Long before The Life of a Showgirl was conceived, Taylor Swift infused her songs with nods to timeless literature.
Back in 2006, Swift made a subtle reference to Robert Frost in her song “The Outside” from her eponymous debut album: “I tried to take the road less traveled by,” she expressed. “But nothing seems to work the first few times, am I right?”
These lines were just the beginning, as Swift later incorporated hints from literary giants like Charles Dickens and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Notably, her Fearless hit “Love Story” draws from William Shakespeare’s classic play Romeo and Juliet—a track she stated in 2010 was partly influenced by her junior high studies of the play.
“Many people attracted to music deeply appreciate poetry; it has a rhythm that just fits,” she remarked during a Scholastic talk. “I adore poetry; when done right, with perfect rhymes, it can make words leap off the page.”
Continue reading for a thorough alphabetical directory of all literary nods found in Swift’s musical repertoire:
‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland’
Swift’s initial homage to Lewis Carroll’s cherished work occurred in 2014 through the bonus track “Wonderland” on 1989. The song narrates a tale of the narrator and her lover tumbling “down a rabbit hole” and discovering a “wonderland” together. Swift sings, “Didn’t you calm my fears with a Cheshire Cat smile?”
Swift revisits Carroll’s influence with the line, “I fell from the pedestal, right down the rabbit hole,” featured in “Long Story Short” from the 2020 album Evermore.
‘All’s Well That Ends Well’
The bard’s comedy receives a brief mention during “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” from Red (Taylor’s Version), released in 2021. Swift starts the fourth verse with the lyrics, “They say all’s well that ends well, but I’m in a new hell / Every time you double-cross my mind.”
This was not the first mention; she had previously alluded to the play in “Lover,” singing, “All’s well that ends well to end up with you.”
‘American Pie’
For millennials, American Pie resonates as literature—don’t @ me. Swift alludes to the sex comedy in TTPD’s “So High School,” most likely reflecting her romance with Travis Kelce.
Aristotle
The song “So High School” also references the prominent Greek philosopher Aristotle, known as a pioneer in scientific thought. Swift sings, “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle,” seemingly commenting on memes that juxtapose her and Kelce’s intellect.
The Bible
In “Now That We Don’t Talk” from 1989 (Taylor’s Version), released in 2023, Swift draws from a biblical narrative in Exodus, stating, “You part the crowd like the Red Sea, don’t even get me started.”
Again, she taps into her Sunday school teachings in “Guilty as Sin?” from TTPD, alluding to Jesus’ crucifixion in lines like, “What if I roll the stone away? / They’re gonna crucify me anyway / What if the way you hold me is actually what’s holy?”
In TTPD’s “The Prophecy,” there’s a reference to the genesis tale of Adam and Eve in the line, “I got cursed like Eve got bitten.” (For John Milton enthusiasts, this is as close as we get to a Paradise Lost mention.)
Cassandra
One of her many references to Greek lore appears in TTPD’s “Cassandra,” featuring the chorus, “So, they killed Cassandra first ’cause she feared the worst / And tried to tell the town / So they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say / Do you believe me now?” Cassandra, daughter of Troy’s King Priam and Queen Hecuba, could see the future, yet Apollo cursed her so that no one would believe her predictions.
‘Compassion’
In “Ivy” from 2020’s Evermore, Swift borrows from Miller Williams’ poem “Compassion” published in 1997. She sings, “I’d meet you where the spirit meets the bones,” echoing Williams’ line, “You do not know what wars are going on down there where the spirit meets the bone.”
‘The Divine Comedy’
Opening The Life of a Showgirl, Swift hints at Dante’s iconic work in “The Fate of Ophelia,” where she sings, “And if you’d never come for me / I might’ve lingered in purgatory.”
Dylan Thomas
Swift mentions the Welsh poet in the title track of TTPD, declaring, “I laughed in your face and said, ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith.’”
‘The Godfather’
On The Life of a Showgirl’s “Father Figure,” Swift loosely quotes Mafia lore: “You’ll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you’re drownin’,” referencing Mario Puzo’s acclaimed novel The Godfather, which inspired the famous film.
‘Grand Theft Auto’
In addition to being a cultural touchstone, Grand Theft Auto holds literary status for many millennials. It comes up in TTPD’s “So High School” when she verse, “Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto.”
‘The Great Gatsby’
Swift evokes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel for the first time in “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” from her 2017 album Reputation. She sings, “Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year.” The character Jay Gatsby, known for his extravagant parties, exemplifies a facade hiding a troubled past.
Three years later, in “Happiness” from Evermore, she mentions, “I hope she’ll be a beautiful fool who takes my spot next to you,” invoking Daisy’s wish for her daughter to be a “beautiful little fool,” and includes the phrase, “All you want from me now is the green light of forgiveness,” which mirrors Gatsby’s longings.
‘Hamlet’
Swift deepens her Shakespearean connections in her 12th album, The Life of the Showgirl, featuring “The Fate of Ophelia.” In this song, she likens Kelce to a savior, suggesting he rescued her from “the fate of Ophelia,” who famously succumbs to madness.
‘Humpty Dumpty’
The Archer from Lover makes a nod to the classic nursery rhyme with, “All the king’s horses, all the king’s men / Couldn’t put me together again.”
‘The Iliad’
The bonus track “You Are in Love” from 1989 alludes to The Iliad in the line discussing the loss of one’s mind and reasons for war. This indirectly references the Trojan War’s origin story linked to Helen’s abduction.
Swift also mentions Achilles, a key player of the Trojan War, in “State of Grace” from Red: “These are the hands of fate, you’re my Achilles heel.” Interestingly, Homer’s Iliad never mentions Achilles’ heel as a weakness.
King Midas
Swift appears to have an affinity for mythology, as she mentions King Midas in “Champagne Problems,” referring to the king who could turn things to gold with his touch: “Your Midas touch on the Chevy door.”
‘Macbeth’
The connection between Showgirl and Shakespeare resurfaces in “Cancelled!” where Swift quotes the famous line, “Something wicked this way comes.”
Nancy Mitford
Though fans speculated that “The Bolter” would reference a viral paparazzi shot of Joe Alwyn, it instead reflects a character from Mitford’s novels, famed for her 1945 work, The Pursuit of Love, and 1949’s Love in a Cold Climate. The fictional Bolter was inspired by Idina Sackville, the subject of the nonfiction book The Bolter: The Story of Idina Sackville, Who Ran Away to Become the Chief Seductress of Kenya’s Scandalous “Happy Valley Set,” published by Frances Osborne in 2008.
‘One for the Money’
“Champagne Problems” also nods to the children’s nursery rhyme “One for the Money,” seen in the lyrics, “One for the money, two for the show / I never was ready, so I watch you go.”
Patti Smith
Patti Smith appears alongside Thomas in “TTPD.” Beyond her acclaim as a singer-songwriter, Smith has penned the memoirs Just Kids and M Train, in addition to various poetry collections.
Peter Pan
In “Cardigan” from Folklore, Swift invokes J.M. Barrie’s iconic character, with lyrics like, “Tried to change the ending / Peter losing Wendy.” She also makes a complete tribute to Peter in TTPD: The Anthology with the title “Peter,” exploring the theme of never growing up, including a line about a love interest being “lost to the Lost Boys chapter” of his journey.
‘Rapunzel’
Swift indulges in fairy-tale references again in TTPD’s “The Albatross,” stating, “Locked me up in towers but I’d visit in your dreams,” likely alluding to Rapunzel’s lore.
The Red Thread of Fate
“Invisible String” from Folklore references the mythology of the red thread of fate, which binds individuals destined to meet. In the Chinese iteration, Yue Lao, the deity of love, plays the role of binding people with this invisible thread.
Robert Frost
Swift has incorporated references to Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” in three songs. The first instance emerged in “The Outside” from her 2006 debut album, where she sang, “I tried to take the road less traveled by, but nothing seems to work the first few times, am I right?”
She later echoed this line on “Illicit Affairs” from Folklore, singing, “Take the road less traveled by, tell yourself you can always stop.” The road resurfaced again in “’Tis the Damn Season” from Evermore with, “And the road not taken looks real good now.”
Swift may have nods to Frost in TTPD’s lead single “Fortnight,” hinting at his poem “Mending Wall” with the lyric, “Now you’re in my backyard, turned into good neighbors.”
‘Romeo and Juliet’
Her most notable literary reference comes from “Love Story” in the 2008 album Fearless, where she embodies Juliet in her relationship with Romeo. Unlike Shakespeare’s somber ending, this song culminates in a proposal, sans fake deaths.
Additionally, in the track “The Albatross” from TTPD, Swift alludes to Romeo and Juliet again, singing, “A rose by any other name is a scandal,” echoing Juliet’s musings on the nature of names.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
In what seems to be a solitary Romantic poetry reference on TTPD, Swift has a song titled “The Albatross.” Although she does not mention Coleridge directly, his iconic poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner”—which involves the death of an albatross—serves as inspiration. The mariner must wear the albatross around his neck, a metaphor for guilt and consequence.
‘The Scarlet Letter’
Swift has referenced Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book in two songs. The first instance occurs in “Love Story,” where she sings, “Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter.”
She revisits the theme in 2014’s bonus track “New Romantics” on 1989, stating, “We show off our different scarlet letters, trust me, mine is better.”
For context: The Scarlet Letter revolves around Hester Prynne, compelled to bear a red “A” for having conceived a child out of wedlock (denoting adultery).
‘The Secret Garden’
Swift alludes to another beloved children’s classic in “I Hate It Here” from TTPD, referencing Frances Hodgson Burnett’s 1911 novel, The Secret Garden. She sings, “I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind / People need a key to get to, the only one is mine / I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child.”
‘Slaughterhouse-Five’
Swift has a track titled “So It Goes” in Reputation, and the phrase appears in both “Style” and “You Are in Love” from 1989. Whether she is intentionally referencing Kurt Vonnegut remains unclear, but “so it goes” is a recurrent phrase in his 1969 novel, Slaughterhouse-Five.
‘Snow White’
In “The Best Day” from Fearless, Swift nods to the Brothers Grimm tale, singing, “Don’t know if Snow White’s house is near or far away / But I know I had the best day with you today.” Later, she refers to the tale’s companions in “It’s the age of princesses and pirate ships and the seven dwarfs.”
‘A Tale of Two Cities’
The opening of “Getaway Car” from Reputation mirrors Dickens’ renowned first line from A Tale of Two Cities, where Swift remarks, “It was the best of times, the worst of crimes,” in a twist on Dickens’ celebrated line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”
‘Valley of the Dolls’
In a more tenuous connection, “Florida!!!” from TTPD sees Swift and Florence Welch sing, “Tell me I’m despicable, say it’s unforgivable / At least the dolls are beautiful,” hinting that “dolls” may refer to pills—linked to humanity in Jacqueline Susann’s novel, Valley of the Dolls, where the characters refer to pills as “dolls.” Given the song’s theme around Florida being a “hell of a drug,” this interpretation could hold merit.
William Wordsworth
Years prior to the announcement of The Tortured Poets Department, Swift acknowledged the Romantic poet in her bonus track “The Lakes” from Folklore. The line plays on Wordsworth’s name: “I’ve come too far to watch some name-dropping sleaze tell me what are my words worth.”
In the chorus, she adds, “Take me to the Lakes, where all the poets went to die,” referencing Wordsworth’s connection to England’s Lake District, where he spent much of his life and eventually passed away in 1850.
‘A Wrinkle in Time’
The track “So High School” from TTPD contains a reference to A Wrinkle in Time, a young adult fantasy classic penned by Madeleine L’Engle, where the protagonist Meg travels through time and space. Swift sings, “The brink of a wrinkle in time, bittersweet sixteen suddenly.”
