Album: Lover
Year: 2019
. . .
Had Taylor Swift kept to her 2010s schedule and released Reputation in 2016, thereby helping the San Francisco Giants continue their even-year bullshit with a fourth World Series title, I might have liked it better. But NOOOOO, it didn’t come out for a whole nother year, and by that time, the spell was broken.
OK, fine. That probably wasn’t the reason I never got into Reputation, but I did really like the follow-up, 2019’s Lover, which had things like the torchy title track and the shimmering “The Archer,” and what just might be my favorite Taylor Swift song, the vaguely political “Miss American and the Heartbreak Prince,” though the fact is I liked it before I knew that it might be an anti-Trump song.
With producer Joel Little providing the atmospheric synth and drums machine programming, Swift sings a deftly hooky verse in a quietly resigned voice.
You know I adore you, I’m crazier for you
Than I was at 16, lost in a film scene
Waving homecoming queens, marching band playing
I’m lost in the lights
American glory faded before me
Now I’m feeling hopeless, ripped up my prom dress
Running through rose thorns, I saw the scoreboard
And ran for my life (Ah)
Of course, the equating of politics with high school isn’t exactly a new thing, but none of that matter when, the true genius of “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” come in the chorus, which kills me every single time.
It’s you and me, that’s my whole world
They whisper in the hallway, “She’s a bad, bad girl” (OHH-KAY!!)
The whole school is rolling fake dice
You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes
It’s you and me, there’s nothing like this
Miss Americana and The Heartbreak Prince (OHH-KAY!!)
We’re so sad, we paint the town blue
Voted most likely to run away with you
Two things to point out here: one is the cheerleader backing vocals, a full pep squad of Swifts yelling “Okay” at the exact right moment. The second is the piano hook by Little, which is as simple as hell and yet I can sing along with in the same way as a Pavement guitar hook. It doesn’t show up until the second half of the first chorus, but once it does, it practically dominates the rest of the song every time it comes around.
I also love the bridge, which is an expansion of the cheerleader motif, each yell of “go” “fight” “win” a joyous juxtaposition against the otherwise downbeat vocals and dark music.
And I don’t want you to (GO!), I don’t really wanna (FIGHT!)
‘Cause nobody’s gonna (WIN!), I think you should come home
And I don’t want you to (GO!), I don’t really wanna (FIGHT!)
‘Cause nobody’s gonna (WIN!), I think you should come home
And I don’t want you to (GO!), I don’t really wanna (FIGHT!)
‘Cause nobody’s gonna (WIN!), just thought you should know
And I’ll never let you (GO!) ’cause I know this is a (FIGHT!)
That someday we’re gonna (WIN!)
Maybe. Maybe not. While “Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince” wasn’t a single, Lover — Taylor Swift’s first album release on her new label, Republic — was her sixth straight #1 album in the U.S., and Swift followed it up with a massive U.S. tour, Lover Fest, which kicked off in April of 2020, selling out stadiu — oh, wait, I’m being told that’s not what happened. Instead, circumstances forced her to do something she probably hadn’t done in her entire career: work on a project that wasn’t planned months or years in advance. More on that tomorrow.
“Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince”
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