In medias res
A narrative technique, named from Horace's Ars Poetica and traced to Homer's Odyssey, in which a song or poem opens at a defined moment within an ongoing situation rather than at its beginning - the listener arrives mid-scene, mid-conversation, or mid-action without prior context. In Taylor's writing the device most often appears in folklore- and evermore-era narrative songs and in songs that frame a memory, scene, or argument as already underway.
In medias res causes tension by withholding the backstory - the listener arrives mid-situation and must construct what came before. The technique multiplies the questions a single line can generate: a pronoun without an antecedent, an addressee without a name, a grievance without a stated cause. The opening line poses one question on its surface but frames many in the listener's mind.
Appears in 4 songs
“And the tennis court was covered up With some tent-like thing”
Angela & Uncle Jerry identify that the song begins in medias res, Latin for 'in the middle of things.' Uncle Jerry explains: 'We're thrust immediately into the middle of things. The middle of a story. This is a literary technique called in medias res.' He notes it creates tension because 'you want to know what's going on. What have I missed? Where am I even?' Angela adds that she loves that the song starts on 'and' because 'that doesn't happen in pop songs.'
The in medias res opening drops the listener into the world of the cowboy without context, creating immediate tension and curiosity about the narrator's situation, supporting the dramatic monologue's detective-story quality.
“You booked the night train for a reason”
Angela & Uncle Jerry identify that the song begins in medias res, the listener is dropped into the middle of the story with the character already on the night train, creating drama and tension. Uncle Jerry notes the reader immediately asks 'what's the reason? Why is he on the train? Where is he going?' The narrative doesn't begin at the chronological start but in the aftermath of the proposal.
The in medias res opening establishes the non-chronological narrative structure that Angela & Uncle Jerry identify as central to the song, forcing the listener to reconstruct the story and participate in the ambiguity of the narrative.
“What did you think I'd say to that?”
Uncle Jerry identifies the opening line as beginning in medias res, 'in the middle of things', noting that the word 'that' is a general reference pronoun with no clear antecedent, which tells him 'this begins in the middle of things.' He uses the Latin phrase and explains the technique creates tension by posing multiple unanswered questions: what is the 'that,' who is the 'I,' who is the 'you.'
The in medias res opening drops the listener into the speaker's anger without context, mirroring the experience of women whose emotional responses are judged without consideration of what provoked them.
“We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes and the flashback starts”
Angela & Uncle Jerry identify the song as beginning in medias res, in the middle of things. Uncle Jerry notes that the story starts after the characters have already met and gotten together, with the conclusion already implied before the narrative properly begins. He observes that in medias res always involves a flashback, but critiques the line 'the flashback starts' as unnecessarily announcing the technique, comparing it to a movie that announces 'and now we're going backwards in time.'
The in medias res opening establishes the memory-driven quality of the song, the speaker is looking back on a completed story, and the fun is in discovering the conclusion.