Loving him was like…what? You may know all the words to this old favorite song, but do you know what they mean? In today’s deep dive, we’re unpacking “Red” from Red (Taylor’s Version). After our previous episode on Fall where we talked about why this is an autumn-coded song, our hosts spend more time trying to understand the many (many) metaphors (or is it similes? Analogies?) Taylor Swift uses to describe this relationship. We’ll get a High School English lesson, references to some Millennial-favorite TV shows, and a chance to explore Red as an analogy for Taylor’s transition from country to pop. And then we realize…there’s no right answer!

Mentioned in the episode: 

“Red,” Red (Taylor’s Version) 

“Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas”, John Pollack

Aesop’s Fables

“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat”

“august,” folklore

“Bridgerton”

E2: Deep Dive - Enchanted

E6 - Deep Dive - It’s Time to Go 

“Picture to Burn,” Taylor Swift

“The Hills: New Beginnings”

“Complicated,” Avril Levigne 

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Episode Highlights: 

[00:20] Introducing today’s deep dive song, “Red” 

[01:42] 1st person, 2nd person…whose experience is this?

[04:38] How Taylor uses metaphors to make things universal

[08:07] Similes, Metaphors, Analogies, oh my!

[11:50] Are these tangible, universal metaphors?

[16:59] Red as a metaphor for Taylor’s career

[20:06] Our favorite part of any Swift song: the bridge!

[26:40] Do we actually understand this song?

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.