Lore & Lyrics

Lore & Lyrics began, quite simply, with a concert.

When my daughter was going through a difficult time, I bought tickets to see her favourite artist. I didn’t yet realise how rare that would be - or how much it would come to mean. In the months leading up to the Eras Tour, I began listening properly. I only knew a few songs, and I wanted to get the most out of the night.

Instead, I found myself completely absorbed.

Discovering the writing

What began as preparation quickly became something else. I remember watching the Eras Tour film and being struck by a line in ‘tolerate it’ - I know my love should be celebrated, but you tolerate it. That made me listen to the lyrics much more closely, and I realised I loved the writing as much as the music. When The Tortured Poets Department was released, that connection deepened. The lyricism felt literary in a way I hadn’t expected.

I have always loved language - and languages: how a word can exist in one language and have no real equivalent in another, and how the choice of a word can change the whole meaning. I hadn’t even realised I’d been missing literary analysis until I came across The Swiftie & The Scholar. It reminded me how much I enjoyed taking writing seriously - and how much there is here to take seriously.

From listening to mapping

You don’t need any of this to enjoy a song. But if you’ve ever noticed an image come back, or spotted two songs talking to each other, this is a place to follow it up. Each song is here in detail - its motifs, its echoes, the references beneath it - but you can come for one line and stay as long as you like.

Lore & Lyrics was created to make those connections visible.

The Swiftie & The Scholar

This project is built on and inspired by The Swiftie & The Scholar - the podcast hosted by Angela McDow and Dr. Jerry Coats.

Together, they explore the lyrics, lore, and literary craft of Taylor Swift’s songwriting, working through the songs one at a time.

Listen on YouTube →