im once again thinking of taylor uses marriage in her songs as not literally but more metaphorically to show us, the reader/listener, what she was giving and promising. cause in high infidelity she says “dragged my feet right down the aisle” which is definitely her picking a guy at the age of 25 to settle down with because that’s what everyone wanted but her choosing wrong and her being stuck cause if she broke up with him it’s all “when’s the new album taylor?” and “she can’t keep a man” and so then we get stuff like the infamous locket post i posted earlier saying “one year down”, like she just ran a marathon.

like she was talking about this relationship as like “i’m doing it i’m doing it” and not “i’m in love”… and then you hear stuff like “lock broken, slur spoken” “your picket fences sharp as knives” or even her describing being with him long term (marriage) as suffocating and draining and she felt herself slowly dying praying for something, praying for attention it love from his person she now has to be with for life… like “dragged my feet right down the aisle” “at the house lonely” “wait by the door like i’m just a little kid” “my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hands taking mine, but it’s been promised to another” “walking all over my piece of mind, in the shoes i gave you as a present” “you said i was free loading” and so much more i can’t type out cause my phones dying so tumblrs being a butt about my typing speed.

but it just makes you think… what was it like behind closed doors? what was he saying or doing to her? we know from interviews that he didn’t like going to award shows with her unless he was nominated cause he was intimidated by her. so the reference to marriage we hear in folklore and evermore (and on high infidelity) are more about this idea of being trapped in a loveless marriage by outside forces, in both instances of fake and real marriage divorce is almost like being shunned by society and shamed for it since you promised your life to each other… and she was like “no more dating around i settled down… oh wait no wrong guy”

but then when we hear references on lover it’s more sweet. like “i take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover” and the final bridge of its nice to have a friend have it been more like, she’s willing to commit to him cause she’s seen what will come of a committed relationship to someone, she knows what can be said if it doesn’t work, but she isn’t worried this time cause she picked right

i don’t think i’m explaining it right but just… taylor using marriage as more of a metaphor for her life rather than actually being married is so interesting cause marriage is supposed to be this symbolic bond between two people of love forever but it’s being used here to both trap her but also be freeing to her in other relationships