Just a Girl: “A Place in This World” and “New Romantics”
Taylor Swift’s reflections on her beloved Eras Tour (part one).
The Eras Tour began on March 17th, 2023 and, after 149 shows, came to an end last week on December 8th in Vancouver. For so many Swifties, and for Taylor Swift herself, a lot has changed between the start and end of this tour. Swift’s popularity has only grown to even greater heights, and she released two re-recordings and a brand new (double) album while on tour. For the final concert, she carefully chose surprise songs to pay tribute and say goodbye to the Eras Tour: “A Place in This World” / “New Romantics” and “Long Live” / “New Year’s Day” / “The Manuscript.”
The guitar mashup was the more upbeat of the two, but still struck an emotional chord with the messaging of the song combination. “A Place in This World” was written from a perspective of youthful fear and uncertainty about the future, whereas “New Romantics” takes the approach of embracing the ups and downs of life and coming out stronger. In the context of the Eras Tour, Swift uses these songs to express feelings of both celebration and doubt as this chapter comes to an end.
Playing Solitaire
The mashup begins with the first verse and chorus of “A Place in This World.” Through the lyrics “Don’t know what’s down this road / I’m just walking,” Swift depicts herself as the opposite of the “Mastermind”; rather, after all of the success of the the Eras Tour, she can’t predict what might come next and is “trying to figure it out.” With the tour being such a huge career moment that no other artist has done on this scale, she finds herself “alone, on my own” in this position. This is a sentiment echoed in “Dear Reader”: “No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire.” Despite all of her success, that level of fame can be isolating, especially since it rests on her own shoulders. Ultimately, the Taylor Swift brand and career are based on the person at the center—this would be a huge pressure that necessitates confidence and independence for survival.
The rest of the chorus can be read as a reflection: “I’ll be strong, I’ll be wrong / Oh, but life goes on / Oh, I’m just a girl / Trying to find a place in this world.” As a celebrity in the limelight, Swift is often praised for being “strong” as well as criticized for being “wrong,” and this apathetic outlook might help to provide some needed perspective. To hear an almost-35-year-old woman call herself “just a girl” in a song she wrote nearly 20 years ago was a cathartic moment of opening up to inner child healing. There is an immense irony in one of the most successful artists of all time, who has had a place in the public sphere secured for years, “[t]rying to find a place in this world”—perhaps part of her still feels the same as her teenage self did.
Fame and Legacy
Swift then moves into the first verse of “New Romantics”: “We show off our different scarlet letters / Trust me, mine is better.” The first lyrics seem to address fame again, this time making reference to rumors and scandal—the notion of being infamous. The verse ends with a teaching moment: “Honey, life is just a classroom.” Swift reassures herself and everyone listening that people are meant to learn things and grow from their mistakes in life.
The chorus is an expression of triumph in the face of adversity: “Cause baby, I could build a castle / Out of all the bricks they threw at me / And every day is like a battle / But every night with us is like a dream.” Swift has “buil[t]” a massive legacy and career despite (and thanks to) the challenges and obstacles that have come her way. She adopts this same metaphor in the music video for “Bejeweled,” which is full of Easter eggs surrounding her re-recording project, the direct result of the masters heist—at the end of the video she is in her castle all alone. The success of the Eras Tour is another testament to her perseverance and ability to make a great comeback. In this context, the “battle” could be the hard work and preparation that goes into the show, while the “dream” is experiencing the outcome “every night” among fans.
Celebrating Girlhood
The post-chorus also applies to the communal Eras Tour experience: “Baby, we’re the new romantics / Come on, come along with me / Heartbreak is the national anthem / We sing it proudly.” Swift turns the traditional literary idea of Romanticism on its head in favor of a different new cultural tradition that embraces community and freedom. Her invitation to fans to “come along” reiterates her position as the leader of the Swiftie institution. “Heartbreak” being “the national anthem” functions as a reference to the upbeat performative number, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.” Swift’s emphasis on pride acknowledges the unabashed “girlhood” that fans of all ages embraced at the Eras Tour as they banded together with strangers in a shared experience.
The song continues: “We are too busy dancing / To get knocked off our feet / Baby, we’re the new romantics / The best people in life are free.” Audiences dancing and having a fun time at the concerts symbolizes the phenomenon of the Eras Tour being a distraction from terrible things happening in the world over the last two years. Swift invites her fans to be “free” with her, advocating for honesty and the prioritization of unbridled joy.
Swift combined the bridges of the two songs before revisiting both choruses: “Maybe I’m just a girl on a mission / But I’m ready to fly / So please take my hand and / Please take me dancing.” These lyrics allude to the adrenaline and energy provided by the live performance experience. This feeling then comes to an abrupt stop: “Please leave me stranded / It’s so romantic.” Swift has been known to drift in and out of the public eye over the years, so with the tour ending, this could be a hint at her disappearing again after being visible for so long. The idea that this dramatization of life is “romantic” is quite telling; indeed, it is poetic that she is commenting on her life now through these songs that were written years ago, finding new meanings for the current moment in time.
The same holds true for the piano mashup, which I will be back to discuss next week. This mashup of “A Place in This World” and “New Romantics” celebrates the Eras Tour and reflects on Swift’s ever-evolving relationships with fame and with her fans. As an artist, she is simultaneously alone and at the center of an enormous community, and she has and will continue to navigate these positions—her place in this world—going forward.
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