<aside> 💡 Analysis - It’s interesting that Taylor describes her masters that were taken from her as “stolen lullabies” - given that lullabies are songs designed to put people (especially children) to sleep. In the context of My Tears Ricochet, this could mean that Taylor originally wrote some of these songs for her muse as lullabies and now they’re stuck in the muse’s head after she has betrayed Taylor (and therefore they no longer soothe her to sleep but keep her awake). In a metaphorical sense, this could mean that her lullabies are designed to “put people to sleep” aka so that they don’t “wake up” to her true, queer self? That seems like a stretch.
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<aside> 👸 Relevance to Taylor’s Life:
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<aside> 🌈 Queer History: The opening lyrics to Somewhere Over The Rainbow include a reference to a lullaby. This song was important to the LGBTQ+ community and is said to be one of the inspirations for the rainbow being a queer symbol when the flag was first created. Judy Garland also held a special place as one of the “first gay icons” - her death was part of the emotional turmoil of the Stonewall Riots. Her 2020 tweet (included below) also includes an oxymoron with “screams in soft lullabies” - given that lullabies are usually songs that are quiet and allow someone to fall asleep easily. Going with my interpretation above, this could be Taylor insinuating that her lullabies are putting some people to sleep but for others, her queerness is so loud it’s like it is screaming.
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<aside> ➕ See also: Sleeping/Asleep Insomnia/Waking Up/Sleep Talking/Awake
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