@@mendwithmere but i feel like we shouldn't completely blamed him like "You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days", she framed depression as if it is a choice, it's not. Depression can be brutal, she must have know it first hand, he thought he was ready but that depression came back, it dragged him down, it's not like he wanted it to happened People are criticizing Joe for having talked her into marriage just to be not ready but isn't this the same situation in "Champagne problems", where the subject of that song rejects a proposal because she wasn't ready, it didn't felt right and because she has mental health issues ? Why do we have so much sympathy for the subject of that song and for Taylor when it happened to them but can't give the empathy and grace for her ex-partners like Joe
@@-chenlanying5818because he didn't do anything to help himself , he drifted away from her . She tried to go through him " drill the safe" she tried to tell her the relationship was dying over and over and he ignored her. Go and listen " You are losing me " written in 2021!! She stayed with him two years more after saying this relationship wasn't working and she was dying inside i . She was carrying the relationship, if you have depression and you are in a relationship you need to be aware how this affects your partner. Communicate , explain but based on the songs he didn't do anything, he left her alone in the house . He was the first who started fantasizing about someone else " he is dreaming of her" in " Fresh out if the slammer" before she did .
@@-chenlanying5818 the thing is, there's only so much you can do when a person doesn't want to seek help for themselves, it's hard to try to help someone when they don't want that in the moment and it becomes really hard for their significant other too... i'm not saying that's what happened between them after all i don't even know them, but that's what i take from the songs. I'm also not saying that person becomes a burden, all i'm saying is that it's also hard for the other person involved in the relationship...
@@keilagondran true, but we also don't know if he is getting help because we just don't know them personally and never will. I think it's odd that people are so comfortable fully hating on him as if they know his personal life when in reality, we're never gonna know exactly what went down between them. And the fact that swifties now are hating on someone for simply not being ready to get married, maybe because of depression, is wild to me, like they're blaming him for having depression. Not saying that's what you're doing at all btw, it's just what I'm seeing on social media. We don't know if he's getting help for his depression, so criticizing him for not seeking help when we don't know if he has also doesn't really make sense
This song is a masterpiece. The reveal that 'loml' means 'Loss of my life' was so hard hitting. My sister said it reminds her of White Horse and I actually agree though White Horse is probably more optimistic.
This was the first song that had me bawling after the end of the first chorus. The lyrics, her voice when she's near whispering "(you told me I'm) the love of your life", good lord I broke. This album is the most gut wrenching she's ever released.
i cried the first time i heard this song. it is just so sad. "you said im the love of your life......about a million times" made me think of "they lie, and they lie, and they lie....a million little times" from illicit affairs. being deceived into thinking the person you love means everything they say, telling you that you're the love of their life countless times while they're just feeding you ideas that they know you'll love to hear. you get built up so high, just enough to believe that this might actually be the time that it's different, then they're gone, and it's so easy for them to leave. i used to think You're Losing Me was her saddest song because it wasn't angry or vengeful or anything, she was just desperate for any indication that he-who-shall-not-be-named cared about her and their relationship at all, but this song is heartbreaking because of how invested she was. labeling a person as the loss of your life means you were really all in, and for another person to recognize that and take advantage of it is just infuriating. sometimes i wish we didn't have some of these songs cause it'd mean taylor didn't have to experience these heartbreaking and exhausting events but at the same time i'm happy she's able to channel her feelings into her art. im also so glad that she seems so happy with travis. she really deserves to find a true and lasting love after all she has been through thanks for the video as always!! i hope to see your opinions on The Black Dog soon, I can't wait for that one :D
“talked me under the table” is also such a powerful way to put that .. like when you’re paid under the table for a service or job. it’s sketchy, there’s no security or legal binding it’s just trust. and you can get screwed over any minute. and she did.
“I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all” and “are they secondhand embarrassed that I can’t get out of bed cause something counterfeit’s dead” send me over the edge. I love (and hate) how her songs about romantic relationships can so quickly and easily be about platonic friendships.
"Dancing phantoms on the terrace/ Are they secondhand embarrassed?" could also be reference to the famous pics of the Harkness ballerinas that used to practice on the terrace at the Holiday House. And wondering if even the ghosts in her house are judging her... I wonder if that's where she was when she wrote it? That's pretty cool
The weird thing is that I hear both Joe AND Matty in this song. "Dancing phantoms" is definitely Joe. "If he's ghost then I can be a phantom, holding him for ransom" but then "Mr. Steal Your Girl then make her cry" is definitely Matty. Either way, it's heartbreaking.
To me, this is a perfect representation of the pain caused by gaslighting. It's an entire life promised, but it's never real. All that time invested, all that emotion given, and it was never real. Counterfeit, looks like the real thing, and it's described so beautifully that it can only be believed. It's the loss of that promised life, that was never real, that is so traumatizing. She says in one of the other songs(I can't remember which) where she accuses him of taking so much of her youth, and it's true. She's now in her 30's, and the desire of having children may be diminished. She may not have the time left to find the one, have the family, and the life that she wanted. It's incredibly heartbreaking.
Completely agree gaslighting is horrific! I do have hope she has time to build the family she wants though! All the happiest families I know married in their 30s, we really have more time in this life than many people tell you 🙂
@@FishareFriendsNotFood972 Tay is really good 👍 😃 at calling out mental health issues that should not be tolerated that historically have. Carlie Simon wrote a song 🎧 “That’s the way I always thought it should be.” It was a sarcastic song about settling in relationships. People used this song at there wedding 🤨🙁🥺🙃🙃🙃🙃 😳😳😳🙄🙄🙄🙄 missing the sarcasm. I am proud of Tay for not settling!!! Who knew the Eras Tour would be so BIG!!! But, if she wants kids, she needs to make it a priority. ❤️🌻🙏❤️🌻🙏
@@rturney6376 I think a big part of trying to figure out the right things to say is in determining what may get said too much, and what may not get said enough. Boys, for instance, get constantly told to 'be strong!' and are not told enough 'it's ok to cry'. Girls are endlessly told to prioritize marriage and children. Unrelentingly. And Taylor herself has put in her lyrics how damaging that has been for her, personally, like in the lyric "All they keep asking me is if I'm going to be your bride" (Lavender Haze). I am a woman who simply never wants kids, and yet I get told constantly that I better 'hurry up, you may lose your chance!' to have them. This level of pressure often ends up with those who do want kids just settling for a not great man in their 30s, just because he's willing to have a kid. So in the same breath you talk about the problem with settling, you contribute to the problem by saying 'prioritize kids' about a woman who has heard that endlessly. Don't say that stuff. It's hurtful. Taylor has prioritized family her entire dating life. We as a society, need to stop saying this to women, they hear it too much.
Completely agree. Although in So Long London she is talking about her lost youth with Joe. Here she is talking about Matty. Which makes it even worse bc he knew she wanted all of that and took advantage of it.
In the part where she mentions the cemetery, I understand it as if she is killing time by reviving something that is dead. Like she couldn't detach from it, because it was so strong and unique to her. I could be wrong, but I see it that way.
The difference is, I don't think Joe ever meant to hurt Taylor. She referenced him struggling with depression even as early as in Hoax on Folklore. I don't think he could pull himself out of it, even for her sake 😭😭😭
Yeah, I got the same impression, he always struggled with depression, he's always associated with the color blue and that, to me, it's her saying he was blue (depressed) a lot
He didn't care enough, he was prioritizing his sadness and his aloofness over her, Taylor is the kind of girl who wants to be loved loudly and proudly, Joe didn't do that not because he couldn't but he's a contrarion who didn't want to. It's hard being inlove with someone who resents you
Yeah, I don't think he's a bad person, cause I doubt it would have lasted six years if he was. She clearly loved him very much for a long time. I think he's just a bit dull and I also suspect he has a drink problem. He certainly looks like he might. On the other hand, Matty is pathetic and behaved horribly. He's not a teenage boy he's a grown man. There is no excuse for messing with anyone's emotions by promising things you have no intention of following through with, there's just no need. I hope he gets a taste of his own medicine soon.
When I first started listening to TTPD, loml and Guilty As Sin were my top 2 fav songs. I still need to do an entire re-listen to the album to really organize my list, but it's hard because this album is incredibly emotional and I've always been a sucker for ballads/sad songs. Her voice throughout this song sounds so broken. Then at the end I love how she sounds angry (as she should be). She truly is a fantastic songwriter. This song broke my heart. Then The Prophecy came along and shattered it again. This album is perfect. 😭
There's a prologue to TTPD that Taylor wrote and it reveals talk of both the loss of Joe and of Matty, but identifies Matty as a rebound. I think this song and several of the seemingly "Matty" songs are intentionally also hinting at Joe because with hindsight she's seeing that a lot of the wounds from Joe are underneath the pain Matty inflicted because she hadn't healed from them yet. Like Matty hurt so bad because she was still wounded from Joe. This is one of those songs I think has hints of BOTH Matty and Joe.
I think I will respectfully disagree, I thought at first listen it HAD to be about Joe, so I tried to read in any clues about him, but the more I listen, I just hear Matty. Because the theme in this song is all about the disconnect between the big rhetoric (talking babies and talking love of my life) and the actual time frame/lack of action. Joe very clearly shied away from big grand rhetoric (I mean, watch every interview with the guy, he makes the most understated statements possible in every instance), and in songs explicitly about Joe, like You're Losing Me and So Long London, she references over and over how she tried so hard for years to get him to see a future and he just could never say it (she 'tried to drill the safe', but he wore her down with sadness to the point she proclaims 'I wouldn't marry me either'). So I just don't read Joe as the type to lead her on with big statements like the guy in this song did. And then the practical/temporary aspects, we have on record that Joe did get very practically invested with Taylor (years of living together), and if anything, Taylor is upset with how NOT temporary Joe was ('I'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free'). So talking about something that turned out to be 'momentary', like a mirage.....I just think it has to be Matty. Joe didn't work out with Taylor because he was too understated over too long term, the exact opposite problem to what's presented here. This is a song about the grief of being love bombed. The more I listen, I see this as a 100% Matty song. Which I think none of us really want to believe, because.....yikes. It's so sad, that so much feeling could come from basically a toxic situationship that ended in ghosting.
@@FishareFriendsNotFood972 I agree with you although if you'd ask me I'd probably still say there's some Joe in this song, too. Just because I refuse to believe Matty is the loss of Taylor's life. It can't be. I mean, it wasn't even true, he just lied about all these wonderful things she loved about him, so the loss of her life is certainly not him but this fantasy. I hope we'll get a continuation/answer to this song where she clearly states how he wasn't what he said he was. Because in loml she hints at it at the end but she's too sad to own it imo. Because she still said he's the loss of her life. So I'd like a song where she states she just felt that way but he wasn't the loss of her life and now she's good, if you know what I mean :D Because Matty doesn't deserve to be that significant to her after what happened between them in this album. idk, just something like "I thought you were the loss of my life but you were just a hurdle I had to get over in order to find true love" or something like this. That's the point I hope she'll reach eventually :)
This song speaks to me in the sense that i lost my one and only significant other to an overdose back in January. Him and i haven’t officially been together in years but always planned to be once things “calmed down”. We were only officially together for a year but have never been apart for almost 9 years. He is the “loss of my life”. So much more to say… Rest in Peace Andrew, love you always xoxo
“If behavior is a language, what is it telling you?” I guess is a variation of “actions speak louder than words” but both are true and it’s so hard for someone who honestly says what they think / feel to believe that someone else doesn’t come from that same place. It’s devastating, I speak from personal experience. Taylor continues her legacy of creating art that captures the human experience and we’re so blessed to be alive during her lifetime 🫶
talking about this from Taylor’s perspective real quick but I think a lot of these songs (like the smallest man who ever lived and loml) are about both Joe and Matty because I think essentially they did the same thing. They made promises of a future, promises of rings and cradles. But with Joe it was stretched out over 6 years while with matty it was like a few months? (Idk how they were together). So I think that’s why certain lyrics may fit matty but then other lyrics in the same song fit joe better. :(
Hmmm, interesting perspective, but I don't think we have proof Joe ever explicitly promised things, and I don't read him that way (CLEARLY speculating wildly on my part, I do not know these people personally). I read Joe and Taylor as Joe was pretty honest as in he really loved her, but his depression made it very hard for him to know what he wants from his future. Taylor was willing to invest and see if Joe could get more sure over time, and he just didn't. That's not leading anyone on, just a good faith effort that didn't work. I didn't really hear much about false flashy promises in 'So Long London', just grief about all the effort on both sides not being enough to get it over the finish line. But the whole 'talking babies and rings' thing, so big flashy promises, that definitely sounds like Matty behavior, he's a big talker and songwriter himself, so I think he can't even help himself, he goes big all the time as some sort of 'performance art' B.S. I think Mattys 'kinda joking, kinda not, saying all sorts of big things just for a laugh' style would confuse the heck out of a much more genuine person like Taylor, who doesn't really get British irony and falseness (sure, Joe is British too, but seems to have none of that impish ironic jester side to him that many English people do).
I feel the same way, those two and also TTPD and COSOSOM, I feel like it almost goes back and forth between the two experiences that so vastly different and somehow similar in how it left her feeling
I agree, I think a lot of songs are about both of them, and this is definitely one of them. Maybe Joe wasn’t as blatant as Matty, but giving someone six years of your life isn’t done without believing there’s a future there at some point.
I keep re-watching this & your reactions are so real & sincere. how do you prepare for such raw emotion? her descriptions, her use of words.. I agree with everything you said
Your reactions are so raw and beautiful, It takes courage to be so vulnerable online. You can tell that you have processed this a lot but her words are putting some sort of finer point on your exact feelings and its helping you come to some deeper understanding in real time. Again, thank you for your perspective!
Hello Mend with mere I am a senstive female from Australia. I am 28 years old. I just recently discovered your channel by your taylor swift videos. I love how you describe the depth of the song lyrics.. I am a Survivor of domestic violence from my dad and his wife I love Taylor swift. Iam 8 years out of my abuse. I Love this song love of my life. I send you strengh Mere. I lost my absuive dad a year ago. This song is soo heartbreaking.
Hello Mend with mere I have a Song suggestion for you that is Not Taylor swift. But it's a country song. That means alot to me It's Called concrete angel By Martina McBride I would love you to do a UA-cam Video of you talking about this song. If You Listen to this song in a video. YOU need to Please watch the music video with it cause the Music video shows alot of the story of the song it is a about child abuse. And it's a sad but powerful song. I would love a therapist to talk about this song
I get so dissociated from my own life whenever this one hits because it always comes with her pleading voice from 'The Prophecy' and the longing on 'So Long London'. It all just hits so differently when we picture all the imagery she's given us, the depression, a great movie in black and white (which has two tell signs, it's a classic and awesomebut also long lost in time, unrecognisable in a way), youth, a brilliant future, all your dreams and then all that getting ripped of your life withouta say. I can't imagine how she must have felt. Dealing with grief is a longtime service that haunts you and hurts forever. I do hope whatever she's doing, she's having professional help because damn it hurts.
The reaction I had to these lyrics was intense. Guttural. And I just bow down to her writing such painful poetry that is MOSTLY over her short relationship. In a way, I relate... I was married for 9 years. But the short relationship I had a year after our split rocked me to my core SO intensely that it scared me. It was a million times more intense than my amicable divorce. But of course... the short relationship was with a narcissist (clinically, not pop culturally) from having Bipolar 1, addiction, and a long story/persona I won't go into. But it just makes so much sense. Joe was a loss but he was a person she had a REAL relationship with that struggled. But Matty... got under her skin with some wicked skills and intensity that she was absolutely carried away by. So real. So relatable. So heartbreaking. And SO HAPPY that she's now with someone who seems to be genuine.
Yay! A new video! I’m always exited for your Taylor Swift videos 😁 You are amazing, thank you! Greetings from Finland! Ps, I’m going to The Eras Tour in Stockholm may 17! Can’t wait! I went to the 1989 concert in Hyde Park 2015 also 😊
I think the song is about joe cause when she said “lowdown boy “ sound like London boy and she said “it was momentary” They were together for years but it you think about a life time 6 years Its nothing ( i love to see your perspective cant wait for you to react the whole album
We poets (I am one) merge stories all the time because the stories mesh, and the feeling works. Taylor said she wrote a HUGE amount of poetry in the last couple years, I think some of the songs on these albums pull from different pieces because in the end the final work expressed HER feelings best.
On my first listen to this album, this song was the one that hit me the hardest. Despite this fact, this is my favorite song on the album alongside "So Long, London." Please do that one soon! Great video, as per usual! Thank you. Also, I love that you shared the quote of "If behavior is a language, what is it telling you."
Thank you so much for reacting to songs like this. The devastation is just so raw, I think seeing so many other people react and relate to it helps me process my own feelings on it too.
I suspect the fall after Matty was so violent because she dove right into that and when it was over, the grief from both relationships finally set in. It’s all speculation, but I get that impression from the album and how they’re both sprinkled throughout most of the songs. Thank you for your analysis of the lyrics. You’re the best on UA-cam by a long shot!
So much of this album is heartbreaking. So High School makes me happy for her in a way I don’t usually feel for people I don’t know. It makes me instantly happy as soon as I hear it. Would love to see your reaction to it.
Love this one in a “rip me apart” kind of way. ❤️🩹I love when she changes what loml stands for. She is very good at the double✨ entendres with so many of these songs and just in general. Also, amen to the not understanding people who aren’t Swifties. Like you, I have a couple friends who are not and I don’t get it. Is it because I go on about the masterpiece of an artist she is? Who knows… Love your reaction. ✨Also, love the quote you shared and wrote down the name so I can check him out. Also, I really love your theory you threw out about Taylor donning braids lately. The phantom analysis you shared gave me chills. There is SO much to dissect with her intricate poetic writing. When the instrumentals are slow and delicate and along with her voice and lyrics I know it’s “an RIP me” song. ❤️🩹So beautiful and tragic.” Have a beautiful weekend, Mere! 💛you!
Ok, so on 'people who aren't Swifties' here's my take: I think SOME people genuinely do not enjoy feeling like their experiences are universal, it makes them feel 'cringe'. In other words, some women, because 'femaleness' is so mocked in society, cringe internally when they see such prototypical femininity. They are filled with an urge to reject it, to instead assert, 'no, I'm special, I'm better, I'm more than just a silly girl!'. So I think her very relatability counts against her for those in their 'Not Like Other Girls' Era. I know that was true for me! Did not like her when I had issues with being female, grew up, embraced being exactly like so many other women, and now I love her 🙂
I definitely hear what you are saying and that seems very valid! Thank you for sharing this. I am wanting to be unique in other ways so I feel I understand in that way, too. I guess she is more for those of us on the opposite end, feeling alone and wanting to feel not so alone and have “someone” to understand what we might be going through.
I think that while she was ending her relationship with Joe…then a long time old friend Matty came in and talked her into a relationship with him. He love bombed her by telling her everything she yearned for love, Marriage, kids, and the whole white picket fence. But after she started to fall for all his bull and slept with him….he just up and abandoned her. It hit her hard because it happened at a time when she was emotional and probably drained. It made her feel like a fool for falling for a person that didn’t exist and was just messing with her head.
I think this is about Matty. I think through all the years of struggles with Joe she had it in her head that Matty was going to be the one so even though to us she was only with him briefly to her she was with him in her mind for years. That's why he is the loss of her life because he meant everything to her even when she was with Joe.
the first time i heard this song i cried (like, really sobbed) for at least 15 minutes. it really ruined my day, i couldnt finish the album cause this made me so sad i could barely do anything else. it still does 😢 i love a sad song but this... this is hard to listen to. "the coward claimed he was a lion"? cmon??????
Man, I cried more on this album than I ever have... Taylor has a way of drawing out all of those emotions you tend to keep buried. I think it's because she is so relatable in song. She sings about things that the average person goes through on a daily basis. This was her heaviest album and won't be fully understood by anyone who hasn't been a longtime fan. You really need to know the ins and outs of her life to be able to properly digest this album. It's a love letter. It's her life... from the beginning until now when she turned the story over to us. It's her "Manuscript"! I think she is closing the door on this chapter and is ready for the next phase in her life and career. Shes is an unbelievably talented writer.
This song is completely heartbreaking and one of the most beautiful at the same time. I feel that this one is about Joe. The album was in the works for two years, she said when she announced it. She’s had some devastating experiences with romance but, I think this is him. Of course, the media loves to stir things up that aren’t true but, thinking back on their relationship, it does seem that we were seeing less and less of them together. It does seem like there were cracks forming and we just didn’t see it for what it was at the time. 💔🥺💔 Especially the last year before the tour. I don’t feel like she ever had a relationship like theirs, where she fully would allow herself to consider, seriously , marrying and having kids. The part that really makes me feel so is when she sang the line about almost having it all. On a side note, this album for you is really hitting your empath heart & mind heavy. I know you’ve going through a lot in your personal life too but, from my own empath perspective, the more I see you react to TTPD, I feel that maybe you’re trauma bonding. Perhaps you can still do reactions to the album but, maybe think about doing some positive song reactions for a few videos, even if it’s just something silly like your favorite bloopers of hers or any other artist you care deeply about. A top 10 countdown of your favorite musicians or songs, whatever you would like. I’m not a therapist or doctor but, I’m a fan of your reactions and I can see that things are weighing heavily on you. You need some positive energy dotted around your reactions as well, mental health is as important as physical health. Anyway, I’m not trying to sound rude or anything, just saying I can feel the empath vibes in your voice, mannerisms, and expressions in body language. 🥺
@@azahora22 I know she had some history before Joe with Matty but, it just doesn’t seem like this could be about him. I’ve never seen a picture of her and Matty together and her looking happy & deeply in love. Not even a smile from ear to ear or laughter in cuddly affection. She had that with Joe over the years in the rare moments they were in public together. She has that with Travis. I really can’t picture it being anyone other than Joe.
When I heard this song for the first time I thought it sounded like pure grief. I heard some very relatable lines of what I felt like when I got out of a narcissistic relationship. Tolerate It sounded familiar to my life as well.
I feel like this is someone who she was speaking to really vulnerably through the end of her longterm relationship, and he knew all of the things that she so desperately wanted from that relationship and didn't get. And then he promised it all to her for the thrill of stealing her away knowing that he could not and would not deliver.
I relate to Taylor’s disappointment in men. I’ve been through it all. I’m 60 now and am in a wonderful relationship with myself. I had my daughter at 45 years old. I think one of the most incredible people in the world - Taylor- can love herself more. This is how she will find a real partner even if it is her own self. TTPD has helped me heal some things. Taylor is breathtaking. Does her equal even exist? Not too sure about Travis. We will see.
immediately loved this song on first listen and my love for it has only grown since. i’ve been a HUGE fan of last kiss since speak now first came out. i used to listen to it on repeat and to this day think it’s one of her best songs ever. loml gives me major last kiss vibes which is the highest compliment i could ever give. “i’m combing through the braids of lies, i’ll never leave, never mind” very much reminds me of “you can plan for a change in the weather and time, but i never planned on you changing your mind” one thing about taylor, she knows how to write the most devastating lyrics that’ll have your mind reeling for days.
I feel like this song is a composite inspired by her six year relationship and her short lived relationship. With that I think a lot of us have been through this💔
This song was sooooo personal. Listening to this song is almost like listening in on someone else’s private conversation. Like I feel bad in some way for listening to it, like I’m invading her privacy. It’s a strange heartbreaking feeling
"you and i go from one kiss to gettin married" then a few lines down she says "in your suit and tie" then she makes direct comparisons: "you low down boy" (you weren't ready (a boy) but you pretended to be (low down)) "you stand up guy" (could mean decent, yes, but it could also mean to stand someone up (at the altar??)) "you holy ghost" (holy ghost as a double entendre because they were getting married?? and he ghosted??) … the song kind of sounds like a wedding march if you suck all the happy out of it, and there’s multiple religious kind of references (holy ghost, heaven and hell, cemetery), plus a funeral and a wedding both happen at a church ("killin time at the cemetery")…sounds like she was left at the altar or on her way to the altar. her way with words is diabolical.
I slept on this song at first bc it was so slow. But now that I have actually listened to the lyrics and interpreted it, I think it's in my top 10 all time favorite Taylor songs... Even with the rest of TTPD (and considering ATW is my #1), it is one of her most poetic and just beautifully written songs ever 🥺
there’s a really amazing song called robbed by rachel chinouriri, adele recently shouted her out at one of her shows and actually went to rachel’s concerts, i think you would love her songs and robbed is probably the song with the heaviest topic on her album so it would still fit along the theme of your channel, along with my blood and devastating turn of events. also off topic your rant at the end was so real 😭
This completely blows my mind, but yes, I think this is about Matty. Which..........WOW. What a nightmare. I would like to take this song to everyone who complains about Taylor sharing too much about her life and say....look how much was hidden, for so many years! Clearly these two were circling each other, kinda getting together but kinda not, for a VERY long time, and I think Taylor, because she's a romantic and a dreamer, built Matty up into this beautiful dream. I do this too with crushes, that's why I try to not have them for very long, because the longer I have them, the more the real person and my idea of them diverge in unhealthy ways. Clearly he led her on and encouraged her to build up such beautiful dreams and invest so much hope, he sold her a ' get love quick scheme'. I bet for many years, when she was in the trenches with Joe, trying to deal with a partner who is just not as expressive and a bit or a lot closed off (Taylor described it beautifully with 'I stopped trying to make you laugh, stopped trying to drill the safe'), Matty was in the wings, saying all these big fantasies of running away and how much he cared about her and how she deserved someone more expressive (like him, ugh). But it turned out to all be manipulations. Matty gives off the vibe of the type with just terrible impulse control, everywhere (esp with the drugs). So he didn't bother to control his impulses to just say all these grand things to Taylor, because for impulsive people it's all about the rush in the moment and not the long term consequences. I see Taylor as very NOT impulsive, so she's unfortunately the type to be very hurt by the Mattys, because she's all about investment and consistency (I mean, just look at how consistent she is in her work output!). So she bought into all of Matty's word vomit hook, line and sinker. Just tragic and heartbreaking 💔💔💔💔
@@priiifrg Hey, we're all just fans here, I think it's beautiful we can all advance different hypotheses and take away different things. Art is subjective! 🙂
I love that you are showing people that caretakers, Social Workers Drs, Psychologists, Therapists are people with real problems like everyone and emotions and its okay to express what were feeling, Peace N love
Mere I have loved every one of these reactions. I hope you react to one of the lighter songs too! I would love to hear your reaction to So Highschool 🖤
i’ve listened to a lot of music but i didn’t become a full swiftie until midnights and after doing a full dive into her discography i can say without a doubt taylor is the absolute best artist i have ever listened to. she has a way of writing a beautiful story with clear imagery in such a relatable way !! what a mind
After these Taylor songs maybe check out ‘So high school’. She was so busy with her music career, I think she missed out on some high school aspects. She seems to be having fun in her life right now.
You should react to her poem that was released with the vinyl about this album titled “In summation” you should be able to find it online now and I know it’s not a song but I feel like you would appreciate the poetry
I really like the way you mix knowing the lore about Taylor with therapeutic commentary. For me personally, I come to Taylor's songs for the same reason I go to poetry - to hear someone put a feeling I can't describe into words, to reassure me I'm not the only one who's ever felt that way, to make me feel less alone and to show me that even Taylor feels that way sometimes too. Knowing exactly what she's talking about helps me do that - so yeah, I spend a lot of energy when songs first come out trying to figure out exactly what and who she's talking about when possible, but it's more to have that full understanding of the lyrics and feelings that then become about my own story. For example, she made it clear throughout this album that she and Matty weren't just a brief affair in their thirties, this was her one that got away in her twenties who lurked and pined for her for a decade. Understanding that, all the Matty songs become about my OWN childhood one who got away, and I don't think about Taylor or Matty anymore at all really when I listen to them. But I can't get to that place of my own understanding and emotional connection without understanding exactly what and who Taylor is talking about (as best as I can, anyway).
definitely matty. a 10 year situationship hurts and fits perfectly as a loss of your life, because for a decade all this "what if?" was there, as she says in the song chloe or sam or sophia idk. the whole song talks about an old flame, not a 6-year relationship that was already causing exhaustion for both of them despite having already loved each other very much. the whole song is her saying how this love affair is never definitively over, because they've been at it since 2014. not to mention that, in the prologue she talks about joe and matty, and she talks about how matty made promises that he couldn't even keep. marriage, babies...these are things that Joe DIDN'T want, but they are things that matty promised, because it was what she wanted but didn't get in the relationship. taylor and joe had lack of these conversations. not to mention that she talks about how this love was quick, fast, rushed and love bombing, one kiss and then out of nowhere we are talking about marriage, in loml she talks about a love that was not progressive, and we know that her and joe was progressive starting with a friendship, but matty was love bombing. she also talks about how it was fake, how people could feel ashamed. not to mention that she says WE WERE JUST KIDS, that is, she is talking about a time when she was very young and it has been 10 years since her and matty had that first romantic contact. she describes a person who had a lip service, who just promised, how it was unnecessary and SHOULD'VE LET IT STAY BURIED, how the hell does that fit with joe? that's matty. and i also think " your somber eyes" is a big evidence
Like Taylor said in her epilogue: "Spring sprung forth with dazzling freedom hues, then a crash from the skylight bursting through, something old, someone hallowed who told me he could be brand new. So I was out of the oven and into the microwave, out of the slammer and into a tidal wave. How gallant to save the empress from her gilded tower, swinging a sword he could barely lift, but loneliness struck at that fateful hour, low hanging fruit on his wine stained lips".... "it was a mutual manic faze, it was self harm". "And so I enter into evidence, my tarnished coat of arms, my muses accuired like bruises, my talismans and charms. The tick, tick, tick of love bombs, my veins of pitch black ink." The reason some of the songs are blurry of which man did what is because in the end, to her, they did the same to her, sold her a dream and shit talked her the life she wanted under the table, one just did it faster.
I do wonder whether the lyric "Mr. Steal Your Girl, then make her cry" has any correlation to her leaving Joe Alwyn. Perhaps, Swift reached a point in her relationship with Alwyn where she felt suffocated and restricted, like a bird in a cage with its wings clipped. When Matty Healy came into her life, he may have liberated her from that feeling. This could explain why the emotions in their relationship were so intense, almost as if she hadn't felt anything in such a long time and then it all came rushing back. Reminds me of when teenagers with strict parents finally leave the nest and rebel against everything they've been denied. They are eager to explore all the things they have missed out on without any hesitation. Taylor’s eloquence is remarkable. It's time to stop delaying and present her with the Nobel Prize for Literature - she has undoubtedly earned it.
One of my exes he did this ...he talked about us sitting on a porch together in our old age and wanting children, got pregnant because of medication I was taking and was advised to get an abortion because the baby getting severe birthdefects because of the medication so did, it was misery aborting a child I wanted before knowing that he said that he didn't want the child now then was taken to meet his family and I said I loved him and he said he didn't....who takes someone to meet his parents if they know they don't love you after loosing a child ?
So from the songs, Matty love bombed her, said they were "soulmates/twinflames", he took her ring off of her middle finger & put it on her ring finger, He was talking about a long future together and then he pulled the rug out It sounds like Joe kind of became "blahhhh", like he wasn't interested in her anymore, had eyes for someone else, she could feel it, then Matth comes along on a white horse......and he ended up being a villain w/big promises Matty was a rebound guy now. Travis is a rebound guy. I don't know what's going to happen with them because he's a rebound guy.. I wish she would just stay single for like two years at least. she needs to figure out why she's picking these guys who pretend to be awesome
I think 💭 you are VERY wise!!! I sense there is so much pressure for celebrities to be in a relationship. Like what is wrong with them if they are not. It’s just the opposite, Tay is so powerful on her own. She needs to find her wholeness and not let anyone dim her light. ☀️ Her songs are all about the one. She needs no one. But can enjoy ☺️ someone special. Sagittarius ♐️ are very independent.
I don't think Travis is a rebound. Because they've been open about her rejecting him the first time. So it was clear she wanted to be single for a while. Travis said it was someone who knew her that convinced her to give him a chance. Saying that he was very lucky she gave him a chance as we can now see with all the heartbreak she went through. Also seeing how he was very open in pursuing her I don't think she'd want to pass up on that opportunity to get to know him at least. Besides with the way she looks at him and acts around him that's not rebound behavior. I know Taylor loves hard but she clearly seems more confident and at peace with him unlike the rest. Also with the love songs she wrote about him there was no anxiety or will they won't they energy like with joe or matty
@@ayomidedareabel5525Maybe he’s not a rebound, but not permanent-just the very good thing (along with his family, because, REALLY, the Kelseys seem awesome) she needs in her life right now.
@@iteachlit we have no right and no say in what will be permanent or not. Can we just enjoy the relationship and wish them happiness instead of being negative?
@@ayomidedareabel5525 I didn’t intend it that way at all, just pointing out that people shouldn’t be so quick to brush this off as merely a rebound. Whether it lasts or not, I believe it’s a good thing for both of them. And I absolutely, 100%, am team Tayvis all the way.
When you've loved an addict... LOVED a seriously addicted, chronically relapsing, otherwise might have been a beautiful human (😭), these songs hit different. Brilliant... and f'ing devastating.
13:10 your statement here hits!! Yeah same I would never understand why one wont like Taylors music,,, I think that it takes intelligence to understand her lyrics, some people wont understand poetry. Also I think if you suffered from certain trauma in your life or love life its easy to like and understand Taylor’s music because its cathartic and its empowering.❤
It is about Joe and how she can't believe she wasted 6 and a half years just to be manipulated by Matty straight after. It hurts especially with how dead she sounds saying, "Love of your life"
@rturney6376 especially with a Tour and pressure from her label to get the rerecordings out along with her working on TTPD at that time. She better take a break for her sake next year, atleast from touring
I already commented but I forgot to write that I love how you analyse the lyrics in your videos, as a non english speaker it is nice to know what some more rare words mean that flew right over my head 😄😆
This is a song about many guys. Every relationship starts off feeling hopeful with lots of promises. The love of my life is something that she has been told over and over. Her relationships play out like movies. I feel like the love of my life is a tribute to Harry. He has a song called Love of my Life.
Thank you for this video, sometimes after someone's reaction video the song gets more powerfull for me bc i see things i haven't at first. The album is really rough, you should react to the alchemy or so highschool, they are not sad songs❤
I barely knew any swifty history and still heard Healy in this song, especially comparisons to TSMWEL, but i also see why people see Joe in it - maybe that’s intentional from Taylor to muddy the waters, but deffo see more MH in the song
A swiftie friend and I have been analyzing this album since it came out, and I believe the reason it's so hard to determine which song is about which guy is because Taylor intentionally blurred the lines. She was hurt in her relationship with Joe and hoped her relationship with Matty would be better, but it was just like salt in the wound when it ended. So the lines of betrayal for her got blurred because they both promised her things they didn't follow through on, she felt abandoned by both (interpretation). She's not calling out a singular person because it was a quick succession of pain that they both contributed to.
This song was the emotional powerhouse of the album for me. And in a different way…so was Peter. The feeling you get from them both is pretty overwhelming. So beautiful Taylor. Great reaction Mere.
This song hurts so much.. and to me, all signs in this points to Joe. From the first line "who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames".. because since You're Losing Me was released Jack said it was written back in late 2021, which makes me think that Taylor and Joe weren't good back then.. and they only truly broke up more than a year later, in early 2023. Lover, a song that all swifties know that it's about Joe, it's a waltz..
i think this song is about joe, especially considering the line „you cinophile, in black and white“ could allude to him being an actor, and there are singular lines about matty like „a con-man sells a fool a get-love quick scheme“
@@priiifrg i never denied that the song could be about matty, i just said how i interpreted it. if you think it’s about matty then that’s great for you
I also think she could be referring to Joe as a con man because actors pretend to be someone they’re not all the time and he sold her a con about forever and sold himself as a lion and a standup guy.
I think this one is about Ratty🐀Healy. Also, I think “Chloe, or Sam or Sophia, or Marcus”, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and “I Can Fix Him (No, Really I Can)” and quite possibly, “But Daddy, I Love Him,” is also about Healy. Again, nothing is 100%, and it is just my humble opinion, but I'm pretty sure all of those are about him. I'd put DAMN good money on it. I'm sure there are even references scattered here and there in other songs on the album that are about him, but as with all of the songs in this comment, I'm just spouting off the ones that come to my mind right off the bat. “So High School” and “The Alchemy” are about Travis Kelce; Hands down, they just ARE, and all you have to do is listen to the references to know that! It doesn't take a genius to figure those two out, and as best as can recall (because there are A LOT of songs on this album…31, I think), the ONLY really happy songs on the album are those two songs. The other relationship songs, such as “So Long, London”, “How Did It End”? “The Black Dog”, & “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” I’m convinced are about Joe Alwyn. And as with Healy, there are lyrics in other songs on the record that are about Joe, just not the entire song like the ones I just mentioned. I'm sure I'm leaving some out with both of those guys, but as I said, I'm just going from songs I remember off-hand. “thanK you aIMee” (notice the caps spell Kim) is pointed toward Kim Kardashian. Most of the others seem to be about the industry and the media and how brutal the industry is, as well as how twisted the media can get just to sell or peddle a story. There are a few that are just bangers. “Florida” comes to mind. And my two favorites, I guess because I can relate to them in certain ways have to do with her breaking down and not giving 2 f***ks about what anyone says or thinks about her because she is BEYOND over it. Those would be “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me”? & my hands-down favorite because it's how I've been my entire life, (though I got much better for several years, but the past few months it's me ALL over AGAIN), “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart”. Not the relationship part; the masking aspect. I break down when I hear that song because it hits so close to home for me right now. I am not okay. So, I really feel her on that one. As for songs like this one, “loml,” which usually stands for love of my life, but in this case, I believe it stands for loss of my life, I think it seems to be about more Ratty than Joe. I'm just not certain enough to lean one way or the other. I did enjoy the album, although it drained me and I'd caution anyone with depression or anything of the like, to take this album in very small doses because it is heavy, deep, dark, raw, and painfully honest. If you aren't in a safe mindset, please, just take heed, and hear me out when I say it has personally drained me. Don't get me wrong…It’s a beautiful album! Lyrically it's reminiscent of folklore and evermore, but even more so poetic, and melodically it has the synths of Midnights. There's also a touch of 1989 sprinkled in. I'm still trying to figure out “Fortnight,” and who it may be about… Sorry for any typos, but I’m just not in the mood to be as picky as I usually am when I’m commenting. I just don't have the energy to go back and proofread like I'd normally do, but you should get the jest of what I'm saying.
Just want to say think you did a great analysis and I completely agree with you!!! I think this whole album is a testament to how being LED ON is horrifically traumatic, in ways that committed long term relationships just aren't. I also think there's an element here of we KNOW Joe just was not comfortable with being in the public eye, and I see Taylor as a good person who respects that, even post breakup. The public bullied Taylor for putting her partners on blast too much, but I always saw that as not true, she follows ethical rules for how much she puts out there, based on respect for her partner's wishes (that's why all bets are off with ghosting her, though, because if you don't let her know what you want, then she will just do it her way and go full public, lol). So, for instance, when she and Joe wrote songs together, like for folklore, they were always about characters, like two Southern ladies covering up a crime, for instance, instead of being autobiographical. Matty is very comfortable being in the public eye, I mean, LOOK at all his wild and out there interview statements he makes any time you put a camera in front of him. So I think Taylor believes, ok, Matty is more of a public figure, it's kosher to really unpack this in public more. She really does seem to temper her songs and respect privacy for those who don't want to be out there. Another example of her tempering exposure based on person is the most explicit call out this album is for Kim Kardashian, she literally spells out her name. Kim is also the person who seems most comfortable being in the public eye, heck her entire career is reality star.
Great reaction. This song is such a gut punch, but a masterfully crafted one. Fwiw, I like the Swiftie aspect of your videos. To me, it helps to get an idea of what situation she's talking about to know what the songs mean and she uses repetitive themes for characters in her life (blue for Joe etc) that if you leave out the decoding, won't be as impactful. Just my two cents, whatever you like to do is what you should do. It's your channel and your perspective we're watching for. It's not like there aren't other TS reactors if they want a different approach.
He talked her into a future he never should have it’s the pain, planning a life that never comes to fruition.
Absolutely
@@mendwithmere but i feel like we shouldn't completely blamed him like "You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days", she framed depression as if it is a choice, it's not. Depression can be brutal, she must have know it first hand, he thought he was ready but that depression came back, it dragged him down, it's not like he wanted it to happened
People are criticizing Joe for having talked her into marriage just to be not ready but isn't this the same situation in "Champagne problems", where the subject of that song rejects a proposal because she wasn't ready, it didn't felt right and because she has mental health issues ? Why do we have so much sympathy for the subject of that song and for Taylor when it happened to them but can't give the empathy and grace for her ex-partners like Joe
@@-chenlanying5818because he didn't do anything to help himself , he drifted away from her . She tried to go through him " drill the safe" she tried to tell her the relationship was dying over and over and he ignored her. Go and listen " You are losing me " written in 2021!! She stayed with him two years more after saying this relationship wasn't working and she was dying inside i . She was carrying the relationship, if you have depression and you are in a relationship you need to be aware how this affects your partner. Communicate , explain but based on the songs he didn't do anything, he left her alone in the house . He was the first who started fantasizing about someone else " he is dreaming of her" in " Fresh out if the slammer" before she did .
@@-chenlanying5818 the thing is, there's only so much you can do when a person doesn't want to seek help for themselves, it's hard to try to help someone when they don't want that in the moment and it becomes really hard for their significant other too... i'm not saying that's what happened between them after all i don't even know them, but that's what i take from the songs. I'm also not saying that person becomes a burden, all i'm saying is that it's also hard for the other person involved in the relationship...
@@keilagondran true, but we also don't know if he is getting help because we just don't know them personally and never will. I think it's odd that people are so comfortable fully hating on him as if they know his personal life when in reality, we're never gonna know exactly what went down between them. And the fact that swifties now are hating on someone for simply not being ready to get married, maybe because of depression, is wild to me, like they're blaming him for having depression. Not saying that's what you're doing at all btw, it's just what I'm seeing on social media. We don't know if he's getting help for his depression, so criticizing him for not seeking help when we don't know if he has also doesn't really make sense
girl, give yourself a break and listen to So High School next
Imagine she’ll listen to How Did It End? next 😢
Literally!! Poor Mere!
Is a Happy and lovely song, you reserve some rest bc this album is rough
This song is a masterpiece.
The reveal that 'loml' means 'Loss of my life' was so hard hitting.
My sister said it reminds her of White Horse and I actually agree though White Horse is probably more optimistic.
It sounds like white horse because it’s a similar cadence much more than anything lyrically
This was the first song that had me bawling after the end of the first chorus. The lyrics, her voice when she's near whispering "(you told me I'm) the love of your life", good lord I broke. This album is the most gut wrenching she's ever released.
@@melodycook4561me, too.😢
I think loml is a mash up of white horse x soon youll get better
Imagine her singing loml x white horse as surprise song. I would DIE
i cried the first time i heard this song. it is just so sad. "you said im the love of your life......about a million times" made me think of "they lie, and they lie, and they lie....a million little times" from illicit affairs. being deceived into thinking the person you love means everything they say, telling you that you're the love of their life countless times while they're just feeding you ideas that they know you'll love to hear. you get built up so high, just enough to believe that this might actually be the time that it's different, then they're gone, and it's so easy for them to leave. i used to think You're Losing Me was her saddest song because it wasn't angry or vengeful or anything, she was just desperate for any indication that he-who-shall-not-be-named cared about her and their relationship at all, but this song is heartbreaking because of how invested she was. labeling a person as the loss of your life means you were really all in, and for another person to recognize that and take advantage of it is just infuriating. sometimes i wish we didn't have some of these songs cause it'd mean taylor didn't have to experience these heartbreaking and exhausting events but at the same time i'm happy she's able to channel her feelings into her art. im also so glad that she seems so happy with travis. she really deserves to find a true and lasting love after all she has been through
thanks for the video as always!! i hope to see your opinions on The Black Dog soon, I can't wait for that one :D
Wow, I can see the illicit affairs connection! And yes, she was totally all in. Painful. ♥️
Oh wow, I always wondered what had inspired Illicit Affairs. If that's also inspired by the same dude.......😡😡
This comment is everything 🤍
“talked me under the table”
is also such a powerful way to put that .. like when you’re paid under the table for a service or job. it’s sketchy, there’s no security or legal binding it’s just trust. and you can get screwed over any minute. and she did.
“I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all” and “are they secondhand embarrassed that I can’t get out of bed cause something counterfeit’s dead” send me over the edge. I love (and hate) how her songs about romantic relationships can so quickly and easily be about platonic friendships.
100%
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
"Dancing phantoms on the terrace/ Are they secondhand embarrassed?"
could also be reference to the famous pics of the Harkness ballerinas that used to practice on the terrace at the Holiday House. And wondering if even the ghosts in her house are judging her... I wonder if that's where she was when she wrote it? That's pretty cool
Oh wow
The weird thing is that I hear both Joe AND Matty in this song. "Dancing phantoms" is definitely Joe. "If he's ghost then I can be a phantom, holding him for ransom" but then "Mr. Steal Your Girl then make her cry" is definitely Matty. Either way, it's heartbreaking.
I beg to differ, i believe that '' Mr steal your girl'' is also about Joe. He practically ''stole'' her from Tom hiddleston!
I definitely think "Mr steal your girl" is about Joe. Think back to Getaway Car. he stole her from Tom
@@oddin4330I actually had the same thought recently and I can only come to the conclusion that you're right!
@@marleycymon3512Upon further evaluation, I've come to agree with you on that. I think this whole song is definitely Joe.
i think its all joe they liked each other when tay was not single plus taylor refers joe starry eyes in ciwyw
To me, this is a perfect representation of the pain caused by gaslighting. It's an entire life promised, but it's never real. All that time invested, all that emotion given, and it was never real. Counterfeit, looks like the real thing, and it's described so beautifully that it can only be believed. It's the loss of that promised life, that was never real, that is so traumatizing. She says in one of the other songs(I can't remember which) where she accuses him of taking so much of her youth, and it's true. She's now in her 30's, and the desire of having children may be diminished. She may not have the time left to find the one, have the family, and the life that she wanted. It's incredibly heartbreaking.
I totally 💯 👍 agree!!! She has the world at her feet! And can have anything she wants.
If she wants to be a mom, she shouldn’t waste time. ❤❤❤❤
Completely agree gaslighting is horrific! I do have hope she has time to build the family she wants though! All the happiest families I know married in their 30s, we really have more time in this life than many people tell you 🙂
@@FishareFriendsNotFood972 Tay is really good 👍 😃 at calling out mental health issues that should not be tolerated that historically have.
Carlie Simon wrote a song 🎧 “That’s the way I always thought it should be.” It was a sarcastic song about settling in relationships. People used this song at there wedding 🤨🙁🥺🙃🙃🙃🙃 😳😳😳🙄🙄🙄🙄 missing the sarcasm.
I am proud of Tay for not settling!!! Who knew the Eras Tour would be so BIG!!! But, if she wants kids, she needs to make it a priority. ❤️🌻🙏❤️🌻🙏
@@rturney6376 I think a big part of trying to figure out the right things to say is in determining what may get said too much, and what may not get said enough. Boys, for instance, get constantly told to 'be strong!' and are not told enough 'it's ok to cry'. Girls are endlessly told to prioritize marriage and children. Unrelentingly. And Taylor herself has put in her lyrics how damaging that has been for her, personally, like in the lyric "All they keep asking me is if I'm going to be your bride" (Lavender Haze). I am a woman who simply never wants kids, and yet I get told constantly that I better 'hurry up, you may lose your chance!' to have them. This level of pressure often ends up with those who do want kids just settling for a not great man in their 30s, just because he's willing to have a kid. So in the same breath you talk about the problem with settling, you contribute to the problem by saying 'prioritize kids' about a woman who has heard that endlessly. Don't say that stuff. It's hurtful. Taylor has prioritized family her entire dating life. We as a society, need to stop saying this to women, they hear it too much.
Completely agree. Although in So Long London she is talking about her lost youth with Joe. Here she is talking about Matty. Which makes it even worse bc he knew she wanted all of that and took advantage of it.
In the part where she mentions the cemetery, I understand it as if she is killing time by reviving something that is dead. Like she couldn't detach from it, because it was so strong and unique to her. I could be wrong, but I see it that way.
I have never even been in a relationship before, but dang, when I first heard this song I was balling my eyes out, like what the heck... It hurts
❤❤❤❤😢😅
Old soul ❤
The difference is, I don't think Joe ever meant to hurt Taylor. She referenced him struggling with depression even as early as in Hoax on Folklore. I don't think he could pull himself out of it, even for her sake 😭😭😭
Yeah, I got the same impression, he always struggled with depression, he's always associated with the color blue and that, to me, it's her saying he was blue (depressed) a lot
He didn't care enough, he was prioritizing his sadness and his aloofness over her, Taylor is the kind of girl who wants to be loved loudly and proudly, Joe didn't do that not because he couldn't but he's a contrarion who didn't want to.
It's hard being inlove with someone who resents you
I agree with this.
So your saying he cheated because of his depression 😂 Joe is just a dick
Yeah, I don't think he's a bad person, cause I doubt it would have lasted six years if he was. She clearly loved him very much for a long time. I think he's just a bit dull and I also suspect he has a drink problem. He certainly looks like he might. On the other hand, Matty is pathetic and behaved horribly. He's not a teenage boy he's a grown man. There is no excuse for messing with anyone's emotions by promising things you have no intention of following through with, there's just no need. I hope he gets a taste of his own medicine soon.
When I first started listening to TTPD, loml and Guilty As Sin were my top 2 fav songs. I still need to do an entire re-listen to the album to really organize my list, but it's hard because this album is incredibly emotional and I've always been a sucker for ballads/sad songs. Her voice throughout this song sounds so broken. Then at the end I love how she sounds angry (as she should be). She truly is a fantastic songwriter. This song broke my heart. Then The Prophecy came along and shattered it again. This album is perfect. 😭
I LOVE The Prophecy too!! It's my favorite and I really don't see it getting many shout outs online.
There's a prologue to TTPD that Taylor wrote and it reveals talk of both the loss of Joe and of Matty, but identifies Matty as a rebound. I think this song and several of the seemingly "Matty" songs are intentionally also hinting at Joe because with hindsight she's seeing that a lot of the wounds from Joe are underneath the pain Matty inflicted because she hadn't healed from them yet. Like Matty hurt so bad because she was still wounded from Joe. This is one of those songs I think has hints of BOTH Matty and Joe.
woah wait, there's a prologue? may i ask where i can read/hear it?
agree, i think most of the songs from this album is talking about Joe and Matty (and Travis) at the same time
I think I will respectfully disagree, I thought at first listen it HAD to be about Joe, so I tried to read in any clues about him, but the more I listen, I just hear Matty. Because the theme in this song is all about the disconnect between the big rhetoric (talking babies and talking love of my life) and the actual time frame/lack of action. Joe very clearly shied away from big grand rhetoric (I mean, watch every interview with the guy, he makes the most understated statements possible in every instance), and in songs explicitly about Joe, like You're Losing Me and So Long London, she references over and over how she tried so hard for years to get him to see a future and he just could never say it (she 'tried to drill the safe', but he wore her down with sadness to the point she proclaims 'I wouldn't marry me either'). So I just don't read Joe as the type to lead her on with big statements like the guy in this song did. And then the practical/temporary aspects, we have on record that Joe did get very practically invested with Taylor (years of living together), and if anything, Taylor is upset with how NOT temporary Joe was ('I'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free'). So talking about something that turned out to be 'momentary', like a mirage.....I just think it has to be Matty. Joe didn't work out with Taylor because he was too understated over too long term, the exact opposite problem to what's presented here. This is a song about the grief of being love bombed. The more I listen, I see this as a 100% Matty song. Which I think none of us really want to believe, because.....yikes. It's so sad, that so much feeling could come from basically a toxic situationship that ended in ghosting.
@@FishareFriendsNotFood972 I agree with you although if you'd ask me I'd probably still say there's some Joe in this song, too. Just because I refuse to believe Matty is the loss of Taylor's life. It can't be. I mean, it wasn't even true, he just lied about all these wonderful things she loved about him, so the loss of her life is certainly not him but this fantasy. I hope we'll get a continuation/answer to this song where she clearly states how he wasn't what he said he was. Because in loml she hints at it at the end but she's too sad to own it imo. Because she still said he's the loss of her life. So I'd like a song where she states she just felt that way but he wasn't the loss of her life and now she's good, if you know what I mean :D Because Matty doesn't deserve to be that significant to her after what happened between them in this album. idk, just something like "I thought you were the loss of my life but you were just a hurdle I had to get over in order to find true love" or something like this. That's the point I hope she'll reach eventually :)
@@FishareFriendsNotFood972I agree with this 100%
This song speaks to me in the sense that i lost my one and only significant other to an overdose back in January. Him and i haven’t officially been together in years but always planned to be once things “calmed down”. We were only officially together for a year but have never been apart for almost 9 years. He is the “loss of my life”. So much more to say… Rest in Peace Andrew, love you always xoxo
❤😢
💔
We are so sorry for your loss and sending infinite internet hugs!!!
Oh my god I’m so so sorry. 😣 Also sending all my internet hugs and love 🫶🏻 💕
I'm so sorry for your loss.❤
“If behavior is a language, what is it telling you?” I guess is a variation of “actions speak louder than words” but both are true and it’s so hard for someone who honestly says what they think / feel to believe that someone else doesn’t come from that same place. It’s devastating, I speak from personal experience. Taylor continues her legacy of creating art that captures the human experience and we’re so blessed to be alive during her lifetime 🫶
talking about this from Taylor’s perspective real quick but I think a lot of these songs (like the smallest man who ever lived and loml) are about both Joe and Matty because I think essentially they did the same thing. They made promises of a future, promises of rings and cradles. But with Joe it was stretched out over 6 years while with matty it was like a few months? (Idk how they were together). So I think that’s why certain lyrics may fit matty but then other lyrics in the same song fit joe better. :(
Hmmm, interesting perspective, but I don't think we have proof Joe ever explicitly promised things, and I don't read him that way (CLEARLY speculating wildly on my part, I do not know these people personally). I read Joe and Taylor as Joe was pretty honest as in he really loved her, but his depression made it very hard for him to know what he wants from his future. Taylor was willing to invest and see if Joe could get more sure over time, and he just didn't. That's not leading anyone on, just a good faith effort that didn't work. I didn't really hear much about false flashy promises in 'So Long London', just grief about all the effort on both sides not being enough to get it over the finish line. But the whole 'talking babies and rings' thing, so big flashy promises, that definitely sounds like Matty behavior, he's a big talker and songwriter himself, so I think he can't even help himself, he goes big all the time as some sort of 'performance art' B.S. I think Mattys 'kinda joking, kinda not, saying all sorts of big things just for a laugh' style would confuse the heck out of a much more genuine person like Taylor, who doesn't really get British irony and falseness (sure, Joe is British too, but seems to have none of that impish ironic jester side to him that many English people do).
@@FishareFriendsNotFood972 I agree! You put into words what I meant lol
@@nicolettemaloy ☺ Thank you!
I feel the same way, those two and also TTPD and COSOSOM, I feel like it almost goes back and forth between the two experiences that so vastly different and somehow similar in how it left her feeling
I agree, I think a lot of songs are about both of them, and this is definitely one of them. Maybe Joe wasn’t as blatant as Matty, but giving someone six years of your life isn’t done without believing there’s a future there at some point.
Great reaction. Thank you. I'm sorry that Taylor went through all of that pain. I'm glad that she had her songwriting skills to help her cope.
I keep re-watching this & your reactions are so real & sincere. how do you prepare for such raw emotion? her descriptions, her use of words.. I agree with everything you said
Your reactions are so raw and beautiful, It takes courage to be so vulnerable online. You can tell that you have processed this a lot but her words are putting some sort of finer point on your exact feelings and its helping you come to some deeper understanding in real time. Again, thank you for your perspective!
I had the woman of my dreams. And I lost her. I have never felt a heart ache like this in my entire life 💔
As a new swiftie, i appreciate you letting me in on the tea 😂
Hello Mend with mere I am a senstive female from Australia. I am 28 years old. I just recently discovered your channel by your taylor swift videos. I love how you describe the depth of the song lyrics.. I am a Survivor of domestic violence from my dad and his wife I love Taylor swift. Iam 8 years out of my abuse. I Love this song love of my life. I send you strengh Mere. I lost my absuive dad a year ago. This song is soo heartbreaking.
Hi, Sending hug to you! I hope I can hug you so tight. Swiftie from Philippines. ❤
@@MayvPH11❤❤❤❤❤❤❤😢❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
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Hello Mend with mere I have a Song suggestion for you that is Not Taylor swift. But it's a country song. That means alot to me It's Called concrete angel By Martina McBride I would love you to do a UA-cam Video of you talking about this song. If You Listen to this song in a video. YOU need to Please watch the music video with it cause the Music video shows alot of the story of the song it is a about child abuse. And it's a sad but powerful song. I would love a therapist to talk about this song
@@MayvPH11thankyou sooo Much May I send you love and hugs too
I get so dissociated from my own life whenever this one hits because it always comes with her pleading voice from 'The Prophecy' and the longing on 'So Long London'. It all just hits so differently when we picture all the imagery she's given us, the depression, a great movie in black and white (which has two tell signs, it's a classic and awesomebut also long lost in time, unrecognisable in a way), youth, a brilliant future, all your dreams and then all that getting ripped of your life withouta say. I can't imagine how she must have felt. Dealing with grief is a longtime service that haunts you and hurts forever. I do hope whatever she's doing, she's having professional help because damn it hurts.
I’ve been waiting for you to do this one!! Happy Saturday Mere 🤍🫶🏼
Happy Saturday to you!
The reaction I had to these lyrics was intense. Guttural. And I just bow down to her writing such painful poetry that is MOSTLY over her short relationship. In a way, I relate... I was married for 9 years. But the short relationship I had a year after our split rocked me to my core SO intensely that it scared me. It was a million times more intense than my amicable divorce. But of course... the short relationship was with a narcissist (clinically, not pop culturally) from having Bipolar 1, addiction, and a long story/persona I won't go into. But it just makes so much sense. Joe was a loss but he was a person she had a REAL relationship with that struggled. But Matty... got under her skin with some wicked skills and intensity that she was absolutely carried away by. So real. So relatable. So heartbreaking. And SO HAPPY that she's now with someone who seems to be genuine.
Yay! A new video! I’m always exited for your Taylor Swift videos 😁 You are amazing, thank you! Greetings from Finland! Ps, I’m going to The Eras Tour in Stockholm may 17! Can’t wait! I went to the 1989 concert in Hyde Park 2015 also 😊
I think the song is about joe cause when she said “lowdown boy “ sound like London boy and she said “it was momentary” They were together for years but it you think about a life time 6 years Its nothing ( i love to see your perspective cant wait for you to react the whole album
We poets (I am one) merge stories all the time because the stories mesh, and the feeling works. Taylor said she wrote a HUGE amount of poetry in the last couple years, I think some of the songs on these albums pull from different pieces because in the end the final work expressed HER feelings best.
this is hands down my fave from the entire album. so perfect. so simple. so beautiful.
This song is so beautiful and so sad. I feel every word she sings!
6:30 'Reesa Teesa'!! Yes! Similar vibes, I could definitely see Reesa feeling this about Legion at some point.
On my first listen to this album, this song was the one that hit me the hardest. Despite this fact, this is my favorite song on the album alongside "So Long, London." Please do that one soon!
Great video, as per usual! Thank you.
Also, I love that you shared the quote of "If behavior is a language, what is it telling you."
Thank you so much for reacting to songs like this. The devastation is just so raw, I think seeing so many other people react and relate to it helps me process my own feelings on it too.
I suspect the fall after Matty was so violent because she dove right into that and when it was over, the grief from both relationships finally set in. It’s all speculation, but I get that impression from the album and how they’re both sprinkled throughout most of the songs. Thank you for your analysis of the lyrics. You’re the best on UA-cam by a long shot!
Could you do How Did It End next? It's such a powerful sad song
yes!
That one is about Joe
You totally should check out, So Long London, and or, How Did It End?
So much of this album is heartbreaking. So High School makes me happy for her in a way I don’t usually feel for people I don’t know. It makes me instantly happy as soon as I hear it. Would love to see your reaction to it.
Love this one in a “rip me apart” kind of way. ❤️🩹I love when she changes what loml stands for. She is very good at the double✨ entendres with so many of these songs and just in general. Also, amen to the not understanding people who aren’t Swifties. Like you, I have a couple friends who are not and I don’t get it. Is it because I go on about the masterpiece of an artist she is? Who knows… Love your reaction. ✨Also, love the quote you shared and wrote down the name so I can check him out. Also, I really love your theory you threw out about Taylor donning braids lately. The phantom analysis you shared gave me chills. There is SO much to dissect with her intricate poetic writing. When the instrumentals are slow and delicate and along with her voice and lyrics I know it’s “an RIP me” song. ❤️🩹So beautiful and tragic.” Have a beautiful weekend, Mere! 💛you!
So so much to dissect. 💗 have an awesome weekend!
Ok, so on 'people who aren't Swifties' here's my take: I think SOME people genuinely do not enjoy feeling like their experiences are universal, it makes them feel 'cringe'. In other words, some women, because 'femaleness' is so mocked in society, cringe internally when they see such prototypical femininity. They are filled with an urge to reject it, to instead assert, 'no, I'm special, I'm better, I'm more than just a silly girl!'. So I think her very relatability counts against her for those in their 'Not Like Other Girls' Era. I know that was true for me! Did not like her when I had issues with being female, grew up, embraced being exactly like so many other women, and now I love her 🙂
I definitely hear what you are saying and that seems very valid! Thank you for sharing this. I am wanting to be unique in other ways so I feel I understand in that way, too.
I guess she is more for those of us on the opposite end, feeling alone and wanting to feel not so alone and have “someone” to understand what we might be going through.
@@mendwithmereI am tracking with a braids theory. I have thoughts. Do Robin & Peter as a potential duo? And I can’t wait for manuscript.
I think that while she was ending her relationship with Joe…then a long time old friend Matty came in and talked her into a relationship with him. He love bombed her by telling her everything she yearned for love, Marriage, kids, and the whole white picket fence. But after she started to fall for all his bull and slept with him….he just up and abandoned her. It hit her hard because it happened at a time when she was emotional and probably drained. It made her feel like a fool for falling for a person that didn’t exist and was just messing with her head.
I think this is about Matty. I think through all the years of struggles with Joe she had it in her head that Matty was going to be the one so even though to us she was only with him briefly to her she was with him in her mind for years. That's why he is the loss of her life because he meant everything to her even when she was with Joe.
the first time i heard this song i cried (like, really sobbed) for at least 15 minutes. it really ruined my day, i couldnt finish the album cause this made me so sad i could barely do anything else. it still does 😢 i love a sad song but this... this is hard to listen to. "the coward claimed he was a lion"? cmon??????
Man, I cried more on this album than I ever have... Taylor has a way of drawing out all of those emotions you tend to keep buried. I think it's because she is so relatable in song. She sings about things that the average person goes through on a daily basis. This was her heaviest album and won't be fully understood by anyone who hasn't been a longtime fan. You really need to know the ins and outs of her life to be able to properly digest this album. It's a love letter. It's her life... from the beginning until now when she turned the story over to us. It's her "Manuscript"! I think she is closing the door on this chapter and is ready for the next phase in her life and career. Shes is an unbelievably talented writer.
This song is completely heartbreaking and one of the most beautiful at the same time. I feel that this one is about Joe. The album was in the works for two years, she said when she announced it. She’s had some devastating experiences with romance but, I think this is him.
Of course, the media loves to stir things up that aren’t true but, thinking back on their relationship, it does seem that we were seeing less and less of them together. It does seem like there were cracks forming and we just didn’t see it for what it was at the time. 💔🥺💔 Especially the last year before the tour.
I don’t feel like she ever had a relationship like theirs, where she fully would allow herself to consider, seriously , marrying and having kids. The part that really makes me feel so is when she sang the line about almost having it all.
On a side note, this album for you is really hitting your empath heart & mind heavy. I know you’ve going through a lot in your personal life too but, from my own empath perspective, the more I see you react to TTPD, I feel that maybe you’re trauma bonding.
Perhaps you can still do reactions to the album but, maybe think about doing some positive song reactions for a few videos, even if it’s just something silly like your favorite bloopers of hers or any other artist you care deeply about. A top 10 countdown of your favorite musicians or songs, whatever you would like.
I’m not a therapist or doctor but, I’m a fan of your reactions and I can see that things are weighing heavily on you. You need some positive energy dotted around your reactions as well, mental health is as important as physical health. Anyway, I’m not trying to sound rude or anything, just saying I can feel the empath vibes in your voice, mannerisms, and expressions in body language. 🥺
I agree has to be about Joe. Won't accept it as any other.
@@azahora22 I know she had some history before Joe with Matty but, it just doesn’t seem like this could be about him. I’ve never seen a picture of her and Matty together and her looking happy & deeply in love. Not even a smile from ear to ear or laughter in cuddly affection.
She had that with Joe over the years in the rare moments they were in public together. She has that with Travis. I really can’t picture it being anyone other than Joe.
When I heard this song for the first time I thought it sounded like pure grief. I heard some very relatable lines of what I felt like when I got out of a narcissistic relationship. Tolerate It sounded familiar to my life as well.
This song is really a masterpiece,👌 this song hits me so much😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 One if her best songs. My favorite from the album so far.
this is great, thank you. I LOVE THIS SONG😭❤️
I feel like this is someone who she was speaking to really vulnerably through the end of her longterm relationship, and he knew all of the things that she so desperately wanted from that relationship and didn't get. And then he promised it all to her for the thrill of stealing her away knowing that he could not and would not deliver.
I relate to Taylor’s disappointment in men. I’ve been through it all. I’m 60 now and am in a wonderful relationship with myself. I had my daughter at 45 years old. I think one of the most incredible people in the world - Taylor- can love herself more. This is how she will find a real partner even if it is her own self. TTPD has helped me heal some things. Taylor is breathtaking. Does her equal even exist? Not too sure about Travis. We will see.
immediately loved this song on first listen and my love for it has only grown since. i’ve been a HUGE fan of last kiss since speak now first came out. i used to listen to it on repeat and to this day think it’s one of her best songs ever. loml gives me major last kiss vibes which is the highest compliment i could ever give. “i’m combing through the braids of lies, i’ll never leave, never mind” very much reminds me of “you can plan for a change in the weather and time, but i never planned on you changing your mind” one thing about taylor, she knows how to write the most devastating lyrics that’ll have your mind reeling for days.
I feel like this song is a composite inspired by her six year relationship and her short lived relationship. With that I think a lot of us have been through this💔
This song was sooooo personal. Listening to this song is almost like listening in on someone else’s private conversation. Like I feel bad in some way for listening to it, like I’m invading her privacy. It’s a strange heartbreaking feeling
"you and i go from one kiss to gettin married" then a few lines down she says "in your suit and tie" then she makes direct comparisons: "you low down boy" (you weren't ready (a boy) but you pretended to be (low down)) "you stand up guy" (could mean decent, yes, but it could also mean to stand someone up (at the altar??)) "you holy ghost" (holy ghost as a double entendre because they were getting married?? and he ghosted??) … the song kind of sounds like a wedding march if you suck all the happy out of it, and there’s multiple religious kind of references (holy ghost, heaven and hell, cemetery), plus a funeral and a wedding both happen at a church ("killin time at the cemetery")…sounds like she was left at the altar or on her way to the altar. her way with words is diabolical.
That "may as well keep going" was soul-deep, sending you lots of love 💕
This album 💿 and you - perfect 🤩 combination!!!
Please i need the reaction of “ How did it end 😭it’s my favorite song of the album
This song causes me so much pain. It’s an amazing piece of art, but just so devastating.
yay more taylor!! hope your well mere
hi mere!! i want to let you know that i love your content and your reactions mean the world to me ❤
I slept on this song at first bc it was so slow. But now that I have actually listened to the lyrics and interpreted it, I think it's in my top 10 all time favorite Taylor songs... Even with the rest of TTPD (and considering ATW is my #1), it is one of her most poetic and just beautifully written songs ever 🥺
YOU ARE AMAZING!!! Brazil loves you ❤
there’s a really amazing song called robbed by rachel chinouriri, adele recently shouted her out at one of her shows and actually went to rachel’s concerts, i think you would love her songs and robbed is probably the song with the heaviest topic on her album so it would still fit along the theme of your channel, along with my blood and devastating turn of events. also off topic your rant at the end was so real 😭
This completely blows my mind, but yes, I think this is about Matty. Which..........WOW. What a nightmare. I would like to take this song to everyone who complains about Taylor sharing too much about her life and say....look how much was hidden, for so many years! Clearly these two were circling each other, kinda getting together but kinda not, for a VERY long time, and I think Taylor, because she's a romantic and a dreamer, built Matty up into this beautiful dream. I do this too with crushes, that's why I try to not have them for very long, because the longer I have them, the more the real person and my idea of them diverge in unhealthy ways. Clearly he led her on and encouraged her to build up such beautiful dreams and invest so much hope, he sold her a ' get love quick scheme'. I bet for many years, when she was in the trenches with Joe, trying to deal with a partner who is just not as expressive and a bit or a lot closed off (Taylor described it beautifully with 'I stopped trying to make you laugh, stopped trying to drill the safe'), Matty was in the wings, saying all these big fantasies of running away and how much he cared about her and how she deserved someone more expressive (like him, ugh). But it turned out to all be manipulations. Matty gives off the vibe of the type with just terrible impulse control, everywhere (esp with the drugs). So he didn't bother to control his impulses to just say all these grand things to Taylor, because for impulsive people it's all about the rush in the moment and not the long term consequences. I see Taylor as very NOT impulsive, so she's unfortunately the type to be very hurt by the Mattys, because she's all about investment and consistency (I mean, just look at how consistent she is in her work output!). So she bought into all of Matty's word vomit hook, line and sinker. Just tragic and heartbreaking 💔💔💔💔
I still think this song is about Joe
@@Evan-ni7hbyou're wrong then
@@priiifrg Hey, we're all just fans here, I think it's beautiful we can all advance different hypotheses and take away different things. Art is subjective! 🙂
@@priiifrg how do u know for sure?
Agreed
I love that you are showing people that caretakers, Social Workers Drs, Psychologists, Therapists are people with real problems like everyone and emotions and its okay to express what were feeling, Peace N love
Mere I have loved every one of these reactions. I hope you react to one of the lighter songs too! I would love to hear your reaction to So Highschool 🖤
i’ve listened to a lot of music but i didn’t become a full swiftie until midnights and after doing a full dive into her discography i can say without a doubt taylor is the absolute best artist i have ever listened to. she has a way of writing a beautiful story with clear imagery in such a relatable way !! what a mind
I love your content Mere, you’re my absolute favourite reaction UA-cam❤️🫶🏼
After these Taylor songs maybe check out ‘So high school’. She was so busy with her music career, I think she missed out on some high school aspects. She seems to be having fun in her life right now.
You should react to her poem that was released with the vinyl about this album titled “In summation” you should be able to find it online now and I know it’s not a song but I feel like you would appreciate the poetry
I love when your snark shows. You are my people!
And this song breaks me!
I really like the way you mix knowing the lore about Taylor with therapeutic commentary. For me personally, I come to Taylor's songs for the same reason I go to poetry - to hear someone put a feeling I can't describe into words, to reassure me I'm not the only one who's ever felt that way, to make me feel less alone and to show me that even Taylor feels that way sometimes too. Knowing exactly what she's talking about helps me do that - so yeah, I spend a lot of energy when songs first come out trying to figure out exactly what and who she's talking about when possible, but it's more to have that full understanding of the lyrics and feelings that then become about my own story.
For example, she made it clear throughout this album that she and Matty weren't just a brief affair in their thirties, this was her one that got away in her twenties who lurked and pined for her for a decade. Understanding that, all the Matty songs become about my OWN childhood one who got away, and I don't think about Taylor or Matty anymore at all really when I listen to them. But I can't get to that place of my own understanding and emotional connection without understanding exactly what and who Taylor is talking about (as best as I can, anyway).
definitely matty. a 10 year situationship hurts and fits perfectly as a loss of your life, because for a decade all this "what if?" was there, as she says in the song chloe or sam or sophia idk. the whole song talks about an old flame, not a 6-year relationship that was already causing exhaustion for both of them despite having already loved each other very much. the whole song is her saying how this love affair is never definitively over, because they've been at it since 2014. not to mention that, in the prologue she talks about joe and matty, and she talks about how matty made promises that he couldn't even keep. marriage, babies...these are things that Joe DIDN'T want, but they are things that matty promised, because it was what she wanted but didn't get in the relationship. taylor and joe had lack of these conversations. not to mention that she talks about how this love was quick, fast, rushed and love bombing, one kiss and then out of nowhere we are talking about marriage, in loml she talks about a love that was not progressive, and we know that her and joe was progressive starting with a friendship, but matty was love bombing. she also talks about how it was fake, how people could feel ashamed. not to mention that she says WE WERE JUST KIDS, that is, she is talking about a time when she was very young and it has been 10 years since her and matty had that first romantic contact. she describes a person who had a lip service, who just promised, how it was unnecessary and SHOULD'VE LET IT STAY BURIED, how the hell does that fit with joe? that's matty. and i also think " your somber eyes" is a big evidence
YES
Like Taylor said in her epilogue:
"Spring sprung forth with dazzling freedom hues, then a crash from the skylight bursting through,
something old, someone hallowed who told me he could be brand new.
So I was out of the oven and into the microwave, out of the slammer and into a tidal wave.
How gallant to save the empress from her gilded tower, swinging a sword he could barely lift,
but loneliness struck at that fateful hour, low hanging fruit on his wine stained lips"....
"it was a mutual manic faze, it was self harm".
"And so I enter into evidence, my tarnished coat of arms,
my muses accuired like bruises, my talismans and charms.
The tick, tick, tick of love bombs, my veins of pitch black ink."
The reason some of the songs are blurry of which man did what is because in the end, to her, they did the same to her, sold her a dream and shit talked her the life she wanted under the table, one just did it faster.
Your reaction to "Never before, and ever since." was so real that line is DEVASTATING
I do wonder whether the lyric "Mr. Steal Your Girl, then make her cry" has any correlation to her leaving Joe Alwyn. Perhaps, Swift reached a point in her relationship with Alwyn where she felt suffocated and restricted, like a bird in a cage with its wings clipped. When Matty Healy came into her life, he may have liberated her from that feeling. This could explain why the emotions in their relationship were so intense, almost as if she hadn't felt anything in such a long time and then it all came rushing back. Reminds me of when teenagers with strict parents finally leave the nest and rebel against everything they've been denied. They are eager to explore all the things they have missed out on without any hesitation.
Taylor’s eloquence is remarkable. It's time to stop delaying and present her with the Nobel Prize for Literature - she has undoubtedly earned it.
One of my exes he did this ...he talked about us sitting on a porch together in our old age and wanting children, got pregnant because of medication I was taking and was advised to get an abortion because the baby getting severe birthdefects because of the medication so did, it was misery aborting a child I wanted before knowing that he said that he didn't want the child now then was taken to meet his family and I said I loved him and he said he didn't....who takes someone to meet his parents if they know they don't love you after loosing a child ?
So from the songs, Matty love bombed her, said they were "soulmates/twinflames", he took her ring off of her middle finger & put it on her ring finger,
He was talking about a long future together and then he pulled the rug out
It sounds like Joe kind of became "blahhhh", like he wasn't interested in her anymore, had eyes for someone else, she could feel it, then Matth comes along on a white horse......and he ended up being a villain w/big promises
Matty was a rebound guy now. Travis is a rebound guy. I don't know what's going to happen with them because he's a rebound guy.. I wish she would just stay single for like two years at least. she needs to figure out why she's picking these guys who pretend to be awesome
I think 💭 you are VERY wise!!!
I sense there is so much pressure for celebrities to be in a relationship. Like what is wrong with them if they are not. It’s just the opposite, Tay is so powerful on her own. She needs to find her wholeness and not let anyone dim her light. ☀️
Her songs are all about the one. She needs no one. But can enjoy ☺️ someone special. Sagittarius ♐️ are very independent.
I don't think Travis is a rebound. Because they've been open about her rejecting him the first time. So it was clear she wanted to be single for a while. Travis said it was someone who knew her that convinced her to give him a chance. Saying that he was very lucky she gave him a chance as we can now see with all the heartbreak she went through. Also seeing how he was very open in pursuing her I don't think she'd want to pass up on that opportunity to get to know him at least. Besides with the way she looks at him and acts around him that's not rebound behavior. I know Taylor loves hard but she clearly seems more confident and at peace with him unlike the rest. Also with the love songs she wrote about him there was no anxiety or will they won't they energy like with joe or matty
@@ayomidedareabel5525Maybe he’s not a rebound, but not permanent-just the very good thing (along with his family, because, REALLY, the Kelseys seem awesome) she needs in her life right now.
@@iteachlit we have no right and no say in what will be permanent or not. Can we just enjoy the relationship and wish them happiness instead of being negative?
@@ayomidedareabel5525 I didn’t intend it that way at all, just pointing out that people shouldn’t be so quick to brush this off as merely a rebound. Whether it lasts or not, I believe it’s a good thing for both of them. And I absolutely, 100%, am team Tayvis all the way.
When you've loved an addict... LOVED a seriously addicted, chronically relapsing, otherwise might have been a beautiful human (😭), these songs hit different. Brilliant... and f'ing devastating.
I cry literally every time i hear this song. I relate so much and it kills me. Take some rime to recoup bc this album is so hard.
Mere I love these reactions ❤️ so personal and so calm. Thank you for this
Can you do "So Long London" next ??
OMG I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!! (ur editing skills are SLAYY)
Definitely a track 5…one of her saddest and yet she built this world for us with her words
13:10 your statement here hits!! Yeah same I would never understand why one wont like Taylors music,,, I think that it takes intelligence to understand her lyrics, some people wont understand poetry. Also I think if you suffered from certain trauma in your life or love life its easy to like and understand Taylor’s music because its cathartic and its empowering.❤
this is pure Jjoe Alwyn...I think the smallest man who ever loved and I can fix him was about Matty
Definitely I can fix him, but daddy I love him and guilty as sin
It is about Joe and how she can't believe she wasted 6 and a half years just to be manipulated by Matty straight after. It hurts especially with how dead she sounds saying, "Love of your life"
Poor Tay life can be painful. 😓
@rturney6376 especially with a Tour and pressure from her label to get the rerecordings out along with her working on TTPD at that time. She better take a break for her sake next year, atleast from touring
This song is stunningly heartbreaking and beautiful, it’s one of my all time favorite songs.
I already commented but I forgot to write that I love how you analyse the lyrics in your videos, as a non english speaker it is nice to know what some more rare words mean that flew right over my head 😄😆
This is a song about many guys. Every relationship starts off feeling hopeful with lots of promises. The love of my life is something that she has been told over and over. Her relationships play out like movies. I feel like the love of my life is a tribute to Harry. He has a song called Love of my Life.
Thank you for this video, sometimes after someone's reaction video the song gets more powerfull for me bc i see things i haven't at first. The album is really rough, you should react to the alchemy or so highschool, they are not sad songs❤
its like she gave the relationship a second chance, and then regretted it: "should have stayed buried"
This song is 100% Joe
I barely knew any swifty history and still heard Healy in this song, especially comparisons to TSMWEL, but i also see why people see Joe in it - maybe that’s intentional from Taylor to muddy the waters, but deffo see more MH in the song
A swiftie friend and I have been analyzing this album since it came out, and I believe the reason it's so hard to determine which song is about which guy is because Taylor intentionally blurred the lines. She was hurt in her relationship with Joe and hoped her relationship with Matty would be better, but it was just like salt in the wound when it ended. So the lines of betrayal for her got blurred because they both promised her things they didn't follow through on, she felt abandoned by both (interpretation). She's not calling out a singular person because it was a quick succession of pain that they both contributed to.
This song was the emotional powerhouse of the album for me. And in a different way…so was Peter. The feeling you get from them both is pretty overwhelming. So beautiful Taylor. Great reaction Mere.
This song hurts so much.. and to me, all signs in this points to Joe. From the first line "who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames".. because since You're Losing Me was released Jack said it was written back in late 2021, which makes me think that Taylor and Joe weren't good back then.. and they only truly broke up more than a year later, in early 2023. Lover, a song that all swifties know that it's about Joe, it's a waltz..
i think this song is about joe, especially considering the line „you cinophile, in black and white“ could allude to him being an actor, and there are singular lines about matty like „a con-man sells a fool a get-love quick scheme“
Black and white is literally the The 1975 aesthetic. And who says matty is not a cinephile?
@@priiifrg i never denied that the song could be about matty, i just said how i interpreted it. if you think it’s about matty then that’s great for you
I also think she could be referring to Joe as a con man because actors pretend to be someone they’re not all the time and he sold her a con about forever and sold himself as a lion and a standup guy.
I think this one is about Ratty🐀Healy. Also, I think “Chloe, or Sam or Sophia, or Marcus”, “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” and “I Can Fix Him (No, Really I Can)” and quite possibly, “But Daddy, I Love Him,” is also about Healy. Again, nothing is 100%, and it is just my humble opinion, but I'm pretty sure all of those are about him. I'd put DAMN good money on it. I'm sure there are even references scattered here and there in other songs on the album that are about him, but as with all of the songs in this comment, I'm just spouting off the ones that come to my mind right off the bat.
“So High School” and “The Alchemy” are about Travis Kelce; Hands down, they just ARE, and all you have to do is listen to the references to know that! It doesn't take a genius to figure those two out, and as best as can recall (because there are A LOT of songs on this album…31, I think), the ONLY really happy songs on the album are those two songs. The other relationship songs, such as “So Long, London”, “How Did It End”? “The Black Dog”, & “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” I’m convinced are about Joe Alwyn. And as with Healy, there are lyrics in other songs on the record that are about Joe, just not the entire song like the ones I just mentioned. I'm sure I'm leaving some out with both of those guys, but as I said, I'm just going from songs I remember off-hand. “thanK you aIMee” (notice the caps spell Kim) is pointed toward Kim Kardashian. Most of the others seem to be about the industry and the media and how brutal the industry is, as well as how twisted the media can get just to sell or peddle a story. There are a few that are just bangers. “Florida” comes to mind. And my two favorites, I guess because I can relate to them in certain ways have to do with her breaking down and not giving 2 f***ks about what anyone says or thinks about her because she is BEYOND over it. Those would be “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me”? & my hands-down favorite because it's how I've been my entire life, (though I got much better for several years, but the past few months it's me ALL over AGAIN), “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart”. Not the relationship part; the masking aspect. I break down when I hear that song because it hits so close to home for me right now. I am not okay. So, I really feel her on that one.
As for songs like this one, “loml,” which usually stands for love of my life, but in this case, I believe it stands for loss of my life, I think it seems to be about more Ratty than Joe. I'm just not certain enough to lean one way or the other.
I did enjoy the album, although it drained me and I'd caution anyone with depression or anything of the like, to take this album in very small doses because it is heavy, deep, dark, raw, and painfully honest. If you aren't in a safe mindset, please, just take heed, and hear me out when I say it has personally drained me. Don't get me wrong…It’s a beautiful album! Lyrically it's reminiscent of folklore and evermore, but even more so poetic, and melodically it has the synths of Midnights. There's also a touch of 1989 sprinkled in. I'm still trying to figure out “Fortnight,” and who it may be about…
Sorry for any typos, but I’m just not in the mood to be as picky as I usually am when I’m commenting. I just don't have the energy to go back and proofread like I'd normally do, but you should get the jest of what I'm saying.
I think but daddy I love him is about Travis, solely because the present tense line of “I’m his lady”
Thank you for all this insight! It is draining me too even though it is stunning work. Sending you ❤️
Ooo haven’t listened yet but excited to!
@@mendwithmere Can’t wait for your reactions! We should do a live!
Just want to say think you did a great analysis and I completely agree with you!!! I think this whole album is a testament to how being LED ON is horrifically traumatic, in ways that committed long term relationships just aren't. I also think there's an element here of we KNOW Joe just was not comfortable with being in the public eye, and I see Taylor as a good person who respects that, even post breakup. The public bullied Taylor for putting her partners on blast too much, but I always saw that as not true, she follows ethical rules for how much she puts out there, based on respect for her partner's wishes (that's why all bets are off with ghosting her, though, because if you don't let her know what you want, then she will just do it her way and go full public, lol). So, for instance, when she and Joe wrote songs together, like for folklore, they were always about characters, like two Southern ladies covering up a crime, for instance, instead of being autobiographical. Matty is very comfortable being in the public eye, I mean, LOOK at all his wild and out there interview statements he makes any time you put a camera in front of him. So I think Taylor believes, ok, Matty is more of a public figure, it's kosher to really unpack this in public more. She really does seem to temper her songs and respect privacy for those who don't want to be out there. Another example of her tempering exposure based on person is the most explicit call out this album is for Kim Kardashian, she literally spells out her name. Kim is also the person who seems most comfortable being in the public eye, heck her entire career is reality star.
My favorite in the album. My favorite reaction to the song.
Great reaction. This song is such a gut punch, but a masterfully crafted one. Fwiw, I like the Swiftie aspect of your videos. To me, it helps to get an idea of what situation she's talking about to know what the songs mean and she uses repetitive themes for characters in her life (blue for Joe etc) that if you leave out the decoding, won't be as impactful. Just my two cents, whatever you like to do is what you should do. It's your channel and your perspective we're watching for. It's not like there aren't other TS reactors if they want a different approach.