The Life of a Showgirl – An In Depth Explanation

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SPU chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, has taken the world and the internet by storm. Her 12th studio album noticeably has a different sound and a different lyrical vibe than her past albums. One thing that has not changed with this album is the depth of the lyrics, even if they might not seem that groundbreaking. 

1. The Fate of Ophelia

In the opening track, Taylor references Shakespeare’s Hamlet. In the story, after an intense relationship, Hamlet and Ophelia go their separate ways, and the breakup causes Ophelia to spiral and leads to her death. “And if you’d never come for me, I might’ve drowned in the melancholy”. A call back to her song, Lavender Haze where she sings, “And you don’t really read into my melancholia”. Taylor admits that her life and relationships before Travis Kelce were boring and not what she wanted. 

2. Elizabeth Taylor

In this song, Taylor asks Elizabeth Taylor, a famous actress who was married eight times, if her current relationship with Travis Kelce will last forever. Taylor is relating to Elizabeth due to their shared past of failed relationships. 

“Be my NY when Hollywood hates me”. Taylor is likely referring to when she was cancelled in 2016, when Kim Kardashian edited a video of Taylor agreeing to the lyrics referencing her in a Kanye West song. She is asking her partner to be there for her and support her when the industry hates her. “You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby”. Taylor is no stranger to the criticism and scrutiny women face, especially women in the music industry. She’s speaking from experience that you’re only relevant if you have a hit song and the pressure to not be a “one hit wonder”. “Hey, what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once?” On one hand, Taylor has everything. She’s famous, rich, and seemingly has the perfect life. But she also feels like she can’t relate to anyone because of how larger than life she is, a call back to her song, Anti Hero, “Too big to hang out, slowly lurching towards your favorite city”. 

3. Opalite

Opalite is a man-made gemstone that resembles the look of an Opal. It should be noted that Travis Kelce’s birthstone is an Opal, as he was born in October. “Never made no one like you before. You had to make your own sunshine but now the sky is Opalite”. A clever play on words, she is relating a lab-created stone to the fact that both Taylor and Travis had to create their own happiness after being beaten down by life. 

4. Father Figure

Perhaps her most meaningful song on this album, Father Figure samples the song of the same title by George Michael. This song is seemingly about her masters being stolen from her and how she reclaimed them. She samples George Michael to give direct credit to another artist, something that she struggled with for many years. Scott Borchetta, the founder of Big Machine Records, under which Taylor was signed, sold her masters out from under her in 2019 to Scooter Braun. In this song, Taylor makes multiple references to Italian culture, which Scott belongs to. “I protect the family” feels very mafia-style as she’s referencing protecting her art and livelihood. “I pay the check before it kisses the mahogany grain”. She is likely referring to her purchase of her masters that occurred this year from Shamrock Records. “You want a fight, you found it, I got the place surrounded”. Taylor sent her mother and brother to meet with executives of Shamrock Records to negotiate the sale of her masters. She is speaking directly to Scott Borchetta, saying that not only is her family on her side of this fight, but so are her fans, who are the reason she could afford to buy back her masters because of their support of the Eras Tour. “You’ll be sleeping with the fishes before you know you’re drowning”. Another phrase that originated in Mafia culture, meaning someone has been murdered and dumped in the ocean. “Mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card cancelled”. She issues a warning not only to Scott, but to anyone in the industry. The warning is that she will withdraw all her support, resources, and money from you if you take advantage of her. 

5. Eldest Daughter 

It is well known within the Swiftie community that track 5 on every album is the most emotional song on the record. “I have been afflicted by a terminal uniqueness,” Taylor again references her insecurity of being unrelatable and too different from everyone else. “When I said I don’t believe in marriage, that was a lie”. She admits that she always did care and wanted to be married, but she believed it would never happen for her, so she tried to come off like she didn’t care as a way to protect herself. “Every eldest daughter was the first lamb to the slaughter, so we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire”. Parents are often hardest on their firstborn children, especially if that child is a female. Parents typically have more rules set for the oldest, and ease up more as each child is born after. The eldest child is often the “guinea pig” to test out different parenting styles and rules. She also refers to the pressure the eldest child feels to put on a brave face and be tough. “And things I said were dumb. ‘Cause I thought that I’d never find that beautiful, beautiful life”. Taylor admits that she said “dumb” things that downplayed her wants and needs in life because she never thought life would get better, and she would find what she was looking for, AKA Travis Kelce. 

6. Ruin the Friendship

Taylor likely sings about her friend from high school, Jeff Lang, who died in 2010. She mentions her regret for not “ruining their friendship” by admitting her true feelings towards him. “When I left school, I lost track of you, Abigail called me with the bad news”. As many Swifties know, Abigail is Taylor’s best friend from high school and was also mentioned in Fifteen on Fearless. She mentions that when Jeff passed, Abigail was the one to call her and tell her the news. “It was not an invitation, but I flew home anyway”. Taylor talks about how she flew home to likely attend his funeral. 

7. Actually Romantic

“High-fived my ex and said you’re glad he ghosted me”. Seemingly a shout-out to Charli XCX, Taylor addresses her previous opening act on the Reputation Tour head-on. Charli XCX is married to George Daniel, a member of the 1975. Taylor was rumored to be dating fellow band member Matty Healy in 2023. This is the second time Taylor has referred to Matty ghosting her, the first being in Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, saying, “They just ghosted you, now you know what it feels like”. In Charli XCX’s song, Sympathy is a knife, she says, “Don’t wanna see her backstage at my boyfriend’s show,” likely referencing Taylor attending the 1975s tour. 

8. Wi$h Li$t

A  blatant profession of love for Travis, Taylor details all her hopes and dreams for their life together. “And they should have what they want, they deserve what they want, hope they get what they want. I just want you”. Taylor is talking about the desires some people have for fame and riches. She dismisses those people and wishes them well, but all she cares about at the end of the day is her relationship. “I made wishes on all the stars, please God bring me a best friend who I think is hot”. Taylor Swift really is all of us. 

9. Wood

Taylor takes a page out of Sabrina Carpenter’s book with the use of innuendos. A song about superstitions, such as knocking on wood, while at the same time making sexual connotations. She also refers to “New Heights,” which is notably Travis and Jason Kelce’s podcast which she announced The Life of a Showgirl on over the summer. 

10. CANCELLED!

A call back to when she was cancelled, Taylor proclaims her loyalty to her friends who have also been cancelled under similar pretenses. This song has sparked discussion on whether it is about Blake Lively, one of Taylor’s longtime friends, who was cancelled over her fallout with Justin Baldoni and the movie, It Ends With Us. “They stood by me before my exoneration. They believed I was innocent”. She appears to refer to her friends supporting her when she was cancelled, and how she intends to do the same for them. 

11. Honey

Taylor confronts the misogyny that women face in being degraded by being called “honey” and “sweetheart”. “When anyone called me ‘sweetheart’, it was passive-aggressive at the bar”. She sings that the word means something different coming from Travis, and that he can “call me ‘honey’ if he wants”

12. Life of a Showgirl

Featuring Sabrina Carpenter, the song stars a fictional character, Kitty, who is a showgirl that Taylor admires. She sings about meeting her backstage after a show and telling her that she’s living her dream. The song has a similar vibe to a previous song, The Lucky One, off of Red. “But that’s not what showgirls get. They leave us for dead”. Sabrina calls out the music industry for not supporting musicians and for leaving them to fight their own battles. “Do you wanna take a skate on the inside of my veins, they ripped me off like false lashes and then threw me away”. Another call out to the music industry, she dares admirers of fame to try it for themselves and really see what it’s like. “And all the headshots on the wall of the dance hall are of the b*tches who wish I’d hurry up and die”. Taylor directly speaks to her haters who wish she would retire or die and sings that she is immortal now, due to the mark she has left on the music industry. The song ends with applause from the Eras Tour show in Vancouver.