Laughing but the joke's not funny at all.
Folklore. A compound of the roots: folk and lore. Folk -- referencing a community of people. Lore -- describing learning, knowledge, intellectual gain. Folklore -- telling a story, fairytales. Alternative definition: Taylor Swift's 8th studio album. But really, it's not an alternative at all. It's the pure embodiment of the term.
exile (feat. Bon Iver) by Taylor Swift.
My true, thorough introduction to this song was as I watched and absorbed folklore: the long pond sessions on Disney+, starring Taylor Swift and her collaborators Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. The amount of sheer knowledge and wisdom that went into the music-making was absolutely astonishing. Every song, every story so well thought out. That was when I understood that at some point in a musician's career, their art becomes more than music. Especially when you're as seasoned in the career as Taylor Swift. For now, I will restrain from the frustrated and passionate conversation of the love triangle between a Betty, a James, and an Augustine (or Augusta, according to Miss Americana herself) that is integrated throughout the album, and focus on one sparkling track in particular.
Besides the warm and subtle piano at the start; the deep, delicate, and soulful voice of Justin Vernon (from Bon Iver) sets the winning grounds for the tune. Simple -- just piano and vocals. Sprinkle a little bit more romanticism and meaning for when one learns that William Bowery, Swift's co-writer on this piece, is but a pseudonym. For Taylor's boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. Talent is a magnet it seems.
I think I've seen this film before
And I didn't like the ending
You're not my homeland anymore
So what am I defending now?
You were my town
Now I'm in exile seeing you out
I think I've seen this film before
Bittersweet. My take on these lyrics is the heartbreaking nature of having been through this fading, finishing period in a relationship before, and the agonizing realization that you're going through it yet again. Someone you felt so safe with, so at home with, so close with -- nothing but distance is tangible between the two of you now. What is left to fight for? Isn't love just a cycle of this loss? A 'film we've seen before'?
Swift takes on the woman's perspective, while Vernon holds the man's view in this tale of a failed relationship. The peak of the whole experience, that is this song, is during the bridge.
All this time
We always walked a very thin line
You didn't even hear me out (you didn't even hear me out)
You never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
All this time
I never learned to read your mind (never learned to read my mind)
I couldn't turn things around (you never turned things around)
'Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)
So many signs
So many signs (you didn't even see the signs)
Miscommunication can be enough to tear two people in a strong, endearing connection apart. Apparently, a connection that was already diminishing. The final straw. A simple complication, miscommunications lead to fallout, you could say.
The first and second verses -- the main portion of the story from different perspectives -- never fail to impress me in the outright genius in lyricism. The literal definition of "show, don't tell."
But what kind of a writer would I be if I just gave it all away so easily? I'll give you something to dig up.
Happy belated Valentine's day! If you click on the album cover below, you can listen or re-listen to "exile (feat. Bon Iver)" by Taylor Swift on YouTube. I can assure you, this will not be the last highlighted track from Folklore. Let me know thoughts, emotions, ideas, sparks, creations, or memories that come up while the instruments hum into your ears.
Super
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