“Red” (2012/2021) — This is my favorite Taylor Swift song. It shows us the emotional roller coaster of love and loss, like many of her songs do so well. But this song takes it a step further by illustrating how some parts of that roller coaster are so intimate and so vulnerable, that sometimes we need to stretch the bounds of language to express what we feel, and what we went through.
The lines in “Red” compare the unique experiences she had with “him” (touching, fighting, forgetting, etc.) to other somewhat-universal experiences that fans can visualize and latch onto (like “realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you”).
But there are other experiences with “him” that are more difficult to describe, and the lyrics prove that to us. More liminal experiences like “losing” and
“missing.” So Taylor uses color and metaphor to represent these particular experiences and feelings.
Taylor could’ve easily wrote “Losing him was like drowning in the vast blue ocean.” But instead she wrote, “Losing him was blue.” She could’ve easily wrote “Missing him was like a dark gray night, all alone.” But instead she wrote, “Losing him was dark gray.” She could’ve easily said “Loving him was like the bloom of a red, red rose.” But instead she wrote, “Loving him was red.”
This song reminds me of a day at work when I was substitute teaching elementary school. I asked the kiddos to tell me how they were feeling using a color and to explain why they chose that color. They all told me that the color they chose reminded them of how they felt. None of it made logical sense because we don’t feel colors, and emotions don’t come in a Crayloa box. But somehow, all the kids understood each other that day.
Taylor has a way of resonating with her fans that sometimes doesn’t make sense. Her writing is so personal and so vulnerable, how could anyone relate? Yet her music and her writing resonates with millions of fans spanning across generations, for 10 whole albums (so far!).