Folklore and Evermore – A Play on Words.

Chandana Annu
FOLKLORE 3

“the 1” 3
folklore

Folklore (stylised “folklore”) is Swift’s eighth studio album released via Republic Records
and unlike any other on her catalogue, it is not autobiographical. It was also only announced a
mere sixteen hours before release. Swift brought both new and old voices onto this album. It
was produced both by Aaron Dessner of “The National” and Jack Antonoff, a long-time
collaborator of Swift’s.
After cancelling the tour of her seventh studio album (Lover) due to the outbreak of COVID
19, Swift found that she had had a lot of free time in her hands. Deciding to do something
worthwhile, she decided to diverge from her pop and country roots and dipped her toes into
indie and alternative music.
About

There was also only one featured artist on the album, Justin Vernon of Bon Ivor. It tells
stories that seem like they are from the point of view of someone who has lived a very full
and long life. In fact, it seems like stories that your grandma would have told you. With tales
ranging from a teenage love triangle to one of her own, she unravels everything but still
leaves you with many questions. The biggest of all being: How?
Deciding to showcase her writing talents for all to see, Swift decided to write an album
completely deviated from her actual life (except for the exceptions of some songs) and rooted
in folk stories she created or heard.

With stories ranging from that of a teenage love triangle to that of her own, and how fate
connected them together, Swift is excellent at building this world. In fact, it seems like stories
that your grandma would have told you. She unravels everything but still leaves you with
many questions. The biggest of all being: How?

She decided to write the album about people, mostly rooted in folklore 24i5int qn qllgum
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track list
- the 1
- cardigan
- the last great american dynasty
-

“the 1”
In this song, she reminisces about a lost love and how “it would have been fun if you would
have been the one”.
roaring twenties,
tossing pennies in the pool,
and if my wishes came true
The idea is obvious in these lines from the chorus. Roaring twenties could be used to describe
the time that they had spent together. Usually, when wishing for something to happen
desperately, people toss pennies into fountains in hopes that it will happen. The narrator
tossed pennies into a pool which could be used to show how desperate they were for it to
happen. The following line makes us understand that, no matter how hard she tried for it to
happen, her plans were in vain.
in my defence, I have none
for never leaving well enough alone
This line involves the narrator justifying their actions of bringing up this old flame. The
words “in my defence” are normally used when someone is trying to explain the cause of
their actions. This narrator, however, does not provide excuses but instead, boldly states the
truth that they do not have any reasons to do so. To “leave well enough alone” is to leave
things be as they will be better without interferences. Swift remarks that she has no defence
to provide for disturbing this lost love as they are better off without any interferences.
and it's another day waking up alone
This line, while short, has a lot to unpack. With the use of the word “another”, the writer
implies that it has been a long time since she lost the person and that she may have been
counting the days since. This means that she misses the person. “Waking up alone”, suggests
that she would have liked to have woken up next to that person every single day of her life.