That's my man
Let’s discuss what changed Taylor’s perspective from anger in All You had to do was Stay to more tolerance and a willingness to play along in Willow by looking at Cowboy Like Me.
Willow says:
Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark… Every bait and switch was a work of art/That's my man/Hey, that's my man/I'm begging for you to take my hand/Wreck my plans/That's my man
Bait and switch- A ploy used in sales of deceptively offering a person one thing but delivering a different thing/price when it’s all said and done.
What is offered?
Advertising some desirable good at a certain price to the customer then thwarting expectations by giving the person something less desirable or more expensive.
The seller never intended to sell the advertised product, it was a ruse to engage buyers.
Exp:
A low cost item then saying that item is unavailable in order to get that person to buy something more expensive.
Exp:
When Ticketmaster shows you a pair of tickets for $100 in the seat filter tool, but at checkout your total jumps to $175 because of the “taxes and fees” is an example of enticing customers to buy, then adding additional hidden costs.
Exp:
That time I saw a cute little Airbnb house for rent near the zoo at a reasonable price. But when I arrived firstly, the given address on the app was for the school across the street, and secondly, both neighboring houses were boarded up and sketchy. Sure, the inside of the house was cute, but given the peripheral, suddenly the price seemed egregiously high.
Part of the reason Bait & Switch works:
Sunk costs- Expenditure of money, time, effort that cannot be recovered and doesn’t (shouldn’t) influence future decisions.
Sunk cost fallacy- A psychological trap where people will continue to invest (money/time/effort) into a failed endeavor just because they already have.
Exp:
Spending a lot of money on a car, then finding out it’s a lemon. You spent all this money on the car, so now you’re compelled to pay a bunch more money on repairs because you already have said car.
Exp:
Your spouse is making you unhappy. But you already spent 7 years with this person, you’ve put a lot of effort into the relationship, you’ve invested in your marriage. So instead of divorcing, you stay.
Given those definitions, I think Willow is tied to Cowboy Like Me via the bait and switch line. We’ll get into why.
CLM was on evermore written in 2020. By that time Taylor has had her heart broken. At least 3 or 4 special people have left her, according to her catalog. She has less to lose, because can anyone fulfill her like the others who left?
Now I know
I'm never gonna love again
When this other person propositions Taylor, she’s wiser. She knows it’s a game. She’s not as sensitive as she was in her youth. She expects shenanigans now–and can dish out some of her own too.
And you asked me to dance/But I said, "Dancing is a dangerous game"/Oh, I thought/This is gonna be one of those things… I've got some tricks up my sleeve
And after so much heartbreak, hope and longing dashed, Taylor has prioritized money over love. So she can better recognize that same priority in others.
Takes one to know one/You're a cowboy like me/Never wanted love/Just a fancy car… Takes one to know one/You're a cowboy like me/Perched in the dark/Telling all the rich folks anything they wanna hear/Like it could be love/I could be the way forward/Only if they pay for it… And the old men that I've swindled
Really did believe I was the one
Taylor recognizes intent better in others now that she’s experienced this before. And now Taylor is the rich one that people want to trick to get cars and money.
You had some tricks up your sleeve/Takes one to know one/You're a cowboy like me… You're a bandit like me/Eyes full of stars/Hustling for the good life… Never thought I'd meet you here/It could be love/We could be the way forward/And I know I'll pay for it
Both people have played games with people to get what they want. Taylor focused on her career and money because love kept alluding her. She gave up on the fairytale ending she had hoped for in favor of more practical, tangible things like cars. This person similarly goes for money over love– only Taylor is their mark. Instead of being mad about it, Taylor recognizes she and the other person have a lot in common.
Including the reason they couldn’t have love, and thus resorted to conning rich people under the guise of love.
And the skeletons in both our closets
Plotted hard to fuck this up… And the ladies lunching have their stories about/When you passed through town
Both share the same secret. And desperately try to keep the secret contained… in the closet And people gossip threatening to release the secret.
I mean, we know what that means, and Taylor is a person in the world so she also knows the significance of the closet.
But that was all before I locked it down
It could be a few different meanings:
a) Taylor has transformed this other cowboy. They have so much in common that they genuinely fell in love with each other and are now cemented in a happy relationship. [Romantic happy ending version]
b) Taylor knows this cowboy is tricking her, but thinks they’re hot or nice or whatever and she’s snagged them by paying for their luxuries. [I’ll get mine version]
c) Taylor recognized a like-minded person who wants the exact same things she does for the same reasons. She has secured a contract or long term arrangement with this person in order to protect both of their closets from gossip. [Change of heart version]
Now you hang from my lips
Like the Gardens of Babylon
The Gardens are one of the seven wonders of the world. But there is a lot of ambiguity and doubt about this beutifous tiered, garden. The location of them might be incorrect or unknown. The beauty and wonder of the garden might be exaggerated. It might not exist at all.
Taylor comparing the other cowboy to the Gardens of Babylon has many implications:
Tiered. The relationship has many layers.
Their relationship is ambiguous.
Basic facts about the relationship might be distorted or exaggerated.
The relationship might not exist at all.
With your boots beneath my bed
Let’s look at Shania Twain’s lyrics:
Whose bed have your boots been under
Whose bed have your boots been under?
Whose bed have your boots been under?
And whose heart did you steal I wonder?
Shania uses “steal” reminiscent of Taylor’s song. Shania’s person doesn’t have any intention of getting into a long term relationship with anyone else. He tricks these other women into thinking he wants something deeper in order to bed them.
Quick note: Shania uses nary a pronoun to describe her soon to be ex. For ease of writing and brevity, I’ve made the assumption of he/him, but also Shania could be sharing a queer story.
This time did it feel like thunder, baby?
Well, whose bed have your boots been under?
Don't look so lonely, don't act so blue
I know I'm not the only girl you run to
This guy thought he was sneaking around with his side-chicks, but Shania is calling him out and telling him she knows all about his philandering.
I know about Lolita, your little Spanish flame
I've seen you around with Rita, the redhead down the lane
Whose bed have your boots been under?
And whose heart did you steal I wonder?
This time did it feel like thunder, baby?
And who did you run to?
And whose lips have you been kissin'?
And whose ear did you make a wish in?
Is she the one that you've been missin', baby?
Well, whose bed have your boots been under?
I heard you've been sneakin' around with Jill
And what about that weekend with Beverly Hill
And I've seen you walkin' with long legs Louise
And you weren't just talkin' last night with Denise
Whose bed have your boots been under?
And whose heart did you steal I wonder?
This time did it feel like thunder, baby?
And who did you run to?
And whose lips have you been kissin'?
And whose ear did you make a wish in?
Is she the one that you've been missin', baby?
Well, whose bed have your boots been under?
Come on boots
Oh, yeah
Bring it boys
Shania uses a call-back to ‘These Boots are Made for Walkin’ ’
[side-note: I don’t know how to end the single quotations that indicate a song title when the last word of that title also has an apostrophe to indicate a chopped off word. Write and let me know if you’re englishy.]
She references that song to indicate what her boots are going to do, and she invites the boys to flirt/try/woo/sex her.
So next time you're lonely don't call on me
Try the operator, maybe she'll be free
This guy has gone through so many women and Shania has had enough. She jokes he might as well pick up the phone and get with the first person on it since that’s clearly been his M.O..
Whose bed have your boots been under?
And whose heart did you steal I wonder?
This time did it feel like thunder?
Whose bed have your boots been under?
And whose heart did you steal I wonder?
And this time did it feel like thunder, baby?
And who did you run to?
And whose lips have you been kissin'?
And whose ear did you make a wish in?
Is she the one that you've been missin', baby?
Well, whose bed have your boots been under?
I wanna know whose bed, baby (whose bed) (your boots been under)
Whose bed, whose bed (your boots been under, your boots been under)
Whoa, baby
Whose bed, whose bed (your boots been under, your boots been under)
Tell me, whose bed, yeah, I wanna know (whose bed) (your boots been under)
Whose bed (your boots been under)
You better start talkin' (whose bed) (your boots been under)
Or you better start walkin' (whose bed)
Shania is SO done with this cheater!
Back to Cowboy Like Me.
Taylor uses Shania’s song to tell the audience everyone’s role in Cowboy Like Me.
The person Taylor is talking to–that other tricky cowboy, has their boots under her (Taylor’s) bed. This other cowboy in Taylor’s song is like Shania’s soon to be ex.
Since the boots are beneath Taylor’s bed–that makes Taylor the cheatee/Lolita/long-legs Louise. She’s the dalliance/other woman in the situation.
If Taylor’s cowboy is anything like Shania’s soon to be ex, then they are getting with many, many women under the nose of their long term love (the Shania character who is unknown and unmentioned in Taylor’s song).
And Shania’s ex doesn’t intend to have anything serious with any of these many, many women-he’s stealing their hearts to trick them for sex. So if Taylor’s cowboy is similar, it means Taylor is just one of many, many women tricky cowboy is conning.
The final lines in the song can each have multiple meanings:
Forever is the sweetest con
a) The other cowboy is lying to the Shania (whoever she may be in this present story) that they are monogamous long term partners. They’re hiding the cheating they’re doing with Taylor from their real spouse.
b) the other cowboy cons Taylor to get her money by telling her they love her. Taylor accepts this because she’s done it herself, and also, this person has something Taylor likes (looks/clout).
c) The con is for the outsiders/ladies lunching/gossips. There is actually no romantic relationship between the cowboys (Taylor and this other tricky person with secrets also). The relationship is a ruse to keep the skeletons hidden well inside the closet.
I've had some tricks up my sleeve/Takes one to know one/You're a cowboy like me/And I'm never gonna love again
a) Our cheating cowboy is just like Taylor so she has sympathy and understanding for their tricks against her. She’s had to do that before also. But since they’re birds of a feather they’ll never love anyone else. They fell in love with each other. [Awww, both tricky cowboys fell in actual love after the ruse began]
b) Taylor also has tricks up her sleeve and is conning the con that she doesn’t know it’s all a ruse. Taylor has already accepted that she’ll never know love like she had with those prior people who left her, and has settled for this tricky cowboy, because–at least it’s good sex (or whatever it is she desires about this con-cowboy).
c) The tricks are all for the outsiders now. Taylor has met someone just like her who has the same things hidden in their closet, and the same fears of being exposed by the gossips. They will pretend to be together to throw everyone off.
I'm never gonna love again
Mm, mm, oh, oh
I'm never gonna love again
So given all a/b/c options the final lines could mean:
a) Taylor and this person found each other and it’s genuine love so they’ll never love anyone else again.
b) Taylor has given up hope of finding true love so she will settle for being the mark of this cute cowboy con artist.
c) Taylor is never going to have a public boyfriend again (never “love” again) because she and this like-minded person are pulling a ruse on the gossips by pretending to be with each other.
Back to Willow. Do you think our Cowboy Like Me analysis changes the final lines of Willow?
Wait for the signal and I'll meet you after dark… Every bait and switch was a work of art/That's my man/Hey, that's my man/I'm begging for you to take my hand/Wreck my plans/That's my man
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