Taylor Swift is a globally renowned musician with numerous record breaking statistics. She holds the world record for the most number one debuts by a woman in Billboard Hot 100 history, is the only artist to win “Album Of The Year” Grammy four times, and had the first concert tour to earn one billion dollars (lofficielusa.com). These stats are just the beginning of her extensive list of world records. Some would agree that Swift is an incredible singer-songwriter. One of her most beloved albums, folklore, can help justify this argument. Folklore is known to many fans as possibly her best album with a storytelling aspect that really adds to the whimsical feeling of the music.
Folklore was Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album and her seventh number one album (billboard.com). The album was released as a surprise to fans, therefore, creating shockwaves all over the world. It became popular immediately, quickly rising up the charts. It sold 1.3 million copies in just 24 hours and broke the world record for first day album streams on Spotify by a female artist (variety.com). Folklore is often considered Swift’s best album and for many reasons. One of the main factors of the album is its feature of storytelling and narrative writing. This was quite the shift from her previous upbeat pop style, not just because of the writing, but the indie folk style also added to this change. Swift is now known for her genre exploration, and this is just one example of this happening. At the beginning of her music career, she swapped her country style for pop in her album 1989. Overall, songs from folklore use storytelling and a folk style that help make it a great listen.
The most popular aspect of storytelling in folklore is Taylor Swift’s made-up “teenage love triangle”. There tends to be controversy on which three songs make up the love triangle, but the most popular opinion is that those three tracks are “august”, “betty”, and “cardigan” (vulture.com). To put it simply, each song is narrated by a different person in the love triangle. “Cardigan” is considered to be narrated by a woman called Betty, who in the song seems to be looking back on her past as a teenager in love. Betty tells us about how her ex-boyfriend James made her feel seen and loved in their relationship before he eventually cheated on her with another girl. This leads us to “august”, where the “other woman”, who James cheated on Betty with, tells her side of the story. Swift has never given an elaboration on what this woman’s name is, but fans call her “August”, after the song she narrates. “August” shares her perspective on the summer fling she shared with James that eventually ended with the summer and how she wished her and James could have been something more. Lastly, there is the song “betty”, where James gets to share his thoughts on how he made a mistake and wants to get Betty back. The song ends right as James makes it to Betty’s front door, leaving listeners on a cliffhanger. This “teenage love triangle” is an iconic moment in Taylor Swift’s career and a major reason for folklore’s success.
“The last great american dynasty” is another great example of folklore’s storytelling. The song tells the story of Rebekah and William Harkness’ “holiday house”. In 1947, Rebekah married William or “Bill” Harkness, the heir to Standard Oil (ew.com). The song follows their marriage, Bill’s malignant heart attack in 1954, and how Taylor Swift herself eventually bought what was called “holiday house”. The narrator of the song is Swift, but it plays with the perspective of people living in the town and their view of Rebekah Harkness. “The last great american dynasty” greatly depicts the history of holiday house. The song is creative and enjoyable, just like the rest of the album.
Folklore is just one small piece of Taylor Swift’s overall career “puzzle”. The album helps contribute to her great success in the music industry. It led to the soon after release of one of her more unpopular albums, evermore, that shares the same folk style. Taylor Swift has helped many fans feel seen with her relatable lyrics. She has music for every mood; whether you’re sad and upset, excited and happy, or angry and wanting revenge, there’s an album for everyone. Swift’s “puzzle” is not yet complete, and fans can’t wait for the next puzzle piece in her music career.
