Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” was released on Oct. 3. The album illustrates Swift’s experiences while performing on The Eras Tour with upbeat songs and meaningful lyrics.
The songs reflect aspects from her career and most recent tour, The Eras Tour. The tour began in 2023 and was an instant success. It featured songs from her debut album, “Taylor Swift,” all the way to her most recent album at the time, “The Tortured Poets Department.”
“I went [to The Eras Tour] in California,” sophomore Sage Hason said. “It was genuinely one of the best days of my life. Her performance value is incredible.”
The album not only shows the highs of being a performer, but also the lows that come with stardom and extreme dedication to one’s music.
The album has 12 songs total, making it the shortest track total of Swift’s twelve albums.
The lead single of the album, “The Fate of Ophelia,” showed a vulnerable side of Swift through her metaphorical lyrics. Ophelia was a character featured in the play “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare. In the play, Ophelia fell in love with Hamlet, who ultimately betrayed her by killing her father and rejecting her love. This heartbreak caused her to become insane. Later in the play, Ophelia drowns; however, the events that led to her tragic drowning are unknown.
In Swift’s lyrics, she repeats the phrase, “You dug me out of my grave and / Saved my heart from the fate of / Ophelia,” which suggests that she felt that a loved one saved her during a difficult time. Many fans can relate to these lyrics, making this song a fan-favorite.
“I think that this is the first album where she’s wrote it when she’s truly in love, so there’s definitely aspects of a different side of her we haven’t really seen yet,” Hason said.
Another notable song from the album was “Ruin the Friendship,” which explores regret from Swift’s past. Swift discusses her high school experience, and a crush she had on a friend. Throughout the song, she questions whether or not she should have told him, but she ultimately decided not to, to maintain their friendship. After high school, Swift lost contact with him, and he passed away before she could confess her feelings.
The song illustrates feelings of regret, and the thought of “What could have been?” This song’s message is to take risks instead of playing it safe.
A song that stood out lyrically was “Eldest Daughter.” The lyrics lacked the poetry fans can typically expect from Swift’s songs. Some of the lyrics have been criticized online and the song failed the meet the expectations of many fans.
Another song from the album that piqued fans’ interest was “Wi$h Li$t.” The song depicts a change in Swift’s future plans and goals. She describes her personal goals as settling down and potentially having a family of her own.
“The Life of a Showgirl” was also a unique song that revealed Swift’s true thoughts on her life as a performer. The song featured popular artist Sabrina Carpenter. The song visited the idea that a performer’s life isn’t as glamorous as it seems and has a lot of downsides.
The song was especially special because it came from two pivotal figures in current pop culture, showing their viewpoints on stardom.
Overall, the album presented Swift’s experiences with performing through upbeat songs and interesting lyrics. The album was a mix between Swift’s “1989,” “Reputation” and “Folklore” albums. It incorporated the upbeat tones and vocals that relate to “1989” and the general vibe of “Reputation.” It also included the storytelling aspects of “Folklore.”
“She was writing it while she was on tour, that is incredible, and it’s so hard to do,” Hason said.
