You Don't Know the Life of a Showgirl - Thoughts on Taylor Swift's New Album

Taylor Swift's latest musical offering, Life of a Showgirl, is a tapestry of unique, diverse songs. Each track tells a different story. "Opalite" is a song about finding your own way, and "Elizabeth Taylor" is a tribute to the late actress. "The Fate of Ophelia" is a poignant narrative. "Wi$h Li$t" is a fun song, and "Cancelled" is catchy.

I'm so used to Taylor singing about her exes, so "Wood," a song about her current fiancé, is indeed a switch. It's a cutesy, racy song about how she has been unlucky in love, but his love was the key . . . and now she is breaking the curse with a redwood tree and her new lover's magic wand.  

The title song, "Life of a Showgirl," featuring Sabrina Carpenter, is a captivating storytelling experience that drew me in. It's not just a song, but a cinematic journey that unfolds like a movie. The song tells the story of a fictional showgirl named Kitty and highlights the pain behind the illusion of a 'so-called' glamorous life.

My favorite track on the album and the one that stood out to me the most is one we haven't heard much about. In fact, I learned about it listening to the album. It's an interpolation of George Michael's 1987 hit, "Father Figure." The premise of the song is similar, but Swift shifts it from a love story between an older/significantly younger person to a power-dynamics story in a mentor-protégé relationship. The track draws heavily on her experience with her former record label CEO, Scott Borchetta. Written from the mentor's point of view, the song explores themes of betrayal and revenge in which an influential father figure (the mentor) and a young ingenue (the protégé) engage in a strategic battle that concludes with the protégé outplaying the mentor. The ingenue has learned from the best, and the tables turn with the protégé taking control, ending up in a position of power over the mentor. The song uses strong mafia undertones, such as I protect the family, sleeping with the fishes, and this love is pure profit, to represent exploitative power dynamics in the music industry.

At first, I wondered why Swift contacted the late George Michael's estate for permission. You can't copyright a title, and when I listened to the song, the only thing it appeared to have in common was the title. However, when I went back and listened closely to the original George Michael song, I noticed that the lyric "I'll be your father figure" and the tune were indeed very similar, so I see why. The estate was happy to grant her permission. I love the way she used something original to create something new. It not only showcases Swift's creativity but also enhances the song's narrative, making it a powerful commentary on the music industry and the dynamics of power abuse.
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Overall, the album is good, with a savory flavor and just the right amount of spice. Even though I wasn't overwhelmed by it, I liked it a lot. Many of Swift's previous songs, such as "All Too Well," "Style," and "Lover," resonated with me more than some of the songs on Life of a Showgirl, but that doesn't diminish the album itself. The songs included on the album follow a specific theme, making Life of a Showgirl something different for Taylor Swift and definitely worth a listen. ​

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