New Thoughts About YNCD Video - Part 1

the subtle and not so subtle gayness of folklore

the 1

You know the greatest films of all time were never made

And if my wishes came true, it would’ve been you

You meet some woman on the internet and take her home

It would’ve been fun if you would’ve been the one

cardigan

Chase two girls, lose the one

I knew you’d linger like a tattoo kiss

I knew you’d come back to me

seven

THIS FULL SONG

And though I can’t recall your face, I still got love for you, your braids like a pattern

And I think you should come live with me, and we can be pirates, then you won't have to cry, or hide in the closet

And though I can't recall your face, I still got love for you, pack your dolls and a sweater

august

And I can see us twisted in bedsheets, August sipped away like a bottle of wine, 'cause you were never mine

I remember thinking I had you

illicit affairs

Leave the perfume on the shelf that you picked out just for him, so you leave no trace behind

You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else

You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else

betty

THE ENTIRE SONG JUST GO LISTEN

Betty, I won't make assumptions about why you switched your homeroom, but I think it's 'cause of me

Betty, one time I was riding on my skateboard when I passed your house. It's like I couldn't breathe

Would you have me? Would you want me? ... Or lead me to the garden? In the garden, would you trust me?

Slept next to her, but I dreamt of you all summer long

Will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch

peace

All these people think love’s for show, but I would die for you in secret. The devil’s in the details but you’ve got a friend in me

family that I chose

I’d give you my sunshine, give you my best

Taylor Swift - the eyebrow raise™️

loving how karlie casually confirmed that the initials on the pavement in soho were in fact written for her —a rep era kaylor fan theory— in the same breath that she says that her husband carved them in there, when we have literal multiple timestamped photos that show how her initials had a TS next to them years before half the pavement was ripped up and he added the J!and nobody’s batting a fucking eye!!

“New Romantics” is the queer anthem we need right now.

One of Taylor’s best songs ever is also one of her gayest: “New Romantics” employs some of her most brilliant lyrical tricks to construct a narrative that’s clever, moving, and, for lack of a better phrase, hella hella gay. First, let’s talk about the structure of the lyrics: The verses all end in couplets (ABABCC rhyme structure as opposed to the pre-chorus and chorus, which are both ABAB) – in poetry, you use a couplet to draw attention to something, to emphasize a point. Let’s see what she has to say: We’re all bored We’re all so tired of everything We wait for Trains that just aren’t coming

When Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone named this the second best song of 2014, he called boredom “the least Tay of emotions.” But if this is a song about breaking the cycle of bearding – as Taylor did in 2014 – this verse sets up the dreary monotony of being in the closet, pretending to be someone you’re not. She brings the point home in the couplet:

We show off our different scarlet letters Trust me, mine is better

What’s Tay’s scarlet letter? Her love ‘em and leave ‘em inability to keep a man? No – that’s the character she parodies in “Blank Space.” This song is about her real scarlet letter, the one we don’t know about: her queerness and all the lies that come with it. Let’s skip ahead to the third verse to see why:

We’re all here The lights and boys are blinding We hang back It’s all in the timing

Something is already off here: The rhyme structure is broken. Instead of the perfect ABABCC of every other verse, verse 3 gives us ABCBDD. This could just be sloppy writing, but that’s not Taylor – this verse is meant to undermine our sense of stability in the song, to prick up our ears. This works in the context of the lyrics – Taylor being blinded by the boys and lights (presumably media attention/camera flashes?) – but it also serves to make us pay close attention to her next couplet:

It’s poker, he can’t see it in my face But I’m about to play my Ace

What’s her Ace? Her scarlet letter, of course – her bright red A, the Ace of Hearts. And she’s about to tell us exactly what it is:

We need love But all we want is danger We team up Then switch sides like a record changer

“We need love, but all we want is danger” can read like she wants danger instead of love, but I don’t think that’s what’s happening here. What if we read the line like this instead: “We need love, but everything we want is dangerous.” That fits thematically with Taylor’s other work in songs like “Treacherous” and “Style,” and it also makes sense in the context of the next line. What exactly does it mean to “switch sides like record changer”? What even is a record changer? There’s a vague allusion to turning over a record on a turntable here, but Taylor is making up words because she’s telling us something else: that she’s teaming up with someone to change the record about her dangerous love life. And “record” here is a triple meaning – it also alludes to the songs on this record, which can literally change sides as you flip the LP over, but can also change sides in terms of who she’s singing about depending on whether you know the truth about her scarlet letter, her Ace.

The rumors are terrible and cruel, But honey, most of them are true

Taylor punctuates this verse with a wink to those of us who’ve heard the rumors about her: She’s heard them too, and she wants to tell us they’re true. 

This brings us to the second pre-chorus and chorus, and to the essential question of the song: Who is “we”? Is this a platonic song about Taylor and her girlfriends (and, by extension, single people everywhere), or is this a romantic song about Taylor and her girlfriend (and, by extension, queer people everywhere)? 

Baby, we’re the new romantics Come on, come along with me Heartbreak is the national anthem We sing it proudly We are too busy dancing To get knocked off our feet Baby, we’re the new romantics The best people in life are free

We’re too busy going out with our friends to fall in love, we sing proudly about our heartbreaks, the best people in life are single. Yep, that works! But it ignores the broader context of the song – let’s take a look at the bridge, where everything slows down a LOT (again, Taylor is telling us to pay attention):

Please take my hand and Please take me dancing and Please leave me stranded It’s so romantic

The rhyme structure here (AAAA with lots of word repetition and proximate rhyme, a trick often used by noted lesbian Emily Dickinson) is like a big flashing sign: HEY, THIS IS WHAT THE SONG IS ABOUT. And it doesn’t sound platonic at all – it sounds like dancing with your girlfriend in public, only to have her leave you alone lest she confirm those terribly cruel rumors. (This bridge is also a prelude to “Dancing With Our Hands Tied” as surely as “Every day is like a battle, but every night with us is like a dream” is a prelude to “…Ready for it?”.)

The song is called “New Romantics.” She’s telling us, as clearly as she can, that this is a song about romance. Taylor has taken all the bricks people have thrown at her – at this point, still largely about how boy-crazy she is – and built a castle where she can be free with her girlfriend. Read this way, we can see a new meaning for the first verse of “Call It What You Want”:

My castle crumbled overnight I brought a knife to a gunfight They took the crown but it’s all right

This verse reads like it’s about the Kimye controversy, but I think it’s also about kissgate. Taylor built a glass castle of safety for herself and Karlie, and when it collapsed, her crown (i.e. the king of her heart) was taken from her. They had to go back into hiding (“nobody’s heard from me for months”), but they found a deeper, truer love all on their own.

“New Romantics” is one of Taylor’s best songs ever – not just because the melody is amazing and the lyrics are killer, but because it takes the language of heartbreak and turns it into an anthem of strength for Taylor and for every queer person who has ever had to hide who we are. She opens 1989 by telling us we can want who we want, and she closes it by telling us the same thing: The best people in life are free. 

Louis & Taylor are best gay besties.

Here’s why:

Louis’s infamous “if that” expression of distaste towards Haylor was immediately followed by him saying “I’ve met her before, she’s a lovely girl.”

Not only that, he mentioned how great she is UNPROMPTED at least twice in his interview with Forbes and Telegraph.

They literally partied together.

Taylor’s AT&T NOW commercial ft. Her locked in the closet, her climbing out of the closet through the air vent before arriving in the studio to record music.

Taylor’s AT&T NOW commercial also included her googling the picture she saw on a guy’s shirt.

Louis wearing MJ’s Billie Jean t-shirt in Back To You teaser for everyone to Google the lyrics: Billie Jean is not my lover. She's just a girl who claims that I am the one. But the kid is not my son

In another commercial, Taylor wore rainbow, and rode a unicorn cat. (Hint: What word did Harry use to call a cat and got grounded for being inappropriate?)

There is no subtlety in this household.

Louis’s rainbow Apple t-shirt which led to the Bullshit 2.0 and the dagger tattoo, probably.

Oh yeah, let’s talk about tattoos.

1. Harry, birds don’t have eyebrows. (They kinda do. But it’s a meme at this point.)

2. Louis, Kevin is a pigeon, not a swift bird. HOW COULD YOU?

What a coincidence that Louis randomly picked the name DIANA as promo song for Midnight Memories. Almost like a tribute to Dianna Agron who was once aboard SS Swiftgron with Taylor while Haylor was happening on paper. Or that Harry’s Fine Line theme colors being 🏳️‍⚧️ a trans flag and STYLE music video from Taylor’s 1989 included a scene of this man looking at himself in the mirror only to see a reflection of a woman.

Or that Louis’s song Fearless seemingly referenced Karlie Kloss as the second wife of Taylor in (colourful) Suit & Tie era, aka Lover. Just for the first Taylor’s Version album to be FEARLESS.

It’s almost like they’re all closeted queers in the same industry or a Copy of A Copy of A Copy or something.

Ummm…

UMMMMM…..

HELLO???????

“Up on YOUR Roof with a Schoolgirl Crush”

In the Making of a Song video for “King of My Heart” Taylor sings the lyrics as “with all these nights we’re spending up on YOUR roof with a schoolgirl crush.”

Video - at 6:30.

So who had a rooftop in 2016 when this song was being written?

Lily’s and Karlie’s addresses were public info.

Lily’s Building

Lily’s building had a rooftop for hanging out.

In a photoshoot she did for Cass Bird and Telegraph magazine, they used Lily’s East Village neighborhood for the shoot, including up on the roof.

Karlie’s Building

Karlie’s two-story building had a garden, garden gate, and balcony but no rooftop to hang out on.

Joe’s Building

Articles report that Joe was living in Crouch End when he met Taylor. I don’t think his place had a rooftop to hang out on from photos of the area.

The Bridge

I’ve written about the “King of My Heart” lyrics in other posts, including the British, model, and wlw references, so let’s just look at the bridge here after the roof lyric.

“Drinking beer out of plastic cups”

Is this a reference to Taylor and Karlie at the Knicks game in 2014? Maybe. But the 2014 era doesn’t seem to match the rest of the song, especially since this line is after “my broken bones are mending.”

“Say you fancy me not fancy stuff”

Another British 🇬🇧 reference in a song with many British references. So this line could fit Lily or Joe.

The Making of a Song video was recorded in September 2016. The Nashville and LA scenes, including the rooftop lyric scene, were filmed September 19-21. (Link) The song appears to have been started in early September from the Cornelia Street scene at the beginning of the video and some people think it may have been started as early as August. All of this is before September 28.

This November 13th has truly been a celebration.

How it Started:

How it’s going:

‘Twas a happy Kaylor anniversary. Cheers to many more years.