Folklore

the folk story of betty and james

The Story of Betty and James

Taylor Swift’s folklore was a surprise album, written over the course of quarantine and released on July 24th, 2020. As her 8th studio album, folklore portrays an aspect of story telling unlike any prior record she has put out. And, as she is the storytelling queen, it takes her lyrical composure to a whole new level.

I wanted to share my theory of what story the album tells (folklore’s all encompassing ‘folklore’). I was sitting outside one day, listening to this album on repeat for a good few hours, when I had a full blown “epiphany” - get it? (maybe not yet, but you will) - and jotted this entire theory into my notes app. And I know I’m not (that) crazy for making this, because the rest of the internet has been creating similar ones. The connections throughout each of the tracks really are undeniable,

but they also each have such a strong duality to where it seems like the meaning can’t just be this one thing I came up with. That being said, this is the only theory about the album I will ever fully believe - but I think that could be the point? For the connections and storyline and character development to all be this totally ambiguous set of tracks that are solely meant for unique audience interpretation?

"A tale that becomes folklore is one that is passed down and whispered around. Sometimes even sung about. The lines between fantasy and reality blur and the boundaries between truth and fiction become almost indiscernible. Speculation, over time, becomes fact. Myths, ghost stories, and fables”

- Taylor Swift

If this isn’t proof that Taylor totally meant for this theory to be made, I don’t know what is. But anyways this is my interpretation of it, whether she wanted it or not.

Seven

“seven” tells of taylor’s childhood and her memories of growing up in Pennsylvania. It shows her growth and the changes throughout her life, yet also focuses on the things that have stayed the same. This song and each song that follows, as Taylor says, “started with imagery” - the visual for this one in particular being inspired by “the tree swing in the woods of [her] childhood.”

please picture me in the trees, I hit my peak at seven feet in the swing over the creek, I was too scared to jump in. But I was high in the sky, with Pennsylvania under me. Are there still beautiful things?"

In mentioning the presence of folk stories in her childhood, she suggests how the folk songs all connect to her own life. This introduces the folk story of Betty and James that follows.

“and just like a folk song, our love will be passed on”

there is a lot to unpack here - stay with me.

betty

This track introduces the characters within this folklore in a first person story telling format from the perspective of of a teenage boy - James - and his view of the high school love triangle he got himself into. It acts as James’ apology for his ignorance and betrayal, as he realizes his mistakes in cheating on Betty, and hopes to win her back.

“the worst thing that I ever did was what I did to you”

James describe the night of the school dance the previous year, when it all began.

“betty, I know where it all went wrong your favorite song was playing from the far side of the gym. I was nowhere to be found I hate, the crowds you know that, plus I saw you dance with him”

“I was walking home on broken cobblestones just thinking of you when she pulled up like the figment of my worst intentions. She said ‘James get in, let’s drive.’ Those days turned into nights. Slept next to her, but I dreamt of you all summer long”

James has finally come to terms with the foolishness of his actions, and is finally finding the words to say to Betty as his apology. The track ends on a hopeful note in describing how James is praying Betty will react.

“betty I'm here on your doorstep and I planned it out for weeks now but it's finally sinking in. . . the only thing I want to do is make it up to you. So I showed up at your party, will you have me? will you love me?”

mirrorball

Told from the perspective of the other woman within this love triangle, “mirrorball” describes a flashback to the story of the school dance “where it all went wrong” for James. However, for this woman - who Taylor never names throughout the record, but who she admits she likes to call ’Augustine’ - it is the start of a love story that she desperately wants to be real.

“hush, when no one is around my dear, you'll find me on my tallest tip toes, spinning in my highest heels, love, shining just for you. Hush, I know they said the end is near. . .”

“and when I break it’s in a million pieces”

The end is foreshadowed, but she ignores its doomed fate.

“and I’m still a believer, and I don’t know why. I’ve never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try. . . I’m still trying everything to get you looking at me.”

In showing this side of the story, it shows the intense and completely real feelings that Augustine has for James, rather than painting her out to be the one to point the blame to. In this track and throughout the entire record, Taylor depicts the entire story from every angle - and clearly shows that James is the one being foolish here.

august

“remember when I pulled up and said ‘get in the car’?”

In continuing the story line of Augustine, “august” - her name is fitting, right? - describes her summer spent with James.

“salt air and the rust on your door, I never needed anything more. Whispers of ‘Are you sure? Never have I ever before.’”

Her description suggests that she knew it was wrong, but she still desperately wanted it to be real.

“for me it was enough to live for the hope of it all, cancel plans just in case you’d call and say 'meet me behind the mall'”

“I can see us lost in the memory august sipped away like a bottle of wine, ‘cause you were never mine”

She reveals that she knew all along that their relationship ending was inevitable, and that she had always been ‘the other girl’ to him.

“so much for summer love, saying 'us', ‘cause you weren’t mine to lose”

cardigan

Betty’s account of things are revealed in “cardigan" as she parallels the structure of ‘betty’ in sharing her view of the school dance and the events that follow, yet through a heightened level of sophistication and wisdom.

“high heels on cobblestones, when you are young they assume you know nothing, but I knew you”

She describes how James’ actions hurt her. She knew his feelings for her were real, yet that is exactly what made his betrayal so painful.

“and when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone bed, you put me on and said I was your favorite”

Foreshadowing of their fate and inevitable futures apart appears throughout this song, hinting that their love will still linger. This is yet another example of Taylor’s extremely real depiction of the messiness of life and love.

“chase two girls, lose the one. . . I knew you’d haunt all of my what-ifs”

Finally, the timeline meets with the end of Betty to reveal a much more somber tone of her party that James shows up at.

“I knew you’d miss me once the thrill expired and you’d be standing in my front porch light and I knew you’d come back to me”

illicit affairs

“illicit affairs” details a heartbreaking recount of Augustine’s experience throughout all of this.

“tell yourself you can always stop. what started in beautiful rooms, ends with meetings in parking lots”

Yet again her side of the story is revealed, as she takes responsibility for her actions, while also admitting her fragility and vulnerability at the start of it.

“That’s the thing about illicit affairs, and clandestine meetings, and longing stares: it's born from just one single glance but it dies, and it dies, and it dies, a million little times“

“and you want to scream don’t call me kid don’t call me baby look at this god forsaken mess that you made me. You showed me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else”

The love she had for James is made even more clear throughout this song, and this is what makes the story all the more heartbreaking and real.

“and you know damn well for you I would ruin myself a million little times”

exile

“I can see you standing, honey, with his arms around your body, laughing but the jokes not funny at all”

In “exile" the reality of the situation finally sinks in for James when he walks up to Betty’s front porch at her party. This track finally shows the official end to Betty and James' relationship.

“And it took you five whole minutes to pack us up and leave me in it, holding all this love out here in the hall”

What started as a hopeful attempt to win her back by showing up at her party, now ends with the harsh reality that Betty can’t let him back into her life.

"I think I’ve seen this film before, and I didn’t like the ending. You’re not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending now? You were my town now I’m in exile seeing you out."

This film analogy appears many times throughout the album, showing a common theme of fiction vs. reality within many of the tracks. In this song in particular, the storyline has finally broken from its dream-like scenarios and reveals that life isn't all happy endings.

this is me trying

“this is me trying” recalls the events of “exile" and shows James struggling with learning to cope with heartbreak. It is here that he finally shows his own vulnerability, and how he tried and is trying to make amends for his actions.

”and maybe I don’t quite know what to say but I'm here in your doorway and I just wanted you to know that this is me trying. I just wanted you to know, this is me trying”

Yet inevitably, this is a harsh reality that James has to face. Although it is clear Betty is not entirely moved on, she also shows that she needs to be without him for her own sake. And this party is where he comes to discover that.

"and my words shoot to kill when I'm mad, I have a lot of regrets about that"

This song not only shows his regrets in his actions that caused him to lose Betty, but also his regrets in how he reacted at the party.

“and it's hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound, its hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you”

“this is me trying" as a whole depicts the message of trying to cope with struggles in life, from the loss of a true love to addiction and substance abuse. Although in the context of this theory it is about James and him losing the trust of the person he truly loves, it involves many levels of pain that make it so incredibly real and relatable for so many people experiencing hardships.

“I didn’t know if you’d care if I came back, I had a lot of regrets about that”

“you’re a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town”

mad woman

“what did you think I’d say to that? Does the scorpion sting when fighting back? They strike to kill, and you know I will.”

In response to James’ words that “shoot to kill,” Betty’s anger in how he hurt and damaged her is revealed in “mad woman.”

"every time you call me crazy I get more crazy, what about that?"

"and there's nothing like a mad woman, what a shame she went mad. No one likes a mad woman, you made her like that"

With this song, we again see how there is two sides to every story, and how as much as James' words and actions damaged himself, they hurt her too. This song is a powerful message on the common response to female rage within society, and how it diminishes the anger that is rightfully felt.

"they say 'move on' but you know I won't"

the 1

"I'm doing good, I'm on some new shit, having adventures on my own. I thought I saw you at the bus stop, I didn’t though."

This song parallels “this is me trying" in showing Betty's feelings and how she is doing now as she looks back at their history together. The song as a whole is upbeat, showing Betty's strength in not letting her heartbreak and anger affect her anymore. However, it's a song made entirely of her “what-ifs," suggesting that she will never fully be over him.

“I guess you never know, never know. And it’s another day waking up alone. But we were something, don’t you think so?”

"persist, and resist the temptation to ask you if one thing had been different, would everything be different today?"

She still shows that she has this constant battle to resist falling back into temptation, and this makes it clear that her love for James will always be a part of her.

"Rosé flowing with your chosen family, and it would’ve been sweet if it would’ve been me."

peace

“our coming of age has come and gone, finally this summer it’s clear”

James finally shows his growth out of this heartbreak, as he shares that although he still loves Betty, he knows he wouldn't be good for her.

“the rain is always gonna come, if you’re standing with me. Would it be enough, if I could never give you peace?”

“You know that I'd swing with you from the fences, sit with you in the trenches”

James comes to terms with his prior hopelessness, and decides to enlist in the war. This begins the battle rhetoric in this track and the tracks to follow.

“I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm, if your cascade ocean wave blues come.”

This song is also an introduction to another theme of fire throughout many of the tracks, yet again showing how they are damaging to eachother, despite their good intentions.

hoax

“my only one, my smoking gun, my eclipsed sun, this has broken me down”

“hoax" describes Betty's struggle with coping with losing James, as it shows the other side to her daily battle of choosing herself over her lost love.

“Stood on the cliffside screaming give me a reason, your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in”

In this song, we see how her feelings sometimes still overcome her better judgment.

“don’t want no other shade of blue but you, no other sadness in the world would do”

Even when admitting that she knows the pain that comes along with it, she still has a part of her that wants him back.

“you knew the hero died so what’s the movie for?”

Taylor again uses the themes of film and fire to connect the storylines in showing its complexities.

“I’m ash from your fire”

epiphany

“Keep your helmet, keep your life, son. Just a flesh wound, here’s your rifle”

“epiphany" shows the “somethings you can't speak about" in battles, as James continues to serve in the war.

“Crawling up the beaches now. Sir, I think he’s bleeding out. And somethings you just can't speak about”

“With you I serve, with you I fall down. Watch you breathe in, watch you breathing out"

In a heartbreaking close to James' storyarch, it is revealed that he dies from battle injuries.

“Only twenty minutes to sleep, but you dream of some epiphany. Just one single glimpse of relief to make some sense of what you’ve seen"

Taylor also discusses this song as it relates to her Grandpa who fought in a war, who suffered PTSD and wasn't able to talk about what he saw in battle.

my tears ricochet

“we gather here, we line up, we’ve been in a sunlit room. If im on fire, you’ll be made of ashes too”

Within “my tears ricochet," Betty attends James' wake. As Betty mourns and reconciles with her forever lost love, she also seems to find some sort of peace amidst all of her pain.

“I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace, and you’re the hero flying around saving face. And if im dead to you why are you at the wake? Cursing my name, wishing I’d stayed, look at how my tears ricochet.”

“and I still talk to you, when I’m screaming at the sky, and when you can’t sleep at night, you’ll hear my stolen lullaby”

The narrator alternates between James and Betty throughout the song, showing an element of them talking to eachother despite them not being able to be with eachother anymore.

“because I loved you, I swear I loved you, ’til my dying day. . . you had to kill me but it killed you just the same”

the last great american dynasty

In an attempt to leave her old life behind, after James’ funeral, Betty decides to leave her hometown in St. Louis, move to Rhode Island, and go by her full name, Rebekah.

“Rebekah rolled up on the afternoon train, it was sunny, her saltbox house on the coast took her mind off St. Louis."

This song reveals that the story arch of the album all along has been about Rebekah (Betty) Harkness, an American composer and founder of the Harkness Ballet.

“Bill was the heir to the standard oil name and money.”

Rebekah married Bill, a known name in this new town, and inherited his wealth along with it. This inheritance made her one of the wealthiest women in America at the time, and sparked her career in involvement with the arts.

“they picked out a home and called it 'Holiday House'. . . it must’ve been her fault his heart gave out”

When Bill died, she adapted to a new lifestyle, and even became known for many eccentric actions, such as stealing her neighbors cat and dying it green.

“And they said: 'there goes the last great American dynasty. . . There goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen.’ She had a marvelous time ruining everything.”

As Rebekah’s story rears its end, Taylor at last reveals her connection to Rebekah. Taylor’s mansion on the coast in Rhode Island was previously owned by her.

“free of women with madness, their men and bad habits, and then it was bought by me.”

Taylor's shows her similarities to Rebekah in how their neighbors and the media perceived them, showing yet another glimpse of how their lives connect.

invisible string

In continuing this timeline that the folklore creates, taylor catches up to the present day in showing a glimpse of her own life and her now 4 year relationship with Joe Alwyn.

“Bold was the waitress on our three year trip getting lunch down by The Lakes, she said I looked like an American singer”

“All along there was some invisible string, tying you to me.”

Although largely about her and Joe’s relationship, this song proves the theme of the record being how fiction and reality overlap. The song’s message of fait and unexpected connections relates both to her own journey in life, as well as her connections to the journey of Rebekah’s life.

the lakes

“Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die”

As aforementioned in the previous track, the lakes are a reference to the Lake District in northwest England, where Joe, being from England himself, took Taylor for their 3rd anniversary.

"I don’t belong, and my beloved neither do you. Those windermere peaks look like the perfect place to cry. Im setting off, but not without my muse."

“I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet, ‘cause I haven’t moved in years, and I want you right here”

Known mainly as the escape spot for 19th century artists and poets, The Lakes represent the theme of escapism that Taylor embeds throughout much of this record. The song is the perfect end to this folklore and this album, as is shows her growth and readiness for change in life, and how everything before has lead her to this point.

“I’ve come too far to watch some name-dropping sleaze tell me what are my Wordsworth”

to be continued with. . .

Evermore