LYRIC ANALYSIS 2 By Dawid Tomczuk

TAYLOR SWIFT – BLANK SPACE

"Blank Space" is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her fifth studio album 1989 (2014). It was written by Swift, Max Martin and Shellback. The song was released to the radio by Republic Records on November 10, 2014 as the album's second single, after "Shake It Off" and is the second track on the album. Musically, "Blank Space" is a electropop song with lyrics that satirize the media's perception of Swift and her relationships.[1]

"Blank Space" was a critical and commercial success, having reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 following "Shake It Off". Swift became the first woman in the Hot 100's 56-year history to succeed herself at the top spot.It has also been included in numerous year-end critics' lists. The song has also topped charts in Canada, South Africa and Australia. It also charted in the top-10in numerous countries, such as Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, New Zealand, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

VERSE 1The song begins with an indirect sentence which gives the connotation of Taylor Swift being flirtatious towards her audience and her “prince charming” character portrayed within the music video. This could interlink with Andrew Goodwin’s “Relationship between lyrics and visuals” theory which reflects her narrative video. This can be seen by her questioning her Prince Charming “Where have you been?”. The antithesis between words such as magic, madness, heaven and sin foreshadow her relationship towards her chosen partner. She shows us that their approach towards each other could be contrasted as being in heaven or make it feel like magic. On the other hand she refers to their love as “madness” or “sin” due to the fact that she believes boys are considere4d as trouble, regardless to committing sins. By the use of such contrasting words she promising that their relationship will be full of extravagant events; fluctuating between wonderful and horrible.The next line which says “Saw you there and I thought Oh my God, look at that face” shows the audience that she couldn’t keep her eyes of the person she saw due to him being good looking. This additionally refers back to her previous boyfriends such as Harry Styles and Zac Efron, who are known from their public figure status and their looks. This then continues to her attitude changing, showing her as a individual who is ready to commit, regardless of it being her “next mistake” as she says in the text. Her next line compares love to a game where she is asking her partner “want to play?”, meaning she could not possibly consider love seriously and wants to experiment. “New money, suit & tie, I can read you like a magazine” this line carries on her materialistic view as she emphasises the mans looks and wealthiness, judging him by what he can afford and how he looks showing the exact opposite of a successful relationship; being a materialistic individual. She has deliberately used the word “magazine”, as it shows how rapid and judgemental people can be for other. I believe that this message can also suit her due to the fact that todays media portray Taylor as an individual who has only dated individuals who are affluent, which is not true. Concluding her thoughts she sums up her views by saying “So hey, lets be friends” by which she reveals her main theme. It is not about drastically jumping into a relationship, it’s all about getting to know each other by being “friends” and then gradually move towards each other. The last three lines of the first verse show her approach to her perfect relationship by being adventurous and careless of what the next day brings which brings excitement, however she clearly knows it wont last for long which she knows from looking back at her previous relationships.

CHORUS & BRIDGEFrom the very first sentence we can see that Taylor continues the same mind set as she had in the first verse. She shows the audience and her future partner that their love can either last and be forever lasting or can easily be considered just as a fling and as a result “go down in flames”. I believe this sentence has a message to her celebrity ex-boyfriends due to their relationships lasting for a short period of time and mainly being exaggerated by the media; not suiting her expectations. In this line she refers back to her “Picture to burn” single by mentioning flames which reinforces Andrew Goodwin’s theory of Intertextual reference. “If the high was worth the pain” was a very clever use of metaphor used by Taylor by which she addresses the uplifting and thrilling feeling of love which then as a result could end in “pain” as most of her relationships ended, which she then refers to in the next line. After all her bad experiences, she states that she still loves guys who treat her like a “game”, something they have to be intrigued into and strategic. She feels that she is designed for players due to her stating “I love the players” therefore it is unusual for her that she desires a relationship, that she knows will have a horrible ending. Taylor says that by them being young and unexperienced they may go too far with their love and passion for each other, and without them being careful they will fall for each other further than they have expected which may lead to them being tired and exhausted or lead to a unpleasant experience. The last line of the chorus is quite confusing and in my opinion can be considered as a sarcasm. Taylor specifies that she has a “blank space” which to the audience could hint her long list of her ex-boyfriends. She specifies that “I’ll write your name” meaning that in this song she is portrayed as the dominant character, and you are her desire therefore she will strive for you. By her putting your name on her list means that you will experience her love and thrilling life together however at the end of the day, you will be another partner she has on her list.

The bridge which she include in between her choruses can be portrayed by her future lover as a challenge or a warning. By this bridge Taylor states that boys mainly look for girls who cause trouble

and are exaggerative, not paying attention to those who are quiet. As a result of this she tells her future lover that the “love” trip he will have with her would be full of concern and her being frustrating to her

partner. If the relationship occurs, he has to be ready to take on what Taylor will offer him; a wild experience.

VERSE 2The first two lines of the second verse portray a child-like approach. Taylor states that their relationship can consist of “stolen kisses” or them being their King and Queen which makes the media portray Taylor as a childish character. The use of phrases such as “cherry lips” and “pretty lies” show us that Taylor shows herself as nothing but her pretty looks, which additionally emphasises her flirtatious approach. Moreover, Taylor’s message specifies that she may look naive and cute from the outside however on the inside she is a psycho-girlfriend which can hurt her partner, therefore she has used the “Rose garden filled with thorns” comparison in her lyrics. By this she tells the audience that she is a dominant character which contradicts with her looks. Taylor then carries on with portraying what the bad side of their relationship can look like. “Screaming, crying, perfect storms” show us her bad side; her bad temper. She says she is capable of many things comparing herself to a perfect storm, where crying refers to raining and screaming to thunder. As a result this allows the audience to easily visualise her as a psycho-girlfriend in their heads. Her bad temper is additionally visualised by the visuals which she includes in the music video which fits into Andrew Goodwin’s theory of “relationship between lyrics and visuals”. In the video we can see her arguing with her prince charming, pushing each other or her even cutting a paining of him with a knife showing how dangerous she is. The ending to the verse is meant to be viewed ironically, as the rest of the verse as she portrays herself same as the media does. Taylor portrays herself as a character who attract men by her looks therefore she refers to a “daydream”, as she shows herself as a good looking woman. However when the man commits into the relationship she then reveals her dark side, becoming a “nightmare” due to her being considered as a psycho.