Taylor teased this as track five, a track usually known on her albums as being very emotional and ballad like, "All Too Well", "'Delicate", and "Dear John". Does it compare to "All Too Well"? Unfortunately no...It has a cool 80's sound reminiscent of Stranger Things, but it is super soft and melancholy. It is a great song, but never reaches the full ballad belt it out I want it to. I kept waiting and waiting for it to climax, but it never did. The lyrics are great however. They are super deep. It really shows Taylor in a vulnerable state.
Who is this song about?
"The Archer"is reflective song about Taylor's perception of herself. It references her boyfriend Joe Alwyn and "enemies" that "started out friends". One famous friendship is Karlie Kloss who apparently started telling Scooter Braun about Taylor's career. She also sings about the loss of their friendship in "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things". Taylor has had some beef with Scooter Braun. Just recently he bought Big Machine Records and owns all of Taylor's old masters. (She is going to re record them though). He manages a number of people, Demi Levato, Justin Bieber, Karlie Kloss and many more. He was involved in the incident with Kayne West and Taylor. He is not famous but in the background of all the action. For Karlie to leak information to him is wrong.
Taylor doubts herself in this song, but also shows her strength. It is perfectly illustrated in the line, "Who could ever leave me darling?/But who could stay?". She realizes that friendships are "easy they come/easy they go". "They see right through me." "I hate my reflection/for years and years". No one is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. I know I do. There are friendships that are over for one reason or another because of mistakes I have made. She knows that she has "been the archer", she has instigated wars, ie with Katy Perry. But she has also "been the prey", all the drama with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. She however does not want to end up alone, "all my heroes/die all alone".
She worries that Joe will leave her, "Can you see right through me?". She wonders if he will stay. But she gains her confidence. "Combat/She's ready for combat". She realizes that he is going to stay, "you could stay".
I am so glad for this song. The lyrics are beautiful and telling. It is a sad world and unfortunately not isolated to celebrities. There are so many times in life that people go in and out of my life. All of the sudden I check facebook and we are no longer friends. I think it is important to recognize those people that will stay no matter what and treasure those friendships. And who will love one another no matter the flaws. After all everyone is always growing. No one is perfect. There is really no time in life to spend energy on people that do not want to be friends. I am so glad that Joe and her other friends are sticking around. Those people are so worth it.
Click here to see the lyrics to "The Archer".
I love this song! I hope it's on the Taylor Swift setlist at LoverFest later this year.
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