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Oooh....Look What You Made Me Do

I don't like your little games
Don't like your tilted stage
The role you made me play
Of the fool, no, I don't like you
I don't like your perfect crime
How you laugh when you lie
You said the gun was mine
Isn't cool, no, I don't like you (oh!)

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!

Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do

Look what you just made me
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me do

I don't like your kingdom keys
They once belonged to me
You asked me for a place to sleep
Locked me out and threw a feast (what?)
The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama
But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma
And then the world moves on, but one thing's for sure
Maybe I got mine, but you'll all get yours

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!

Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me do

I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
I don't trust nobody and nobody trusts me
I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams
(Look what you made me do)
(Look what you made me do)
(Look what you just made me do)
(Look what you made me do)
"I'm sorry, the old Taylor can't come to the phone right now."
"Why?"
"Oh, 'cause she's dead!" (ohh!)

Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me do

Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me
Ooh, look what you made me do
Look what you made me do
Look what you just made me do
Look what you just made me do





I've read some idiotic stuff about Ms. Swift's new song: It's an articulation of Trump-era values, it's the language of a predator blaming her victim. Good grief. People seem not to notice how playful it is. Also, people seem to miss some of the splendor of the verses. So here are some thoughts.

I actually read that the first few lines upset a Kanye fan because "the tilted stage was one of the best parts of his tour; it was critically acclaimed." This seems to miss the point. Surely, TS *is* alluding to Kanye; she *wants* us to hear "tilted stage" and think of the tour. But she's also operating on a metaphorical level. "All the world's a stage," said Shakespeare, and if your stage is tilted, then you may misrepresent events. You might edit transcripts of conversations. You might actually be mentally/emotionally unstable. To lie is to live "on a tilted stage." The Shakespeare reference continues; TS has been made to play "the role of the fool," like Malvolio in "Twelfth Night." (Where has Shakespeare appeared earlier in the TS canon? "You were Romeo; I was the Scarlet Letter. And my daddy said stay away from Juliet." TS seems to be a sponge; she reads or hears things, then has a compulsive need to turn them into bits of new songs. Contrast this with: "A tiger don't lose no sleep--don't need opinions from a shellfish or a sheep!" In one corner, we have Per Se. In the other: Burger King.)

TS makes a quick shift to the language of film noir. (A wealth of references is a staple of the TS canon. In "Love Story," we jumped from Shakespeare to "The Scarlet Letter." "Blank Space" blends car-chase imagery with fairy-tale scenarios. "New Romantics" has roots in a castle-building scenario, but sprouts up into something about a psychosexual poker game.) To me, TS's lines about "the perfect crime" evoke thoughts of "Double Indemnity." In that movie, Barbara Stanwyck is responsible for the crime, but then frames her boy toy; she "said the gun was his." ("I'll be the actress starring in your bad dreams.") You might also think of "Body Heat." You might think of "The Postman Always Rings Twice." (There are echoes of "Blank Space," as well--the figure who lures an innocent victim into a web of lies, then casually reveals she is something she had pretended not to be.)

The "pre-chorus" makes me think of Madonna. And you? Madonna pioneered the trick of rising from the dead--flitting from Virginal Bride Madonna to Dominatrix Madonna to Dick Tracy Madonna to Vaguely Buddhist Madonna to Exercise Video Madonna. She makes explicit reference to these transformations in "Bitch, I'm Madonna." I love that Swift's music video makes literal the Lazarus-y climb from death; we get to see TS in a zombie movie. I also like that we see a Sopranos-ish pile of the corpses of past Taylors. "Honey, I could build a castle--out of all the bricks they threw at me." And I don't see how you can miss the playfulness of the song when TS casts herself as a vengeful Santa Claus, horde-ing her list of enemies: "I check it once...then I check...it...twice...OH!"

The lines I worship are in the second verse. Here, we seem to be in the Middle Ages. (Really? What will she think of next?) In the Middle Ages, ideas of hospitality and loyalty were important; they were more important than they are now. You didn't have an elaborate judicial system. You didn't even have lighting at night. So you needed to be a man of your word. If you grew a reputation for disloyalty or dishonesty, that reputation could be fatal--quickly. Like Macbeth, TS's enemy has "asked for a place to sleep," asked for a favor. Like Duncan, TS grants the favor. Like Duncan, TS is actually punished for her generosity. Duncan is killed; TS is locked out of her own kingdom. (You might also think of the usurping stepmother in "Hansel and Gretel"--insinuating herself into the family, then evicting the children.) The word "feast," the idea of "throwing a feast," is notably medieval; it makes me think of my sixth-grade banquet, when everyone gathered in damsel costumes and monk robes and ate chicken with bare hands. (Also, because I'm odd, I think of the Bishop of D----, in "Les Miserables," when he discovers that his houseguest has stolen some of his silver. "But, my friend, you left so early. Surely something slipped your mind. You forgot I gave these also. Would you leave the best behind?")

Anyway, a verdict. To me, the new TS song is a fun anthem about the galvanizing impact of rage. What did we make her do? We made her write a catchy tune. We made her break some new streaming records. (Esquire tied the act of song-writing to the mysterious sentence in the song's title. We "made" TS attain new prizes. Thanks, Esquire, for catching that.) I like that TS continues to show signs of a fertile and surprising imagination. There's a reason she continues to succeed, despite minimal dancing and singing abilities. The lady can write. And that's not a talent to sniff at.

P.S. I'll be away for a few days. The blog will rest. See you again on Tuesday!

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