Evermore
Evermore is a better album than 1989 and
Folklore because it is the perfect collection of songs
that complement each other. The songs are
fictional and based loosely on other pieces of
literature. Evermore is Taylor’s most recent work
(excluding re-recordings) which automatically
makes it her newest and best work. With
metaphorical lyrics, deep storylines, angelic stems,
and a collaboration with HAIM, we BOW DOWN to
Evermore as the supreme Taylor Swift album.
Let’s dissect the best song on Evermore, “Ivy”,
(no, this is not up for debate) which is about a
woman finding happiness and love again in a
different person while still being married to her husband.
“How’s one to know?
I’d meet you where the spirit meets the bones
In a faith forgotten land
In from the snow
Your touch brought forth an incandescent glow
Tarnished but so grand.”
In this scene Taylor describes how a woman meets someone “where the spirit
meets the bones” or in other words a cemetery. This is interesting because we
associate cemeteries with death and other negative things. In the next few lines she
mentions this person’s “touch brought forth an incandescent glow” which is talking
about incandescent light or in other words a soft glow that has re entered the women’s
life. The next lyric shows that this incandescent glow is “tarnished” which in this
song’s context means dirty, but it’s “so grand.” All this to properly contextualize the
beauty of falling in love again, and what it can positively do to a person??????? You
physically can’t tell me this song doesn’t make you want to cheat on somebody
because I would not believe you a single bit! (I’m not condoning cheating, just being
dramatic hehe).
Let’s take a look at 1989’s All You Had To Do Was Stay:
All you had to do was (stay)
All you had to do was (stay)
All you had to do was (stay)
All you had to do was stay
What deep lyrics. Granted this is just the chorus but English teacher Mr. Hokkanen
says “A bad chorus can ruin a song,” and I have to agree. This song is straightforward,
repetitive, and most importantly BORING! It doesn’t stand out at all and is one of the
most forgotten Taylor Swift songs.
Evermore also has incredible story lines. In “right where you left me”, Taylor
highlights a story of a woman that is broken up with out of nowhere. Throughout the
story Taylor explains the women’s feelings about being dumped and feeling frozen in
time because she refuses to believe that her partner left her.
My favorite part of this song though, is the depiction of the women feeling frozen
in time. Observe, the first chorus:
“Help, I’m still at the restaurant
Still sitting in a corner I haunt
Cross-legged in the dim light
They say, “What a sad sight”
I, I swear you could hear a hair pin drop
Right when I felt the moment stop
Glass shattered on the white cloth
Everybody moved on
I, I stayed there
Dust collected on my pinned-up hair
They expected me to find somewhere
Some perspective, but I sat and stared”
And now the last chorus:
“Help, I’m still at the restaurant
Still sitting in a corner I haunt
Cross-legged in the dim light
They say, “What a sad sight”
I, I stayed there
Dust collected on my pinned-up hair
I’m sure that you got a wife out there
Kids and Christmas, but I’m unaware
‘Cause I’m right where
I cause no harm, mind my business
If our love died young, I can’t bear witness
And it’s been so long
But if you ever think you got it wrong”
In the final chorus the woman still feels frozen in time but she’s accepting it’s her
fault for not being able to move on. It perfectly illustrates how she feels stuck
physically but understands emotionally, that it’s time to move on.
It gives me Mrs. Havisham vibes from Great Expectations. “Dust collected on my
pinned up hair” serves as a parallel to Mrs. Havisham’s old wedding dress that she
still holds on to. Knowing Taylor, this is definitely an inspiration for writing this song.
SEE WHAT I MEAN???????? All of these songs have deep storylines and metaphors
which should be noticed and appreciated SO MUCH MORE!!!! It takes an intelligent
mind to appreciate the artistry in Evermore. People only enjoy the songs in 1989
because they’re upbeat. That’s it. And you can @ me on that one.
Another wonderous thing (I KNOW there’s still more!) is the best collaboration,
“No Body, No Crime” with HAIM!!!! I could sit and talk about HAIM x Taylor Swift for
the rest of my life and thank the heavens we were blessed with a collaboration
between them after YEARS. I think “No Body, No Crime” speaks for itself (yes to
killing cheating men!) and having HAIM on it was the serve of the century.
Debora, who is a self proclaimed “1989 stan”, says she doesn’t have to defend
1989 because the songs speak for themselves. I disagree because if you love an album
THAT much you should be able to write a dissertation about it (contact me if you want
to read mine on Evermore) even if the songs are so great they don’t need defense.
Even statistics show Evermore is the best Taylor Swift album. Evermore debuted at
number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart and smashed vinyl records, selling
102,000 copies in its first week of release. [This was broken on November 18th 2021 by
Red (Taylor’s Version)]. “Willow” , the debut single from Evermore debuted at number
1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving her her 7th number 1 song. Evermore won the
American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Album, giving her 4 wins in this
category, the most for any artist in history. Taylor is nominated for Album of the Year
at the 2022 Grammy’s making her a 42 time nominee and a 5 time Album of the Year
nominee. All I can say is as she should!!
In conclusion, Evermore is for the elites and brilliant minds that aren’t afraid to
stand out. Evermore is the misunderstood friend that needs a strong mind to
understand them. So Sanjana and Debora, imma let you finish, but unlike 1989 and
Folklore, there aren’t straightforward lyrics that are easy to understand. But that’s the
thrill of it! YOU get to analyze and understand exactly how Taylor incorporates her
real life into fictional stories through complex metaphors. Don’t say you hate
Evermore, just admit you’re stupid and move on :).