Performative Heterosexuality: Control and Escape in “The Bolter”
The story of a woman always on the run.
The Tortured Poets Department is an album full of serious, contemplative themes, as its title suggests. On the surface, then, “The Bolter” might seem like a lighthearted exception to this rule, given Taylor Swift’s playful lyrics and melodies. While it is an upbeat song, it is also a narrative ballad about a string of superficial relationships and the deep impact on the song’s protagonist. A queer reading of this song reveals a pattern of behavior in line with compulsory heterosexuality and a desire to free oneself from relationships with men.
Once Upon a Time
Swift jumps into the song with the retelling of a traumatic incident: “By all accounts, she almost drowned / When she was six in frigid water.” The phrase “[b]y all accounts” establishes the song as a story with a third person protagonist, creating the implication that the speaker is simply reporting back information that she has acquired about this girl. The protagonist has dealt with trauma since childhood; the word “frigid” describes a freezing cold environment but also one devoid of feeling. Swift quickly brushes past this anecdote (though it returns in the chorus): “And I can confirm she made / A curious child, ever reviled / By everyone except her own father.” This is the only use of the first-person “I” in the song, which clarifies the speaker’s role as omniscient narrator as she inserts herself to assure the listener of the truth of the story. The protagonist was disliked as a “child” and accepted by only her father for her “curious” ways. This word could refer to both the literal definition of queer, as in strange, and being eager to learn.
She is characterized as manipulative: “With a quite bewitching face / Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless / Excellent fun ‘til you get to know her.” She has a witchlike power to enchant others with her looks and charm. The speaker admires this conniving beauty as well as her splendid selfishness, positing her as a compelling character for the story. The notion of being “charmingly helpless” fits the heteronormative role of the damsel in distress who attracts men to come and save her. The description that paints her as “[e]xcellent fun” is quickly undercut by the qualifier “‘til you get to know her.” This phrase is usually preceded by a negative trait to defend someone’s personality, but here it’s the opposite: the protagonist is easier to be around in superficial relationships with her disingenuous behavior.
Running Away
Once someone does get closer, “she runs like it’s a race / Behind her back, her best mates laughed / And they nicknamed her ‘The Bolter.’” The simile “like it’s a race” highlights her competitive spirit and drive to win as she chases the prize of a different life, as well as her sense of urgency. The song title is revealed to describe the protagonist, who panics and leaves when people “get to know her.” The Bolter is a figure of gossip and urban legend. Her friends talked behind her back and made fun of her, suggesting that these relationships were also somewhat superficial. This could contextualize Swift’s use of the British term “mates” as insincere in this case.
The chorus presents the pattern that The Bolter’s romantic relationships follow: “Started with a kiss / ‘Oh, we must stop meeting like this’ / But it always ends up with a town car speeding / Out the drive one evening.” The quote is a cliché of the romance genre; story-wise, she is picture perfect, falling into patterns of behavior even with the same person as they cross paths over and over. In the same vein, she ends all of her relationships the same way, “speeding” away from the men pursuing her. The “town car” denotes a limousine or car with a hired driver, implying that someone is always ready to whisk her away when she needs to leave—a getaway car, if you will. In fact, Swift performed a mashup of “The Bolter” and “Getaway Car” at the Eras Tour last June, highlighting some of the overlapping themes between the songs.
Good Riddance
The Bolter’s breakups are characterized by dramatic fights that bear no negative effect on her life: “Ended with the slam of a door / Then he’ll call her a whore / Wish he wouldn’t be sore / But as she was leaving / It felt like breathing.” She is faced with aggressive behavior from men when she refuses to stay with them and give them what they want. They could be using the word “whore” on account of her string of past relationships, but this insult is often simply an unfounded expression of frustration at a woman’s lack of interest.1 The breakup pattern is described in a lighthearted tone, leaving little regard for the men’s feelings. With the third rhyme in a row, The Bolter dismisses the men as “sore” losers when she leaves because she’s being suffocated. She is restricted by the obligation to entertain these relationships such that it is only when she gets out of them that she can “breath[e]” again.
The speaker briefly returns to a more serious discussion in the B-section of the chorus: “All her fuckin’ lives / Flashed before her eyes / It feels like the time / She fell through the ice / Then came out alive.” The drop in vocal register and emphasis on the downbeats underscore The Bolter’s frustration and regret regarding her “fuckin’ lives.” As much as she plays it off that she is carefree, her encounters with these men have been taking a toll on her. The multiplicity of the self in “lives” suggests that she has played the role of other people in order to please those around her, while her genuine self has been repressed. Life flashing before one’s eyes is said to happen before death; in this case, there is a sense of death and rebirth ensuring long-term survival. This concept brings the listener full circle to the start of the song, as Swift compares dating men to the traumatic near-death experience of falling “through the ice.” She creates a powerful image of The Bolter almost drowning in these relationships and then gasping for air as she leaves them. The phrasing of “came out alive” also holds a double meaning from the perspective of a queer woman overcoming comphet.
Playing Pretend
The second verse gives an example of the inauthenticity of these relationships: “He was a cad, wanted her bad / Just like any good trophy hunter.” A “cad” is a dated term describing a bad guy who lacks respect for women. The dated vocabulary in the song calls back to a more restrictive society of the past in which women endured even stronger expectations to be with men. The man’s characterization as a “trophy hunter” suggests that he views her as a potential trophy wife rather than valuing her beyond this superficial interest. Neither does she, however: “And she liked the way it tastes / Taming a bear, making him care / Watching him jump then pulling him under.” The word “tastes” is an interesting choice, the appeal to this sense recalling the notion of “sweet revenge.” By likening the man to a “bear,”2 The Bolter establishes herself as the holder of power in the relationship thanks to his wild, animalistic interest in her that she must domesticate. Neither party truly cares about the other; she enjoys toying with men before ditching them, and they view her as a sought-after commodity.
The Bolter sarcastically frames the relationship as perfect: “And at first blush, this is fate / When it’s all roses, portrait poses / Central Park Lake in tiny rowboats / What a charming Saturday.” The public perception of the couple is absolutely idealistic, with “first blush” and “fate” framing it as romantic destiny. Nevertheless, this is all meaningless and performative, just like the “portrait poses.” Swift uses the image of “roses” to further identify deceptive beauty with hidden thorns. The very specific date zeroes in on a “charming” moment in a nonchalant and silly tone. She nearly convinces herself of this false happiness but then wakes up to reality: “That’s when she sees the littlest leaks / Down in the floorboards / And she just knows she must bolt.” The boat becomes a metaphor for the relationship as it all comes back to a fear of drowning. She must leave and save herself before she gets stuck with him in a sinking boat whose structural integrity has always been flawed.
Sweet Escape
In the bridge, Swift succinctly summarizes The Bolter’s behavior pattern: “She’s been many places with / Men of many faces / First, they’re off to the races / And she’s laughing, drawing aces.” Not only has she been romantically linked to many men, but she has “been many places” and been seen with them. Beyond that, their “many faces” are the one distinguishing factor between these men who are otherwise all the same to her. The phrase “off to the races” denotes a quick and enthusiastic first meeting or start to the relationship, and “aces” are often the highest cards in card games, so at face value this lyric reflects her initial happiness. However, there is also a drinking game called Horserace in which the aces represent the horses and whoever is leading the round moves the aces, controlling the game. This comparison reiterates the fact that The Bolter has authority over the situation—she is even “laughing” at the men for not realizing that she is dictating every move.
She exhibits no remorse, instead finding relief in her failed relationships: “But none of it is changing / That the chariot is waiting / Hearts are hers for the breaking / There’s escape in escaping.” No matter what, The Bolter’s getaway car—or “chariot,” to stick with the horse metaphor—is “waiting” for the inevitable moment that she chooses to leave. There is something about her that is so intrinsically incompatible with these men, and she will never be happy with them: “none of it is changing.” At the same time, her allure allows her to keep the power that she gains from “breaking” hearts. Ultimately, the literal act of “escaping” this series of superficial relationships serves as an “escape” from her personal struggle. The Bolter’s pattern of running away provides her with a reprieve from the oppressive expectation of heterosexual monogamy—she has motivation beyond simply toying with men for fun.
Turning the Page
There are a few key lyric changes in the final chorus that close out the narrative: “Ended with the slam of a door / But she’s got the best stories / You can be sure / That as she was leaving / It felt like freedom.” As the storyteller, Swift points out the silver lining in The Bolter’s struggle: she came out the other side with plenty of experiences to share. The lyric shift from “breathing” to “freedom” is the most indicative of a change in her life. This line creates a sense of hope that The Bolter was able to leave for the last time and finally pursue a life that could make her happy. Moreover, the fact that her experiences have now become “stories” marks the end of that chapter of her life, leaving her free to express herself and forge her own path.
With this new “freedom” and the phrase “came out alive,” the song ends with a hopeful outlook as opposed to one focused on mere survival. The Bolter has managed to overcome the pressures of comphet and break her unsustainable pattern of behavior. The other interpretation put forth for this song is that it is simply about commitment issues, but that only scratches the surface of the character’s psyche. She never expresses any attraction to or interest in the men that she dates and strings along in the first place; this is not about the failure of potential long-lasting relationships. Rather, it is an ever-present trauma response from which she struggles to free herself due to the pressure to comply with heteronormative societal expectations. While the ending of the song is not specific about how her story continues, it emphasizes her newfound “freedom” and, hopefully, happiness.
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These lines also parallel lyrics from "High Infidelity": "Lock broken, slur spoken."
This is a fun link to the viral "man or bear" debate, which emerged around the same time as the release of TTPD.