Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen? In this week’s deep dive episode, we discuss the evermore bonus track, “right where you left me.” We explore themes of feeling stuck, the haunting presence of the narrator, the plea for help, and how we see attitudes in the song mirrored in society. This beautiful and ultimately sad song also inspired a wide range of references from Elle Woods to Charles Dickens to Foucault. This song definitely has some layers, so join us as we unpack their meaning and ultimately try to get to the purpose of “right where you left me.” 

Mentioned in this episode: 

Arrested Development

Ghost (the movie) 

School Spirit (show on Netflix)

"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens 

The Man Who Can’t Be Moved (song)

"The Notebook" by Nicholas Sparks

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" by Oscar Wilde 

"The Age of Adelaide" (film) 

"The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" 

"Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" by J.K. Rowling

Legally Blonde 

The Last Five Years

"No Exit" by Jean-Paul Sartre

"1984" by George Orwell

"Discipline and Punish" by Foucault 

"Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury 

Jeremy Bentham’s body 

Looking for an audio book? Check out our Libro.fm playlist https://tidd.ly/47uhRVI

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Episode Highlights: 

[0:35] - Introduction to “right where you left me” 

[2:45] - Setting the scene of the song 

[7:07] - Metaphorically and literally being stuck 

[10:00] - The characters in this song 

[17:50] - “the glass shattered on the white cloth” 

[24:52] - The Panopticon and society’s expectations

[36:15] - Taylor’s use of “haunting” as imagery

[43:09] - The song as a metaphor for mental health 

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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.