I'm Testing out this theory that there is a song in each of the 'Multiple Taylor's Series' that talks about the same situation from each different perspective. We're remembering the physical portrayals from the Anti-Hero music video that gave us the map to Taylor's plan of introducing each persona. See my other posts about it:
https://kit10phish.wordpress.com/2025/10/06/meet-the-3-taylors-in-the-anti-hero-music-video/
https://kit10phish.wordpress.com/2025/10/08/how-do-the-three-taylor-personas-influence-her-work/
https://kit10phish.wordpress.com/2025/10/09/the-last-three-taylor-swift-albums-are-three-strands-of-a-braid/
Obviously not every song has a 1:1:1 match, because the tracklists are different lengths. But I thought it would be a fun exercise none-the-less, and might be enlightening.
Taylor Swift's Journey from to Repressed Industry Pawn to Assured Powerhouse:
High Fidelity starts with a confrontation. Somebody has discovered something private, and reacts with displeasure and aggression. It makes Taylor feel like she has to stabilize the relationship by contriving and maneuvering. She sees marriage and the white picket fence as menacing and imposing on what her heart wants. Taylor has to keep secrets to please others, even though it hurts that she isn't appreciated for her authentic self. Still, she is compelled to do what's expected, and repress anything divisive to keep the peace.
Fresh out the slammer seems like an upbeat song, but it's mostly talking about still being in the slammer. She was misunderstood and belittled. Though she worked hard to appease, things were mercurial and volatile. Taylor couldn't find sure footing. The instability started erasing her true self, but her writing saved her. She could write her truth in her poems, by obscuring it--swirling and braiding the appropriate story and censured subjects until only vague subtext belied the details. Taylor is going to burn and cremate the old, repressed self and toss the ashes off the ledge. She will bravely take a leap to leave this cell and find freedom.
Opalite references the past when Taylor felt haunted and had to pose as something desirable, and strategically dance around the truth to maintain her image. It was lonely and ate her away. She's gained perspective since then, and sees criticism and scrutiny as temporary. The struggles helped her learn that she could mentally rise above strife and create her own happiness. The self-imposed starvation and repression she has the power to recalibrate. She can stop eating trash and leave the table anytime she wants.
Midnights' Giant Taylor has been bullied into being a reverent cog in the machine, rather than being candid. Being dishonest about herself in order to please is slowly killing her inside. She longs for the subjects in the song (father, manager, music industry, media, fans, lovers) to stop tallying her perceived transgressions and love her for who she is.
TTPD's Poet Taylor shows more bravado than the people-pleasing Giant-Taylor. Poet said she did her time, and rebelliously writes her secrets in her songs even though some people hate her unvarnished reality. She's tired of feeling trapped and precariously masking the undesirable. Being restrained leaves Taylor feeling misunderstood and fearful. She rationalizes her subject is bitter and has a fickle nature anyway, so she might as well only court those with more tolerance.
TLOAS' Showgirl Taylor remembers balancing and striving during publicity storms. But she's learned she can create her own happiness by just changing her mindset. The storm is in a teacup, very small, and like lightning, fleeting. Dark nights always transition to sunlight. The ghosts were in her mind, and she can feed her soul at her discretion.
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