“willow: Taylor Swift’s Masterpiece” — An Article
The year 2020 had been rough for people from all around the world. But at least, Taylor Swift sprinkled a bit merriment. Swifties all around the world were delighted by the comeback of their queen, Taylor Alison Swift. It was recorded that she released two studio albums, Folklore as well as evermore. Unlike her previous albums, Folklore is an indie-folk album whereas evermore is a folk-pop. Together with Aaron Dessner, Taylor successfully gave birth to two remarkable masterpieces in her music career.
Both Folklore and evermore are wrapped and served in a land of imagination, filled with myths and folktales. All songs in those two albums are absolutely superb and enjoyable. But above all, I found evermore gave me more enthusiasm, especially willow. As Taylor has mentioned in her willow MV premiere chat, willow is about intrigue, desire, and the complexity that goes into wanting someone. Her explanation can be confirmed from the lyrics of her song, “wherever you stray, I follow/I’m begging you to take my hand/you know that my train could take you home”.
intrigue, desire, and complexity
Loving Someone in “willow”
In my personal opinion, Taylor has successfully described the thrill that someone has when she is madly in love. The simile in the first verse shows how love can change someone. I’m like the water when your ship rolled in that night/Rough on the surface, but you cut through like a knife. The man’s coming into Taylor’s life has softened her. Life did her wrong, and because of that she became stony; protecting herself from people who might hurt her. But when the man came, the wall of protection that she has built fell apart. That moment she knew, she was completely trapped in him.
Lost in your current like a priceless wine.
As if it is not enough, Taylor emphasized the power of love in her chorus by stating, Wherever you stray, I follow/I’m begging for you to take my hand, wreck my plans, that’s my man. This is contradictive to the character of the person that Taylor mentioned at the beginning of “willow”. A person that she labeled as rough is begging for someone.
You know that my train could take you home.
At this point, you might be wondering, what does willow do in her song? Willow made its appearance in the second verse of the song. The second verse of the song contains various figures of speech, such as simile, metaphor, and alliteration (willow and pillow). The willow tree is used as a metaphor for Taylor’s life. If you know the willow tree, it has many feathery and long branches that will dance with the wind. Life was a willow and it bent right to your wind. Based on the lyrics, Taylor informed that her life is swayed by the presence of her lover. “Willow” also gives a suggestion about how their relationship is; alluring and clamorous at the same time.
This feeling, sentiment, compassion, and fondness are not only focusing on Taylor, but also the man. Show me the places where others gave you scars. Taylor desires to know more about him, about his past, so that they can heal each other. In short, she wants this relationship to last forever. That is how much she loves him.
Every bait-and-switch was a work of art.
All in all, I bet that every Swiftie understands already that the man Taylor Swift refers to in her song “willow” is Jow Alwyn, her current boyfriend. [ctrn]
