“Vigilante Sh*t” is the eighth track on Taylor Swift’s 2022 album ‘Midnights.’ The song carries off from Taylor’s ‘Reputation’ album era where she wakes up for blood and revenge. In the song, Taylor embraces her role as the vigilante in every romance story she has been involved in.
‘Midnights‘ is the tenth studio album by Taylor Swift following her ‘evermore‘ and ‘folklore‘ album releases in 2020. Announcing the album, Taylor Swift said “This is a collection of music written in the middle of the night, a journey through terrors and sweet dreams.” The album was released on October 21, 2022.
A ‘vigilante’ is a self-appointed hero fighting for a good cause they believe in. When the law or the community fails you, you have to pick up your own pitchforks and torches and fight for yourself. In the song, Taylor Swift has been betrayed and trampled by her love affairs so many times that she feels the need to stand up for herself.
Listen to “Vigilante Sh*t” by Taylor Swift
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Taylor Swift “Vigilante Sh*t” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
A revenge-infused Taylor Swift appears–another one of those midnight emotions.
After several heartbreaks in several relationships, Taylor Swift wants to pick up her own battles. She has watched from the sidelines as she keeps getting thrown under the bus for every failed relationship she has had. Should she take the blame? Or should she stand up for herself?
The last partner she had walked out on her, too. Yes, she felt sad and was heartbroken for a while. But, now she has other thoughts boiling inside of her. Maybe, they are the problem. Maybe he was the problem.
This person did some bad things that ended their relationship. But maybe he is about to realize that the worst thing he has done so far was to break Taylor’s heart and wake the monster inside her. He is about to realize this.
Taylor prepares an envelope–the age-old method of delivering bad news. It is the age of emails, but an envelope carries more weight (both physically and metaphorically). And this envelope, thick with documents inside, ends up in the hands of his new partner. He has no idea where this envelope came from, but he knows that his wife will hand him another envelope soon, one filled with divorce papers. He is about to lose his entire fortune–wife, house, and half of the rest of his wealth.
On another bright sunny day, the FBI receives an envelope from an unknown sender. The envelope contains extensive research about some white-collar fraud. Further evidence shows the subject of the envelope is a druggie too. Jail bars close on this man.
This is what Taylor does on her off days. However, Taylor does make one thing very clear. Whatever she does, she does for herself. This is not a show of unity for other vigilantes or a helping hand for other people who have suffered. All this is for her own sanity–hence the sh*t part after the vigilante crown.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.