A theatrical glamorous return to the upbeat, tongue in cheek, and love fuelled Taylor; that remains as bold, uniquely and lyricism expressive, whilst also highlighting the dark and daring side of show business.
Taylor Swift reveals all the sides – the glitz, the underworld, the mind vs heart and her professional and musical achievements, decades long experience and relationship milestones – with her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. A compact 12 track album, featuring a long awaited collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter, and the pop royalty of producers, Max Martin and Shellback.
From the first beat into The Fate of Ophelia and the musical staging of The Life of a Showgirl featuring Sabrina Carpenter; Taylor transports us into a world resembling decades of showgirls, from the roaring 20s era of extravagantly gorgeous jewelled dresses and feather headdresses to theatre to vegas showgirls into the life of a showgirl in the 21st century age of social media, misogyny, and cancel culture, and the power, backlash and negativity that come from chiding the showbiz life.
The Life of a Showgirl opens with Taylor reimagine a Shakespeare character, in the upbeat dance track of hope and love in The Fate Of Ophelia. Unlike the original Ophelia, Taylor alludes to herself being saved from the noble daughter Ophelia’s fate, when she be a r more herself, and met the love of her life during the most successful tour in the world. The music video is a bright catchy and love fuelled spirited tribute to both the eras tour, the glitz, glamour and games of showgirls past and a love for Travis and for her music.
Track Two Elizabeth Taylor, along with the Sabrina Collaboration on the title track The Life of a Showgirl are songs that allude to real and fictional showgirls (Elizabeth Taylor, the fictional Kitty, whilst the collaboration is sung by two modern showgirls Taylor and Sabrina) in increasingly addictive beta dropping and musical numbers that sum up the glamorous stage and dark scandalous underworld, of the highs and lows of show business.
Opalite has became one of my most streamed songs from the album, it is not only a man made opal but a cheery almost christmassey vibed celebration of making it through the dark times and finding people you can truly be yourself around including finding someone you love. A loving relationship where you want to show off your love to the world, and you can survive anything together.
As Taylor says herself in the catchy chorus in Opalite, ‘dancing through the lightening strikes’ is exactly what we are all doing, everything this tracks plays. It brings the heart bursting smiles and dancing spirited out, giving hope to find the good times and love again.
Wi$h Li$t and Honey brings us to Taylor and Travis again as she experiences the softness and sincerity of nicknames in honey and invites us to her new found happy placing in Wi$h Li$t, wi th a track that shows having somewhere and someone to go too, and dreams personally and professional at any emotion or stage of life is a wonderful thing in the wishful dreamy track that screams I found myself, I know what I want and I deserve it, and I’m in love.
I also love the double entendres *wink* of superstitions and spice in the track, Wood. It makes you want to laugh, and dance, and flirt with love and life. I loving seeing a healing Taylor who is so confident as always and so tongue in cheek again in an almost 70s and 80s showgirl vibe track, with show tune melodies.
Ruin the Friendship is a soul wrecking look into the what ifs of love and putting your heart in the line, in this slow lyrical quest of a track to believe in and take a chance when it comes to finding love and soulmates, and the doubts and regrets often surrounding something we look for, that excites and scares us, love. I never expected this track to be a song about ruining a friendship because you like a friend as opposed to a platonic soulmate friendship ending song.
Cancelled is the track where Taylor says she lines her friends ‘cloaked in Gucci and in scandal’ and that the friendship is not ruined. Taylor calls out haters, click bait and cancel culture in both Cancelled and the track, Actually Romantic about someone who always talks negative about it but they’re still putting a a lot of effort in to talk about you despite having you. Actually Romantic is a tongue in cheek note with a sprinkle of sarcasm suggesting that people who love to talk hate about her so much, who want to provoke or out her down, when they do these things it says a lot more about them than her. Cancelled sees Taylor says that friends are the people with ‘matching scars’ suggesting they have similar experiences and stand by each other. It is like a mature bond sister track resembling Reputation’s Look What You Made Me Do and I Did Something Bad.
There is something for everyone to relate to on this album. Father Figure imported the George Micheal Song, and suggests references to the power, danger, battles and victories of the mentor protege relationship, possibly alluding to her own experiences in the music industry.
Also track five, Eldest Daughter, is a slow piano track for daughters not wanting to always have to be strong for others, keep up with expectations and whatever else life throws at them. Taylor embodies all eldest daughters and women in this track. I
n Father Figure; there are possible references to how Taylor has been a protege and now a mentor, seeing both perspectives, including alluding to her own experiences of being taken advantageous of, outcasted and betrayed in the music industry by unexpected people or people she thought could be trusted, including in the music industry. Father Figure has a strong confident vibe whilst Eldest Daughter weaves a shattering melancholy tale.
I have been streaming this album non stop, it is a no track skipping album. It mixes tongue in cheek references, thought provoking lyrics with melancholy melodies , with both cheeky, light hearted and dark fighting stance beats. I cannot recommend this twelve star album enough, and The Life of a Showgirl proves Taylor Swift is always at the top of her game and her music will continue to make us smile, laugh, cry, think and be inspired and take action for a long time to come.
For now, let’s enter our showgirl era!
the girl and the city of books 
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