Swifties disappointed in their icon? I’m buying a lottery ticket.
Taylor Swift has the most hardcore fanbase of any artist on the planet, so it was no surprise that they crashed Spotify this week when Taylor officially dropped her 12th studio album, The Life Of A Showgirl, on Friday.
The pop superstar first announced the album back in August, during an appearance on her now-fiancé’s podcast, New Heights, where she revealed that she had reunited with producers Max Martin and Shellback, and recorded the album in Sweden in between shows on her Eras Tour:
“It felt like catching lightning in a bottle, honestly. We hadn’t worked together in like seven or eight years. … There’s something about these guys. They’re just geniuses in different avenues, in different ways.”
And she also said fans could expect a more upbeat album than her last few releases:
“This album is about everything that was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour, which was so exuberent and electric and vibrant…
I would say it’s everything that was going on behind the curtain… My main goals were melodies that were so infectious that you’re almost angry at it, and lyrics that are just as vivid but crisp and focused and completely intentional.
I feel like we really came together in a really beautiful way.”
Swift called the album one of the best she’s ever made – but after having 24 hours to listen to it, it sounds like a lot of Swifties would have to disagree.
The album represented a significant departure from the sound of her previous projects like Midnights, Folklore and Evermore. And apparently there are quite a few fans who weren’t impressed with the lyrics on the new project:
Of course it doesn’t really matter, because there’s no doubt The Life Of A Showgirl will be one of the biggest albums of the year and top all of the charts. But it sounds like it might not be the first album Swifties reach for in her catalog.
One of the tracks that’s gotten the most attention, though, has to be “Wood” – which is a raunchy ode to Kelce’s…well, wood.
The song has a cheeky double entendre meaning, with Swift opening the song by discussing how superstitious she was about Travis Kelce being her endgame, given her tumultuous relationship history. She’s knocking on “Wood” that this relationship will last, and of course, it does, given that Travis Kelce got on one knee earlier this year, making the pair fiancés.
“And baby, I’ll admit I’ve been a little superstitious (Superstitious)
Fingers crossed until you put your hand on mine (Ah)
Seems to be that you and me, we make our own luck
A bad sign is all good
I ain’t gotta knock on wood”
Sounds innocent enough, right? However, the song that initially seems like a cute tune about knocking on wood for good luck takes a 180-degree turn, delving into their life behind closed doors (if you know what I mean).
I mean, take a look at these lyrics:
“Forgive me, it sounds cocky
He ah-matized me and opened my еyes
Redwood tree, it ain’t hard to see
His love was thе key that opened my thighs
Girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet, mm
To know a hard rock is on the way
And baby, I’ll admit I’ve been a little superstitious (Superstitious)
The curse on me was broken by your magic wand (Ah)
Seems to be that you and me, we make our own luck
New Heights (New Heights) of manhood (Manhood)
I ain’t gotta knock on wood”
Can’t believe Swifties aren’t impressed with a song about her fiance’s penis.
