The first six tracks of the album have been, and go in-depth about lyric meanings, along with how they are paired with sonic styles. This is continued and progressed here, covering the second half of the newest album created by Taylor Swift.
The seventh track of the album, Actually Romantic is one most similar to the style from the Reputation album, which was in part produced by the same producers of this album, Max Martin and Shellback. The song starts off much more aggressively than past songs, with notes on an electric guitar being played. The song encompasses the story of someone being obsessed with her, even more than any man she has ever dated. This song is speculated to be about Charli XCX in response to her song Sympathy is a knife. There are many connections that created this speculation, such as the line “High-fived my ex, and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me.” Swift dated Matty Healy, who is the head of the band The 1975. Charli’s now-husband plays the drums for this band, so these two were connected through the people they were dating. Charli, in the past, has also been an opener for Swift on her Reputation tour, another hint that this song is likely about her. In the song Sympathy is a knife, Charli mentions not wanting to see someone backstage at her boyfriend’s show, which many attribute to Swift. Swift also says the line “wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face,” another reference many think is targeted at Charli. Actually Romantic includes many jabs at the person or people it is written about, belittling them and saying the only thing they think and talk about is her. She says that this is the most someone has ever cared so much about her, and how it’s sweet how much effort the person puts in to try and hurt her. One of the strongest lines is “How many times has your boyfriend said, ‘Why are we always talking ‘bout her?’” She also calls whoever the song is about a toy chihuahua barking from a purse, just further poking fun at the person. Throughout the entire song, there are sounds of electric guitar and heavy drums playing that keep the beat consistently going.
Wi$h Li$t is the eighth track of the album and is the song that focuses the most on her relationship with Travis. While many songs have included Travis and their relationship, none have fully focused on it, and this song does. She compares what many people want in life and consider rich to all that she needs to feel rich, which is Travis. When people think of being rich, they usually make a wish list of all that they would want. Swift suggests some of the products people most commonly want: a yacht, a helicopter, luxury products, awards, and expensive food and drinks. But Swift just wants Travis and all that comes with him, or may come in the future. She dreams about having kids, having a house with a basketball hoop, and being left alone by the world. She makes this apparent in the line, “Got the whole block looking like you.” She wishes the best for those who want the rich, luxurious life, but it is not what she wants. The song primarily repeats the same lines throughout the song, really drilling in the message she is trying to tell. These lines are paired with a very bubbly production, almost sounding like sparkles, making it apparent that Travis brings happiness back into her life. The song also ends almost abruptly with the simple lines, “Got a wish list, I just want you.”
A controversial track on the album, Wood, is the ninth track. The song talks in more detail about her personal life than she has before, and it has been a polarizing song. While it is controversial, the track is very unique compared to the rest of the album, bringing a more retro sound. The song starts off with an upbeat and rhythmic guitar strumming, which many compare in sound to I Want You Back by The Jackson Five. Swift references many different superstitions based on the title of Wood, like knocking on wood so something isn’t jinxed. Other superstitions mentioned are stepping on a crack, black cats, and crossing fingers. She said she avoided these superstitions and made “her own luck” with Travis, suggesting that is why their relationship is so strong. She talks about her relationship with Travis even more in the song with the line “It’s you and me forever dancing in the dark.” Every line mentions some reason she is grateful for Travis and the happiness he has brought to her. She also makes even more references to Travis by mentioning his podcast, New Heights, and that she is engaged to him in the line, “Girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet to know a hard rock is on the way.” Much of the song makes reference to Travis in a deeper way than before, which many did not expect from Swift. Overall, the song is strung together with a more retro and live sound that can keep listeners engaged even if they do not like the lyrics or the message of the song.
CANCELLED!, yes, with the uppercase and exclamation mark, is the tenth track of the album. This is something that has happened to Swift many times, specifically before and during the Reputation era, which lends some of its sound to this song. The song starts out aggressively, led by a strong electric guitar strum and heavy drums. The dark tone and lyrics from Reputation also occur in this song with the lines, “But they’d already picked out your grace and hearse,” meaning that when you are cancelled, you have no choice or way to change your future. She makes multiple references to her experience being cancelled and why it happened, such as “Tone-deaf and hot,” making a joke only a man can, and being too smug. Cancel culture happens often now with the prevalence of social media and news, and has affected Swift throughout her whole life. It has also affected many around her, which is what most of the song covers. It has been speculated by fans that the song was brought about by the cancellation of Blake Lively, who has been Swift’s close friend since 2015. Swift has even included the names of Lively’s children in a few of her songs. She says, “Good thing I like my friends cancelled, I like’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandel,” giving fans even more evidence that the song is about a celebrity with the mention of Gucci. Throughout the song, Swift says how she will still support her friends who have been cancelled because she knows what it is like, and they can relate to each other now. This is shown in the lines “Welcome to my underworld.” She said the related experience of being cancelled also helped her figure out who her true friends are. This is stated in the line, “At least you know exactly who your friends are, they’re the ones with matching scars.” The song continues with a darker tone and sound throughout the entire song, and repeats lines to impact listeners and send a message about cancellation.
Honey, a common nickname for a significant other, is the name of the eleventh track. This song covers the many connotations of nicknames like honey and sweetheart. In her life, Swift has never really had a positive experience with these words. People have used them to hurt her or make fun of her. One example of someone using the words against her is shown in the lines, “When anyone called me ‘sweetheart,’ it was passive-aggressive at the bar,” and “If anyone called me ‘honey,’ it was standing in the bathroom…they were saying that skirt don’t fit me.” She also talks about problems in her past relationships with these terms of endearment in the line, “When anyone called me late night, he was screwing around with my mind.” But in her relationship with Travis, she is now comfortable with these names because they are coming from him. “You can call me ‘honey’ if you want, because I’m the one you want,” she says, showing how comfortable she is in her relationship. She is experiencing something different with Travis, shown in the line, “You give it different meaning, ‘cause you mean it when you talk.” She is completely enamored with him, wanting to experience all of life’s new adventures with him, saying, “And graffiti my whole xxxx life.” The sound of the song is very bubbly and upbeat, with an R&B beat and vocals keeping the song going. There is also a hint of flute throughout the song, giving it a different tone than much of the album.
The only song with a feature, something rare for Swift’s albums, is the title track, The Life of a Showgirl. This song features fellow showgirl Sabrina Carpenter. As Swift likes to do in many songs, she created a character, named Kitty, to talk about her own life experiences from an outside perspective. She did this for most of the folklore and evermore albums, but it does not appear anywhere else on this album. This is also the most theatrical-sounding song, with dramatic claps, impressive vocals, and strings. Kitty is an imaginary showgirl whom Swift and Carpenter both look up to and teach them the struggles that come along with the glamorous-looking life of a showgirl. This is first shown in the line, “They gave her the keys to this city, then they said she didn’t do it legitly.” This shows how difficult the lifestyle is because your success is just determined by the public’s view, and this can change on a dime. Swift first tells her dream to become a showgirl to Kitty after one of her shows. In response, Kitty told Swift, “…the more you play the more that you pay,” and “You don’t know the life of a showgirl, babe. And you’re never gonna wanna.” The showgirl’s life is hard, and that is what Kitty is trying to communicate, but Swift and Carpenter didn’t listen. Carpenter introduces this in the line, “But that’s not what showgirls get, they leave us for dead,” seeming like she is speaking from experience. Shortly after, both Swift and Carpenter alternate back and forth about the struggles they have personally experienced. Some of the ways they communicate this are, “I paid my dues with every bruise,” “Do you wanna take a skate on the ice inside my veins?,” and “They ripped me off like false lashes, and then threw me away.” This is exactly what Kitty said would happen: the public eye changes their opinion whenever they see fit. After experiencing everything, just like Kitty, they are “Immortal” and “married to the hustle.” They conclude their story with a message to Kitty, thanking her for what she said, but telling her that they are now doing the same things. The entire song ends with a clip of audio from the Eras Tour, the time where she was the ultimate showgirl, saying, “Thank you for an unforgettable night.”
