Murder mystery stories have been on the rise in the last couple of years, whether it’s a comedy or thriller. From films like Netflix’s Murder Mystery and Knives Out to novels including Jim Eldridge’s Museum Murder series, and the original queen of murder mysteries, Agatha Christie, it seems like we just can’t get enough of a classic who done it.
A psychology today article by David Evans suggested that murder mysteries are in their own way, are sort of “fairy tales for adults”. This goes to show how the “classic murder mystery is [seen] as archetypal, in its way, as the Hero’s Journey” and the hero in these stories would be the detective. Evans suggested that these types of stories were “redemptive” for readers because “they give us hope and help us move from fear to reassurance” that the murder will be solved and the goodwill over the bad. However, Taylor Swift’s song ‘No Body No Crime’, her character decides to not leave it up to a detective and take matters into her own hands.
The sixth track from Taylor’s eight studio album Evermore’ is a return to her country roots as it weaves an intriguing and thrilling tale of betrayal, revenge and secrets as she transformed her murder mystery into music. In what is soon to be a classic murder mystery (in a song) it begins HAIM and Taylor revealing what happened leading up to the murder, the aftermath and eventually Taylor takes her revenge for the murder. So, let’s dive straight in.
“He did it
He did it”
HAIM dive straight and help Taylor accuse our main suspect of murder.
“Este’s a friend of mine
We meet up every Tuesday night for dinner and a glass of wine.
Este’s been losing sleep.
Her husband’s acting different and it smells like infidelity.
She says, “That ain’t my merlot on his mouth”.
“That ain’t my jewellery on our joint account”
No, there ain’t no doubt.
I think I’m gonna call him out”.
Our murder mystery begins with Taylor presumably meeting up with her friend Este on “Tuesday night for dinner and a glass of wine”. Este has revealed to Taylor that she hasn’t been sleeping, as she fears and is assured that her husband is cheating on her month. She’s found the evidence in a different woman’s lipstick on her husband’s mouth, and the unfamiliar jewellery he seems to be buying that she has never seen.
She says.
“I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it.”
I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it.
I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it.
No, no body, no crime.
But I ain’t letting up until the day I die.
No, no, I think he did it.
No, no, He did it”
Este tells Taylor that she knows without a doubt, that her husband has committed infidelity and she repeats how she knows for a fact, her husband has been cheating on her with another woman despite their marriage, and she won’t let up on it, so she has decided to confront her husband.
“Este wasn’t there,
Tuesday night at Olive Garden, at her job, or anywhere.
He reports his missing wife.
And I noticed when I passed his house his truck has got some brand-new tires.
And his mistress moved in,
Sleeps in Este’s bed and everything.
No, there ain’t no doubt,
Somebody’s gotta catch him out cause.”
Not long after Este has apparently confronted her husband about his infidelity, Este has gone missing. Taylor cannot fathom why her best friend has not turned up for their weekly dinner, or anywhere else for that matter. After not seeing or hearing from her friend, Taylor suddenly hears that Este’s husband has reported her missing. The case of her friend’s disappearance gets stranger as she notices “his truck has some brand-new tires”. Why would his truck need new tires? Unless he had made her friend, disappear, and murdered her, and brought the tires to come up the evidence? Taylor’s suspicions are confirmed when Este’s Husband’s mistress (who Este told Taylor she was going to confront him about) moves in her with the husband very quickly after Este’s ‘disappearance’ and is even sleeping where Este once slept. Taylor decides she must not let him get away with this.
“I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it (he did it).
I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it (he did it).
I think he did it, but I just can’t prove it.
No, no body, no crime.
But I ain’t letting up until the day I die.
No, no, I think he did it.
No, no, He did it.”
It appears Taylor is ready to avenge her friend Este’s murder, as she is now sure he did it, but she doesn’t have the concrete proof she needs to get him arrested, but she isn’t about to give up now. This is where things get really good!
“Good thing my daddy made me get a boating license when I was fifteen.
And I’ve cleaned enough houses to know how to cover up a scene.
Good thing Este’s sister’s gonna swear she was with me (“She was with me dude”).
Good thing his mistress took out a big life insurance policy.”
A plan has been formed and executed as Taylor exacts revenge on the man who murdered her best friend and the mistress, he did it for. We can infer that in this part of the story, Taylor has taken it upon herself to murder her friend’s cheating husband, and took his body out to sea, good thing she has a boating licence, isn’t it? She has an alibi as it seems Este’s sister is in on the plan and will swear that Taylor was with her on the night of the murder. To top it all off, Taylor has someone to pin the murder on and getting her revenge twice, as the blame will fall to her friend’s husband’s mistress, who she just so happens to know took out a big life insurance policy on him. Things aren’t looking good for her now, are they?
“They think she did it, but they just can’t prove it.
They think she did it, but they just can’t prove it.
She thinks I did it, but she just can’t prove it.
No, no body, no crime.
I wasn’t letting up until the day he
No, no body, no crime.
I wasn’t letting up until the day he died.
No, no body, no crime.
I wasn’t letting up until the day he died.”
Here, it appears that Taylor’s plan has succeeded. The mistress thinks Taylor did it, but she just can’t prove it whilst the police think the mistress did it, but with no proof. Taylor ends her story by revealing how she wasn’t going to let up until her friend’s cheating husband who murdered her friend to move in with his mistress, had also been murdered. Taylor has finally exacted revenge and got the justice she sought to get for her friend.
If you can’t get enough of Taylor’s narrative storytelling songs, you’ll be sure to love her Gatsby era drama as told in “the last great American dynasty’ (from Folklore) or the romantic tale of star-crossed lovers as told in ‘Love Story (Taylor’s Version)’ (from Fearless Taylor’s Version).
the girl and the city of books 
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