I wonder what comes into people's minds when they hear Taylor Swift. As a die hard fan who's vocal that her life revolved around her music (and her life), people never fail to identify me as "the swiftie" in the bunch-- It must be how I overshare posts about her on my personal accounts or how I'd get giddy everytime she's the topic, but for some reason, there will always be a way that I get to share to everyone about how big of a fan I am. And I'm proud, just so you know. My relationship with her is the longest I've had, Ralph can't even compete.
Almost a year ago, Lover came out. It is my favorite so far and I knew it even before it was released. I was so stoked that I'll tell my friends "N days left and there won't be 'Lover'-less days anymore!" every time I had the chance. I mean, hello, every Swiftie knows that Taylor releases new music every two years and it’s that time again. Also, you know how crazy fandoms can get when it’s album launch time... Damn crazy.
As I see it, Lover is a reminiscent of Fearless and Speak Now mixed with a whole lot of 1989. I love it, really. From the aesthetic down to the tracklist-- Lover, for me, is perfect. I had really strong feelings about it that I made a mini review based on the first few streams that I did. Now, my question, do I still feel the same about this?
We'll find out.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsIFTYE got a different vibe from her previous track 1s. A very fitting opening for an album that speaks about loving again. π #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 23, 2019
Ahhhh, I Forgot That You Existed. To be honest, I skip this a lot. I don't know, maybe it's not just my jam but still, I think it's a bop and I really enjoy listening to it on days that I actually include it in my playlist. Also, I stand by what I said-- IT IS A VERY FITTING OPENING FOR THE ALBUM.
Favorite Lyrics:
I forgot that you existed
I did, I did, I did
It isn't hate, it's just indifference
It isn't love, it isn't hate
It's just indifference
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsCruel Summer is an instant fave. Style vibe for me, but the message reminds me of Getaway Car. AGGGHHHH! Also, “I don’t wanna keep secrets just to keep you” SUCH A BADASS SONG #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 23, 2019
CRUEL SUMMER. IS. THAT BITCH. Almost a year later, this is still the number 1 song in my On Repeat playlist! I am so inlove with this song that I would always tweet about it to the point that people started listening to it too. I mean, I can't blame them, the Cruel Summer bug is real-- catchy tune + great lyrics-- ladies and gents, we have here a pop masterpiece. Thank you, Taylor Swift, for giving this to us.
Favorite Lyrics:
Said, "I'm fine", but it wasn't true
I don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you
And I, snuck in through the garden gate
Every night that summer just to seal my fate (oh)
And I screamed, "For whatever it's worth"
"I love you, ain't that the worst thing you ever heard?"
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsLover is the perfect love song. That’s it, that’s the tweet. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 23, 2019
Fight me on this one but Lover is one of the best love songs a singer has released in recent times. If you still disagree, do me a favor and watch live performances of this song. Trust me, you won't regret it. This is a great song made even better when sung live.
Favorite Lyrics:
Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?
With every guitar string scar on my hand
I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover
My heart's been borrowed and yours has been blue
All's well that ends well to end up with you
Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsI love The Man! CALLING OUT MISOGYNISTS / THE PATRIARCHY WITH A BOP?!?! Ugh, her mind. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 23, 2019
I still love The Man! Although it didn't get the attention it deserves, at least we have something great to refer to every time we need a song that entails women empowerment. Also, an equally good acoustic version of this was performed live in London during the City of Lover concert!
Favorite Lyrics:
If I was out flashin' my dollars
I'd be a bitch, not a baller
They'd paint me out to be bad
So it's okay that I'm mad
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsThe Archer may not be my fave but the feels π― Especially when she performed it live! #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
I am actually in a love-hate relationship with The Archer. I'd skip it, yes, but not its live versions. Meh. Still one of my least favorite, I'm so sorry.
Favorite Lyrics:
I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost
The room is on fire, invisible smoke
And all of my heroes die all alone
Help me hold onto you
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsUpon my initial hearing, I’ve decided that I Think He Knows is a skip. I TAKE IT BACK NOW. Prolly just not my go-to jam yet but the lyrics are actually nice! Very 1989 Taylor. HYGTG vibe lol. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
I'm apologize, I Think He Knows, for thinking that you are a skip. YOU ARE NOT A SKIP. It's just that you are an acquired taste. LOL. Kidding aside, this is one of those fun songs that you dig deep and realize that oh, it's actually a naughty flirty song hidden behind a really good pop tune. Genius.
Favorite Lyrics:
Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh
We can follow the sparks, I'll drive
So where we gonna go?
I whisper in the dark
Where we gonna go?
I think he knows
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsMISS AMERICANA & THE HEARTBREAK PRINCE IS UP THERE ON THE TOP. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Yep, Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince is up there on top. Aaaannnndddd, almost a year later, I still don't have much to say. Sure, it's a good song, but not really the kind I'd listen to again and again. I won't skip it but I won't look for it either. But it's still good.
Favorite Lyrics:
My team is losing
Battered and bruising
I see the high fives
Between the bad guys
Leave with my head hung
You are the only one
Who seems to care
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsPaper Rings is an easy fave! It sounds like it came from early 2000s but that’s the charm! Baby Spice kinda charming. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Everytime Paper Rings would play, Amanda Bynes' What A Girl Wants poster would come into my mind. I don't know, for me it has that vibe-- carefree, fun, and chic. I still love this song. Though I've seen stans on Twitter saying that it doesn't fit the album 'cause apparently, it's too "childish", I think its peculiarity is what makes it stand out especially on the first few times you'll listen to the album. Although yes, I agree that amidst being a cute bop, listening to it again and again will make you grow tired of the song. Still, you'll love when it randomly pops up on your playlist that you won't be able to resist its charm.
Favorite Lyrics:
I like shiny things, but I'd marry you with paper rings
Uh huh, that's right
Darling, you're the one I want, and
I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this
Uh huh, that's right
Darling, you're the one I want, and
Paper rings and picture frames and all my dreams
You're the one I want, and
Paper rings and picture frames and all my dreams
Oh, you're the one I want
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsCORNELIA STREET IS GOD-TIER. It’s up there with All Too Well, Clean, and whatever is up there. This is already timeless, I hope she doesn’t make this a single, I want this only for myself HAHAHAHAHAHAHA #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Cornelia Street really is god-tier. Have you heard the live version of this song? Man, it was so good that there's not a day that I didn't listen to it when they made it available on Spotify. I'm actually really speechless right now but I stand by what I said. It's a classic and this is one of my top favorite songs of all time.
Favorite Lyrics:
Barefoot in the kitchen
Sacred new beginnings
That became my religion, listen
I hope I never lose you
I'd never walk Cornelia Street again
Oh, never again
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsOk, Death by a Thousand Cuts, we see you. You are a helluva song too but I’m sure it ain’t gon be a single. Fine with that tho, I loved the lyrics, and eversince I’d rather not share lyrically nice T Swift songs to everyone. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Ok, I was right about this not being a single but it's one of the few, lucky ones that has been performed live and has a really good acoustic version. Also, Death by a Thousand Cuts is a grower! A few listens and realizations here and there made me love this even more. I also watched Someone Great, the film where Tay drew inspo from and I loved it just as much.
Favorite Lyrics:
My heart, my hips, my body, my love
Tryna find a part of me that you didn't touch
Gave up on me like I was a bad drug
Now I'm searching for signs in a haunted club
Our songs, our films, united, we stand
Our country, guess it was a lawless land
Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand
Paper cut stings from our paper-thin plans
My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust
Tryna find a part of me you didn't take up
Gave you so much, but it wasn't enough
But I'll be alright, it's just a thousand cuts
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsLondon Boy is a cute bop! Love the London references too. My song for Tom Holland. JK HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAA #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
I still find London Boy cute but I grew quite tired of it. Well, except the rap part, but still.
Favorite Lyrics:
Show me a gray sky, a rainy cab ride
Babe, don't threaten me with a good time
They say home is where the heart is
But God, I love the English
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsSoon You’ll Get Better is The Best Day and Never Grow Up’s older sister. I teared up. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
This is prolly the most emotional song in the album and we all know why. Soon You'll Get Better still affects me one year later and I still think it's hauntingly good.
Favorite Lyrics:
Desperate people find faith, so now I pray to Jesus too
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsFalse God is this album’s So It Goes.... I’d like this in time, lol. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Aaaaaand, False God, it's almost your time. Lol, I kid you not. I don't listen to this quite often but I've grown to appreciate it more.
Favorite Lyrics:
I know heaven's a thing
I go there when you touch me, honey
Hell is when I fight with you
But we can patch it up good
Make confessions and we're begging for forgiveness
Got the wine for you
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsYou Need To Calm Down, hmmmm, prolly not the best but the advocacy π― #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Same feels for You Need To Calm Down. Next!
Favorite Lyrics:
Say it in the street, that's a knock-out
But you say it in a Tweet, that's a cop-out
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsI LOVE AFTERGLOW OK #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Still on top, one year later. There's just something with Afterglow that makes it beautiful-- the remorse within the lyrics, the sound, I really don't know. To be honest, though, it's just in the middle of my list because I don't think I felt anything when I heard it the first time. It's part of the criteria, okay!
Favorite Lyrics:
It's so excruciating to see you low
Just wanna lift you up and not let you go
This ultraviolet morning light below
Tells me this love is worth the fight, oh
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsAlbum version ME! is better! Still one of my faves from the album and definitely one of the best lead singles. #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Lol, what was I saying? I like ME! but I think I over exaggerated it that time. I grew tired of the song a year later but I'm still not skipping it because I think it's a nice song to dance to.
Favorite Lyrics:
I know I tend to make it about me
I know you never get just what you see
But I will never bore you, baby
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsIt’s Nice to Have A Friend definitely reminds me of You Are in Love. The beauty of simplicity in storytelling. Aaahhhh #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
Ok, so, It's Nice to Have a Friend is a good song but guess what? I STILL CAN'T MEMORIZE THE LYRICS ALMOST A YEAR LATER. I'd listen to it from time to time but yeah. I hope it finds its way to my heart.
Favorite Lyrics:
Church bells ring, carry me home
Rice on the ground looks like snow
Call my bluff, call you "babe"
Have my back, yeah, everyday
Feels like home, stay in bed
The whole weekend
It's nice to have a friend
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsI have no words for Daylight. I love it, it’s the perfect album ender. Tay’s finally happy and I’m happy that she is π₯Ίπ₯° #Lover
— J ✨ (@notjoannelalim) August 24, 2019
If you're looking for a song that tackles contentment and finally being happy, this is it. Guess it's safe to say that Daylight is on my top 3 favorites on the album. C'mon, what's not to like? Aside from being a lyrical masterpiece, its sound would make you want to listen to it. Also, it is actually parallel to Red, another of Tay's masterpiece, and their contrasts made this song even more sensible. There was also a damn good mash-up of them in the City of Lover! Listen to it if you want a good cry.
Favorite Lyrics:
I don't wanna look at anything else now that I saw you
(I can never look away)
I don't wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you
(Things will never be the same)
I've been sleepin' so long in a twenty-year dark night
(Now I'm wide awake)
And now I see daylight (I see daylight)
I only see daylight (oh)
Unknowingly, it's the Lover era's last day because out of nowhere, Taylor caught us off guard and announced that she'll release a new album today! As much as we are stoked, I know in my heart that I'm still not ready to get over Lover’s greatness. But what better way to celebrate it by posting and editing a rough draft that has been sleeping on my drafts for quite a long time now, yes? Yes!
Lover, you have my most favorite songs and prolly, the most feels I have for a song. You are one of the bests and you deserve a recognition. You are album of the year and I’m sorry that people failed to recognize that. You are probably Taylor's shortest era but you'll live long enough in the records to make an impact to everyone who listens to your greatness. Know that you’ll always hold a special place in my heart, so as the person I dedicate you to. It was a really good run and you deserve better. Thank you and I love you!