stop beyoncé. i agree with u though, we shouldn't constantly compare artists, i stan both beyoncé & Taylor & i get annoyed at the who's better debate it's just stupid, i honestly choose to just shake it off & ignore it.

[@roxUyolo]

@@kianna270 yes she’s definitely a household name especially in America, you are also right how these award shows be bias (that’s also the reason The Weekend been boycotting Grammys ) and lastly yes we shouldn’t be comparing artist ever since Taylor blew up more last year there’s been so many comparisons with her and Beyoncé and I’m like “just smile and wave y’all” . But it’s not new when we see people compare female artist it’s so harmful to compare and it’s disappointing how fans will do that so they can prove how influential their favs are just to lift up their fav. But yeah like you said artist today have an influence and people should stop fighting really

[@mariapimentel6310]

Pleaaaaase make that video focusing on Dear Reader!!! This song is my Roman Empire. Love the video as always!

[@cccarson7432]

Would loooove a full dear reader video

[@omyskyii]

i guess "i can do it with a broken heart" will be her next talk to fame......

[@allisonkelly3005]

The beginning of your commentary on Dear Reader made me giggle and by the end of it I was literally nervous for what you would say next. Please, we need you and Madeline on the horn with more thoughts

[@MelodieRoehrig]

Not you talking about long story short and evermore and then getting those surprise songs 😂

[@kiravre1423]

Please do a song analysis on Dear Reader! This honestly became my favorite song after first listen because it confused me.

[@fontainelouise3522]

I actually think castles crumbling couls be added to the list !

[@Porcelynnn]

Definitely

[@mikayla3714]

Another level to this discussion- the debut songs like A Place in This World and The Outside that show how deeply ingrained her anxieties and insecurities are, especially because they were written from age 14-16. Love the video essays, this was one of your best!

[@zlovespie26]

this is such interesting topic that rly only zach can talk abt, i always feel so smart listening to ur videos but at the same time i can completely understand what ur saying, ur so clear and informative yet so entertaining at the same time, i always learn so much listening to ur videos not to mention u have made me laugh so many times it’s not even funny- it makes me so upset when ppl literally THREATEN u to be un-alived just for having an opinion like srsly wth ur such an amazing person and i really hope u take that none to heart bc those ppl are srsly deranged- i love ur videos so so much and genuinely just enjoyed watching u -I HOPE U CAN GET THE 22 HAT RN BC U DESERVE IT

[@lynnemc1424]

YESSSS ZACH!!! I NEVER MISS AN UPLOAD!! THANK YOU FOR YOUR HARD WORK AND DEDICATION!! Don't EVER let the haters chase you away!! We love and appreciate you!! ❤

[@lilypoppy2628]

Funny how you made a link between Long Story Short and Evermore and then she played them both for you

[@blank_02]

Common Swiftologist SLAY 💅✨

[@MissteriousMisstress]

PLEASE! do a full video on Dear Reader...PLEASEEE!!!

[@matildearagao8089]

nodaysoffologist even during eras week

[@juliamrtn4837]

YES to a whole video about Dear Reader!

[@heatherblack9744]

I am also super interested to see if/how the Reputation vault tracks will give us more insight & deeper introspection like how the Red and 1989 TV ones did Can't wait for TTPD first though

[@sayahonahunova6655]

Clara bow should def be added to this now.

[@M-sc5bc]

I love love love your videos and I really hope that you don’t stop keeping it real/ including critical takes of Taylor just bc some of her fans are insane. Please keep doing you it’s the only thing that keeps me sane being in this fan base.

[@whisperedwish348]

YES!!!! I've been requesting this video!!! Maybe i had something to do with it being made 😏. Either way I'm so excited! Zach posted just in time for breakfast too! Edit: Fantastic video! I loved your insights into Dear Reader. But I CAN'T BELIEVE you didn't touch on YOYOK! There os so much there! I wrote a whole essay on it in the comments on the YOYOK official lyric video! I also was hoping you'd break down the bridge of Mastermind, especially as it compares to certain songs on Debut like The Outside and Invisible.

[@katlavender2806]

i personally understood the lyric "you should find another guiding light, but i shine so bright" as Taylor telling that to herself. And the guiding light in this case is the turkey/romantic partner. And the fact that she shines so bright is her ruminating over the fact that her fame makes it difficult for her to have a normal relationship. Or, more specifically, that her fame was a major reason her relationship with Joe ended. has anyone else read it this way? I now see how this could also be her telling the fans that, and I like the layers in this song.

[@cosmicspark6772]

this just doesn’t make sense at all grammatically.

[@katlavender2806]

@@cosmicspark6772just use your imagination

[@cosmicspark6772]

@@katlavender2806 no i’d rather use logic 🤗

[@autorgabriel08]

I understood in that way too, that's why she uses a voice effect, but you can hear a little bit of her own voice on the background. It's the most epic moment on Midnights for me, it's like she's trying to convince herself after everything she just said

[@andreaf8404]

please do a video about dear reader! would love to hear all your thoughts

[@samazwe]

God's work is you talking about Dear Reader...I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that inspite of the low-key and laid back nature of its sonic pallet, it is, potentially, the most revealing Taylor Swift track this far

[@menchiesholo]

zach you are so smart for connection all of these songs. i swear you are the only place we can find this type of content about taylor

[@theswiftologist]

[@boothills_devotee]

ur channel is TOO UNDERRATED im confused why every swiftie isnt subbed to this, u rly do be talkin about the REAL SHIT that swifties gotta hear :) i love her too

[@katelynm.9510]

PLEASE do the Dear Reader video. Please!

[@justanotherbrunetteswiftie]

Dear Reader full analysis video essay puhlease!! (And, excellent work here, as always 👏.)

[@LouisaWordsIWriteCrazy]

Dear Reader is one of my favourite songs from Midnights, and it was the bookend of the 3am edition, so I loved this discussion. One song that I could debate about adding would be Castles Crumbling. I could argue that it's about her fear of her fame turning against her, of all that love turning to hatred. But I'm not the best at analyzing lyrics.

[@brigc7755]

As a semi-swiftie, this is INCREDIBLE. I don't think I've truly understood the storytelling and parasocial investments in celebrities lives through their music this well before. It's like, I can really understand how people felt they came to know TS through her songs, but at the same time how did you discern all this??? I am concerned and blown away.

[@theswiftologist]

Thank you so much!

[@Emma-ub4xh]

Yes please do a video about Dear Reader!!!!

[@starstuffpuff]

I could watch your ts video essays everyday. As a new fan (since folklore and cemented by the eras tour), your thoughtful analyses of her life and work have been invaluable. She really is such a fascinating, complex woman and artist.

[@chomburomu7929]

I think Taylor definitely sees your videos, i think every swiftie who watches youtube alot will definitely have at least four youtubers who will come in their recommendations again and again, i think anyone who reads this comment might know who those 4 youtubers are... anyways so, since there are only 4 and all 4 of these youtubers i feel are intently being watched by Taylor. I am 100% sure all the videos of all the 4 youtubers reaches taylor, and i feel like she might even read this comment, with a hidden account, she might even be commenting... LOL... if u r reading taylor, i am sorry and HELLO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@thegirlwholivesindelusion26]

Ally Sheehan, Swiftoligist, Nena Shelby and Chats and Reacts?

[@thegirlwholivesindelusion26]

Wait also is this Taylor lmao?

[@Desiree-Laine]

Can you do a deep dive into her close friendship, with Blake Lively? A friendship she has kept kind of private,yet not,in ways. As oppose to other friendships, that are alot more public, like with Selena,Ice Spice,Gigi,etc. Her friendship with Blake seems to be one she actually treasures more. Anyway, it's a friendship I can totally see, and it makes sense. But at the same time,I can't see it. But I'm not sure I can explain why that is. I have heard others say kinda the same though, and I would like someone to explain why it's this way. If that's possible to do, you are definitely the one to do so.Much love! 👍🙂

[@nehirhayr4650]

this is not really related to the video but your hair looks just AMAZING

[@theswiftologist]

thank u

[@_megcreations_]

PhD in Swiftology 🎓🎓🎓

[@canoe2455]

Clara Bow is gonna be insane😵‍💫

[@glcmrock]

wake up babe new swiftologist video just dropped

[@nishitaa.]

SWIFTOLOGIST THIS IS NOT FAIR how dare you casually drop this bomb of dear reader being the antithesis to mirrorball on a random monday! i fricking love this channel

[@boozy638]

We absolutely need a haylor deep dive video including 1989's vault tracks and harry styles unreleased songs, also Harry's taylor easter eggs in his videos such as satellite. It's canon yall..

[@boozy638]

Every time she refrences harry styles, it relates to colors: The rest of the world was black and white, but we were in screaming color

[@boozy638]

Question: I don’t remember who I was Before you painted all my nights A color I’ve searched for since

[@boozy638]

Out of the woods: The rest of the world was black and white But we were in screaming color

[@boozy638]

Illicit affairs: You showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else

[@boozy638]

Taylor always refrences a wine stain in relation to harry styles: Clean: You're still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can't wear anymore Cardigan: marked me like a blood stain Maroon: The burgundy on my t-shirt When you splashed your wine into me Harry in response in the song Olivia (Taylor's cat): This isn’t the stain of red wine, I’m bleeding love

[@nicolegulino]

Taylor is not perfect, but she's a good person, and she's interesting. I have to wonder why the public wants her to meet an unrealistic moral standard at all times.

[@Mother_is_Mothering306]

This really random but people like to make fun of that one bit in ready for it for Taylor’s dancing but it’s literally in the rep tour too and no one made fun of it then (or maybe they did and I just don’t remember it) it happens in the bridge aka the baby let the games begin

[@michis13]

Yes pls make a video about “Dear Reader”

[@Im_Julissa]

Harry was always dealing with the same public image as a womanizer. Yes men get critiqued too. Sorry Tay 😝

[@theswiftologist]

Being called a womaniser and being called a slut have two completely different connotations. Basic gender theory. Read a book!

[@Im_Julissa]

@@theswiftologist Harry was also has an image of being called manwhore which is the same as a male slut. I’m a fan of both so I’m aware of both their personal struggles Gender studies is a joke lol 😆

[@delmonto2079]

She's by far the biggest celebrity in the US right now

[@MissteriousMisstress]

*the world.

[@nupurmishra346]

​@@MissteriousMisstress yes idk why is it so hard for some people to believe that she is the most famous human being on planet rn and I'm not even American

[@maryem9225]

random thought but wanted to get this comment section’s thoughts: what do you think the reputation tv prologue will read like? Will she say how this was an album written whilst falling in love or re-write it as a finding herself, taking back her power story? She already said rep was 80% a love story so I don’t know how she could go back on that in the Taylor’s Version unless she wants to bring up a now lost relationship.

[@karenvalentino3412]

Wow, this was fantastic, thank you so much! It added so much depth and shading to some of what I’ve been thinking about the progression of Taylor’s Version of her life story. Mirrorball and Dear Reader to me are two hugely profound and revealing songs but I didn’t really link them together until you did. Also I do agree that Anti-Hero is too precious and tidy in describing a serious, messy state of being. It’s not exactly trite but to me it’s hugely unsatisfying. I have a feeling the theme will come up again and hope she finds a deeper and more compelling way to talk about it. Love your analyses.

[@theswiftologist]

thank you for watching!!

[@tammycombs167]

Off topic sorta of. Anti-Hero from first listen was one of the few Taylor songs I do not like. At all. I almost feel bad about it. lol

[@penguinswithwifi]

Listening to this makes me so excited (and scared too! 😱) for TTPD. What interesting nuggets will we glean about what her past few years have been about. I still contend that she had been crying when she left the studio the past couple of times. I wonder what song(s) did that to her.

[@hillarylevi6149]

"The turkey she loves most in the world" DYING. But also, yet another great deep dive video-- and I love the incorporation of the Vault tracks where they belong in the timeline.

[@eschrad]

This video was SO good! Also… it just gave me this epiphany for TTPD: “He looks up grinning like a devil!” -> “When you aim at the devil, make sure you don’t miss.”

[@HanHan-zm3fc]

Im right now so excited for TTPD (The Tortured Poets Department) I feel like its going to be the most heart breaking and raw album in her discography. The concept and all the covers are all so unique! I feel like "Guilty As a Sin" is going to be a gaging and intriguing song..

[@JulietteRobin-n2k]

oooh i have been waiting for a video like this

[@jyd4708]

want to see your reaction to every surprise song😂

[@TheLizard199]

Look at his shorts

[@sarahvanorden670]

As someone relatively local to Taylor Swift's childhood "farm" I literally laugh every time I hear I bet you think about me because the farm went up for sale several years ago, and it's a 5 bedroom house worth 800,000 dollars

[@sarahvanorden670]

And it's a Christmas Tree Farm not a dairy farm

[@kaytoomuchsalt5100]

1) Yess, I would ABSOLUTELY watch an entire video dedicated to “Dear Reader”! It’s by far my favorite Midnights track, and it caught my attention for the very reasons you describe! It’s definitely a puzzle, and the fact that it usurped “Mastermind” as the album’s final track 3 hours after release……💀💀💀 2) I definitely agree with your characterization of “Anti-hero” as not being reflective enough to truly count, and your point about the bridge is the thing that REALLY stood out to me, especially since my first time hearing it was when I watched the music video after it dropped. Taylor clearly was trying to make it into a joke, casting comedians as her kids and daughter-in-law, etc, but even so, I feel like I haven’t seen as much conversation as I would have expected about how deeply cynical the bridge itself and the entire scene truly are? And in that sense, that felt like the most revealing part of the song to me - Taylor Swift, the professed hopeless romantic, has a distinct vision of a future where she dies, with no spouse or romantic partner in sight, and the kids she raised are horrible enough that she only left them 13 cents each out of spite. The implication seems to suggest that she has or had no faith in her ability to raise a child responsibly given her level of fame? And that she had a hard time picturing a future with a happy, long term romantic relationship? Yeah, "Anti-hero" is supposed to be jokey and self-effacing, but it did make me wonder if she was having relationship problems, and tbh it almost seems like an echo of "I wouldn't marry me either."

[@Swiftie287]

“She can’t promise the turkey that she loves the most…” 😭😭😭

[@annakennedy6970]

I think Mean and Castles Crumbling could also be included on this subject. April is going to be such an exciting month-Can't wait for your videos about TTPD once we all get to hear it.

[@imk3879]

2 eras tour shows in a row and. you're uploading????

[@theswiftologist]

Nodaysoffologist 👏🏻

[@violet12345]

@@theswiftologist👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@dawnstrike]

Do a dear reader video!!

[@WoolyPronto]

This video is a MASTERPIECE. Thoroughly enjoyed.

[@christi_ee1998]

Incredible work! Your research, your eloquence, your amazing ability to link things together - truly work to be admired! Would love any more vids like this, linking her stories together through her lyrics. Love love love ❤.

[@theswiftologist]

thank you so much!!

[@pleasecouldyoubetender]

swiftologist always coming in with the most thought provoking takes. Like just so well written and analytical. Brilliant

[@theswiftologist]

thank you sm!!

[@lch2017]

I feel like the third verse of Anti-Hero really wrestles with the fear of raising terrible people. I think a lot of people are worried that they'll screw their kids up and I think Taylor would be especially worried about that (given her complicated relationship with fame, her understanding that her life is not a normal one, and her place as a "guiding light" for her fans). It's interesting to expand the fears of Anti-Hero ("I'm the problem") to also wrestle with the idea of "what if I have children and they become terrible people because of me?"

[@M-sc5bc]

Ugh wow my original comment was before I watched this video. You truly do this like no other. You’re so well spoken your extensive knowledge on Taylor combined with your ability to think critically is truly like no other. Please never stop making these videos

[@ovok10]

I don’t always agree with everything you say , I do like to hear your thoughts you’re only Taylor like “account” I Listen to 😊

[@flowers6167]

Ok ... I dont mean this in any horrid kind of way but frankly if Knaye drama or her records were never stolen she wouldn't be this famous ... she uses being a victim as a stepping stone and now she's using the joe break up as that. Which is whatt makes her such a good storyteller because she knows the public is waiting for her side of the story and they'll eat it up !! She's so so good at reading the room and like giving people what they want without saying the full thing (as she should because no one needs to know exactly what she's going through !!) I absolutely love your vdos can't wait for the next one that you do

[@lunawolf6288]

I wonder how tortured Poets department Is gonna be , I’m excited