Pop sensation–and recently engaged–Taylor Swift just released her 12th album, The Life of a Showgirl, on October 3rd, 2025. Her highly anticipated album features artist Sabrina Carpenter in the track titled “The Life of a Showgirl,” which is named after the album. While many Swifties had high expectations, most ended up slightly disappointed with the outcome of the songs.
Some of the lyrics in Swift’s new songs, such as “Eldest Daughter,” which is the fifth track of the album, do not match up to the lyricism or poeticness of her previous albums, such as Folklore or Reputation (The Colegate Maroon News). For example, one of the lines in “Eldest Daughter” reads, “Everyone’s unbothered ‘til they’re not / Every joke’s just trolling and memes / Sad as it seems, apathy is hot”. Swift’s other new release, titled “CANCELLED!” also features similar lyrics, such as “Did you girl-boss too close to the sun? / Did they catch you having far too much fun?” According to fans, these lyrics were incredibly underwhelming and frankly not what they were used to coming from Swift’s usual metaphorical ballads (The Colegate Maroon News). Her simple rhymes and attempt at using popular or “trendy” terms in her lyrics make the overall message seem a bit awkward, or not as she intended them to be interpreted.
While a few of her songs do contain questionable lyrics, Swift starts her album strong with some beautiful songs. Tracks such as “The Fate of Ophelia” and “Father Figure” have been ranked the most popular among the entire album by Billboard. Taylor Swift shows her true lyricism within “The Fate of Ophelia” as the entire song is an allusion to the works of Shakespeare. Swift can usually create beautiful and popular songs when it comes to paying tribute to Shakespeare. For example, her hit song “Love Story” is based on the Shakespearean play Romeo and Juliet, and her song off the Folklore album “Tolerate It” is based on the play King Lear (People.com). Even Swift’s album cover, featuring her in a pool of water, can be seen as a reference to the death of Ophelia in the play Hamlet, when she drowns in a lake.
Here at Ramapo, we have many opinions regarding the new album. When AP Psychology teacher Ms. Gregory was asked about her stance on the album, she stated, “I don’t think her newest album is her best writing or her most original work (given that a lot of the music is sampled from other artists/work), but I definitely think it’s fun and catchy! I don’t think her writing has changed because she has had songs in the past that are more ‘fun’ or have simple, maybe awkward or ‘cringey’ lyrics, but people love some of those songs! She also has some deeper, very poetic lyrics too in the past and on this album, […] I don’t think she’s changed as a writer at all.” When asked what her favorite tracks on the album were, she replied, “ I think my favorite song on the album is ‘Opalite’–it’s so catchy and fun and upbeat! My least favorite is probably ‘Eldest Daughter’; to me, the lyrics are really clunky and awkward and don’t convey the deeper message she seems to be trying to convey with this one.”
Senior Joan Carilli is an avid Taylor Swift listener and very familiar with her usual writing style. When asked about her stance on the album, she responded, “My favorite tracks on the album are ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ and ‘Actually Romantic.’ I think her lyrics on ‘Eldest Daughter’ are cringey and not her usual style. However, the more you listen to the album, the more it grows on you.”
Although there are certainly a lot of opinions regarding the new album, Taylor Swift is still at the top of the Pop Pyramid, and her iconic songs and writing will always be a staple for any occasion.
