Taylor Swift - Folklore Listening Party

petition for react ''Taylor Swift NOW Listening Session with Taylor Grammy Museum'' on youtube, thanks for all the content

james

Don't mind me. I just dropped in to rewatch this at 3:30am.

Liz N

Welcome! I suspect that you will be very glad that you did! 💜

Dana Cooley-Keith

First of all yess I love your reaction to the album!!! You need to react to bts - i think you would love them even though it’s not all in English!

Virginia

This made me sign up to your Patreon actually :)

Gotta admit I would lean more towards your perspective on 1 than those I've seen saying it's about HS. On your side the whole line about "meet some woman on the internet and take her home" could be viewed as discovering a new artist on line. My first reaction to tears ricochet was that is was about Scott so yeah I'm with you there. Hoax also makes total sense. I think mad woman is directed more at Scooter.

Clashfan

my thoughts on The 1 to me sounds like this ode to something she thought was good for so long but ended and putting this positive spin on it. The thing is she considered Scott Borchetta family. She was like 15 when she signed with Big Machine and she’s 30 now. But when she says, “in my defense I have none, for digging up the grave another time” all I think about is the funeral setting she paints in my tears ricochet… which is totally about Scott. I know the 1 and hoax were written in the same night (vulture interview with Aaron dessner). To me thats her being inspired by one thing but writing about it two different ways or maybe two perspectives. It could either be from Scott’s POV looking at the same situation she’s singing about in hoax and to him its just not that big of deal and she’s broken by it. In hoax she says - “You knew it still hurts underneath my scars From when they pulled me apart You knew the password so I let you in the door You knew you won so what what’s the point of keeping score? You knew it still hurts underneath my scars From when they pulled me apart But what you did was just as dark” - She’s talking about how Scott knew how she felt about Scooter and the whole situation and he still went behind her back and made this deal that destroyed. “My kingdom come undone” = her kingdom was everything they built at Big Machine.

Dallas

my heart cant handle this

Dallas

the salt air at her rhode island beach house where they were pictured together all summer and the rust on the door of that getaway car. It would be her car, since they're in the states they would naturally be in her car and not his

Dallas

Yep, just not for long lol. She's literally referring to being in a car in august: Salt air, and the rust on your door I never needed anything more

Dallas

So Tom was driving the "Getaway Car", but then we already knew that. Wow, mind blowing.

Clashfan

After listening to august more it seems that it definitely is from Tom’s point of view and I was on the fence about that for awhile but it literally just all hit me at once. In august its saying he had her for the summer but then lost her at the end (in august) bc to her it was just a summer fling “so much for summer love.” He thought they were going to be more. “will you call, when you get back to school” its tom asking her to call whenever she gets home, or just to call in general. and she never does she goes straight into joe’s arms and as we all know that’s where she is today. “Remember when I pulled up and said "Get in the car" And then canceled my plans just in case you'd call Back when I was livin' for the hope of it all, for the hope of it all "Meet me behind the mall" So this means that TOM is the “she” that pulls up in betty when James is saying “just thinking of you (Joe) when (she) Tom, pulls up and says James get in the car” and then those days with him turned into nights and then they spent the summer together bc tom got to her first. “Slept next to her (tom) but I dreamt of you (Joe) all summer long” HER MIND

Dallas

Pretty interesting interpretations. Not sure I agree about the 1 as it seems more "romantic" than family based on the relationship. I've been thinking Exile was more about Calvin Harris as there is more bitterness there than just miscommunication. Your theory of the love triangle is very intriguing though. So that would make august be from Tom's perspective, right?

Clashfan

Great video! Btw if you use the left arrow key on your keyboard it takes the video back 5 seconds each click! You mentioned in another video how it’s hard to go back sometimes so I thought I’d help

Damn you did some interpretation there, we will probably never know if all of this is accurate but it was cool to read lol.

Other theories of mine: - In epiphany she is comparing war and battle to what the healthcare workers have experienced this year. Only 20 minutes to sleep but when they do they feel relief for a second. They have been the real foot soldiers and med school didn’t prepare anyone for this. I can’t listen to it without bawling. - Rebekah married Bill which is short for what??? WILLIAM aka WILLIAM BOWERY aka Joe’s pseudonym. She compares herself and Joe’s relationship to Rebekah and bill’s. “Who knows if she never showed up what coulda been...” - Also in peace she saying she can never give him peace. Like she’ll be the death of him basically and it’ll never be easy and they will always have eyes on them and people criticizing them like they criticized Rebekah. - Betty represents Joe in “betty” and he’s the connection to TLGAD - betty is literally the “jack and Diane” of this generation. I thought that since I heard. It sounds like she was going for this like character love story setting. and the way she sings the last 2 lines is so perfect “stopped at a street light you know I miss you” is so classic. Reminded me of how jack and Diane ends. Go listen to some of the songs on bob Dylan’s album the freewheelin and THE HARMONICA omg and that storytelling guitar playing (saw this comparison in an interview with Aaron dessner I believe). She NAILED it. And the only two writers on that song are her and “William Bowery” 🥺🥺🥺💗 - After a couple of listens I felt like the 1, my tears ricochet, and hoax all seem to be referencing the situation with Scott Borchetta and her leaving big machine. They built it from the ground up together but she was the one with the talent and at the end of the day he just saw her as a paycheck. He betrayed her and buried her and then tried to act like it wasn’t this personal thing that he sold her entire music catalog and wouldnt give her a chance to buy it. She thought he had her back but she was just a pawn to get that monayy. “And when you can’t sleep at night you hear my STOLEN lullabies” bc he and scooter Braun “took everything from her” (mad woman reference aka about scooter). He screwed her over and then wanted her to stay with the record label and make her earn her albums back for every new one she made. She considered him family and she was just another transaction for him. - “Mad woman” is a master piece. The master of spin has a couple side flings…. this is one of my favorites. - Exile was Joe’s idea. It’s about the miscommunication between them and how she left him. He thought they were going to be something more but then he sees her standing there with Tom’s hands on her body. And I think she took the song and ran with it and made it into this beautiful heart wrenching ballad and it’s perfect - The entire album is the most personal and transparent record shes ever made. She’s telling ALL. But telling them from different perspectives and viewpoints. When she refers to a skateboard she’s not talking an actual skateboard. The album is beautiful and i think she’s in love more than ever She is a genius. There are soooo many other Easter eggs that point to this perspective theory. Go find them (and stream folklore)🥚💗🥚💕💗💕💗🥚 Ps I love your reactions!!!

Dallas

So I’ve seen a lot of theories about this love triangle situation going on in betty but that’s not right at all... y’all are taking this album for face value but she’s literally being the most transparent she’s ever been. She’s telling ALL throughout this entire album but she’s telling it through the eyes of characters and imagery. Idk if anyone has said this but this is my theory of betty after listening to the entire album. Betty is literally her singing from “James” POV to “Betty” who is Joe throughout the whole song. The whole thing is referencing the 2016 situation when she went jet setting with Tom Hiddleston and left Joe on the back burner even though they had something prior to that. The entire 2nd verse is referencing the MET when she was seen dancing with Tom. She was talking to both of them and “Inez” is referring to the INTERNET. Basically “don’t believe everything you read on the internet but this time it was true... she really was with Tom too. “It was just a summer fling” “I slept next to him but I dreamt of you (Joe) all summer long” the whole thing is romanticizing it as a high school kids love story because this album she went wild with her imagination in quarantine and telling them in storybook manner! Anyways at the end SHE’S the one who shows up on but HIS front porch. “Standing in your cardigan, Kissin in my car again.” Now go listen to Cardigan......the entire thing from Joe’s point of view. The entire song is his side of the story... he knew she’d come back to him. HE’s the one saying when you’re young they assume you know nothing. “25 years old, how are you to know” (DWOHT stans wya??💗) He’s the young one but he knew all along her every move and knew she wouldn’t be able to stay away bc he would curse her for the longest time. He KNEW everything! He knew she’d miss him once the thrill expired (summer fling with Tom) and you’d (Taylor) be standing in my front porch light and he knew she’d come back to him. The cardigan video is HER leaving and HER returning at the end.

Dallas

I did my 5th listen with you, thank you for your reactions, you are always very interesting to hear and thanks for the people here in the comment section who try to explain the meanings of the songs, I already cried during exile and epiphany because taylor's vocals get me everytime but now I can cry even more knowing what a song like epiphany is about. As a male swiftie, I'm also really happy to see you become just as addicted to her as I am, she is something else.

what i get from this is a fictional storyline she's created as a metaphor for different events in her life. in the more obviously personal songs, there are still ties to the songs that go with the story. plus she kind of alludes to fictional mixing with reality when she tells the story of the women (Rebekah Harkness) from the house she bought and then compares herself to the woman. and then of course goes into it deeper with mad woman. Rebekah (real person) went by Betty, so that's how it more concretely ties in. Rebekah and her personal life was... an absolute mess so I wont explain lmao but you can read her wiki page. So there's like.. 3 or 4 storylines going I think? that all relate to each other. Or rather, they're all essentially the same thing just retold in a different way. Taylor's personal story is woven into the other stories and the meaning of her stoy isn't *quite* the same, because like i said, the other stories are metaphors for her life.

Grace

Third time watch. I can't stop listening to this Masterpiece!! Such an emotional & raw reaction. So good Steven!! I must have streamed this Album 4 times yesterday.💗

Lexi

Omg me too! At first listen, I was like, I only like like 3 songs..but then I listen to it again and I was like OMG YES I LOVE THIS WHOLE THING lol I actually bought 2 of the vinyls, 2 shirts, and the CD lmao. I never usually spend that much money on things like this but I am starting a vinyl collection as well and she will be my first owned vinyl :D Halsey's Manic album is next lol <3

Amanda Roper

This album grew on me, and I am obsessed. I def can hear Jack, but I was curious if she has any inspiration drawn from Tori Amos. I know a chunk of her discography, and it's the piano and wistfulness. Regardless, this could replace 1989 as my fave Swift project... That's a deep-seeded fave.

Hunter Kuehn

this is it. my fave album of hers. my fave reaction of yours. i’m still crying. w o w 🥺

Drew

There is so much to this album I feel like I'll never learn the lyrics, it's just so beautiful and so much to unpack lol When I saw her announcement tweet I was eating cereal with someone and I choked and gasped so loud she thought something was wrong. I've been a fan for 13 years and it has not prepared me for a surprise album lol also side note. I splurged on the cardigan from the music video and I am so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tabatha Miller

Hoax is the one that stays with me the most. The second song that also lingers is My Tears Ricochet. I love your reactions! You're such a Taylor stan and I'm here for it!

Jeline Nanashi

The second verse of Invisible String is so obviously personal - 'Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to LA' is clearly a reference to Bad Blood. She's so damn clever I can't cope!!

Rose Ellen

Peace and Mirrorball are my absolute favorites!

kaitlyn ridley

Invisible String is my favorite

Trisha

I thought it was illicit affairs until I heard Betty. Then I realized it was actually August. The girl in it sings about pulling up and asking him to get in the car, just as she does in Betty. I still think illicit affairs could be related to the story though. She said the lyrics would give us the hints and it seems like all three connect lyrically. I can’t remember if any lyrics from illicit affairs link to Betty or cardigan.

Monica Torres

Exile and August are my favourites right now.

Melissa Bishop

I love that on many songs she gives us juuust enough for us to make up our own backstories about all of these songs. I have enough material out of these songs for several stories

SeraRose

I can't wait to watch this but I need some time with the album to form my own opinions before I watch reactions. Maybe by tonight I'll be ready for to watch. I am looking forward to it

Liz N

It’s Sooooo good, it is a healer for 2020

Uddipana Kakati

OMG what a journey this album was. I stayed up until 4:30 am last night with my friends on zoom listening to this masterpiece. It drove us nuts, between the music, the lyrics, and trying to find the storylines lol shout out to Taylor for blowing our minds again!! So, what I could catch up on the lyrics/my opinion: the arch with Cardigan, August, Betty and Illicit Affairs well, you got it pretty much like I did. I think there are some more songs that could be put together in this triangle.. maybe Seven being told by one of the triangle participants as a chlid, This Is Me Trying being the guy's perspective before he showed up at Betty's party, Hoax being Betty's perspective after everything.. Exile could be about the love triangle too or it could be about her personal life and SB/BMR drama like someone commented above.. Mad Woman to me is about Kimye and SB/SB drama, idk it just fits... same as with My Tears Ricochet, I think it's about when she left BMR and all the drama that came after that. The 1, Mirrorball, Invisible String, Peace are personal references to her own life. Same with The Last Great American Dinasty, somebody above told you about the story of her Rhode Island house. And about Epiphany... I've seen some comments here that add up to my conclusion about this song last night at 3 am lol (yeah, I had an epiphany with Epiphany) so here's what I got: the first verse is referencing a war, an old war, with a soldier being wounded while in service, even more, if you listen closely you can even hear some small sort of marching sounds, similar to an army parade, throughout the whole song.. I think this has something to do with her grandad's story. But then in the second verse, the theme changes and it talks about doctors and scenes resembling a hospital. For me she's making a comparison between old wars, with guns and soldiers, to this new kind of war we're living now: coronavirus. The enemy is now a virus, no guns are useful here, our soldiers are the doctors. I think the epiphany here is something like, we spent so many years fighting against each other, and now we're all being attacked by something there are no known "guns" to fight back. We're all under attack, the whole world, so who's the real enemy? Anyway I might be wrong about most of this, but that's what I could think of being sleep-deprived and on a hype lol Thanks for this video Steven <3 it's always a pleasure listening to my favorite artist with you!!

Melissa Fileccia

your reactions make me so happy man

can dela

this album is GORGEOUS

can dela

A mirrorball is a disco ball 😊

Might need more time with it to know for sure, but, as of right now, folklore is my favorite Taylor Swift album, and my favorite album in general. It superceded Lover for me, which was my previous favorite. I just did the music SO much and I already loved The National, so him writing the songs with her made it top notch. It is a beautiful, and really quite sad, album, and I can't wait to listen to it a million times. ♥️ And I loved your reactions as always, Steven! You were me the entire first listen XD

RonGlennTheSinger

Someone posted her foreword for the album and she mentions one song is about her "grandfather, Dean landing at Guadalcanal in 1942" So surely that has to be Epiphany. I hope you get a Taylor Tat! What about like a line drawing of the red album cover? That would look so cool! I absolutely LOVED watching your reaction, it made me enjoy the whole experience even more! Thank you

Sam S

100% agree it has to be about the front line medical staff during this pandemic. As an ICU nurse that has been hitting this head on, I literally bawled during this song because it hit so close to home.

Stayed up till 2am and just waking up now and seeing this. Can't wait to watch!

Kenzigrl

Your reaction when she said “fuck” that first time was what I was waiting for and I was not disappointed. Going over to “like” on YouTube because we stan a TS tattoo!

Michelle Bourey

epiphany is about doctors fighting covid 19...20 minutes of sleep cause they are on call....the breath in and out, the war reference in the beginning with the soldier... at war with the virus

fivebyfive

exile has to be about her breaking from her old label in my opinion

fivebyfive

Some people are saying Mad Women is about Kimye or Scooter Braun. Loved your reaction !! You should watch the lyric videos for the songs they really set the tone and also the music video for Cardigan !!

so the love triangle of songs goes like this : 1. Cardigan - Betty's perspective, 2. Illicit Affairs - the girl he cheated on Betty with and 3. Betty - James' perspective. she is a genius

Shannon Tozer

About epiphany: https://swift.co.vu/post/624503481595838464

Lexy Barraclough

My initial thought on the track 5 is that it's about Big Machine and Scott Borchetta. Lyrically it just fit for me. The rest well it's going to take some time to digest this and a whole lot of listening.

Clashfan

Track 5 is clearly written for Scott Borchetta... relisten to it with him in mind and what has transpired. I could point to press releases, tweets, etc, and the issue about not being able to go home (Nashville - since he signed half the city). The you wanted me to ‘stay’, but he made it impossible for her to. I think she not only was angry but this song is about the hurt the breakdown of that relationship caused. I almost feel like of all the songs, last great American dynasty and tears ricochet are the most literal.

Kristin

Crying on exile seems to be the most popular response so you would be in good company.

Kristin

literally held my breath during the end of Betty waiting for you to realize the love triangle tracks were 1.Cardigan (from Bettys perspective) in cardigan she mentions chasing two girls and losing the 1, she mentions cobblestones and him showing up on her porch, she mentions kissing in cars and not knowing anything when you're young. she even mentions knowing he'd come back to her when the thrill expired. all of those things reoccur in Betty. 2. was August written from the side chicks perspective, at first i thought it was illicit affairs until i hear the line where she mentions remembering asking him to get in the car (another reoccurring lyric from Betty). and of course 3.Betty. mad woman is definitely about scooter braun. i wasnt super sure until the lyrics acout women liking to hunt witches too, and doing your dirty work for you, then later on mentioning "you took everything from me." when scooter bought her music and she backfired, his wife tried to publicly shame taylor and everyone accused the wife of doing his dirty work for him. epiphany made zero sense to me, but im hoping theories emerge soon lol.

Monica Torres

330 am and I'm still going to watch this entire video. lol who needs sleep anyway.

Clashfan

An unplanned album becomes her most critically acclaimed... this album is amazing! I waited up for your reaction!

Kristin

I honestly think this might be her magnum opus...

isaiah

I am only up to epiphany so far on my first listen, trying to get through it before I have to start work, but is it just me or is this the most consistent/cohesive album she has released in years. It is probably a byproduct of writing and recording it over a shorter period but there is just this consistent sound/style across the whole album. (also Spotify marking 5 of the tracks as explicit amuses me greatly)

Thomas Taylor

also fun fact, the last great american dynasty is about the woman who owned her rhode island house before her which is why it switches from third to first person at the end when she says the house was bought by her

Amy

i know taylor owns a mansion in rhode island so the last great american dynasty is actually about the original owner, rebekah harkness! check it out, it's pretty cool!

Kasey

Just so you know, she dropped lyric videos for the entire album on her YouTube channel before 1230am.

Robert Thompson

thank you so much for recording and posting this!!! This album has so much to unpack

Amy

I think this is her most eloquent, reposeful, and experimental album. It is so mature and complex, and different to anything she's ever done before, and definitely my favourite album ever.

Steph

I just finished and you already uploaded the video lol blessend by the amazing service you provide us here, It took me and my friend 3 hours to listen to the album because we stopped with each song to talk about it, she broke us, not cool

Liss Scods

soo i've only watched the cardigan mv and waited to listen to the album here with u! thanks for all your work tonight and dedication <3

Kasey

YESSS THANKS

Giovana Marselha

Im listening to the album first and then I'll watch your video... Im only on song 3 and fuck im already breaking down. My emotions are not stable after the 10th anniversary to deal with the best TS album since Red. Possibly better than Red if it continues like these first three songs.

Bells

YESSSS

Amanda Burns