Beloved pop star Taylor Swift’s choice as the best decade to live in according to the lyrics of a new song has raised eyebrows.
Taylor’s song “I Hate It Here”, included among the 15 additional songs on the The Department of Tortured Poets album, delves into themes of dissatisfaction. The billionaire singer conveys a deep feeling of not fitting in either with her time or with her friends.
Instead, the beleaguered pop star retreats into the “secret gardens of her mind,” accessible only to those to whom she gives the “key.” However, in the midst of this fantasy, Swift left out some lyrics that made some listeners balk.
“My friends used to play a game where/ We pick a decade/ We wish we could live instead of this/ I’d say the 1830s, but without all the racists/ And marry for the highest offer,” Swift sings. .
Swift’s description of the 1830s is an idealized fairy tale version of the era. It’s part of a fantasy shared with friends. However, critics highlight its more sinister aspects. Of course, thirty years before the Civil War, slavery was a legal institution in the decade Swift longed for. Certain audiences feel that the term “racism” underestimates the true conditions of the 1830s, as well as the eras surrounding it.
Unsurprisingly, critics of the lyrics took to social media to analyze the thought process behind Taylor’s choice of the 1830s.
“[The] The 1830s are a really fun decade to reference. What non-racist thing are you desperate to have experienced? The financial crisis? The cholera outbreak???” said one listener. wrote.
Another Xer thought the controversial lyric was an example of what they speculated was part of Swift’s success.
I’ve always quietly believed that the main reason for her astronomical success is the fact that her art is basically the white woman’s psyche singing to itself unconsciously.
My theory remains undefeated. https://t.co/9mIp5raeOn
– adia victoria (@adiavictoria) April 19, 2024
One listener ignored Taylor Swift’s “no racism” lyric and simply spit out a long list of facts about the era. “Romanticizing the 1830s is crazy because what was good about the 1830s? slavery was rampant, the Indian Removal Act displaced and killed so many natives, anti-Mexican sentiments were at an all-time high, women’s rights were nowhere to be found… like what?”
“This one they call the ‘best composer’, of course…” another X user wrote about the clumsy lyrics.
In fact, strange comments about racism aside, Taylor’s choice of the decade is strange. She chose an era when female boss essentials like birth control and the right to vote didn’t exist. Of course, air conditioning and penicillin were also lacking in the 1830s. Even the “platter” record would not exist until 1887!
Categories: Biography
Source: vcmp.edu.vn