Thread by @tweetsricochet

ERAS TOUR LYRICAL ANALYSIS COUNTDOWN: DAY 5 (1989)

Come down the rabbit hole with me as we analyze the next song in our #CountdownToTSTheErasTour series: Wonderland!

Let's discuss how she uses the metaphor of "Wonderland" to describe a chaotic, life-changing relationship. A🧵:

1) "Flashing lights and we took a wrong turn and we fell down a rabbit hole." Taylor both sets up the Wonderland metaphor and skillfully sets the mood with this first line. Even just the the term "flashing lights" has multiple, intriguing possible meanings in this context.

2) Where else do we hear about flashing lights on 1989? The first time is in "Welcome to New York;" in describing the city, she says: "the lights are so bright, but they never blind me." This line may pinpoint the location of this relationship (as well as the Wonderland) to NYC.

3) More specifically, I think "flashing lights" describes her very public, exposed life in NYC. At this time, she lived in the public eye, constantly the subject of critical discourse. She was pursued daily by the literal flashing lights of paparazzi, and so were her partners.

4) 1989 is in large part dedicated to the severely negative impact of this scrutiny on her personal life and mental health. "I Know Places" describes her desperate (and doomed) attempts to protect her relationship from the judgment of strangers and literal stalking by paparazzi.

5) With these lines, she implies that they "took a wrong turn" WHILE trying to escape this pervasive scrutiny. And in their attempts to "find places [they] can hide," they stumbled down a rabbit hole, aka, the entry point into the metaphorical wonderland of their relationship.

6) On one level, the rabbit hole is a direct literary reference to how Alice enters Wonderland; in the case of Taylor and her partner, she is describing the initiation of their relationship (aka, THEIR Wonderland). But "going down a rabbit hole" has another idiomatic meaning.

7) To "go down a rabbit hole" also means to dive deep into a complicated topic or situation. Apart from just the relationship initiation, this could also refer to their interpersonal "rabbit hole"--they entered Wonderland when they dove deep and really connected with one another.

8) "You held on tight to me, 'cause nothing's as it seems, and spinning out of control." On one level, this is an excellent, intensely visual representation of falling down an Alice-type rabbit hole to Wonderland, clutching on to one another and tumbling down uncontrollably.

9) But (as always!) there is a metaphor. As they fell down the rabbit hole of their relationship (ie deepened their connection), her partner "held on tight" to her, trying to develop their emotional closeness and maintain their relationship despite their chaotic public lives.

10) But the pressure of their public relationship was also getting to Taylor. "Nothing is as it seems." Despite her partner's attempts to reach out to her, she had difficulty trusting them (or perhaps, trusting that a relationship was possible given their strange circumstances).

11) This also could be flipped the other way. Perhaps what "seemed" like a meaningless fling was actually a real, genuine connection to her. They were holding on tight to her "BECAUSE" their relationship was much more meaningful than the judgmental public believed her capable of.

12) "Spinning out of control" can also similarly be interpreted both ways. For one, the external public pressure they were facing made her feel that she completely lacked any control over either the course of her relationship or the cruel narrative that was being spun about it.

13) Alternatively, perhaps she felt that she and her partner were spinning out of control down the rabbit hole of their deep personal connection. They were drawn uncontrollably closer together because of the strength of their connection, despite the harsh external circumstances.

14) "Didn't they tell us "Don't rush into things"? This sounds like a plea to her own decision-making. She asks herself (and her partner): isn't this a mistake? Are we moving too fast? Shouldn't we be more rational, instead of tumbling headlong into this precarious relationship?

15) "Didn't you flash your green eyes at me?" While this could refer to the exact color of her partner's eyes, I also think she means that her partner gave her the "green light" to continue this relationship. They were ready to tumble impulsively forward with her, so she was too.

16) "Haven't you heard what becomes of curious minds?" Alice's fall into the chaotic Wonderland was a consequence of her curiosity. The adults in the story warn her against it, but the audience knows better--her curiosity allowed her to discover something strange and beautiful.

17) Similarly, Taylor reminds her partner of how the public perceives their curiosity (ie, attraction) for each other. They experience judgment on all sides for satisfying this curiosity, but the two of them know that there is beautiful chaos to be discovered in one another.

18) "Didn't it all seem new and exciting? I felt your arms twisting around me, I should have slept with one eye open at night." Taylor implies that the intoxicating excitement of her relationship made her blind to the potential dangers of her "fall" into Wonderland with them.

19) She feels she should have slept with one eye open at night (to look out for trouble)--perhaps because, in their excitement, they did not take enough precautions to hide their relationship from the prying eyes of the public. Perhaps she wishes she had tried harder to guard it.

20) And now for the completion of the metaphor. "We found wonderland, you and I got lost in it, and we pretended it could last forever." They found a wonderful, strange, world (Wonderland) in each other, and they got lost in the intoxication of their mutual love and excitement.

21) Even though they knew, like Alice, that they would have to return to the harsh reality of the real world, and that their relationship was likely doomed to end, they still were so invested in one another that, even for a brief time, they pretended to forget that inevitability.

22) The other very touching aspect of this metaphor is that, while in Wonderland, Alice is completely separated from the drudgery of the real world. She has a fantastical place all her own. In their rare moments of privacy, this relationship was incredibly magical to Taylor.

23) "And life was never worse but never better." The connection they shared made her life better and happier than she ever was before. However, at the same time, the negative scrutiny and constant stress that accompanied (and threatened) it created some of her worst experiences.

24) "So we went on our way, too in love to think straight, all alone or so it seemed." She and her partner were very wrapped up in one another, but as happy and excited as they were together, the constant publicity meant they were never truly alone or safe from external damage.

25) "But there were strangers watching and whispers turned to talking, and talking turned to screams." She describes the crescendo of the public discourse on her relationship. The initial rumors (whispers) of their relationship grew into "screams" of external criticism and shame.

26) But "talking turned to screams" could also refer to the effect this scrutiny had on their own personal connection. Perhaps the external pressure (public "talking" about their relationship) was too much for them, leading to "screams" (conflict and arguments) with one another.

27) And now for the bridge. "I reached for you but you were gone, I knew I had to go back home." Ultimately, their Wonderland connection was broken. She tried to reach for her partner one last time, but, just like Alice, she was forced to leave and go home to the real world.

28) "You searched the world for something else to make you feel like what we had." Once the relationship ended, they were both lost and lonely, searching for the (albeit chaotic) magic they once had together. But the "meteor strike" of their connection could never be recaptured.

29) "And in the end in wonderland we both went mad." At the end of their relationship, they both "went mad." On one level, just like in Alice, Wonderland was simply too much for them. Their emotional connection, although heady and exciting, was also not sustainable or realistic.

30) Alternatively, the constant pressure of the scrutiny they faced was too much, forcing them both to "go mad" and irrationally abandon the very special connection that they had. Leaving the Wonderland of their relationship could therefore be read as either sensible or foolish.

31) Wonderland is an exceptional example of Taylor's finely-honed skill with metaphor. From "Cardigan" to "Ivy" each metaphor is carefully chosen to represent a relationship or situation in multiple dimensions. The entire narrative is crafted around her exploration of the theme.

32) Wonderland is a very complex metaphor for a relationship, but it works here on so many levels--from the combined magic and chaos of the actual relationship itself, to the judgmental eyes of those around them, who simply could not understand what they had experienced together.

33) Whether or not the relationship could ever have lasted, the writing makes it very clear that this experience was both perspective-changing and life-altering for both Taylor and her partner. Just as nothing was ever the same for Alice, nothing will ever be the same for Taylor.

Here you go @oates13_ @mvtearsrvcochet @crimsondaiz @strbryswiftie @MissMoonbeam89 @ArunavaBal @Matt37774308 @prettylilem @crimsondaiz @wonderlana13 @ele_wonder_land @AllisonnnnRocha Tag your 1989 and Wonderland besties 🥰🥰🥰

Also, one of my tweets on my favorite line was deleted 🥲🥲. Specifically: "Didn't you calm my fears with a Cheshire cat smile?" The specific of "Cheshire cat" is interesting, because it is something that may seem off-putting to an outsider, but intriguing in Wonderland itself.

This further underscores her point that their relationship was both beguiling and fascinating to each other, but also strange and potentially sinister to the outside world. The very connection that "calmed her fears" also alienated them further to the judgmental outside world.

Thank you for reading!! You can find Day 4 (Red) here:

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1634368874039717889?t=IX9UQgKTzKv4-eKG14YA0Q&s=19

Day 3 (Speak Now):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1633948463724474368?t=IX9UQgKTzKv4-eKG14YA0Q&s=19

Day 2 (Fearless):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1633544158420803596?t=IX9UQgKTzKv4-eKG14YA0Q&s=19

Day 1 (Debut):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1633248141943218181?t=IX9UQgKTzKv4-eKG14YA0Q&s=19