Description
In three consecutive years, later in her catalogue, Taylor Swift released grief songs about family members. Of the three, “Soon You’ll Get Better” (2019), about her mother’s ongoing battle with cancer, is the only song not to be performed on her expansive Eras Tour. The others memorialize her grandparents within separate, emotional contexts. A dramatization of her grandfather’s 1942 beach landing forms half of “epiphany” (2020), sharing lyrical dialogue with pandemic nurses in the other half who battle similar traumas. By contrast, Swift’s regrets about not appreciating her grandmother are voiced directly to her in “marjorie” (2021), using a second-person address comparable to her song for her mother. This presentation compares the distinct approaches to grief in the three songs, examining songwriting strategies that Swift uses for the three separate narratives on bereavement: fear of abandonment, empathy with sacrifices of service, and apologetic regrets to a role model.Beginning with “Soon You’ll Get Better,” I reveal how its intertextual connections with Swift’s earlier works function like a time machine, situating her emotionally in more youthful stages of parental care and vulnerability. Musically, these include close vocal harmonies with The [Dixie] Chicks, alongside banjos and fiddles, that recall Swift’s childhood emergence as a country artist. Lyrically, they allude to childhood memories that Swift depicted in “The Best Day” (2008), an earlier song of gratitude for her mother. With “epiphany,” I turn my attention to how Swift arranges separate historical contexts within verse-chorus form as well as how she balances gendered subjects in the narratives. The co-existing storylines have implications for her more controversial songs that involve plural narratives (Smialek 2021). Finally, I examine harmony in “marjorie” to show how minimal changes to a single chord progression create mood shifts throughout the narrative. In particular, it results in feelings of lift for a pivotal pre-chorus where Swift’s grandmother’s presence is strongest felt. By examining how grief is variously set to music in Swift’s recent songs, my chapter contributes music-analytical insights into how a seasoned adult singer-songwriter processes bereavement in song.
| Period | 23 Jun 2025 |
|---|---|
| Event title | Taylor Swift and the Art of Meaning-Making: Communities, Affect and Storytelling |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Lisbon, PortugalShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |