a t-swift blog? tolerate it.
It has been about four days since Taylor Swift has released “evermore,” the sister album to her masterpiece, “folklore.” I’m sure, like me, you are all pissed that the mind doesn’t have the capacity to memorize lyrics in under 24 hours of fifteen tracks because it was pretty hard to scream melodies. I can confidently say, I now have about half the album memorized. Took me like seven years to understand algebra and four days to memorize an album, proving my brain is quite selective in how it chooses to work. Don’t blame it.
To avoid having this post reflect a literary analysis, I will keep my thoughts on the track, “tolerate it,” somewhat brief. Also, I feel weird not capitalizing her albums and song titles, but Taylor has made the large switch from capital letters to lowercase. She is just like us. She’s tired, but like a cool tired. If you don’t type in all lowercase, congrats. Twenty-twenty hasn’t ruined you quite yet.
Anyways, back to “tolerate it.” Holy. After multiple listens, I can attest that this track directly relates to her song “august” from her previous album, “folklore.” August is about a girl that falls in love with a guy who in the end uses her and she realizes what she thought was a relationship, was more of a mistake for him. Go ahead, grab a tissue. Taylor did tear a page out all of our high school diaries, or for me, my notes app. If you haven’t been in the same position as the girl from “august,” you have not fully lived life with the pain God intended. If Jesus died for us, the least we can do is get rejected by a guy who probably has skinnier legs than us and hasn’t read a book since 9th grade English class. Well, in my humble, Taylor-obsessed opinion, “tolerate it,” is just written from the perspective of the girl from “august,” all grown-up. Both songs represent a woman who gives her all to a man with little to nothing in return, and Taylor utilizes specific descriptions of their current situations to showcase how this happens at all ages. In “august” the girl is young and vulnerable, and in “tolerate it,” she is now married but still stuck in the same exact situation and headspace. I feel as though Taylor did this in order to show the pain that comes from not a man, but yourself. Both of these girls, or how I see it, the same girl, doesn’t love herself and settles for men who literally tolerate her. Damn, that hurts.
On a happier note, Taylor does pair with the girl-band “Haim” to connect back to her country roots in a storyline about killing a cheating man. A sentence I never thought I’d write but a sentence I always deep-down dreamed of writing. If you haven’t listened, it is a must. She mentions the Olive-Garden and everything. Has Taylor participated in endless soups and salads? I’m thinking yes.
Anyways, Taylor proves yet again she is the creative genius of our generation. This album represents her growth as she sings about forgiveness, moving on and her new love that is Joe Alwyn. Not only am I happy she’s found a beautiful romance, but I am ecstatic that this romance still allows her to write the same type of heart-wrenching lyrics she wrote when Joe Jonas was breaking up with her on the phone. In my life, Joe Alwyn is the only man who deserves rights.