Taylor Swift May Forever Live In The Shadow Of Her Folklore Album

It’s been three albums since then folklore/evermore wind, but fans still seem happiest lost in the woods. The Life of a Showgirl was meant to be Taylor Swift’s glitter-covered escape from that core chapter, yet much of the magic failed to make it out of the forest.

Lead single, “The Fate of Ophelia,” landed gracefullybut the rest of the record hit with a thud. Tracks like “Eldest Daughter” and “Wood” quickly became fan punchlines, while “Elizabeth Taylor” and “Cancelled!” sparked more cringes than choruses.

The reactions are starting to sound on repeat, as listeners cling to it folklore‘s dreamy melancholy, leaving the question: can Taylor ever step fully out of the cottage she built for herself, or are fans too nostalgic to follow her out?

Why Folklore Is Considered Her Magnum Opus

When Taylor Swift followed up reputation with Loverdespite still having the highest-selling album of the year, fans didn’t feel like it lived up to her previous work. The album’s lead single “ME!” was met with backlash for its immature lyrics and bubble-gum pop production, causing Swift to never again release a single before the entire album’s release.

However, when the pandemic hit, Swift spent her time in quarantine crafting folklore. It was an album that would impress critics and fans with its acoustic melodies and lyrics as sharp as the “twisted knife” she sang about in “hoax.”

Artists like Dua Lipa and Lady Gaga released upbeat pop albums in 2020, expecting they’d be going on tour and fans would be out dancing to their hits. Swift, on the other hand, wrote and released the album during lockdown, creating the perfect piece of art to get fans through unprecedented times.

Before folkloreSwift’s Ed track “All Too Well” was widely considered her magnum opus. In the following years, Swift would switch to pop music, and despite becoming one of the biggest pop stars in the industry, many felt she was undermining her talents and selling herself short.

Lyrics like “the fella over there with the hella good hair” were not as striking as the heartwrenching words she penned as a teenager. The release of folklore felt like Swift had gone back to her roots and was honoring her talents in a way she hadn’t in nearly a decade.

Swift dove deep into metaphors and poetrycomparing her fallout with her former record label president, Scott Borchetta, to an abusive husband attending his wife’s funeral. She even created a fictional love triangle in folklore that has mesmerized fans ever since.

Swift was no longer chasing a #1 pop hit that would get stuck in everyone’s heads, but was cracking open her imagination and presenting it to the world. The result was the most impressive work of her careerdeservedly taking home the Album of the Year Grammy at the 2021 award ceremony.

Swifties Have Become Forgetful, Swift Has Always Been A Strong Songwriter

Here’s the problem: a lot of Swifties, especially those who only became fans during the folklore wind, seem to forget that Swift has always been lyrically talented. After all, “All Too Well” was released eight years before her pandemic-era album.

While that’s usually the go-to example, The Life Of A Showgirl artist has a vast catalog of songs with lyrics that tug at the heartstrings. When she was only 16 years old, she released “Tied Together With A Smile,” one of her most emotional songs about a close friend with an eating disorder.

On the same album, Swift included “Cold As You,” a very metaphorical breakup ballad, calling out an ex for their avoidant behavior. “You put up walls and paint them all a shade of gray, and I stood there loving you and wished them all away,“was some impressive wordsmithing for a teenager.

However, when Swifties have to defend the singer’s talent, they often refer folklore. It’s a slap in the face to how hard the “Actually Romantic” singer has worked throughout the years to even get to the point where she could release an album like folklore.

Taylor Swift Deserves The Freedom To Have Fun

An unfortunate result of the folklore era is that, anytime Swift does release a pop album or pop songs, Swifties react with the usual “I can’t believe the same artist who wrote folklore wrote this.“What they’re forgetting is that the same album that included “All Too Well” also included “22” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”

Both songs helped launch Swift into pop superstardom, but both also had pretty mediocre lyrics. While 1989 is generally recognized as one of the best pop albums of the 2010s, the lyrics were far weaker than those Swift had done in the past. Nothing really stood out the way the bridge of “All Too Well” did one album prior.

However, the general consensus was that she just wasn’t even sad nor she had been when writing Ed. The same thing can be said about The Life Of A Showgirl. For folklore and evermoreSwift was as unsure of the state of the world as everyone else.

With Midnightsthe singer was looking back on sleepless nights and probably dealing with relationship struggles she never revealed. Hon The Tortured Poets Departmentshe was mourning two relationships that she believed were going to lead to happily ever after.

This time around, Swift has expressed her happiness in everything The Life Of A Showgirl interviews, so why would the album have any songs that resemble the folklore era? Swift has also returned to work with Max Martin, the producer behind 1989and left behind a prominent folklore producer, Aaron Dessnerwho crafted most of the sadder, folk-style songs.

Despite criticism, The Life Of A Showgirl’s “Eldest Daughter” has a pretty impressive bridgeand “Ruin The Friendship” has the vulnerability and artistry fans claim the album is lacking. Swift is a writer first, with the drive to evolve and take risks.

The Life Of A Showgirl is one of those risks, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a future album where she sets her poetic side free again. Until then, Taylor Swift deserves to enjoy her opalite sky.