When Taylor Swift released “The Archer”, the third song off her upcoming album,Lover, I wrote thatit was what I was waiting for, that it was the best track so far, the kind of sound I’d been hoping for after “ME!” and “You Need to Calm Down”, both underwhelming.
“Lover” dropped last night and… it’s SO f-cking good, the best song from the album so far..
This is unmistakably about Joe Alwyn and, as mentionedafter her Vogue interview came out, the lyrics hint at a commitment, even more now that we’re getting all of them instead of just two lines:
Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?
With every guitar string scar on my hand
I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover
My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue
All’s well that ends well to end up with you
So are they married? Is this what happened when they spent the holidays in December 2018 at an Irish castle with family and friends?
If it is, it’s a great reveal. If it is, it’s the ultimate secret kept.
Is it?
Last week, after the Vogue interview, and people were speculating that she might be engaged or married,E! Newsreported that she’s not. I don’t know that E! is the one to have the inside track on Taylor considering their relationship with the Kardashians.
As usual, her fans are doing the forensics on all the lyrics and not just the possible clues about engagements and weddings, looking for all the easter eggs that Taylor’s been leaving behind. Like the “take me home” lyric, a callback to “Style”, but also this from over a year ago:
I don’t have the energy for it. And also, drilling down on the clues and the eggs takes away from simply enjoying the song, at least for me. It gets better every time I hear it. And my favourite line probably has nothing to do with clues and eggs. This one:
Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover
That is correct.
And I’m happy for her. That she can be “overdramatic” with Joe, as “overdramatic” is basically her neutral position. Also my neutral position in my marriage, which is the sh-t I’m relating to… and that’s the point of a song like this that’s meant to be played at engagements and weddings.
You know what I’m bumping up against though a little bit withLover? Kathleen and I were texting back and forth about it this morning because she too is into the song. Other than the overall love theme though, is there any cohesion happening here? Taylor’s big on “sonic cohesion” but I mean visual cohesion. The album artwork forLoverconnects to “ME!” and “You Need to Calm Down” for sure. But does it connect with the two stronger songs on the album so far, “The Archer” and now “Lover”? Hearts and pastels aren’t the only love tones. And “Lover”’s love tone, as well as “The Archer’s” doesn’t quite match “ME!”.
Anyway, speaking of visuals, the video for “Lover” is coming next week, a day before the album release. You think there will be a wedding dress? Will Joe show up?
