"my tears ricochet" by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
The fifth track off "folklore," Taylor Swift’s eighth studio album, “my tears ricochet” offers a haunting yet elegant narrative of betrayal and manipulation.
August 1, 200
With each song on her album, “folklore,” serving as its own tale, however true or fictional, Swift describes this as the story of an “embittered tormentor showing up at the funeral of his fallen object of obsession.” Some have been keen to relate it to Swift’s personal life, following a gnarly split from long-time record label, Big Machine. The track opens with a chorus of harmonizing vowels, repeating throughout alongside piano chords muted by an underwater effect. The first lyric that struck me comes in just the second line: “And if I'm on fire, you'll be made of ashes, too.” This expresses a basic element of vengeance, along the vein of, “if I’m going down, I’m taking you with me.” It also suggests that, in trying to ruin the narrator’s reputation, or setting the narrator on fire, the “tormentor” had to reveal their own malicious roots, which destroyed their name. This is further echoed later, in the song’s final chorus, with the line, “you had to kill me, but it killed you just the same.” One of my favorite lyrics comes in the second verse. “You know I didn't want to have to haunt you, but what a ghostly scene.” I appreciate the play on the literal and figurative here. One interpretation is she didn’t want to avenge herself, but they forced her hand; she couldn’t ignore what they did to her this time. It’s a somber assertion to make: I loved you so much, I would’ve let you get away with almost anything, but this hurt too much. The chorus provides the versatile lyric, “I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace.” This applies to anyone who’s been in a situation where they couldn’t bite their tongue to save face or keep the peace. It hurt too much to walk away without causing a scene. In the second iteration, it’s followed by the line, “when I'd fight, you used to tell me I was brave.” This speaks volumes to the relationship Swift explained as the premise of the song. The person called her brave when she stood up for herself, but not after she started standing up to them. In true Swift fashion, the song’s bridge is perhaps the sharpest, shiniest moment in the song, offering the lyric, “you can aim for my heart, go for blood, but you would still miss me in your bones.” At face value, the line explains that, no matter how calculated their plan to take her down is, the person will still grieve losing her. I also love the idea that, on a deeper level, “miss” in the context means the person will never hit her where they need to. They can aim to kill, but, even if they succeed, it won’t resolve their animosity. I think that’s true about bitter people. No act of revenge is enough. As is the whole album, “my tears ricochet” is on repeat in my headphones this week.
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