Thread by @tweetsricochet

ERAS TOUR LYRICAL ANALYSIS COUNTDOWN: DAY 7 (Lover)

He looked up grinning like a devil...because he just found out that CRUEL SUMMER is the next song in our #CountdownToTSTheErasTour series! Time to analyze this masterpiece before we all scream it together in the stadium!

A🧵:

1) Let's begin with the title itself: "Cruel Summer." What emotions does this title evoke? How does it set up the narrative that follows? The title prepares us for a sharp contrast--between the sunny, joyful warmth associated with summer and the harsh, icy cold of cruelty.

2) Of course, Taylor could simply be telling the story of a literal summer where she suffered hardship. And while this story likely DOES place during the summer, I also think she means "summer" figuratively. This was a wonderful, sunny experience that was undercut by "cruelty."

3) Taylor continuously plays with themes of the "warmth" of summer throughout the song, including with the opening lyric: "Fever dream high in the quiet of the night, you know that I caught it." A fever dream, literally, is a vivid, delirious dream state caused by high fever.

4) The idiomatic meaning plays on the real context: a strange, intense experience which is almost like a hallucination, causing you to doubt reality. Taylor gives us a huge amount of information about the setting and subject of the song with this comparison to intense illness.

5) As we find out later, this song is about the precarious early phase of falling in love her with her new partner. Her growing attraction and interest in her new partner are compared to a "fever dream" that she "caught," indicating how powerful and intoxicating her feelings are.

6) These almost unbelievably intense feelings have "caught" her suddenly in the "quiet of the night--" they are a stunning contrast to any recent attraction or affection she felt for others, a "fever high" in contrast to the relative "quiet night" of her prior emotional state.

7) The specific use of "fever" also adds to my previous point about her use of the metaphor of "summer" to describe this relationship. This love is a warm, beautiful reprieve--a joyful summer of emotion. So warm, in fact, that it overwhelms and intoxicates her, becoming a fever.

8) "Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price, you know that I bought it." Most of us assume that she is talking about her new partner here. He is excitingly "bad," a new "shiny toy" that she longs for, almost childishly. A new toy, however, with a very steep price: her vulnerability.

9) Taylor knows just how much it costs her to want someone this badly. She is afraid of the investment (the "price"), the all-consuming obsession of her pursuit of him. She also fears just how dearly she will "pay" for it, emotionally, if it all goes wrong and she loses him.

10) An alternative interpretation is that she is CURRENTLY with a "bad bad boy," who excited her initially, but who came with a "price" she hadn't expected. Her new partner knows she regrets that she "bought it." He can see that the unhappy relationship is "killing [her] slow."

11) Of course, going with our initial interpretation, it could also be "killing [her] slow" to see the new, shiny toy that she wants but doesn't yet have. She stares hungrily "out the window, I'm always waiting for you to be waiting below," yearning for a sign that he wants her.

12) "Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes." For one, this intriguing phrase could indicate that Taylor feels that this new love is out of her control. The "devils," whether the judgmental public or the ghosts of past loves, "roll the dice" (control) her future happiness.

13) The "angels" (or forces of good in her life, including her own best intentions) can only watch and roll their eyes, frustrated by the forces that keep her from pursuing healthy, happy love but ultimately unable to stop the damage wreaked by the devils of her past and present.

14) She also could be referring to her own internal compass. The "devils" on her shoulder (representing her reckless, passionate curiosity) roll the dice and cast their vote, while the "angels" on her other shoulder can only sigh, disapproving of her recurrent mistakes in love.

15) "What doesn't kill me makes me want you more." A play on "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger," every setback in her pursuit of him only strengthens her interest. This also applies to the pain she experiences outside of him. The harder her life, the more she craves him.

16) And now for the conflicted chorus: "and it's new, the shape of your body, it's blue, the feeling I've got, and it's ooh, it's a cruel summer." The production and opening lines are euphoric--as they begin their relationship, she is thrilled with the new experiences they share.

17) But even with this delight, she feels the pain ("blue") of uncertainty. The more she knows him, the more she WANTS to know more. The deeper their connection, the deeper her anxiety. That is the essence of the cruel summer: the warmth of her feelings is a double-edged sword.

18) "It's cool, that's what I tell 'em, no rules in breakable heaven." Taylor to play down the intensity of her investment. She tells him her feelings (and intentions) are casual to hide her desperate anxiety. In feigning "cool," she hides just how warm her feelings really are.

19) She implies that, despite her feelings, she allowed the relationship to stay open and casual at the beginning ("no rules,") but that this created a "breakable heaven:" a heady, delightful summer of a relationship that she could never truly enjoy, for fear of its destruction.

20) "Hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine, I'm not dying." I must confess, this line is a strange one for me (partially because I always thought the lyric was "buying," NOT "dying!!"). I do however have a few (very tentative...) thoughts.

21) Remember her description of her partner as a "shiny toy", comparing her own desperate interest in him to that of a child begging for a toy. Here she may be using a similar technique, comparing her hunger for her partner to a gnawing, "guilty pleasure" craving for junk food.

22) But he appears to "hang his head low" in that glow--he doesn't outwardly appear to have the same all-consuming craving. So she tells herself, "I'm not dying." AKA--"I can't show him just how much I want and crave him." So, she too, tries to stay "low" and appear unbothered.

23) Side note, this would make even more perfect sense if the lyric was indeed "buying..." but I digress!!

Maintaining the theme of forced casualness, she continues "We say that we'll just screw it up in these trying times, we're not trying." Both of them fear real commitment.

24) Because they are using each other as a comforting relief during "trying" (challenging) times, they are both afraid to really "try" to maintain their relationship--because if they fail, and lose this solace of a summer with each other, it will compound all their difficulties.

25) The next verse uses a consistent "cutting" metaphor to make several interesting points. "So cut the headlights, summer's a knife, I'm always waiting for you just to cut to the bone, devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes, and if I bleed, you'll be the last to know."

26) When you "cut" (turn off) the headlights, they no longer can guide your way forward. Because they are both afraid of losing each other, they tell themselves it would be easier to not label their relationship. Instead of focusing on their uncertain future, they enjoy the now.

27) Because of that "cut" to the headlights, the "summer" (aka this relationship) becomes a cutting knife to Taylor. She hates the uncertainty, so every bit of warmth she experiences also hurts her. She is waiting for him to "cut to the bone," to connect on a deep personal level.

28) That is the kind of pain she would tolerate--she would take the cutting pain of deep, uncomfortable conversations and conflict as long as they were committed, in deep together. But every moment they spend together NOT "cutting to the bone" is a painful "cut" to her heart.

29) And on her fourth play with the word "cut," she describes the physcial consequences: "If I bleed you'll be the last to know." Because she is so afraid of their precarious situation, she hides not only her painful feelings about him, but also her deepest emotions in general.

30) And now for the climax of the bridge, the resolution to the cruelty of summer. Taylor has hit her breaking point, uninhibited, finally letting the blood from her deep, internal wound show: "I'm drunk in the back of the car, and I cried like a baby coming home from the bar."

31) Again, she compares her emotions to that of a child. I think this repeated comparison is actually very profound. Her feelings for him aren't just adult, self-serving passion. They are as simple, open, and innocent as a child's. Loving him is deep, comforting, and instinctive.

32) Her desire for openness wins out, as she acknowledges how she has lied to both him and herself. "Said, "I'm fine, " but it wasn't true, I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you." Avoiding potential loss is simply not worth it if it means she can't have real, honest love.

33) "And I snuck in through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate." I actually wonder if this is a reference to the old story, The Secret Garden. The garden in the story begins as something tantalizing and mysterious, rather like Taylor's initial feelings.

34) But later on, the garden becomes a source of rebirth and rejuvenated health and happiness for the characters. Similarly, in the beginning, Taylor snuck in through the garden gate of this mysterious, ambiguous relationship. It was intoxicating, but it also felt dangerous.

35) That is, until she "sealed her fate"--aka, finally developed and confessed her real, genuine love for her partner. Then, the garden of their relationship was able to bloom and sustain her, becoming a rebirth of her happiness and hope for the future. Just like in the story.

36) Which is exactly what she does in the next lines: "And I screamed for whatever it's worth, "I love you," ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?" She anxiously waits for his reaction, afraid that the truth would scare him off. Instead, "He looks up grinning like a devil."

37) On one hand, his grin is "devil" ish because it shows just how unnecessary all of her pain and anxiety had been. He had always felt the same way, and if either one of them had been honest with each other earlier, the "cruelty" of the summer could have been over far earlier.

38) The other fun possibility is a reference to "devils rolling the dice" earlier. She realizes that he, coyly, had been the devil rolling the dice of their relationship the entire time. He always knew where they were headed. Much like in Mastermind, he "knew the entire time."

Thank you so much for reading, and for voting on this (excellent) song! I can't wait to sing it on tour with all of you. Calling all my Lover and Cruel Summer besties: @bigaubs_ @sailorsoophie @dearjohnismine @sam213Ra @msroxannemarie @13repstan @serenexevermore @Magnesi12

And more!!! @taysfavcardigan @ArunavaBal @WhotheHellisF @swftay13 @Srry713 @happyswiftie92 @beyeight @evermoregirli @crimsondaiz @lexi_wallace84 @cruelsummer22 @crueltoowell @cruelsummer_22 @lovermoree13 @loveralbumstan @sunkissedoll333 @lilith13s @loverglow13 @Swift1313Lover

If you want to read more, here is Day 6 (Reputation):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1634989669107793920?t=PfMRwQ96hNvK9J_qbAEJRg&s=19

Day 5 (1989):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1634704912503144449?t=PfMRwQ96hNvK9J_qbAEJRg&s=19d

Day 4 (Red):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1634368874039717889?t=PfMRwQ96hNvK9J_qbAEJRg&s=19

Day 3 (Speak Now):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1633948463724474368?t=PfMRwQ96hNvK9J_qbAEJRg&s=19

Day 2 (Fearless):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1633544158420803596?t=PfMRwQ96hNvK9J_qbAEJRg&s=19

Day 1 (Debut):

https://twitter.com/tweetsricochet/status/1633248141943218181?t=PfMRwQ96hNvK9J_qbAEJRg&s=19