Taylor Swift decided to make 2020 a good year. She took advantage of quarantine to put together her new album Folklore released in July as a surprise. Last week, Taylor Swift announced that she was dropping a movie on Disney+ called Folklore: The long pond studio sessions.
How Folklore Came to Life
Filmed at a cabin in the woods, Folklore: The long pond studio sessions shows us how Taylor’s album started to become alive. While getting to see Taylor playing the album, we also get a behind the scenes look at what every single song on the album is about.Taylor talks about how she started writing songs when quarantine started. Before she realized it, she had written an album. She then called her friends Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff to invite them to work with her on the project. When they said yes, they all recorded the album from home, which was a first time experience for Taylor.The only song that includes a duet in Folklore is “Exile” which features Bon Iver. Because of quarantine, the duo had to record their own parts of the song in separate studios. While Bon Iver was in Wisconsin, Taylor Swift kept recording Folklore from home.
Taylor Swift: The Meaning of her Songs in Folklore
All of the songs in Folklore have a deep meaning, and they go from love songs to angry songs to sad songs.“My tears ricochet” is about the feeling of making a new friend, and not knowing that someday in the future, you’re going to end up hating that person. “Mirrorball” talks about how everyone shows a different version of themselves depending on the people they’re with (family, friends, coworkers, etc.) and how we become shape-shifters that easily.“This is me trying” is one of the most meaningful songs in the album. It’s about struggling with addiction and actively be fighting something. It describes someone being lost in life and spending every second trying not to be. “Invisible string” is about faith, and how everything happens because of it. Every step you take moves you closer to where you need to be.Taylor wrote “Epiphany” about her grandfather who fought in World War II. Her family found out how he faced the most unimaginable situations, and she dedicates it to people who have gone through traumatic experiences.“Hoax” is the last song of the album, and it talks about love; love that isn’t just easy. Having different fractured relationships, and explaining how love is being sad with someone and not being uncomfortable.Taylor finishes the session by playing the bonus track “The lakes.” She describes the feeling of relating to people who lived hundreds of years ago and had the same life plan as her and achieved it.The almost two-hour-long session includes all of the songs in the “Folklore” album. It’s really worth a watch to fully understand the meaning of these songs and see the behind the scenes work.
Discovery 
