Imagine you are a world-renowned pop artist selling out stadiums across the globe, about to be engaged to the love of your life and a billionaire. You have got what seems like everything, so in your free time during your tour, you sit down and pen a couple songs. You announce it on your boyfriend’s podcast, and now you once again have the world enthralled, captivated and anticipating your next moves. 

How does Taylor Swift do it? Why does she do it? Because the world is her stage, the crowd is her king, and we are witnessing the beautiful, frightening and rapturous life of a showgirl.

Swift opened her new album “The Life of a Showgirl” with the track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” based on the Shakespearean character in “Hamlet” who dies in a miserable loneliness, airing her grievances to all of the terrible men in her love life, except for one. This song is a classic Swift pop hit. She sings, “Now I can see it all (see it all),” because now “you’re mine.” A catchy chorus with lyrics of love. 

I just have one question. How long has Swift been gatekeeping “Elizabeth Taylor”? This track sounds like it is straight out of her album “Reputation,” not only in the powerful vocals and lyrical prowess, as she describes the tumultuous love affairs of Elizabeth Taylor. Swift’s love life has been both highly publicized and criticized in the past, and she questions, “Tell me for real / Do you think it’s forever?” But does she know, Travis Kelce is not messing around. Turns out, you can get something for a girl who has “everything and nothing all at once,” and that is true and trusting love.

My personal favorite song is “Eldest Daughter.” For context, my Swiftie trifecta is “Reputation,” “Folklore” and “Evermore,” and I am the oldest kid in my family. So, I knew this song would hit. To. The. Core. Track 5 leaves a legacy of heart-wrenching lyrics and emotion; please consider “So Long, London” on “The Tortured Poet Department”, “You’re On Your Own, Kid” on “Midnights” and “All Too Well” on “Red”, just to name a few. This track 5 was no different, as Swift anguishes over the struggles and pressures of being the oldest daughter, but the song carries a double meaning as she is not only “the first lamb to the slaughter” in the home, but in the music industry as well.

Despite the constant pressure for perfection, she recognizes the importance of prioritizing what she loves singing, “But I’m never gonna break that vow / I’m never gonna leave you now, now, now.” Once again, there is a double meaning to this line. Honestly, I do not even think it is Swift saying this line. Eldest daughter syndrome is centered around the idea of being there for everyone, dealing with everything all the time, no matter what. Stepping back to the full message of the album of her finally finding that unconditional love, it is not Swift saying this, but Kelce instead. She has finally found the love where she is validated, supported, seen and, most importantly, someone else is caring for her.

Yes, I agree that the overall song “isn’t savage,” but we have to remember, she is a millennial at the end of the day. Swift is trying to remain hip and cool in whatever way she can, to stay that “bad bitch” she always has been. Admittedly, I did not enjoy this album on the first listen or the second, but by the third, I really tried to sit down and listen to the lyrics, which is where I could find my appreciation for “The Life of a Showgirl.” At the root of it all, I am truly happy that Swift has found her happiness. 

We grew up not only listening to her, but learning and growing with her, what it means to find love and our happily ever after. She has got it, she is giddy and overjoyed, and Swifties and non-Swifties alike are choosing to pick apart her linguistics instead of looking at the big picture. This is the life of a showgirl. You will never be perfect, you will never be enough, but you are giving it all you have got. And that is show business, baby.

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