NEW YORK: The curtain has been drawn. The stage lights are on. It’s time for “The Life of a Showgirl.”
For Taylor Swift’s most dedicated audience, a new album means new opportunities to decode Easter eggs in her lyrics and music videos. The pop superstar’s 12th studio album has no shortage of clever clues and references to her public life and discography. Many are opaque, revealing just enough to inspire a myriad of fan theories. Others are concrete – explicit names and places worth exploring. Below, you will find a guide to those instances, and how they relate to Swift.
Read on, and happy digging!
“Elizabeth Taylor”
Lyric: “That view of Portofino was on my mind / When you called me at the Plaza Athénée”
Meaning: When Swift announced her new album, she did so with the introduction of a shade she’s calling Portofino Orange Glitter after donning the color onstage during the latter part of her “Eras Tour.” “I’ve just always liked it,” she said of the hue during her first appearance on “New Heights,” the popular, typically football-focused podcast hosted by her fiancé Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason Kelce. “It feels like energetically how my life has felt. And this album is about what was going on behind the scenes in my inner life during this tour.” She and beau Kelce were spotted last year in Lake Como, Italy, but it is unclear if they spent time in nearby Portofino. Additionally, the standard version of her album is available in “sweat and vanilla perfume Portofino orange vinyl.” As for the Plaza Athénée? That’s a luxury hotel in Paris.
Lyric: “Be my NY when Hollywood hates me”
Meaning: Both locations make appearances in Swift’s songwriting. Among them: “Welcome to New York” from 2014’s “1989” and “White Horse” from 2008’s “Fearless.” She also owns property in both locations.
Lyric: “Babe, I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust … just kidding”
Meaning: In August of this year, Swift announced her engagement to Kelce by posting a carousel of images on Instagram. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the ring wasn’t the only jewelry she was showing off. She was also wearing a Cartier watch.
Lyric: “We hit the best booth at Musso & Frank’s”
Meaning: Since opening in 1919, Musso & Frank Grill has been a hot spot for celebrities in Los Angeles – embodying the kind of old school Hollywood glamor that inspired “The Life of a Showgirl” artwork.
Lyric: “All my white diamonds and lovers are forever”
Meaning: The song is titled “Elizabeth Taylor” after the classic Hollywood starlet who, in 1991, created her own perfume called “White Diamonds.”
“Ruin the Friendship”
Lyric: “You drive, 85 / Gallatin Road and the lakeside beach”
Meaning: There are several Gallatin Roads in the United States, but given the other lyrics in the song, this one likely refers to a street in Hendersonville, Tennessee, a suburb of Nashville, where Swift spent her adolescence.
Lyric: “But as the 50 Cent song played”
Meaning: A 50 Cent reference further implies this song is rooted in Swift’s teen years in the ‘00s, when the rapper was at the height of his popularity. The song also mentions “prom” and “second period,” what is typically associated with high school.
Lyric: “When I left school, I lost track of you / Abigail called me with the bad news / Goodbye”
Meaning: Abigail refers to Swift’s best friend AbigailAnderson, who she attended Hendersonville High School with. This marks the second time Abigail is mentioned in Swift’s discography: the first is the evocative “Fifteen” from “Fearless.”
“Wood”
Lyric: “Redwood tree / It ain’t hard to see”
Meaning: In Oct. 2023, Swift and Kelce made a surprise appearance at “Saturday Night Live” for a season premiere episode that featured host Pete Davidson and musical performer/friend to Swift, Ice Spice.Afterwards, “SNL” cast member Bowen Yang described the couple as the “tallest people in the world,” on the “Las Culturistas” podcast he co-hosts with comedian Matt Rogers. “I see them together, I go, ‘I am in the Redwood Forest.’” Hence, “Redwood tree.”
Lyric: “New Heights of manhood”
Meaning: “New Heights” is a direct reference to the Kelces’ podcast of the same name.
“Honey”
Lyric: “Summertime spritz, pink skies”
Meaning: Physical album variants have been a huge part of Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl” rollout, and in some ways, they appear in the lyrics of “Honey.” The color of her exclusive vinyl release with Target, “The Crowd Is Your King” edition, was described online as “summertime spritz pink shimmer.”
Lyric: “Wintergreen kiss, all mine”
Meaning: This line relates to another one of her variants: “The Shiny Bug Collection,” which is available in “violet shimmer marbled vinyl” and more relevantly, “wintergreen and onyx marbled vinyl.”
Decoding Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life a Showgirl’: A guide to her references
https://arab.news/g4c7a
Decoding Taylor Swift’s ‘The Life a Showgirl’: A guide to her references
- The album’s physical variants, like “summertime spritz pink shimmer” vinyl, also tie into the lyrics
- Lyrics mention places like Portofino and Paris, and nod to her engagement to Travis Kelce. Songs reference her past, including her teenage years in Tennessee and friendships
Viral phenomenon in Argentina has young people identifying themselves as animals
- As the movement gains traction, psychologists are stepping in to analyze the phenomenon and its place in public discourse
BUENOS AIRES: On a recent Sunday, a Buenos Aires plaza transformed into a makeshift wilderness for an unusual group of teenagers.
Sofía, wearing a lifelike beagle mask, ran across the grass on all fours. Nearby, 15-year-old Aguara leapt through the air, clearing an obstacle course while imitating the precise movements of a Belgian breed dog. Others dressed as cats and foxes perched in the branches of trees, keeping their distance from curious onlookers.
It was the latest gathering of “therians,” individuals who say they identify mentally, spiritually or psychologically with non-human animals. The trend has taken over Argentine social media over the past few months, gaining traction on platforms like TikTok, where the hashtag #therian has surpassed 2 million posts, with Argentina leading all other Latin American countries in engagement. The surge has drawn the attention of influencers and media outlets alike, sparking reactions that range from laughter and bewilderment to outright anger.
And as the movement gains traction, psychologists are stepping in to analyze the phenomenon and its place in public discourse.
Aguara, who claims to identify as a Belgian Malinois and counts her age as the equivalent of two years and two months in dog years, says she’s a lot like any other teenager.
“I wake up like a normal person and live my life like a normal person,” she said. “I simply have moments when I like being a dog.”
As the leader of what she calls her “pack,” Aguara — the name she identifies with — boasts more than 125,000 followers on TikTok and coordinates regular meetups around the Argentine capital.
Aru, a 16-year-old who wore a seal mask to the park meetup, said she considers herself part of the “otherpaw” branch of therians: individuals who wear masks and tails or move on all fours just for fun. “It’s not necessarily about identifying as an animal,” she said.
She reckons the therian trend took off in Argentina because of the country’s “fairly free” environment. For other young Argentines, the movement has provided a vital community where they can feel truly accepted.
Should parents be worried?
Débora Pedace, a psychologist and director of the Integral Therapeutic Center in Buenos Aires, acknowledged that the phenomenon generates a complex mix of confusion, laughter and even anger.
“From a psychological standpoint, this is a symbolic identification with an animal,” Pedace said. “It becomes pathological or alarming only when it turns into a deeply rooted belief and the person fully assumes the role of an animal, potentially leading to self-harm or hurting others.”
