Taylor Swift has been called many names throughout her career, from the ‘greatest pop icon of this century’ to a ‘sl*t’ and many other names and titles in between. Taylor’s music career is as clean as it gets. In fact, this song is the first song in her almost two-decade career to contain a proper swear word. And this, too, is out of necessity.
“Sl*t!” is a song from Taylor Swift’s ‘1989 (Taylor’s Version)’ album, released on October 27, 2023, exactly 9 years after the original album release. Announcing the new album, Taylor Swift said “I was born in 1989, reinvented for the first time in 2014, and a part of me was reclaimed in 2023 with the re-release of the album I love so dearly… This moment is a reflection of the woods we’ve wandered through and all this love between us still glowing in the darkest dark.”
This song focuses on embracing the stones thrown at Taylor Swift for the number of relationships she had in the past. The media went berzerk over her relationships with A-list stars and how short they seemed to last each time. Somehow, Taylor Swift got painted as the bad guy coming out of these relationships. The media crowned her a ‘serial dater’ and this song is about wearing that thorny crown.
Listen to “Sl*t!” by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift “Sl*t!” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
On a Tumblr note, Taylor Swift said “I kind of cheekly play on the discussions at that time of my life around my dating life” in this song. In the original release of the ‘1989’ album, this song had to compete with “Blank Space” which had a similar theme, and the latter won.
In the lyrics to “Sl*t!,” Taylor Swift explains how she used to fall in love rather easily. Every relationship she has been in was out of something more than just sex. Regardless, she gets labeled the girl who can’t keep a man around. She gets called a prude.
Funny enough, her ex-partners receive no labels in the aftermath of their relationships. For them, it is normal, or even a highlight reel for having dated and bedded the infamous Taylor Swift. For Taylor, it seemed like a lose-lose deal for so long.
Love thorns all over this rose
I’ll pay the price, you won’t
Taylor Swift says that she does not mind being labeled anything if it is worth it in the end. She is willing to endure all verbal assaults from tabloids if her man can stay. She loses when the man leaves and she gets blamed for it.
For the longest time, Taylor Swift tolerated all the verbal abuse in silence. During her ‘Reputation’ album era, she decided to steer into the hate. She dressed in black and assumed a vengeful persona. When she did this, the media backed off. They feared her wrath. Taylor Swift was a force to reckon with and the little tabloids learnt this.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Read the complete lyrics to the song on Genius.