taylor really solidified the theme of feeling like her ex-partners don’t show her the grace or the kindness she tries to show them, and she feels let down by them. don’t you…foolish one… ibytam… is it over now…
not even just heartbreak but emotion period. she was trying in life and in her image during 1989 to be cool and level-headed and not even publicly dating (and it may have helped her feel more sane too) but it also didn’t reflect how she was feeling and idk hearing her scream “i love you” or that say she’s gonna hurt herself to get attention (not actually do it) idk i just??? it’s so real of her. and i get why she locked it away. it’s harder. especially when the world is listening. but i’m so happy we get to hear it.
It strikes me again how much EEAAO is centered around its Asian American-ness and Joy’s queerness in ways that also don’t make the movie just about that. They are so, so integral to the core of the movie that you cannot have this movie with those factors but they are also not the only factors and they are so clearly NOT tokenistic in ways that movies such as Shang-Chi were. The movie wasn’t about queerness and Asian American-ness but built itself on those foundations and salkdfjdslkjfsdlkjfdslkjf it’s so good
“I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, between the ages of 18 and 20. The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness. I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing… and living to speak about it.”
Words can break someone into a million pieces, but they can also put them back together. I hope you use yours for good, because the only words you’ll regret more than the ones left unsaid are the ones you use to intentionally hurt someone. What you say might be too much for some people. Maybe it will come out all wrong and you’ll stutter and you’ll walk away embarrassed, wincing as you play it all back in your head. But I think the words you stop yourself from saying are the ones that will haunt you the longest. So say it to them. Or say it to yourself in the mirror. Say it in a letter you’ll never send or in a book millions might read someday. I think you deserve to look back on your life without a chorus of resounding voices saying ‘I could’ve, but it’s too late now.’ There is a time for silence. There is a time waiting your turn. But if you know how you feel, and you so clearly know what you need to say, you’ll know it. I don’t think you should wait. I think you should speak now.
Cruel Summer, that song was my pride and joy on that album, that was my favourite song! — Taylor Swift (June 17, 2023)
CRUELSUMMER is the fifth single from Taylor Swift’s seventh studio album Lover. Initially an album track, it was released on August 23, 2019 and debuted at #29 on the Billboard Hot 100. Critically acclaimed and a fan-favourite, the song was released as a single on June 20, 2023 after a resurgence due to The Eras Tour. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated October 28, 2023, more than four years after its initial release and is the first from Lover and Taylor’s 10th #1 single.
There is a time for silence. There is a time waiting your turn. But if
you know how you feel, and you so clearly know what you need to say,
you’ll know it. I don’t think you should wait. I think you should speak now
