“Clara Bow” Song Meaning

Today’s Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the song “Clara Bow” from the album “The Tortured Poet’s Department”. 

I know I haven’t written one of these in a while, but I felt inspired  I have a lot to write about in the past few years  Taylor has put out so much music.

Who is this song about?

The song’s title gives it away. It is about Clara Bow kind of, Clara Bow is used to describe the pains of Hollywood specifically because how they treated her. Her look in the “Fornight” music video is a homage to Clara Bow’s look. 

Who is Clara Bow? Clara Bow was a silent film star and one of the first It girls in Hollywood. She was super pretty and also super outspoken. She did not care what people thought and was scandalous for the time, even though other people put on a show and did the same things she did. She was ostracized from the other girls in Hollywood. She came from a hard and rough upbringing, but was a sensation when she stared in movies. She retired from acting when talkie movies started but not because she did not like them but because she was sick of Hollywood.

Taylor relates to her because she is the It girl right now. Look at her Eras tour. It sold out before it reached general sale with millions of people on the waitlist. Resale tickets are insane. It is impossible to get popular merch from her website. Scalpers grab it up fans can get it. She has been ostracized at times, especially by Kim Kardashian and Kanye. She has all the attention and more.

On a side note from a fans side it is hard being a Taylor fan. I have been a fan for years and it was hard getting things, but now it’s impossible. I want her to be popular but not so popular I can’t see her show or get merch. 

What is it like for Taylor? This song is reminiscent of “The Lucky One” and “Nothing New” where she laments on new younger people taking her place. “Clara Bow” takes a different form because people are always comparing her to someone else. Instead of being the old one she was the new one being compared to other artists. Taylor says in her Amazon Music track by track experience, “I used to sit in record labels trying to get a record deal when I was a little kid. And they’d say, ‘you know, you remind us of’ and then they’d name an artist, and then they’d kind of say something disparaging about her, ‘but you’re this, you’re so much better in this way or that way.’ And that’s how we teach women to see themselves, as like you could be the new replacement for this woman who’s done something great before you. I picked women who have done great things in the past and have been these archetypes of greatness in the entertainment industry. Clara Bow was the first ‘it girl.’ Stevie Nicks is an icon and an incredible example for anyone who wants to write songs and make music.”

In the song she says that people did expect her to “see the lights of Manhattan” or “meet these suits in L.A.” It was a nice dream to have, but they didn’t think she’d make it. But she did. 

And then she found out how brutal fame is. She could be the “new god we're worshipping” if she “Promise[d] to be ... dazzling..” She describes being famous with terms such as “fake”, “smoke rings”, “crown is stained”, and “war machines”. They encouraged her to “take the glory” but “give everything”, enjoy the ride but give it everything she had, sleep, privacy, time etc. This fame can be hard to maintain and sustain however, “beauty is a beast”, “demands more”, and is fickle it is “only when your girlish glow flickers just so”. It’s not easy and this caused her insecurities like not being able to leave a gym without being put together or starving herself to look just right. 

It is interesting she puts Clara Bow first, the first it girl who went through a lot of the things Taylor has gone through. She also put in Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac, who’s she is friends with. Stevie was beautiful back in the day and so famous. This also shows a counter example of competing with each other because Stevie and Taylor are friends and helping each other. Stevie even wrote a poem that is in the cd case or vinyl pages for Taylor. In the end Taylor has made her inconceivable dream come true and sees artists coming in after her like Billy Ellish and Olivia Rodrigo. They have been compared to Taylor. She sees in them “an edge she never” had. Who knows what will become of them, but what a beautiful song to end the first side of Tortured Poets Department illustrating the tortured souls developed in the music industry due to comparison, fleeting fame, and unrealistic standards. I’m glad that Taylor has realized she does not need to conform to those “ideals” anymore and can make the music she wants, look the way she wants, and be the size she wants.