notice how augustine calls it a "summer love" in august, while james calls it a "summer thing"... that's the difference between how they viewed each other
The resolution: Taylor said she purposely left an open ending for everyone to have freedom to decide whether Betty accepted James or not. BUT she also said in her mind, Betty forgave James. Yet as we can see Cardigan is sung in past tense, she was reminiscing a past relationship. So my theory is that they resolved the conflict and got back together, but broke up eventually for a different reason. Only in Cardigan, Betty who's now much older, lowkey admitted she never got past the time James cheated on her.
I think Taylor mentioned that in her mind Cardigan is in past tense because Betty and James do end up together? So it's interesting to hear your theory because I've since thought of this as Betty looking back at the beginning of their relationship when James was a fool, maybe he cheated or maybe they were a will-they-won't-they and he betrayed her -- but she always knew he would come back to her because they were meant to be. The retro feeling of all three songs always made me feel like this was a story from a long time ago, like Betty and James have been married for 50 years and they're telling this story to their grandkids ... maybe I'm just too optimistic haha.
I believe that James and Betty did end up together, because the last line in cardigan is "and when i felt like i was an old cardigan under someone's bed, you put me on and said i was your favorite". I interpret it as Betty saying, I felt abandoned but at the end you found me and said I was your favorite (of the 2 girls betty was the favorite). Another reason why I think B&J ended up together is because I feel like the song "Illicit affair" is from the other girls perspective. The song says "what started in beautiful rooms, end with meetings in parking lots". In august she says "cancelled my plans just in case you called and said meet me behind the mall". In Illicit affairs also says "It's born from just one single glance but it dies, and it dies, and it dies, a million little times.
Ultimately, I don’t think you’re meant to dislike any of them. None of them are horrible people, they’re just kids figuring out how to navigate life and relationships. That period of time in a person’s life can be very messy and tumultuous and we sometimes make bad decisions as we mature. It gives me that sort of bittersweet, nostalgic feeling.
What gets me is that James’s focus is in all the right places for this to be a sincere penitent apology. He calls Augustina’s appearance a manifestation of HIS worst intentions. No blame shifting there. He keeps referring to it as what HE did TO HER so he’s focusing on both the impact on her and his own culpability. He goes to apologize at her party even though it’s mentioned at the beginning how much he hates crowds. He’s chosen a setting where Betty will feel supported and secure, not one where he’ll be comfortable. (he does initially hope she’ll take him to the garden where they could talk privately, but by the end he’s let that piece go and is willing to do this on the porch in front of all her friends if that’s what it takes.) And finally his ultimate hope in coming isn’t to get her forgiveness, or to erase it. He’s dreaming that the kiss might patch her broken wings. He’s not trying to get back what he had, he wants to fix what he broke because her pain is devastating to him.
In the chorus she smiles every time she sings "straight to hell" cuz you just KNOW she wants to say "fuck myself" like the original. I guess the awardshow didnt allow that
Also IMO James was indeed a piece of sh*t but I'd like to think he then genuinely regretted and became good to Betty, considering how the older Betty still looked back and thought of him endearingly in Cardigan. Fun fact: the original lyric was "Would you tell me to go f*ck myself or lead me to the garden" instead of "Would you tell me to go straight to hell", that's why you'd notice Taylor was grinning while singing that line in this performance. She knew the audience wanted her to curse lol.
Yes, James is a jerk who mistreated both Betty and August, who also avoids responsibility of owning up to his behaviour by just playing they youth card. That being said, the song is still great. 😄
I agree that James is a POS lmao .. one telling line imo is "in front of all your STUPID friends," he's there to apologize and yet is still insulting Betty by condescending at Betty's choice of friends, not cool 🤔 Also, it's from his perspective, so Augustina was the instigator, he was pushed to it by Betty dancing with another guy, etc, he never completely owns his mistake, clever writing.
Oh no, you're absolutely right! James is straight up trash. Being 17 doesn't mean you can't have enough common sense to know that cheating on your girlfriend and using another girl, while making her think she's special, is messed up, lmao. He's just making excuses xD
They eventually ended together😅 Cardigan was actually adult Betty reminiscing her teenage love. I think Taylor is not saying who was wrong who was right, but rather showing everyone's point of view and allowing us to draw our own conclusions which is good😀
I think everyone agrees with "screw James" but I also think that at first listen the song Betty does give you a little hesitation with just writing him off. It's only afterwards when you start thinking about the story and the way both girls were treated, that you think oh James was just using Augustina which makes the cheating so much worse.
I love how you’re dissecting all the lyrics of her songs. Her songwriting is why I love Taylor and it’s so nice to see someone commenting on that rather than just the vibe or melodies of her songs.
Just another Taylor experience! She's amazing and sounds so good live! Way back, I thought she was overrated, but since learning more about her, I can appreciate how extremely talented she is. I just enjoy her lyrics and her music! Thanks for this reaction!
People don’t really talk about James making comment ‘I don’t know anything I am only 17’ whereas in Cardigan ‘Betty’ says ‘When you are young, they assume you know nothing… when I was young I knew everything’.
No it's not a cliffhanger! "Cardigan" is Betty's perspective of the relationship several years after the events described in "Betty". Chronologically, "Betty" happens first (aka James coming back to Betty), and then "August" happens (Augustine yearning over James), and finally "Cardigan" (Betty singing about James and how she knew he would come back to her). Taylor is a genius for putting the story in reverse inside the track list.
Augustine (girl from august) call the relationship “summer love” while in this song James call it “a summer thing”. She was genuinely love him but he wasn’t.
taylor actually said in long pond studio session where she performed the entire album live, that for her, in her mind, betty and james end up together.
Please react to "Exile" by Taylor. Its one of the best song you would ever listen. 💜💜 The song is in the form of dialogues including perspective of 2 people in a relationship. 💜
That triumphant, upbeat chord change on the third repetition of "so I showed up at your party" is EVERYTHING. What a brilliant song. Referentially, it reminds me not only of Taylor's own early work, but also of Bob Dylan, Carole King and Tom Petty. Love this so much!
oh man if she expand this story via novel or film im soo gonna empty my wallet and card for it!!!!! anyone wanna start a petition to make taylor expand that story!!!
I like the tie in to Cardigan where Betty is saying when you’re young they don’t think you know anything, but she knew everything. Then James says he’s only 17, he doesn’t know anything.
In defense of James: it's never confirmed that he and Betty were together. Clearly they knew they liked each other but he literally says where it went wrong: he saw her dancing with someone else (when possibly there were hopes for their relationship to become official at the dance) and misunderstood, and then tried to get over Betty with Augustine because Augustine really liked him, and then Betty is hurt because while they weren't official, she thought James liked her back and she had to hear from Inez that her crush has spent the summer with some other girl. Meanwhile Augustine has fallen hard for James but she has to reconcile with the fact that his heart was never in it because he really does love Betty. It doesn't have to be cheating for it to hurt like hell when you're 17 and things don't go the way you were expecting with someone.
My favorite part of this was watching you work through how you feel about 'the girls' and that 'piece of #@$$' James. Cracked me up and made my heart happy to see a man say, "I don't have much sympathy for him. He treated both of them like crap." Just stumbled on your videos and I'm loving them!
I hope you got to hear the record version!! "would you tell me to go f*ck myself" is much more relatable and better to scream at than "to go straight to hell" 😂😂
Betty is part of the three songs that depict a love triangle Taylor wrote in folklore. There's James and Betty who ended up together in the end but James put her through some shit. When they were teenagers, and in love, James decided to spend his summer with Augustine (not Betty) and August is from Augustine's perspective (she actually developed feeling for him: despite him thinking otherwise) Betty is from James' perspective when he showed up to her party. And cardigan is from Betty's perspective twenty to thirty years later, reminiscing on her teenage years with James.
Interesting that everyone's so down on James. The sad aspect of this song to me is the complete failure of communication between James and Betty. It didn't begin when he ran off with August, either. He says that Betty knew he hated crowds, yet there he was, apparently coming back to dance with her anyway despite his discomfort with the crowd scene, being on display etc. (That dislike of being on display might be behind his remark about her "stupid friends", too--it's pride and embarrassment there, not contempt.) So yeah...if he wasn't there, intending to ask her, he wouldn't have seen her dancing with another guy--right? Imagine how that felt to him... When I was in high school, if you were going steady with someone, you didn't just dance with another guy or gal, at least--not without asking your steady if it was okay. Is that not common? Is that old-fashioned? Maybe, but this is an old-fashioned song after all. So James goes off, hurt and jealous, and that's when he really blows it, letting himself get swept away by another girl who's probably had her eye on him for a long time. Weak, vengeful, insecure and dumb behavior--but he IS super young and like Marilyn Monroe said, when your heart's new and it's never been hurt before, one little cut feels so overwhelming. He SHOULD have confronted Betty and maybe gotten his frustration out by punching the other guy or some similarly juvenile but less harmful course of action. But his pride and humiliation drove him to run away. Thing is, he cheated on Betty that night but the way I understood it, he then broke up with her. I didn't get the impression that he went on seeing her for months while also cheating and seeing August on the side. He dumped Betty straight up, and then regretted it horribly all summer long, until he finally worked up the courage to be a man, stand up to what he had done, and beg for forgiveness. I am proud of him that he did that. It didn't make up for what he'd done wrong, but it represents a significant degree of personal growth and character. Maybe that's the lesson that he takes home that night, and it'll have to be enough, because I don't think Betty took him back. This is because of the line--"I knew you...tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy." The comparison of James to Peter Pan makes her assessment of James's immaturity with respect to her quite clear. I relate deeply to these songs because it happened to me. When I was a girl, I had a boyfriend I loved more than anything. I also had friends, including many I'd known long before my boyfriend. One friend of mine and I had arranged a trip to the UK the year before I met my boyfriend. We tried to get him to come with us, but he made all sorts of excuses and stayed home. Turns out he cheated on me the whole time, with a very "August"-like girl who was crazy about him--unrequited but he did it anyway, because he was so jealous. He thought I'd run off with another guy. What he was too young and foolish to understand was something I thought totally obvious--my friend was gay, not my lover at all, just my dear friend. He would've loved it if my boyfriend had joined us. So my foolish boyfriend ruined a love affair that would've lasted a lifetime, because he was too afraid and proud to just ask me the question he wanted to ask, to act jealous, to communicate honestly with me, to be vulnerable. Much like James. The really sad thing is, although it changed my life and not for the better, I did get over it. My ex has never forgiven himself.
I’m not a Taylor Swift fan and accidentally let this play. But, somehow you can actually hear her smile in her voice in the parts she is smiling. I have no idea of the other songs or characters you mentioned.
I think the main point about James in Betty is that he's only a teenager, "I'm only 17, I don't know anything". like how sometimes kids need to make mistakes to learn.
James screwed up and got Augusta seriously interested. She did not want an affair; she wanted the boy for keeps, and realized too late it wouldn't happen. But I think another thing to consider is that James might have been trapped a bit, if he wanted to avoid hurting Augusta's feelings the same way he hurt Betty's.
first callback to Cardigan was the mention of the cobblestones. It is less of a cliff-hanger if you study how Cardigan and Betty end in a rising key change; also, in Cardigan, Betty seems to be talking to James, several years later, while "August" (Augusta, Augustine, whatever) gets left out. Also, they were all kids going back to school in the fall; hard to avoid each other.
We were never told Betty and James were in a relationship at a previous point. For all we know there was interest and it was kinda obvious it would become something but then James saw her dancing with another guy and got jealous as dumb boys do. The mention of 17yo is pretty intentional as a way to not expect too much emotional maturity on any of the 3 sides.
We are absolutely told. In both Cardigan and Betty we're explicitly told that Betty and James spent a lot of time kissing in his car and downtown bars, and in Cardigan she alludes to sexual activities (hand beneath my sweatshirt), there is no mistaking that as anything but a romantic relationship. Not to mention that Taylor straight up said they were together.
You sort of do tho with that chord change - the third 'so I turned up at your party... kissin' in my car again, stopped under a street light - you know I love you'. But they weren't an item just attracted? And Joe wrote the whole chorus, words and everything? And she heard him singing it in another room
I really love how James keeps repeating "i'm only seventeen, I don't know anything" where a focus in Cardigan is about having knowledge/insight/awareness at a young age... it makes me think of how even though this song is very apologetic on the surface, and taking ownership for hurting Betty, he's still trying to find everything and anything to blame (i.e. his age, betty for dancing with someone else, augustina for pulling up to him in her car, etc) except for himself
You were correct when you said this sounds like Taylor's old music in that it reflects how much she is still the same sweet, romantic girl we knew who loves happy endings. Betty the song is sort of open-ended but with a hopeful note, and Taylor herself confirmed that in her head, James and Betty did end up together.
I think it’s great that you’ve really got immersed into the story of these characters she’s made up. It’s true in Long Pond she states in her mind Betty and James got back together, but I think she did this story in a way that it’s for you to decide what the outcome should be. And yes James is trash, but this song was needed to make you see it from his POV, and how he felt being 17 meant he didn’t know better but learnt from it and grew from it. Some never learn and grow and will forever be the same but in mind this was James trying to seek redemption knowing what he did was wrong and that was his first step in maturing
I always wonder if Betty is done in her older musical style to reflect James' youth (I like the song, but I have no sympathy for him as a character: the way he calls her friends stupid/tried to deflect blame/responsibility away from himself really makes him come across as a douche)
Taylor left the end up for interpretation but Cardigan is from the perspective of after he shows up to the party, meaning in reality she did forgive him.
I believe James and Betty we’re not boyfriend/girlfriend yet like they had feelings and they kissed and all but they didn’t take it to the next level because if they did then seeing her dancing with a guy in the gym won’t be an issue or won’t pass like this, he saw her then felt like she’s not thinking of the next level with him yet and she wants to be open to other people. So he got hurt and lonely and went for the closest random girl and didn’t know about Betty having real feelings for him until she changed her home room in school as she was hurt thinking she’s not important to him & already with someone else, at this point he figured it all out and built the courage to go talk to her. His youth was the biggest reason of his wrong judgment and decision and he came back to come clean and get her back. I love taytay
Some fans think James is actually a girl & this is an LGTBQ relationship & Betty may not be "out" yet, so James is confused when she sees Betty "dance with HIM" & also the "stupid friends" lyric maybe because Betty's friends are homophobic, too; I hope I'm explaining all this correctly . . . 😅
why do you watch live performances when you haven't heard the song before? I think you should listen to the original studio version if it's your first time hearing a song. Taylor has all of her songs from folklore- evermore on youtube with official lyric videos!!
The dispute finally went through and it has been released for viewing!
I almost thought you'd release it as a new year surprise 😂
Thank you! I really enjoy your reactions and thoughts :)
You can see her documentary folklore long pond sessions, she said that James and Betty were end up together.
notice how augustine calls it a "summer love" in august, while james calls it a "summer thing"... that's the difference between how they viewed each other
SO TRUE
The resolution: Taylor said she purposely left an open ending for everyone to have freedom to decide whether Betty accepted James or not. BUT she also said in her mind, Betty forgave James. Yet as we can see Cardigan is sung in past tense, she was reminiscing a past relationship. So my theory is that they resolved the conflict and got back together, but broke up eventually for a different reason. Only in Cardigan, Betty who's now much older, lowkey admitted she never got past the time James cheated on her.
I think Taylor mentioned that in her mind Cardigan is in past tense because Betty and James do end up together? So it's interesting to hear your theory because I've since thought of this as Betty looking back at the beginning of their relationship when James was a fool, maybe he cheated or maybe they were a will-they-won't-they and he betrayed her -- but she always knew he would come back to her because they were meant to be. The retro feeling of all three songs always made me feel like this was a story from a long time ago, like Betty and James have been married for 50 years and they're telling this story to their grandkids ... maybe I'm just too optimistic haha.
I believe that James and Betty did end up together, because the last line in cardigan is "and when i felt like i was an old cardigan under someone's bed, you put me on and said i was your favorite". I interpret it as Betty saying, I felt abandoned but at the end you found me and said I was your favorite (of the 2 girls betty was the favorite). Another reason why I think B&J ended up together is because I feel like the song "Illicit affair" is from the other girls perspective. The song says "what started in beautiful rooms, end with meetings in parking lots". In august she says "cancelled my plans just in case you called and said meet me behind the mall". In Illicit affairs also says "It's born from just one single glance but it dies, and it dies, and it dies, a million little times.
SO TRUE
once you’ve listen to “the moment I knew” that “I showed up at your party” hits a lot different
Uuufff
Ultimately, I don’t think you’re meant to dislike any of them. None of them are horrible people, they’re just kids figuring out how to navigate life and relationships. That period of time in a person’s life can be very messy and tumultuous and we sometimes make bad decisions as we mature. It gives me that sort of bittersweet, nostalgic feeling.
Very well said
Betty: "when you are young they assume you know nothing"
James: "im only 17, i don't know anything"
For me its when he says "will you kiss me on the porch in front all your stupid friends". Screw James is my consensus lol.
Agreed lol
What gets me is that James’s focus is in all the right places for this to be a sincere penitent apology.
He calls Augustina’s appearance a manifestation of HIS worst intentions. No blame shifting there.
He keeps referring to it as what HE did TO HER so he’s focusing on both the impact on her and his own culpability.
He goes to apologize at her party even though it’s mentioned at the beginning how much he hates crowds. He’s chosen a setting where Betty will feel supported and secure, not one where he’ll be comfortable. (he does initially hope she’ll take him to the garden where they could talk privately, but by the end he’s let that piece go and is willing to do this on the porch in front of all her friends if that’s what it takes.)
And finally his ultimate hope in coming isn’t to get her forgiveness, or to erase it. He’s dreaming that the kiss might patch her broken wings. He’s not trying to get back what he had, he wants to fix what he broke because her pain is devastating to him.
In the chorus she smiles every time she sings "straight to hell" cuz you just KNOW she wants to say "fuck myself" like the original. I guess the awardshow didnt allow that
Also IMO James was indeed a piece of sh*t but I'd like to think he then genuinely regretted and became good to Betty, considering how the older Betty still looked back and thought of him endearingly in Cardigan.
Fun fact: the original lyric was "Would you tell me to go f*ck myself or lead me to the garden" instead of "Would you tell me to go straight to hell", that's why you'd notice Taylor was grinning while singing that line in this performance. She knew the audience wanted her to curse lol.
Ohhhhh hahaha
Why didn't she tho?
@@Rocio.Suarez it's a performance for an academy something, so cursing would be inappropriate.
@@Rocio.Suarez you know cursing isn't a good thing to do
Yes, James is a jerk who mistreated both Betty and August, who also avoids responsibility of owning up to his behaviour by just playing they youth card. That being said, the song is still great. 😄
Those bridges
I agree that James is a POS lmao .. one telling line imo is "in front of all your STUPID friends," he's there to apologize and yet is still insulting Betty by condescending at Betty's choice of friends, not cool 🤔
Also, it's from his perspective, so Augustina was the instigator, he was pushed to it by Betty dancing with another guy, etc, he never completely owns his mistake, clever writing.
Oh no, you're absolutely right! James is straight up trash. Being 17 doesn't mean you can't have enough common sense to know that cheating on your girlfriend and using another girl, while making her think she's special, is messed up, lmao. He's just making excuses xD
They eventually ended together😅
Cardigan was actually adult Betty reminiscing her teenage love.
I think Taylor is not saying who was wrong who was right, but rather showing everyone's point of view and allowing us to draw our own conclusions which is good😀
I think everyone agrees with "screw James" but I also think that at first listen the song Betty does give you a little hesitation with just writing him off. It's only afterwards when you start thinking about the story and the way both girls were treated, that you think oh James was just using Augustina which makes the cheating so much worse.
The line: “Slept next to her, but
I dreamt of you all summer long” gets me really mad.
So, screw you, stupid James!!!!
😂😂😂😂
I love how you’re dissecting all the lyrics of her songs. Her songwriting is why I love Taylor and it’s so nice to see someone commenting on that rather than just the vibe or melodies of her songs.
Just another Taylor experience! She's amazing and sounds so good live! Way back, I thought she was overrated, but since learning more about her, I can appreciate how extremely talented she is. I just enjoy her lyrics and her music! Thanks for this reaction!
Same here also.But now I love her so much.
People don’t really talk about James making comment ‘I don’t know anything I am only 17’ whereas in Cardigan ‘Betty’ says ‘When you are young, they assume you know nothing… when I was young I knew everything’.
Exactly! It's like he tries to justify himself by saying the thing that usually is assumed by society, whereas she's calling his bluff.
On the explicit version she says
"Would you tell me to go fuck myself" she performed the clean version
I love the little laugh on the set up the first time she would of said Fuck lmao
I think you should definitely react to her performance of All Too Well at the Grammys. Amazing song, amazing performance.
Betty, Inez and James are Blake Lively's girls 😉
No it's not a cliffhanger! "Cardigan" is Betty's perspective of the relationship several years after the events described in "Betty". Chronologically, "Betty" happens first (aka James coming back to Betty), and then "August" happens (Augustine yearning over James), and finally "Cardigan" (Betty singing about James and how she knew he would come back to her). Taylor is a genius for putting the story in reverse inside the track list.
Great reaction! I love the line "She pulled up like a figment of my worst intentions".
Augustine (girl from august) call the relationship “summer love” while in this song James call it “a summer thing”. She was genuinely love him but he wasn’t.
James is a little monster in the making, using the "I am only 17 I dont know anything"...
taylor actually said in long pond studio session where she performed the entire album live, that for her, in her mind, betty and james end up together.
Please react to "Exile" by Taylor. Its one of the best song you would ever listen. 💜💜 The song is in the form of dialogues including perspective of 2 people in a relationship. 💜
"Exile" is my favorite! Their sound, and everything about that song, gives me goosebumps!!
That triumphant, upbeat chord change on the third repetition of "so I showed up at your party" is EVERYTHING. What a brilliant song. Referentially, it reminds me not only of Taylor's own early work, but also of Bob Dylan, Carole King and Tom Petty. Love this so much!
oh man if she expand this story via novel or film im soo gonna empty my wallet and card for it!!!!! anyone wanna start a petition to make taylor expand that story!!!
I honestly relate so much to Augustine 🥲🥲 Taylor is simply genius for making these songs!
You know what happened in Cardigan, where Betty says "I knew you'd come back to me, and you came back to me."
I like the tie in to Cardigan where Betty is saying when you’re young they don’t think you know anything, but she knew everything. Then James says he’s only 17, he doesn’t know anything.
In defense of James: it's never confirmed that he and Betty were together. Clearly they knew they liked each other but he literally says where it went wrong: he saw her dancing with someone else (when possibly there were hopes for their relationship to become official at the dance) and misunderstood, and then tried to get over Betty with Augustine because Augustine really liked him, and then Betty is hurt because while they weren't official, she thought James liked her back and she had to hear from Inez that her crush has spent the summer with some other girl. Meanwhile Augustine has fallen hard for James but she has to reconcile with the fact that his heart was never in it because he really does love Betty. It doesn't have to be cheating for it to hurt like hell when you're 17 and things don't go the way you were expecting with someone.
My favorite part of this was watching you work through how you feel about 'the girls' and that 'piece of #@$$' James. Cracked me up and made my heart happy to see a man say, "I don't have much sympathy for him. He treated both of them like crap." Just stumbled on your videos and I'm loving them!
Ahhhhhh! We need more TS contents.
I hope you got to hear the record version!! "would you tell me to go f*ck myself" is much more relatable and better to scream at than "to go straight to hell" 😂😂
Betty is part of the three songs that depict a love triangle Taylor wrote in folklore. There's James and Betty who ended up together in the end but James put her through some shit. When they were teenagers, and in love, James decided to spend his summer with Augustine (not Betty) and August is from Augustine's perspective (she actually developed feeling for him: despite him thinking otherwise) Betty is from James' perspective when he showed up to her party. And cardigan is from Betty's perspective twenty to thirty years later, reminiscing on her teenage years with James.
Interesting that everyone's so down on James. The sad aspect of this song to me is the complete failure of communication between James and Betty. It didn't begin when he ran off with August, either. He says that Betty knew he hated crowds, yet there he was, apparently coming back to dance with her anyway despite his discomfort with the crowd scene, being on display etc. (That dislike of being on display might be behind his remark about her "stupid friends", too--it's pride and embarrassment there, not contempt.) So yeah...if he wasn't there, intending to ask her, he wouldn't have seen her dancing with another guy--right? Imagine how that felt to him...
When I was in high school, if you were going steady with someone, you didn't just dance with another guy or gal, at least--not without asking your steady if it was okay. Is that not common? Is that old-fashioned? Maybe, but this is an old-fashioned song after all.
So James goes off, hurt and jealous, and that's when he really blows it, letting himself get swept away by another girl who's probably had her eye on him for a long time. Weak, vengeful, insecure and dumb behavior--but he IS super young and like Marilyn Monroe said, when your heart's new and it's never been hurt before, one little cut feels so overwhelming. He SHOULD have confronted Betty and maybe gotten his frustration out by punching the other guy or some similarly juvenile but less harmful course of action. But his pride and humiliation drove him to run away.
Thing is, he cheated on Betty that night but the way I understood it, he then broke up with her. I didn't get the impression that he went on seeing her for months while also cheating and seeing August on the side. He dumped Betty straight up, and then regretted it horribly all summer long, until he finally worked up the courage to be a man, stand up to what he had done, and beg for forgiveness. I am proud of him that he did that. It didn't make up for what he'd done wrong, but it represents a significant degree of personal growth and character. Maybe that's the lesson that he takes home that night, and it'll have to be enough, because I don't think Betty took him back. This is because of the line--"I knew you...tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy." The comparison of James to Peter Pan makes her assessment of James's immaturity with respect to her quite clear.
I relate deeply to these songs because it happened to me. When I was a girl, I had a boyfriend I loved more than anything. I also had friends, including many I'd known long before my boyfriend. One friend of mine and I had arranged a trip to the UK the year before I met my boyfriend. We tried to get him to come with us, but he made all sorts of excuses and stayed home. Turns out he cheated on me the whole time, with a very "August"-like girl who was crazy about him--unrequited but he did it anyway, because he was so jealous. He thought I'd run off with another guy. What he was too young and foolish to understand was something I thought totally obvious--my friend was gay, not my lover at all, just my dear friend. He would've loved it if my boyfriend had joined us. So my foolish boyfriend ruined a love affair that would've lasted a lifetime, because he was too afraid and proud to just ask me the question he wanted to ask, to act jealous, to communicate honestly with me, to be vulnerable. Much like James. The really sad thing is, although it changed my life and not for the better, I did get over it. My ex has never forgiven himself.
I’m not a Taylor Swift fan and accidentally let this play. But, somehow you can actually hear her smile in her voice in the parts she is smiling. I have no idea of the other songs or characters you mentioned.
I think the main point about James in Betty is that he's only a teenager, "I'm only 17, I don't know anything". like how sometimes kids need to make mistakes to learn.
You need to watch her long pond sessions of Betty on Disney +. She talks about the song before she sings it.
James screwed up and got Augusta seriously interested. She did not want an affair; she wanted the boy for keeps, and realized too late it wouldn't happen. But I think another thing to consider is that James might have been trapped a bit, if he wanted to avoid hurting Augusta's feelings the same way he hurt Betty's.
Suffi! Hit me with that "Falling in reverse - drug in me is reimagined" video. You won't be sorry.
first callback to Cardigan was the mention of the cobblestones. It is less of a cliff-hanger if you study how Cardigan and Betty end in a rising key change; also, in Cardigan, Betty seems to be talking to James, several years later, while "August" (Augusta, Augustine, whatever) gets left out. Also, they were all kids going back to school in the fall; hard to avoid each other.
We were never told Betty and James were in a relationship at a previous point. For all we know there was interest and it was kinda obvious it would become something but then James saw her dancing with another guy and got jealous as dumb boys do. The mention of 17yo is pretty intentional as a way to not expect too much emotional maturity on any of the 3 sides.
We are absolutely told. In both Cardigan and Betty we're explicitly told that Betty and James spent a lot of time kissing in his car and downtown bars, and in Cardigan she alludes to sexual activities (hand beneath my sweatshirt), there is no mistaking that as anything but a romantic relationship. Not to mention that Taylor straight up said they were together.
@@VanessaBritneyTaylor mmm yeah, you're probably right
You sort of do tho with that chord change - the third 'so I turned up at your party... kissin' in my car again, stopped under a street light - you know I love you'. But they weren't an item just attracted?
And Joe wrote the whole chorus, words and everything? And she heard him singing it in another room
I really love how James keeps repeating "i'm only seventeen, I don't know anything" where a focus in Cardigan is about having knowledge/insight/awareness at a young age... it makes me think of how even though this song is very apologetic on the surface, and taking ownership for hurting Betty, he's still trying to find everything and anything to blame (i.e. his age, betty for dancing with someone else, augustina for pulling up to him in her car, etc) except for himself
You were correct when you said this sounds like Taylor's old music in that it reflects how much she is still the same sweet, romantic girl we knew who loves happy endings. Betty the song is sort of open-ended but with a hopeful note, and Taylor herself confirmed that in her head, James and Betty did end up together.
Thank her bf Joe Alwyn for this song! It was his lovely idea. 😊❤
Who needs to read a book when you can listen to a Taylor Swift song.
I think it’s great that you’ve really got immersed into the story of these characters she’s made up. It’s true in Long Pond she states in her mind Betty and James got back together, but I think she did this story in a way that it’s for you to decide what the outcome should be. And yes James is trash, but this song was needed to make you see it from his POV, and how he felt being 17 meant he didn’t know better but learnt from it and grew from it. Some never learn and grow and will forever be the same but in mind this was James trying to seek redemption knowing what he did was wrong and that was his first step in maturing
“Tis the danm season” PLEASE
I still prefer "tell me to go fuck myself" over "go straight to hell" because I love Taylor saying fuck.
I always wonder if Betty is done in her older musical style to reflect James' youth (I like the song, but I have no sympathy for him as a character: the way he calls her friends stupid/tried to deflect blame/responsibility away from himself really makes him come across as a douche)
Taylor left the end up for interpretation but Cardigan is from the perspective of after he shows up to the party, meaning in reality she did forgive him.
❤❤
Betty at 17 is a grown up in Cardigan and James at 17 doesn’t know anything.. he is only 17
You need to listen "exile" and "evemore" !!!
This song hurts me for both Betty and Augustina.
I believe James and Betty we’re not boyfriend/girlfriend yet like they had feelings and they kissed and all but they didn’t take it to the next level because if they did then seeing her dancing with a guy in the gym won’t be an issue or won’t pass like this, he saw her then felt like she’s not thinking of the next level with him yet and she wants to be open to other people. So he got hurt and lonely and went for the closest random girl and didn’t know about Betty having real feelings for him until she changed her home room in school as she was hurt thinking she’s not important to him & already with someone else, at this point he figured it all out and built the courage to go talk to her. His youth was the biggest reason of his wrong judgment and decision and he came back to come clean and get her back. I love taytay
She can't curse here 😂😂😂
Hey man, came from your one San Siro One Direction reaction. You should react to Best Song Ever from San Siro which was the final song.
Plss upload music evolution reaction for public as well ❤️
TAYLOR IS JAMES
Don't know what to think of james..
dr. taylor swift
React to No body no crime
Some fans think James is actually a girl & this is an LGTBQ relationship & Betty may not be "out" yet, so James is confused when she sees Betty "dance with HIM" & also the "stupid friends" lyric maybe because Betty's friends are homophobic, too; I hope I'm explaining all this correctly . . . 😅
PLEASE REACT to REPUTATION
Pls do react to happier then ever-billie eilish
Do Willow next!!
Hi i really like your reaction, please react to Cowboy Like Me
Can you react to James Arthur- ‘avalanche’ please
hey suffi u think its possible for u to react to the new lil nas x album? 😅
Nope, no one's feeling bad for James
why do you watch live performances when you haven't heard the song before? I think you should listen to the original studio version if it's your first time hearing a song. Taylor has all of her songs from folklore- evermore on youtube with official lyric videos!!
Can you react to Little mix songs?
But he’s only 17 and he doesn’t know a thing! 😝
Fun fact: in this song, Inez is the "gossip girl" and Betty, Inez and James are Blake Lively's children's names lmao