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"drivers license"

 Many, many Americans can quote Taylor Swift's references to freshman year. "She's cheer captain, and I'm on the bleachers...." "Betty, I won't make assumptions about why you switched your homeroom..." "And your mama's waiting up, and you're thinking he's the one, when the night ends...."


The brilliance of Olivia Rodrigo is to "take the ball and run with it." Rodrigo identifies two rites of passage--obtaining a driver's license, and suffering your first heartbreak--and she weaves these together in one song. Getting dumped is like obtaining a license; you are now "authorized" to navigate the messy world of adult affairs.

"Rolling Stone" voted Rodrigo's climactic lines "the third greatest song bridge of this century," and with reason.

Red lights, stop signs....
I still see your face in the white cars, front yards...
Can't drive past the places we used to go to....
Cuz I still fucking love you, babe.

It's the surprising and eloquent "fuck" that really earns my admiration. I'm eager to see what she does next.

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