Drilled in the heart of popular culture, Taylor Swift’s song lyrics have mesmerized, bewildered, and healed countless hearts over the years. One track that embodies this is ‘Cardigan,’ from her critically acclaimed 2020 album ‘Folklore.’ Swift’s ability to evoke emotion through storytelling is exceptionally displayed in this song. The “women’s cashmere sweaters” phrase encapsulates the profound beauty of her imaginative storytelling.
‘Cardigan’ serves as a metaphorical journey, with Swift delving into a woman’s heart and bringing out its untold stories. It’s a nostalgic, melancholic exploration of lost love, narrated through an unusual metaphor – a forgotten cardigan. The lines –
“And when I felt like I was an old cardigan, under someone’s bed. You put me on and said I was your favorite.”
create emotional resonance and embody the key metaphor of the song. It’s about feeling underrated, used, and then left discarded like an old sweater. Taylor, with her brilliant lyrics, positions listeners to empathetically live through the song’s narrative and understand how it feels to be abandoned like an old ‘Cardigan’.
The song’s melody, built upon delicate layers of piano and strings, mirrors the sense of comfort and warmth that a cardigan offers. This heart-rending ballad makes use of the ordinary imagery of “women’s cashmere sweaters” to portray a tale of loss and longing. The lyrics of the song are imbued with detailed retrospection; they appeal to all senses, transporting the listeners straight into the realms of the song’s narrative, reflecting Swift’s mastery over creating a lyrical tableau.
In ‘Cardigan,’ Taylor uses symbolism to bridge the gap between past, presence, and interpretation. Statements that might seem simple on the surface, like ‘Peter losing Wendy,’ ‘dancing in your Levi’s,’ or ‘hand under my sweatshirt,’ resonate deeply with listeners thanks to their open-ended interpretation and relationship to universally shared experiences.
Swift is known for leaving easter eggs and hidden hints in her lyrics. ‘Cardigan’, isn’t an exception. The song appears to be a part of a three-song storytelling arc, which Swift fans have dubbed as the ‘Teenage Love Triangle’. The other two songs being ‘August’ and ‘Betty’, the poignant tale of love and betrayal from different perspectives. Swift’s introspective lyrics seamlessly weave tales of lost youth, innocence, and a treacherous love affair, all reverberating around the symbolism of an old cardigan.
But why a cardigan? At first glance, a cardigan is merely a piece of clothing; it might seem nondescript, unremarkable. Yet, in ‘Cardigan’, Swift magnificently associates it with a sense of nostalgia, warmth, comfort, and regret. It goes from being a “women’s cashmere sweaters” to an embodiment of an endearing past, a symbol of status, and a relic of an old love.
Ultimately, ‘Cardigan’ is further evidence of Taylor Swift’s genius as a lyricist. It showcases her unique ability to transmute common, everyday items and experiences into gut-wrenching metaphors of love, loss, and life. With ‘Cardigan’, Swift pulls on the threads of “women’s cashmere sweaters” and unravels a tale that is as soft, warm, enduring, and close to the skin, as the cardigan itself.
In the world of Taylor Swift’s ‘Cardigan,’ lyrics and metaphor intertwine to create a song that not only sounds beautiful but tells a deeper story beneath the surface. Whether you’re a die-hard ‘Swiftie’ or a casual listener, ‘Cardigan’ offers a magical blend of storytelling, emotion, and music that transcends the barriers of age, culture, and geography, proving once again that Taylor Swift is indeed a musical poet for the ages.