Happy Lover Day, Taylor Swift fans!
As promised, the songstress released her highly-anticipated seventh studio album on Friday and it needs to be discussed immediately.
From the sick beats to the surprise celeb shout-outs to the MANY references to Tay’s IRL lover Joe Alwyn, there’s a lot to love about this album.
Related: Scooter Braun Congratulates Taylor On ‘Lover’ After Their Feud!
But it’s all very new and overwhelming, so we’re breaking it down for you piece by piece!
First off…
The Surprises
The Grammy winner had plenty of tricks up her sleeve for this LP — including, but not limited to, multiple celeb shout-outs!
On the album’s fourth track, titled The Man, Tay fantasizes about how different her life would be if she had been born the opposite sex.
As Tay sees it, the same behavior that had her labeled “boy crazy” as a woman would have people view her as a “player” if she instead had a penis and was chasing skirts, like, for example, notorious ladies man Leonardo Dicaprio.
Video: Taylor Swift Goes Full ‘Lover’ In New Music Video — Watch!
Well, if Tay was a man, she’d be the man — not unlike the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood actor. She sings in one verse:
“And they would toast to me, oh / Let the players play / I’d be just like Leo / in Saint-Tropez.”
Aside from Leo, Drake also gets a mention on the track I Forgot That You Existed, which is about a past love who apparently betrayed the singer.
T.Swift sings:
“And I couldn’t get away from ya / In my feelings more than Drake, so yeah / Your name on my lips, tongue-tied / Free rent, living in my mind.”
Pure poetry!
Swift also samples her Cats costars Idris Elba and James Corden on London Boy, a song about a certain boy who caught her fancy (we’ll get to said boy in a minute).
Taken from snippets of interviews, the Luther star kicks off the song by saying, “we can go driving in, on my scooter. Ah, you know, just ’round London!” To which Corden replies, “Oh.”
Calvin Harris seemingly gets called out on the first song of the album, I Forgot That You Existed, as she references his tweets about her following her famous drama with Kim Kardashian West:
“Got out some popcorn / As soon as my rep started going down, down, down / Laughed on the school yard / As soon as I tripped up and hit the ground, ground, ground / And I would’ve stuck around for ya / Would’ve fought the whole town, so yeah / Would’ve been right there, front row / Even if nobody came to your show.”
She continued:
“But you showed who you are, then one magical night / I forgot that you existed / And I thought that it would kill me, but it didn’t / And it was so nice / So peaceful and quiet / I forgot that you existed / It isn’t love, it isn’t hate, it’s just indifference.”
We honestly forgot for a minute they dated! So, same.
The most unexpectedly adorable surprise, though, was the children’s voices from the Regent Park School of Music in Toronto on track 17, titled It’s Nice to Have a Friend.
Now, onto more pressing matters…
You Know, That Guy Joe
Naturally, many of the tracks on Tay’s Lover album are seemingly dedicated to her longtime lover, Joe.
As we previously reported, the title track Lover sparked engagement rumors due to some of the lyrics referencing a wedding tradition. She sings:
“My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue/All’s well that ends well to end up with you.”
This song seems to be a love letter to her romance with Alwyn, whom she’s loved for “three summers” now — but the nods to their relationship didn’t stop there.
Related: Taylor Planning On Re-Recording Old Hits — But She Might Not Be Allowed To!
She also celebrates her love of a certain “boyish” paramour in I Think He Knows, singing:
“He got that boyish look that I like in a man /I am an architect, I’m drawing up the plans / It’s like I’m 17, nobody understands / No one understands.”
The lyrics continue:
“He got my heartbeat / Skipping down 16th Avenue / Got that, oh, I mean, wanna see what’s under that attitude like / I want you, bless my soul / And I ain’t gotta tell him, I think he knows.”
Tay later sings about how she thinks this man knows “he better lock it down” or she “won’t stick around,” because, as she explains with a laugh, the “good ones never wait.”
In Cruel Summer, TS sings about catching feelings for someone new and basically having it ruin an entire season. We’re looking at her relationship with Tom Hiddleston! She sings:
“And it’s new, the shape of your body / It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got /It’s a cruel summer / It’s cool, that’s what I tell ’em / No rules, unbreakable heaven / It’s a cruel summer, with you.”
She later adds:
“I’m drunk in the back of the car / And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar / Said I’m fine, but it wasn’t true / I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you.”
The track Paper Rings will undoubtedly refuel those engagement rumors, as the performer croons:
“I like shiny things, but I’d marry you with paper rings. Darling, you’re the one I want, and I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this.”
In Cornelia Street, Swift gets nostalgic for the street in NYC where she once rented an apartment during the early days of her relationship with Alwyn. She sings:
“We were a fresh page on the desk / Filling in the blanks as we go / As if the street lights pointed in an arrow head, leading us home.”
The lyrics continue:
“I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends / I’d never walk Cornelia Street again… That’s the kinda heartbreak time could never mend / I’d never walk Cornelia Street again / And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name / And baby, I’m so terrified of if you ever walk away.”
These days, Tay is all about the UK — a fact she makes clear in London Boy. This track is an obvious ode to Alwyn, as it references his dimples, accent, and “best mates.” She sings:
“You know I love a London boy / I enjoy walking Camden Market in the afternoon / He likes my American smile, like a child when our eyes meet / Darling, I fancy you… Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates / So I guess all the rumors are true / You know I love a London boy.”
Oh, we know, girl!
Now, on a more serious note…
Momma Swift’s Cancer
The most heartbreaking song on the album is the twelfth track, titled Soon You’ll Get Better, which details Taylor and her family’s pain and fear following her mom Andrea Swift’s cancer diagnosis.
The starlet sings:
“And I hate to make this all about me / But who am I supposed to talk to? / What am I supposed to do? / If there’s no you”
The star previously opened up about the emotional song during a YouTube Live session ahead of her album’s release, telling fans:
“That was really, really hard to write, and it was just a family decision whether to even put it on the album. We as a family decided to put this on the album, and it’s something I’m so proud of, but it’s just really hard. I can’t sing it. It’s hard to just emotionally deal with that song. You’ll understand what I mean in a couple hours.”
In an essay for Elle earlier this year, the artist revealed her 61-year-old mother is once again facing the disease four years after she received her diagnosis. She wrote:
“I’ve had to learn how to handle serious illness in my family. Both of my parents have had cancer, and my mom is now fighting her battle with it again… My mom’s cancer is a real problem. I used to be so anxious about daily ups and downs. I give all of my worry, stress, and prayers to real problems now.”
Although the album definitely touches on real problems like her mom’s illness, the singer said Lover is very much “a love letter to love.” She previously told Vogue:
“There are so many ways in which this album feels like a new beginning. This album is really a love letter to love, in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory.”
That about sums it up!
Swifties React!
Naturally, fans swiftly shared their thoughts on the new album shortly after its release — and overall, the Swifties were quite pleased:
https://twitter.com/Valerie42001/status/1164790949983035392?s=20
https://twitter.com/bubblineswift/status/1164765068476600321?s=20
Have you listened to Lover yet, Perezcious readers? What’s your favorite track at the moment? Take a listen to the album (below) and sound off in the comments!
[Image via YouTube]
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