To hope Betty told James to fuck off?

[MintyFurball]

What a total wanker. And slandering Ines? Fucker.

And 'You drew stars around my scars but now I'm bleeding' - Painfully beautiful!
Not to mention 'Wanting was enough, for me it was enough.'
I also love the sweet sincerity of 'I'm only 17, I don't know anything but I know I miss you' - it's one of my kids' favourite songs!

@mynameiscalypso despite me knowing the names of the 3 little girls of Blake Lively.and Ryan Reynolds I am as clueless as you are with this thread 😂

Taylor Swift is an exquisite storyteller, both in her songs and when she tells us the folklore behind them.

(In other words, Cardigan/August/Betty are blatantly autobiographical and were tweaked slightly to make the "teenage love triangle" story fit)

I love how all three songs have such a different feel, to match the characters singing them

I love on "Betty" where James sings "Slept next to her but, I dreamt of you all summer long" and it goes into the cheesy slide guitars, I like to think Taylor is slightly taking the piss out of cheesy male rock songs like Bon Jovi etc that have this sentiment.

Me too @RadoxMoon , I have literally no idea what’s going on otherwise ! I was wondering what on earth id missed !

Do you mean you think they're autobiographical from when she wrote them, or from when she was younger? Betty was wrote with her partner at the time wasn't it, and I believe she says he began the process with the chorus.

I think Cardigan is one of Swift's most personal and raw songs she's written which is why she's happy for people to think it's part of a fictional story.

Try listening to the voice memo version of the song: The original lyrics don't end with the bit about knowing the subject of the song would come back but instead "I knew I wished I would have changed your mind, I knew you'd miss me when the moment died, I knew to love would be to lose my mind"

Can someone explain their connections?

Like I get Betty is from James POV but I don't get the other two

Her name is spelled Inez 😊

Cardigan is from Betty's POV and August is from the POV of the girl James's cheated on Betty with. (Taylor said on the Disney Folklore doc she's named her Augistine.)

How absolutely ridiculous. Fair enough if you're not into her music but many of her lyrics are akin to some of the greatest poets. Again, it doesn't matter if it's not your jam but it's doolally to try and shoot down hundreds of REALLY well written songs, most of which I'm sure you don't actually know or haven't looked at the lyrics to.

I feel less strongly about Betty being purely autobiographical but I believe Cardigan and August are. Only Betty mentions any names and has the references to cardigans and cars to conveniently tie the three songs together.

If you listen to Cardigan and August separately there's not any strong references to age either but rather reflecting on the past (whereas Betty again specifies being 17).

You should draw your own conclusions about who Swift's muse(s) for Cardigan and August are though 😏

Meh - who cares what other people (who've probably only ever heard Shake It Off) think?

We know how good she is 😉

Oh @ImperialCrusade thank you for this. That ending is a killer! Dreading TTPD in some ways

I've always loved the line from Betty

"I was walking home on broken cobbled stones
just thinking of you when she pulled up
like a figment of my worst intentions"

I absolutely love "Figment of my worst intentions".

Who would be up for a TTPD thread next Friday? I don't really have any Swifties to talk to in my actual non-MN life (dh and ds just roll their eyes 😂)

As my username suggests, I'd be very up for this!

Oh and I just noticed your username too @OldHabitsDieScreaming !

Yes I will cross my fingers for a non-busy work day @OldHabitsDieScreaming! I know it's her feelings and truth and choice to tell her side, but I really hope it isn't a total ex-destroying bash. That'll be too much for me especially after the vitriol thrown around by the minority (but loud) cray cray Swifties.

Again I reckon this is Taylor gently taking the piss out of James. Yeah sure you were walking along thinking of Betty - you stropped off from her prom and then went off with the girl you knew fancied you cos you were in a mood - own it, James!

(I may be wrong)

I think she's too smart to do the obvious hatchet job @SashTea. I'm sure there's plenty she would like to say but...I reckon some of those song titles are misleading.

We shall see!

I realise you think this makes you look edgy and cool but it actually just makes you look a bit silly. You might not like her music, but she is objectively an incredibly talented and prolific songwriter.

@OldHabitsDieScreaming I'll be very happy if your thinking's correct! The songs will break my heart I'm sure, and probably more so if she's been smart, honest and graceful!