Lights, Camera, Action! Taylor Swift’s sassy and sparkly twelfth studio album The Life of a Showgirl has officially released this week, along with a matching visual theatrical release, and we’re here with a track by track analysis to dive into allllll the drama and show-stopping lyrics. Take your places; the show is about to begin!
Track 1: The Fate of Ophelia
Get ready to nod your head along from the very first track with a little dreamy ’70’s inspo sprinkled in. But first, let’s dive into the lyrics. Who is Ophelia and what happened to her? Ophelia’s fate in Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragic drowning, a consequence of her descent into madness after Hamlet kills her father and rejects her.
Lyrically, Taylor seems to be comparing herself to the dark tale of Ophelia, saying that if her lover hadn’t found her and saved her, she would’ve ended up with the same tragic fate. “And if you’d never come for me, I might’ve drowned in the melancholy, I swore my loyalty to me, myself and I, right before you lit my sky up….you saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.”
The second verse starts, “Keep it one hundred, on the lands, the sea, the sky, pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes” in the most dreamy, synthy pop perfection (this one will get stuck in your head). In an Instagram post in July, her partner Travis captioned a carousel of snapshots with Swift, “Had some adventures this offseason, kept it 💯.” Plus, 13 (our queen’s lucky number) plus 87 (Travis’ Chiefs jersey number) equals 100, so there’s lots of tie-ins here. This is a lovely, catchy ode to her partner, and it seems like she finally got the love story she always dreamed about. With such deep lyrics, the contrast to the upbeat synths make this immediately immaculate.
Track 2: Elizabeth Taylor
This is not the first time Taylor has mentioned Elizabeth Taylor in a song. “He can be my jailor, Burton to this Taylor” was a lyric on Ready for It on the Reputation album, comparing her past relationship with Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, who received excessive media scrutiny for their very public relationship. Elizabeth Taylor continues those lyrical themes, with lyrics “All the right guys, promised they’d stay, under bright lights, they withered away.” She seems to be rhetorically asking Elizabeth Taylor, someone who’s been in her position before, if this love is finally the true love.
Musically, this song reminds us of Rep a bit, with a brighter and richer production (thanks Max!). It’s the sonic embodiment of a a vintage perfume bottle with encrusted diamonds. Starting with a piano and string moment and leading into a catchy, bass-ey beat, it’s effortlessly full glamour.
There are so many good Hollywood one-liners in this one, from Taylor commenting, “You’re only as hot as you’re last hit, baby.” Swift laments on the downsides of stardom, saying, “Oh oftentimes it doesn’t feel glamorous to be me” and “What could you possibly get for the girl, who wants everything and nothing all at once? Babe, I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust… Just kidding.” Iconic.
Track 3: Opalite
Being a Libra girlie myself, I immediately clocked this being connected to Travis when the track list dropped. Taylor has a habit of connecting certain parters or relationships with vivid imagery and coloring; she often associated her previous partner Joe with the color blue. In Daylight from the Lover album, she says, “I once believed love would be black and white, but it’s golden, like daylight.”
Opalite is giving a little Disco easy listening vibe with a baseline and hint of guitar, and a chorus that yet again gets stuck in your head. This song seems to also be about how all the past relationships didn’t work, but how this love is finally real. “Oh my Lord, never made me one like you before, you had to make your own sunshine, but now the sky is opalite.”
The second verse is about Travis’ past relationship, “You couldn’t understand it, why you felt alone, you were in it for real, she was on her phone.” Then he finally ended it, and found Swift. “You finally left the table, and what a simple thought, you’re starving til you’re not.” Perhaps a small reference to her song Right Where You Left Me here (“Help, I’m still at the restaurant, still sitting in a corner I haunt.”)
There’s also a fun tie in to her friends and fellow musicians with the lyrics, “And all the perfect couples, said “when you know, you know” and “when you don’t, you don’t.” That’s a full lyric from Lana Del Rey and Jack Antonoff’s song Margaret which is a song Lana wrote about Jack and Margaret falling in love and knowing it was finally true love.
And there’s a subtle nod to being head-over-heels in love from her 2008 single Fearless, with the line, “But my Mama told me, it’s alright, you were dancing through the lighting strikes” which reminds us of “And I don’t know why, but with you I’d dance in a storm in my best dress, fearless.” Something about Taylor being so self-referential in her makes it so fun for the fans, and we love it.
Track 4: Father Figure
With musical interpolation from George Michael’s hit song of the same name, Father Figure reallyyyy goes there, highlighting the darker side of the music industry and alluding to how the deals like the sale of her masters get done in terrible ways. The song sounds like it was inspired by what happened with Scott Borchetta, founder of Big Machine Records and the man who signed Taylor to her first record deal at fifteen, just to ultimately sell her masters to Scooter Braun, something that felt like a huge betrayal to Taylor.
With lyrics like “I’ll be your father figure, I drink that brown liquor, I can make deals with the devil, because my dick’s bigger, this love is pure profit, just step into my office,” you can tell that Taylor feels a lot of resentment and bitterness toward her experience in the music industry and how slimy it all was, but in writing this song, she has flipped the perspective, and now she’s the one in charge.
Even through the lyrics are a bit sinister, the song is rather upbeat and has a nostalgic quality to it. The whispered, “I protect the family,” gives us shivers, and the key change chorus at the end is fabulous. Another fun fact: George Michael’s album with the eponymous track went on to win Album of the Year at the 1989 Grammy’s – the year that Taylor was born.
Track 5: Eldest Daughter
At just over four minutes long, Eldest Daughter is the longest track on The Life of a Showgirl. It’s also a fan-recognized tradition that the Track 5’s on her records are typically the most vulnerable, emotional, and raw, such as All Too Well and Delicate on past albums. This song is no exception, with a full acoustic guitar and piano moment.
Taylor starts by talking about how cut throat the world is, and how she puts on a bravado to seem cool and relevant. The chorus builds, with the lyrics, “But I’m not a bad bitch, and this isn’t savage, but I’m never let you down, never gonna leave you out, so many traitors, smooth operators, but I’m never gonna break that vow, never gonna leave you now.” It’s a lovely love song, and a vulnerable moment for Swift, who loves to show swagger and confidence in her life and career, but who perhaps feels finally trustworthy of her new parter enough to open up in this way.
She compares herself to Travis through how they grew up: “Every eldest daughter, was the first lamb to the slaughter, so we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire” and in contrast to him, “Every youngest child felt, they were raised up in the wild, but now you’re home.” I’m not crying, you’re crying.
Track 6: Ruin the Friendship
For a nice mid-tempo song sonically, we were really not expecting this track to take such a sad turn. It seems to be about her high school friend Jeff Lang who passed away in 2010 of an overdose (Forever Winter is also proabably about him). Lyrically, she starts the song narrating the story of a crush that she had back in high school that she didn’t want to make a move on, because it would ruin their friendship (and he had a girlfriend). “Don’t make it awkward in second period, might piss your ex off.”
The story continues, with, “When I left school I lost track of you, Abigail called me with the bad news, goodbye, and we’ll never know why.” She further clarifies, “But I whispered at the grave, “Should’ve kissed you anyway,” and at the end adds these heartbreaking words: “My advice is always ruin the friendship, better that than regret it… and my advice is always answer the question, rather that than to ask it, all your life.” There are some funky bass notes in the bridge, and some background chorus “ah, ah’s” that she sings as the song builds at the end, which is super satisfying. Another very easy listening song that anyone would enjoy, but lyrically quite devastating.
Track 7: Actually Romantic
Get ready for a This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things inspired diss track! This seems to be a rebuttal to Charli XCX’s Sympathy is a Knife song where Charli mentions some of her insecurities related to Taylor while she was dating Matty Healy, with lyrics like “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show, fingers crossed behind my back, I hope they break up quick.”
The first verse into the chorus has a nice electric guitar strum that give a early-2000’s vintage vibe. Another mid-tempo song but a bit faster than the previous track, Taylor pops back with so many insane lyrics that we don’t know where to start.
It starts off with probably some of her most crazy lyrics ever: “Heard you call me “Boring Barbie” when the coke’s got you brave, high-fived my ex and than you said you’re glad he ghosted me, wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face, some people might be offended, but it’s actually sweet, all the time you’ve spent on me, it’s honestly wild, all the effort you’ve put in, it’s actually romantic.”
Her vocals are very ethereal on this track and scratches a very satisfying itch in your brain, and her fun little ad libs at the end are such a throwback, with the bridge getting even crazier lyrically. “You there, I’m ready babe, stop talking dirty to me, it sounded nasty but it feels like you’re flirting with me, I mind my business, God’s my witness that I don’t provoke it, it’s kind of making me wet.”
Everything is Romantic is track 7 on Charli’s album, and Actually Romantic is track 7 on this album. And apparently Charli also has a chihuahua, which is mentioned in the song. Yikes, the dramaaaa (we love it.)
Track 8: Wi$h Li$t
Glitch 2.0 is here and we can’t get enough! There’s something very enjoyable about the synth-ey moment in this song and her crooning vocal, “I just want you!” and vocal notes when she sings, “We tell the world to leave us the fuck alone and they do.”
This song seems to be comparing how so many others want money and fame and everything (“They want that yacht life, under chopper planes, they want those bright lights and Balanci shades, and a fat ass with a baby face,” and “They want a contract with Real Madrid, they want that spring break that was fucking lit, and then that video taken off the internet”) and how in contrast, her goals are flipped: she just wants to have a quiet life with Travis and have some kids.
The slower tempo of song totally works for the vibe and cohesion. The bridge pushes all the words together: “I made wishes on all the stars, please God bring me a best friend who I think is hot, I thought I had it right once, twice but I did not, you caught me off my guard, I hope I get what I want, ’cause I know what I want.” There’s another lovely buildup at the end of this song that really works. It’s romantic and melodic.
Track 9: Wood
Some of us were questioning what the heck Wood could be about (hey, get your head out of the gutter). This seems to be a lovely track about her relationship with Travis, with a couple cheeky lyrics thrown in. Upon listening to the first ten seconds, you might think you’ve accidentally stumbled upon I Want You Back by the Jackson 5, with the classic electric guitar strum, percussion, and groovy baseline. There’s even a fun sound effect of someone knocking on wood when she says the matching lyric leading into the chorus.
“It’s you and me together dancing in the dark, all over me, it’s understood, I ain’t got to knock on wood.” Finally, after all this time, the relationship is real and lasting, and she doesn’t doubt that it’s the one. Moment of silence for the cheeky bridge and her partner’s podcast reference: “Forgive me, it sounds cocky, he Ah!-matized me, and opened my eyes, Redwood tree, it ain’t hard to see, his love was the key, that opened my thighs, girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet, to know a hard rock is on the way, and baby, I’ll admit l’ve been a little superstitious, the curse on me was broken by your magic wand, seems to me that you and me make our own luck, New Heights of manhood, I ain’t got to knock on wood.”
The Redwood tree lyric could be a little joke referencing a viral tweet from a few years ago comparing the lyrical prowess of Taylor versus Ariana Grade, when a fan said, “Swifties when Ariana sings about sex and doesn’t write it like, “He stuck his long wood into my Redwood forest and let his sap ferment my roots.” Either way, this song sounds like is could have been made forty years ago or today; it’s an instant classic and is totally different production-wise to any song she’s ever made before.
Track 10: CANCELLED!
Get ready for Ready For It 2.0 meets the Pretty Little Liars theme song with Cancelled! Melodically a bit dark with yet another irresistible beat and lyrically tongue-in-cheek, this one is another immediate hit on the album. It seems like all celebs in the spotlight get cancelled these days for one thing or another. Taylor, who had her own experience getting “cancelled” in 2016 and leaving the spotlight for a period of time, seems to be fine with it, saying, “Good thing I like my friends cancelled, I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal.” and “Welcome to my underworld, where it gets quite dark.”
She goes on to name potential reasons that they got cancelled: “Did you make a joke only a man could? Were you far too smug for your own good? Or bring a tiny violin in a knife fight? Baby that all ends tonight.” Yet another guitar-heavy track, and it works, especially in the bridge where it gets delightfully gloomy and edgy melodically, while Taylor explains how her friends were there for her when she was being publicly shamed. “They stood by me before my exoneration, they believed I was innocent, so I’m not here for judgement, no, but if you can’t be good, then just be better at it, everyone’s got bodies in the attic.” Shivers down our spine!!
Track 11: Honey
With Call It What You Want meets Slut vibes, Honey is slower, almost R&B inspired song built on all the words that can be used as catcalls to pick up women, like “honey,” “baby,” and “sweetheart.” Crooning to us to a slow and seductive beat and guitar strum, Taylor tells the story of all the terrible guys she’s dated in the past, the names they called her, and how her new partner has totally changed her perspective on what those phrases mean: “But you touch my face, redefine all of those words, when you say “honey.”
Through the bridge she dives in more, saying, “When anyone called me, late night, he was screwing around with my mind, asking “What are you wearing?” Too high to remember in the morning, but you say it like you’re in awe of me, and you stay until the morning.” We’re sobbing to this jazzy little beat in the best way.
This definitely paints a picture of how different her love with Travis is and how she’s enjoying simple domestic moments at home with him, with lyrics like, “Honey I’m home, we could play house, you could bend down, pick me up, who’s the baddest in the land? what’s the plan? You could be my forever nightstand, honey.” This song is somewhat simple production-wise, but it just works.
Track 12: The Life of a Showgirl ft. Sabrina Carpenter
The last track on the album and the only feature, but a nice decision to bring in Sabrina, another iconic showgirl who’s stardom is also peaking at this moment in time. The song tells a warning tale of the dark sides of fame and show business to the melody similar to Cool by the Jonas Brothers, with an unexpected boom clap crowd beat starting off the song.
The lyrical style of the song is reminiscent of The Last Great American Dynasty, where Taylor tells a story of an iconic woman throughout the song, and incorporating herself into the song, too. In this, she’s waiting by the stage door to get an autograph from a famous showgirl, and the woman tells her that it’s not all she thinks, with lyrics like, “The more you play the more that you pay” and “You don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe.”
Then, she grows up and tries to become famous. “So she waited by the stage door, as the club promoter arrived, she said, “I’d sell my soul to have a taste of magnificent life, that’s all mine.” And in the end, it works, but at what cost? Sabrina sings the second verse, adding a little country twang at moments and harmonizes with Taylor. It speeds up in tempo at the bridge, almost giving a musical theater quality with the talk-singing to then slow way down for the last line. They culminate the song with, “And all the headshots on the walls of the dance hall are of the bitches, who wish I’d hurry up and die, but, I’m immortal now, baby dolls, I couldn’t if I tried.” It builds to a full ending, with Taylor’s voice in a microphone effect saying thank you in the way that she did every night at The Eras Tour. “Give it up for the band, the dancers, and of course Sabrina. That’s our show, we love you so much, goodnight.” It’s the obvious choice for the album ending.
Final Thoughts
All in all, Taylor made a very sassy, showgirl-ey glitter gel pen album with Max Martin and Shellbeck (with the most amount of “bitches” added to the lyrics of any Taylor album ever, lol). It’s the pop bangers of 1989. It’s the drama of Rep. It’s The shiny, sexy allure of Midnights. The long nights on the road and alone in a hotel room bathtub after the Eras Tour shows ended. It’s slightly less lyrically profound than The Tortured Poets Department or Folklore/Evermore, but that’s okay. Not every album needs to come with a dictionary. All of her past influences came together to make The Life of A Showgirl, a very approachable and thematically cohesive album that the masses will love.
It’s the glitter on the floor after the party, the mascara running down her face in the shower. It’s not all fun and games, but it’s her life, at the peak of stardom, with the love of her life, and this album encapsulates this moment perfectly. She really made a timeless pop album, bought back her masters and found the one to spend her life with. Swift is immortal now, baby dolls.
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