It’s been a week since Blondie dropped her bombshell of an anthem on us.

Two years on from pandemic projects Evermore and Folklore Swift is back, taking on us all on a journey through time.We explore diary entries, a first hand point of view of Taylor’s kaleidoscope psyche. Her insecurities are ours, her heartbreak helps us heal, vengeance is a song best sung.

She has been both villain and victim, hero and heroine, a cognitive dissonance of colourful characters, finally learning to love all facets of herself. Outside of the girls next door, revolving relationship door lover, narrative that has shaped Swift’s shadow since her debut album taylor Swift in 2006, that she is still trying to shake off, Swift is everyone of us.There is a scarf somewhere in everyone’s life, a snake in the shadows and a mirror that we can’t quite look into, whether that be a pane of glass, a mother or a father, Swifts songs speak to the souls that have been scorned and rejected.

We are not always the protagonist in our life, sometimes the villain, a side character or the anti-hero. We spend our depressive adolescences blaming the world for the way we are, we dye our hair, we darken our nails, sign petitions and wish for change, In our early adult years, stretching out new skin carrying our selves in suitcases as we travel from each fleeting dwelling like a nomad in the search for who were are, we turn inwards, questing whether we are the problem. Is addressing this possibility enough to tackle it? No. Ironically Taylor’s music video for this single received widespread backlash after viewers found a scene to be fatphobic.

Swift steps onto some scales which spin to reveal the words fat. Swift has previously discussed her issues with self image, exacerbated by paparazzi and media perpetuating her proportions, she would either be too skinny or too fat, she would never be enough.This scale is the personification of herself, telling her not to eat, telling her to sweat it out because she feels she is too big, too much. Being fat is not necessarily a bad thing, just as being skinny is not necessarily a good thing as both can be unhealthy but this scene was meant to portray Swift as the anti-hero, ‘starve yourself to avoid ridicule, starve yourself to stay alive’ which is obviously not the correct message , it is not Swift saying she is fat it is the villanised version of herself trying to convince her she is.Swift has since responded to the backlash by removing this particular scene from the video.

Seeing Taylor live during her red tour in 2014 solidified my love for her lyricism. The raw poetry, ink bleeding into a page as tears run down a scrunched up face, the power in each word a weapon, a victory. Karma is my most beloved Taylor Swift song to date so much so I was singling a long to it by the second verse. Revenge does not have to be a meticulous plan , with decoys and burner phones, it does not have to be violence it can be your victories.Yes they burned you but you ar eon fire, new car, new job, heart healed and love found. You do not need to hurt somebody to feel good, do good to feel good.as Swift puts it Karma can be as simple as ‘A relaxing thought’.

She also taught us the former. Found some dirt on someone you can now bury? An ex cheated on you but you’ve got proof of them misbehaving at work? Drop them in it. Someone buys you a drink and stories your leg, leans in for a kiss and you say yes. In the morning the remind you they have a family? Find their phone, tell those people. Vigilante Shit, a dark enigma that is cutthroat on concise in telling you Swift is not the villain, she’s the mastermind , you might be able to trip he run but she’ll knock you down and take your wife too.The jazz sequel ending to this song adds a more appealing ambiguous edge to the bold bass of the track. This song definitely wears the violent fantasies of midnight and the arguments we have in the shower. Many fans believe this track is hint to Taylor Swifts amplified relationship with Ye and Kim- Kim and Swift are now friends whereas Ye has seemingly lost it all. What do you think?

Speaking of taking back power, Swift proves she is still the light in this dark night, shimmering stars that carpet the sky as we lay awake and try not to cry, through rage, through loss there are diamonds. Water reflects light so let yourself cry whilst you chase those jewels, do it all for you. Fifteen years of songwriting and storytelling and Swift is still shining, eyes bright, posture bold, she may feel like a monster on that hill but with that height you’re close enough to the stars to be considered part of the solar system.