'Style' and the Love That's Never Really Over
- Alexsan
- Apr 18, 2020
- 15 min read
Taylor Swift's Style is one curious song. From her first-ever, full-pop album '1989' released back in 2014, the song has grown into one timeless song that echoes a familiar feeling a lot of people can resonate with: the love that never really departs us.
Lyrically, the song tells the story of the persona and her former lover and the cycles of the on-off relationship she has had with him. It's the kind of story that contains a certain sense of haziness; there's no definitive starting point that tells the listener how the two former lovers ended up this way, nor is there any clear ending or indication of how their love story will ever truly end.
Swift likened the song to timeless, fashion staples that we never really let go. There's a sense of fundamental importance to these kinds of fashion trends that are undeniably hallmarks of a classic: it's something that just gets better and better as the years drag on and nobody ever really questions fashion choices predicated on these staples.
In a sense, what this implies is that the vast majority of people have experienced the kind of love that, while it may have long been over and it may have ended so disastrously that we never would want to return to it at all, it's something that will always remain within our hearts. It's the kind of story that, in hindsight, helped us discard old and obsolete notions we had about love and relationships and allow us to figure out the kinds of values we want to cherish.
The music video of the song also reflects the somewhat ambiguous nature of the relationship. It doesn't follow a definitive storyline that clearly lays down the exposition, the stakes, and the climax. For the most part, it reflects a somewhat idyllic and idealized version of the relationship that exists in the memory of the persona juxtaposed with the present and very real implications that such an (admittedly toxic) affair might present.
The Cycle Begins Anew
The song begins with a 20-second guitar riff, one that repeats all-throughout the song. Vox's analysis of the song describes the riff as though it was written in a kind of a question-and-answer format. For the most part, this makes sense. The song is, after all, reminiscent of the kinds of conversations (of a confrontational type) set in the darkness and quietness of the night. It's a calm exchange, something almost along the lines of a closure, between two people who are simultaneously lovers and not.
The main aesthetic of 1989 rests on the nostalgia of the past, and as a point, Swift chose the aesthetics of Polaroid shots. Roughly ten seconds into the song, we begin to hear a pair of alternating elements of music production that I could only describe as somewhat ethereal and nebulous (as someone who does not major in music, or takes a particular interest in musical production, I don't have access to the appropriate words to describe the kind of production I'm referring to). This repeats throughout the first and second verses.
It's somehow a personal reminder that our trips down memory lane don't necessarily bring out the same memories each time. We frequently embellish our memories and tune it to the context on which we retell them. Our memories are not quite accurate all the time. Memories of the love we couldn't forget might only serve to worsen the ordeal by further idealizing the past.
The first verse of the music video depicts this idealization of the past. We have dark-graded scenes of a reality interlaced with overexposed and saturated shots of either the past or the daydreams of the characters. In a sense, what's real and what's no longer real are so delicately intertwined and the characters can't just easily let go.
At about 20 seconds in, we encounter the first verse. The song opens up with a single word: "Midnight." She further says that her lover has come and "pick[ed her up], no headlights."
We can view this as a secret affair. It's something that not many know, and even if they do, they won't quite get what keeps the cycle going. It's hidden from everyone's eye, a theme that ties with another track off 1989, "I Know Places."
Similarly, this is the part of the music video where Taylor is seen interposed with shots of trees. Prior to this, we've only seen her walking in a smoky forest, but in this scene, she hints that her peaceful forest stroll may not have been as peaceful. It points to a period of rumination, of being lost in one's thoughts and fantasies. Rumination, the process of thinking the same sad thoughts, is quite dangerous to one's mental health as it can hamper the ability to think and process emotions properly. Additionally, this might also be a reference to yet another track off the album, "Out of the Woods."
The entirety of the first verse heralds the beginning of yet another cycle. The persona and her lover have been in their off-phase for quite some time.
Swift sings,
Fade into view, oh
It's been a while since I have even heard from you.
Curiously, the word choice is particularly interesting in this line. Swift chooses the word "fade" to describe the transition from off-phase to on-phase. This is indicative of the blurry, somewhat hazy nature of the relationship. It's the kind of love that, as mentioned above, doesn't have any definitive beginning or end. It simply flits in and out of focus.
And in this instance, we recognize that Swift has seen this coming. It's almost as if we can hear her say, "Here we go again."
However, despite knowing better, we realize Swift is in on it. She has questions about the relationship that, no matter how many times she and her lover get back together, just don't seem to be answered at all. After all this time, she still wonders, and she still hopes, and that hope is succinctly described in the line
Could end in burning flames or paradise
As the song moves into the pre-chorus, Swift tells the listener that she is truly aware of the implications of the on-phase. As soon as she acquiesces to this situation, she recognizes that this will end and it will end badly. She sings,
And I should just tell you to leave, 'cause I
Know exactly where it leads, but I
Watch us go round and round each time.
Notably, the location of the pauses in this pre-chorus almost points to a hesitant hope, a sense of "we shouldn't be doing this." Her breathing is audible in each pause, making the feeling seem all the rawer. Her layered voice points to an echoey message her mind wants to tell her: this isn't the best situation to be in.
In other words, Swift doesn't want it, but she can't just let it go.
Broken Mirrors: The Present Reflects the Past
At about one minute into the song, we enter the chorus. Taylor goes on to describe classical visuals in the chorus, in line with the aesthetically-skewed nature of the song. She says that her lover has
You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye
and,
You got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt
These are physical qualities that the persona wants in a guy, and her lover has it all and dons it oh so easily that others can't just quite match his appeal. These are qualities that make him look so sexy and attractive to her. The way she sings this part makes it feel like her lover is quite the head-turner.
Swift also goes on to describe her own aesthetic, the one that she says her lover likes on her:
And I got that red lip classic thing that you like
And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt
These physical descriptions might also hint at a largely physical relationship. This is a more mature chorus for a songwriter like Swift, and she would go on to play with this kind of theme in later albums.
However, perhaps the most telling lines from the chorus tell the listener the reason why Swift would want to go back to this almost neverending cycle with a former lover:
And when we go crashing down, we come back every time
'Cause we never go out of style, we never go out of style.
This gives us two things: that Swift truly recognizes that this relationship has nowhere to go but she also believes that she and her lover are the perfect classical pair, something that no matter how much time passes or how life goes on, will always fit so easily.
There will always be this sense of knowing each other best that the lovers in this song can't easily find in anyone else. They are the epitome of ride-or-die; they are unceasingly loyal to each other no matter how many other people they meet.
However, despite this, the world around them will keep on turning and turning, and these star-crossed lovers must at some point face the reality that no matter how hard they try, some things really aren't meant to last. And this key idea is hidden just plainly beneath the surface of the chorus structure.
Vox's analysis of the song's anatomy reveals that the chorus of Style contains two major chords: the D major and the G major.
According to Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart's Ideas Towards an Aesthetic of Music, the D major represents triumphs and marches of heaven-rejoicing, while the G major represents the calm and idyllic gratitude for faithful love.
Clearly, from these two chords, the lovers experience the highest highs of what their love can do, almost as if love can always move mountains. And when we are with people we love, even the quietness that befalls our interactions with them are happier than those we spend with others. More so, the chorus paints yet again a quite idealized version of the lovers and the relationship they are in. Everything is good and everything is happy during the on-phase, and it's almost a wonder why things never really work out for long in the first place.
Almost.
Because by the time the chorus hits the second half, a B minor chord intervenes in the line
And when we go crashing down, we come back every time
The B minor represents submission to Fate and to the Divine. It's a cruel reminder that they both can love each other, greater than themselves even, but if things were never bound to work out at all, they never would. Love could do so much, but it isn't omnipotent.
Soon enough, Swift realizes that this is all going to fall out anytime soon, and it's that subtle reminder of disaster during the times she is happy that gives it all out. Their love will cave in, and there's nothing they can do to prevent it.
The music video during the first chorus is quite symbolic and telling as well. We see glass: broken glass, shards of glass, mirrors reflecting one another. There's Swift's mouth replacing her lover's mouth, their faces interposed on each other, his eyes replacing hers, multiple reflections bouncing off broken glass, and more.
All of this goes to point one clear thing: no matter how different they are from each other, they are so similar that they can pass as reflections of each other. And that's basically the entire point of why they are unable to let each other go. It's the idea that nobody can know me like how you know me.
As reflections, they show each other their good and bad sides, but somehow, no matter how heated the arguments are, the rewards of loving someone who has mapped you through and through are greater. Thus, no matter how toxic the relationship can become, there's this almost magnetic pull that brings these two people back together.
Coming to Terms with Reality
By this point, we've stressed enough the idea that these two people need each other more than they could ever possibly believe. And yet, reality steps in as a long-ignored subtext as the second verse steps into the scene.
The second verse opens with the scenery of a midnight drive. After having picked Swift up from her home, the two travel (perhaps aimlessly) around in the dark. Swift details that
He can't keep his wild eyes on the road
Implying that her lover is buzzed by her presence, to the point that he'd willingly sacrifice their safety both just so he can take one more look at her face. As established in the chorus, Swift is exactly his type, but the time of separation between them has weathered his own memory of her face.
This also paints a reckless love, one that drives on in foolish abandon and is willing to sacrifice it all just to be with the one person they loved the most. And as reckless love stories go, a crash is always hidden just somewhere along the next curve. This is perhaps a reference to the 1989 track "All You Had To Do Was Stay," where Swift chides her lover for driving them both off the road.
All this meandering and wandering driving all lead to a specific location. Here, Swift's lover
Takes me home
Whether he brought him to his own house or back to hers can't be deduced from the song. It is an intimate setting, a domestic context in which they both shared memories. Then, it gets more intimate
The lights are off, he's taking off his coat
The song once again plays with the idea of darkness and of the secrets that lie hidden from the public eye. This sets the stage for an intimate and raw conversation (confrontation?) between the two.
The second verse is also the only time in the song where both Swift and her lover exchange dialogue, and this again solidifies the idea we've raised earlier in this article. In this conversation,
I say, "I heard, oh
That you've been out and about
With some other girl,
Some other girl."
Swift confronts her lover. She does so knowing that she doesn't have any say on the matter. After all, they've long been officially over. While many choose to interpret this line as the couple originally breaking up because he cheated, I like to think that the idea of meeting other people to distract one's self from thinking about the one they truly love the most to be more fitting.
She says she heard about his recent escapades, that people have been talking. She says this in a way that seems to be trying too hard to be casual about it, but it shows just how much it pains her. It comes with the recognition that this was a secret affair, not a private one, and the distinction between the two is truly palpable at this point in the song.
Swift's lover responds,
He says, "What you heard is true, but I
Can't stop thinking 'bout you and I."
In a resigned manner, the lover admits that what she's heard was true, he was going out and meeting other people. But he does so in an attempt to forget about Swift and the time they shared. This goes along the lines of looking for fragments of someone in other people, that yes, maybe he will find another girl with the same red lips, good girl faith, and the confidence to wear a tight little skirt as Swift, but he will never find another Swift.
This paints the tendency of some individuals to look for rebounds, someone to validate them in times of intense heartbreak. This is a band-aid solution that doesn't quite address the underlying cause in the first place and which only serves to worsen the longing he has for her.
Surprisingly, however, Swift replies in a jest,
I said, "I've been there too a few times."
This, to long time fans of Swift, is quite a surprising line. In an interview, Swift points out that she never would have written a line like this before. Love was often a black and white concept to her, but in Style, she recognizes that there are a ton of gray areas in relationships. That maybe, the things she once held to be true and absolute before, don't actually apply in all cases. That probably, relationships are quite relative to the individual experiences, tendencies, and predispositions that each party brings along with them.
Here, she recognizes that he can't blame her for "cheating" on her not because they're not an official couple, but rather because she's guilty of doing the same thing. She's also going "out and about" with other guys all in an attempt to forget about him.
The music video is significantly darker during the second verse. There is no more of the idealized daydreaming of the past. The characters are about to meet up for real, after so long a time being apart and not communicating with each other.
This is the time when they both recognize that the reality they try to escape will always catch up with them.
Thunderclaps: The Shortlived Bursts of Fateful Love
The second chorus mimics the same structure and lyrics as the first chorus, but the music video takes on a different turn. While the predominant element of the first chorus were mirrors and how they (thematically) represent the way the two lovers reflect each other, the second chorus is filled with lightning and sunset beaches.
Vox describes the second chorus scenes in terms of sensuality, and how Swift has matured from a country starlet to a pop star. The album 1989 represents her departure, after all, and with it comes more mature themes. Hence, the lightning and the beach scenes can be seen as a physical consummation of the relationship, of Swift and her lover sharing once again the passion they have for each other.
Lightning then can be interpreted in terms of the unpredictable bursts of love. Lightning appears randomly in a thundercloud and even then, it's quite shortlived. Despite its short life span, it is quite powerful and can be disastrous to anything it strikes.
In a sense, the love depicted in Style is along these lines. Fateful love can often be so immense and overwhelming, and the sense of being fated together can make for an awe-inspiring, once-in-a-lifetime experience, that it can quite blind us to the realities of the love we actually have.
The longing for something as intense as this sort of relationship can be quite an intoxicating feeling. We may be stuck in the idea that we will never love as fiercely as we did, or be able to find love at all.
Despite the shared passion that these two lovers possess, all good things must come to an end. And just as how lightning livens up the sky for but a brief moment, their relationship will momentarily light up their respective worlds as they weather the night.
The Finale and the Unresolved Denouement
The second chorus then fades into the bridge. Accompanied by a chorus of voices, Swift sings one line for most of this part:
Take me home
Just as the same line in the second verse is, what this bridge points to is also quite ambiguous.
On the one hand, we may interpret it as Swift wanting her lover to just stop with this maddening on-off cycle and just be real with each other. In effect, this is a plea for them to try out their relationship once more as all of this is unbearable as it is.
On the other hand, Swift might be telling her lover to just drop her back to her own home after a presumably passionate night with each other. This then is a tired resignation on Swift's part and echoes back to her first pre-chorus line where she states that she knows where all of this is headed.
And so, the song moves to its final chorus. At this point, Style has reached its crescendo, both lyrically and thematically.
As mentioned earlier, there is no definite ending to the story that the song tries to tell. The denouement, which ideally aims to resolve all loose ends, points to mere speculation only. The listener is left to their own devices. After being given all of the context of the story of these two star-crossed lovers, it's up to the listener to decide for themselves whether they ended up just attempting to forget each other and moving on with their lives, or them choosing to remain stuck on each other.
In the music video, the final chorus reflects back to the first chorus, with the montage of mirrors and idealized scenarios and memories they can't quite let go. However, it's not until the last part of the song that they finally meet up, somewhere secluded, somewhere in the woods. This thematically ties up with another song off 1989, "Out of the Woods."
The video then fades out as we are left guessing about what happens next.
Style
Style attempts to paint a story familiar to a lot of people: the intensity of a love that we are so sure is for us, but whenever we get anywhere close to it, it just slips far from our reach. It tells the story of intense loves we can't just easily let go because of the feelings we felt and the hopes that remained. The idea of timeless, fashion staples, as Swift frequently puts it, is adapted to the idea of relationships that we genuinely look back on with fondness.
Personally, Style is my favorite song off of Taylor Swift's discography. It's the one song I can't quite get enough of. I feel it especially during sunsets, which, to my opinion, are the most poignant parts of the day. I've been meaning to write about why I love it so much for so long, but the opportunity has eluded me until now.
The song reminds me of the kind of love it tries to tell. I too had someone who came to my life like a chariot sweeping through, only to leave me in pain in the end. It was a sudden love story, one that attempted to defy the conventions I once subscribed to and one that so badly ended it burned me for life. It was the love that patiently waited for me to unravel and let down my walls, the kind that touched my flaws with loving tenderness and affection. And yet, it was also the love that used my own weaknesses against me. It was the love that showed me what love was and what love shouldn't be, the kind that escorted me to the highest highs and plunged me to the lowest lows.
It's the kind of love I find myself going over and over again, looking at it in hindsight not in fervent yearning, but in awesome wonder. To love someone in as fiery a storm as I once did is an experience that I will treasure forever. To be loved by someone with as much certainty as they could possibly muster in their mortal life was a privilege I would never forget. It taught me so much about myself, about the world I live in, and about the life I wanted to live. It destroyed a lot of my previously held, erroneous beliefs, and installed in their place the values I now hold.
Just because something so beautiful could be so shortlived doesn't mean there's not much to learn or cherish from it. Maybe we all want to end up with the people with whom we shared such intense feelings. But maybe, sometimes we don't need to end up with them at all. And that's perfectly okay.
The life we all share is short, and we shouldn't waste it on preventing ourselves from moving forward. At the time, I never thought I'd love that way again, but it turns out, I would. I could.
If there's anything that I learned from Style, it's that we should keep moving no matter what, because there's nothing sadder than a life not lived at all because of a love that didn't stay.
댓글