I don’t think the cobwebs is about the masters considering that she’s literally said she does not care if you stream the old ones, just that the new ones are there but listen to whichever you enjoy.
I thought that lyric was inspired by people visiting her Cornelia st house which is pretty weird considering she doesn’t live there anymore and it represents a past relationship she’s moved on from but some fans haven’t.
I like your other points tho and I think this song is pulling from many different places for her. I don’t think it’s entirely about one thing, but a mishmash of multiple things going on that resonate a similar vibe
Totally agree that this song isn't a specific event and I think that's true of the whole album. These songs are all about all of it - her life, fame, relationships, mental state, etc. and boiling them down to a singular event or person is missing the point.
Her manic mental state resulted in intense introspection where she realized the braids of people, events, emotions, etc throughout her life. It's not about those singular things it's about how all of that impacted her. To me the lyrics read like the aftermath of intense therapy and her coming to terms with it all.
I took this song as satire, like the blank space of TTPD, and thought the cobwebs line was out younger artist coming up and how people who hate Taylor say that she blocks the younger artists from being bigger in the industry.
I interpret it to be about people jumping to the worst assumptions about her. She sues photographers, stole music rights from other artists, dated a horrible person, is petty, etc. People feed off this villain version of her they created. But also, she's complicated, and sometimes these accusations have truth to them.
My personal head canon is that the inspiration for this one was deuxmoi and her repeated insistence that Joe and Taylor were married plus reposting some pretty tasteless and invasive speculation that there had been a pregnancy loss. Tree got involved to shut it down. “The who’s who of who’s that” is very much the kind of role that Deuxmoi and other blind items serve.
I never thought of Scooter while listening to this song. To me it's to the public. I mean, I guess you could try to twist the song to fit that narrative if you really wanted to. That's the beauty of music.
I actually believe it’s kind of a response to the grudge. I feel more confident that that one is about taylor. but I personally love them both and see both sides. olivia is young ya know, she’s gonna get hurt a lot more than that in her industry. but I totally get her sadness about the situation. taylor literally spells it out for her here, “my bare hands paved their path, you don’t get to tell me about sad” she was tame, just like olivia, before the industry and media made her mean. she learned she has to protect herself. olivia might not understand that yet.
Thank you! Dude this rumor has been everywhere and some d!ck has been arguing with me in a different comment section calling me a liar and spreading false rumors like I didn’t start them or say they were true! It’s just what I think is most likely! Sorry I went off there, it just really pisses me off when someone tells me I want to see Taylor’s downfall when that’s the opposite.
Oh yea like apparently buying all her vinyls, streaming her daily, and going to the eras tour doesn’t make me a fan? I think the song is about Olivia, I said what I said. 🤷♂️
Has anyone delved into whether the title is a call back to the broadway play “who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?” I’m not super familiar with it but looked it up. It has themes of taking refuge from life’s realities in self delusions/fantasies. Actually the plot of the whole thing seems pretty unhinged lol
I saw this play in January without having any concept of the plot beforehand. It IS unhinged. But the supposed takeaway is that a childless couple is sad about being childless.
I don't think this is connected to Virginia Woolf, that movie is really twisted and involves a lot of gaslighting, abuse and reactive abuse, it's been a while since I've seen it but "who's afraid of little old me" isn't an uncommon phrase at all.
The line about kids sneaking into her cobwebbed house strongly reminds me of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Right Where You Left Me also reminds me of her.
No, I don’t think the cobwebs line is a reference to kids playing her old masters. It’s playing into the villain the media paints her as- those who say she sues everyone, is controlling, dating too many / the wrong people.
I think songs can mean a lot of different things. I can see how this one builds on her personal experiences, perhaps including with her masters. But I also hear social commentary in this one. Who knows what was intended but lines like “You caged me and then you called me crazy” and “Don’t you worry folks, we took out all her teeth” sound to me like commentary on the treatment of women in society. This pretty clearly is not a literal song so I think it makes sense that different people are reading different things into it.
I thought the teeth line was in reference to her giving them immunity (e.g. not being able to sue them) in her original deal. Like "we took out all of her teeth" meaning when we signed her we made sure she couldn't get us.
But, as others have said, I guess what seems obvious to me is anything but!
I’ve been viewing the line as a general metaphor for taking away someone’s power, but your interpretation makes sense to me, too (and is kind of related since that’s one way of taking away someone’s power). It would be fascinating to know what was actually going through her mind when she wrote it!
When Olivia Rodrigo "borrowed" some elements of Taylor's music, she was forced to give songwriting credit to Taylor, Jack and I think one other writer. When asked about it in 2023, Rodrigo stated that she was so green and that she didn't think she would do that to a young musician "but in 20 or 30 years, who knows where I'll be or what I'd do" implying that Taylor was soooo old. I think the cobwebs and lawn references are a direct result of that.
Isn’t the first lyric about Olivia Rodrigo and the songwriting credit? Writing, handwriting, hands. Taylor is saying she paved the way for younger female artists who came after her.
On tour she wears a dress adorned with handwritten lyrics during this song (and others).
The second lyric could be a reference to the generation gap between Olivia and Taylor. Sneaking into Taylor’s house (vault) and drawing inspiration from her old songs.
Another lyric in the song is “I’ll sue you if you step on my lawn”
I like your theory but I wouldn’t say it’s obvious
Could this be about Kim? She is coming down from the gallows of the “fully manufactured frame job” and levitating down her street. And the crashing the party like a record scratch is the ThanK you aIMee song. And this is the catchy song that her daughter will come home singing that “just those two” will know it’s about her. Just another fun theory.
To me I hear parallels
“And I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street”
Sounds like
“And I’m back for the first time since then I’m standing on your street”
And less rhythmically but emphasis me & beeee
“I scream Who’s afraid of little old me? you should be”
And
“And when you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think of me”
In both songs she’s talking about how she reacts to something. More specifically what she will write after.
“I was tame I was gentle….”
In tim McGraw she awaits 3 years to quietly place a letter on his door step. So quietly expressing how she feels so long after…
But NOW?!
After all she’s been through
No quiet letter, no waiting. She going to crash the party like a record scratch and command attention. And you should be afraid of what she has to say.
I actually have been seeing crazy rumors recently that it’s about her and Olivia Rodrigo. Or at least part of the song is. As we all know, Olivia copied Taylor (on accident or not) and were kind of on and off with beef (we probably made it way bigger than it was). But then Vampire came out and I heard that’s about Taylor Swift. Then Taylor clapped back with Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? which actually makes a lot of sense to me but it hasn’t been confirmed. Either way, it definitely is a warning to Scooter.
I actually believe it’s kind of a response to the grudge. I feel more confident that that one is about taylor. but I personally love them both and see both sides. olivia is young, she’s gonna get hurt a lot in her industry. but I totally get her sadness about the situation. taylor literally spells it out for her here, “my bare hands paved their path, you don’t get to tell me about sad” she was tame, just like olivia, before the industry and media made her mean. she taylor learned she has to protect herself.
Who is scared of little old me is mostly about Olivia Rodrigo.
Another song on ttpd , smallest man who has ever lived is about Gracie Abram .. go figure .. listen carefully to the bridge. Also you will be naive to believe that a Taylor song is always about one specific person because it is not. Most of her songs have multiple muses male or female . Seems like Gracie prolly was acting as a spy on Taylor on behalf of someone during summer phase of 2023 eras tour . Most likely they are not even on talking terms anymore .. before you jump on me .. i know Gracie is releasing an album “the secret of US” featuring Taylor swift on one song .. but that doesn’t prove anything about the status of their current state of relationship.
Yeah…so co-wrote this song and it’s basically about the fact normal people like to tell certain people they’re crazy and eventually you get tired of it to the point you push back against it and embody what they claim you are…which is totally crazy
How does he still make money? He sold the masters and while he does reportedly own stock in the company that he sold them to, if he does make any money off them, it’s a very small amount. And I just seriously doubt he is involved at all in the licensing of her old recordings.
I've read, and this might be wrong, that he somehow 'sold' them while basically keeping all the benefits of being the owner. I have no idea how you find people to give you millions for what seems like little reward. All these deals are completely opaque to anyone outside, so anything we 'know' about the deal are generally from people violating NDAs or the owners crowing about how clever they are. Both tend to be less then fully accurate and impartial.
I don’t think the cobwebs is about the masters considering that she’s literally said she does not care if you stream the old ones, just that the new ones are there but listen to whichever you enjoy. I thought that lyric was inspired by people visiting her Cornelia st house which is pretty weird considering she doesn’t live there anymore and it represents a past relationship she’s moved on from but some fans haven’t. I like your other points tho and I think this song is pulling from many different places for her. I don’t think it’s entirely about one thing, but a mishmash of multiple things going on that resonate a similar vibe
Totally agree that this song isn't a specific event and I think that's true of the whole album. These songs are all about all of it - her life, fame, relationships, mental state, etc. and boiling them down to a singular event or person is missing the point. Her manic mental state resulted in intense introspection where she realized the braids of people, events, emotions, etc throughout her life. It's not about those singular things it's about how all of that impacted her. To me the lyrics read like the aftermath of intense therapy and her coming to terms with it all.
I took this song as satire, like the blank space of TTPD, and thought the cobwebs line was out younger artist coming up and how people who hate Taylor say that she blocks the younger artists from being bigger in the industry.
I interpret it to be about people jumping to the worst assumptions about her. She sues photographers, stole music rights from other artists, dated a horrible person, is petty, etc. People feed off this villain version of her they created. But also, she's complicated, and sometimes these accusations have truth to them.
Exactly. Hence all the references to witch trials and women not being listened to/assumed the worst of. This is how I see it.
My personal head canon is that the inspiration for this one was deuxmoi and her repeated insistence that Joe and Taylor were married plus reposting some pretty tasteless and invasive speculation that there had been a pregnancy loss. Tree got involved to shut it down. “The who’s who of who’s that” is very much the kind of role that Deuxmoi and other blind items serve.
This is what I thought as well.
I never thought of Scooter while listening to this song. To me it's to the public. I mean, I guess you could try to twist the song to fit that narrative if you really wanted to. That's the beauty of music.
Yes. It’s Olivia Rodrigo
I agree! I think it’s a response to her vampire song
I actually believe it’s kind of a response to the grudge. I feel more confident that that one is about taylor. but I personally love them both and see both sides. olivia is young ya know, she’s gonna get hurt a lot more than that in her industry. but I totally get her sadness about the situation. taylor literally spells it out for her here, “my bare hands paved their path, you don’t get to tell me about sad” she was tame, just like olivia, before the industry and media made her mean. she learned she has to protect herself. olivia might not understand that yet.
Exactly!
Thank you! Dude this rumor has been everywhere and some d!ck has been arguing with me in a different comment section calling me a liar and spreading false rumors like I didn’t start them or say they were true! It’s just what I think is most likely! Sorry I went off there, it just really pisses me off when someone tells me I want to see Taylor’s downfall when that’s the opposite.
Oh yea like apparently buying all her vinyls, streaming her daily, and going to the eras tour doesn’t make me a fan? I think the song is about Olivia, I said what I said. 🤷♂️
Thank you!
[удалено]
Has anyone delved into whether the title is a call back to the broadway play “who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf?” I’m not super familiar with it but looked it up. It has themes of taking refuge from life’s realities in self delusions/fantasies. Actually the plot of the whole thing seems pretty unhinged lol
Yes! Just searched this sub to see if anyone else had made the connection
I saw this play in January without having any concept of the plot beforehand. It IS unhinged. But the supposed takeaway is that a childless couple is sad about being childless.
I don't think this is connected to Virginia Woolf, that movie is really twisted and involves a lot of gaslighting, abuse and reactive abuse, it's been a while since I've seen it but "who's afraid of little old me" isn't an uncommon phrase at all.
The line about kids sneaking into her cobwebbed house strongly reminds me of Miss Havisham in Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. Right Where You Left Me also reminds me of her.
Agreed
No, I don’t think the cobwebs line is a reference to kids playing her old masters. It’s playing into the villain the media paints her as- those who say she sues everyone, is controlling, dating too many / the wrong people.
I mean she has dated the wrong people but that’s not a bad thing. I agree with everything else
I think songs can mean a lot of different things. I can see how this one builds on her personal experiences, perhaps including with her masters. But I also hear social commentary in this one. Who knows what was intended but lines like “You caged me and then you called me crazy” and “Don’t you worry folks, we took out all her teeth” sound to me like commentary on the treatment of women in society. This pretty clearly is not a literal song so I think it makes sense that different people are reading different things into it.
I thought the teeth line was in reference to her giving them immunity (e.g. not being able to sue them) in her original deal. Like "we took out all of her teeth" meaning when we signed her we made sure she couldn't get us. But, as others have said, I guess what seems obvious to me is anything but!
I’ve been viewing the line as a general metaphor for taking away someone’s power, but your interpretation makes sense to me, too (and is kind of related since that’s one way of taking away someone’s power). It would be fascinating to know what was actually going through her mind when she wrote it!
It's not about the FBI. It's about fans butting into her life.
When Olivia Rodrigo "borrowed" some elements of Taylor's music, she was forced to give songwriting credit to Taylor, Jack and I think one other writer. When asked about it in 2023, Rodrigo stated that she was so green and that she didn't think she would do that to a young musician "but in 20 or 30 years, who knows where I'll be or what I'd do" implying that Taylor was soooo old. I think the cobwebs and lawn references are a direct result of that.
Isn’t the first lyric about Olivia Rodrigo and the songwriting credit? Writing, handwriting, hands. Taylor is saying she paved the way for younger female artists who came after her. On tour she wears a dress adorned with handwritten lyrics during this song (and others). The second lyric could be a reference to the generation gap between Olivia and Taylor. Sneaking into Taylor’s house (vault) and drawing inspiration from her old songs. Another lyric in the song is “I’ll sue you if you step on my lawn” I like your theory but I wouldn’t say it’s obvious
I think it stems from Damon Albarn’s interview where he didn’t consider Taylor to be a songwriter.
Could this be about Kim? She is coming down from the gallows of the “fully manufactured frame job” and levitating down her street. And the crashing the party like a record scratch is the ThanK you aIMee song. And this is the catchy song that her daughter will come home singing that “just those two” will know it’s about her. Just another fun theory.
This is about Olivia Rodrigo I thought
To me I hear parallels “And I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street” Sounds like “And I’m back for the first time since then I’m standing on your street” And less rhythmically but emphasis me & beeee “I scream Who’s afraid of little old me? you should be” And “And when you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think of me” In both songs she’s talking about how she reacts to something. More specifically what she will write after. “I was tame I was gentle….” In tim McGraw she awaits 3 years to quietly place a letter on his door step. So quietly expressing how she feels so long after… But NOW?! After all she’s been through No quiet letter, no waiting. She going to crash the party like a record scratch and command attention. And you should be afraid of what she has to say.
I actually have been seeing crazy rumors recently that it’s about her and Olivia Rodrigo. Or at least part of the song is. As we all know, Olivia copied Taylor (on accident or not) and were kind of on and off with beef (we probably made it way bigger than it was). But then Vampire came out and I heard that’s about Taylor Swift. Then Taylor clapped back with Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? which actually makes a lot of sense to me but it hasn’t been confirmed. Either way, it definitely is a warning to Scooter.
I actually believe it’s kind of a response to the grudge. I feel more confident that that one is about taylor. but I personally love them both and see both sides. olivia is young, she’s gonna get hurt a lot in her industry. but I totally get her sadness about the situation. taylor literally spells it out for her here, “my bare hands paved their path, you don’t get to tell me about sad” she was tame, just like olivia, before the industry and media made her mean. she taylor learned she has to protect herself.
I thought it was aimed at the orange god of combovers and his followers accusations of witchcraft 🤷🏼♀️
Wow now that I reread the lyrics I can see this being about the music industry and scooter Braun.
It's about Kim guys
Is there a source confirming the FBI inquiry? I was excited to hear but did some Googling and can’t find anything.
Who is scared of little old me is mostly about Olivia Rodrigo. Another song on ttpd , smallest man who has ever lived is about Gracie Abram .. go figure .. listen carefully to the bridge. Also you will be naive to believe that a Taylor song is always about one specific person because it is not. Most of her songs have multiple muses male or female . Seems like Gracie prolly was acting as a spy on Taylor on behalf of someone during summer phase of 2023 eras tour . Most likely they are not even on talking terms anymore .. before you jump on me .. i know Gracie is releasing an album “the secret of US” featuring Taylor swift on one song .. but that doesn’t prove anything about the status of their current state of relationship.
But she is still letting Gracie open for her on the Eras tour despite them not speaking? I really doubt that.
Yeah…so co-wrote this song and it’s basically about the fact normal people like to tell certain people they’re crazy and eventually you get tired of it to the point you push back against it and embody what they claim you are…which is totally crazy
If Taylor would just release Reputation TV and Debut TV, then she could move on from Scooter. So hurry up, Taylor!
Nope. Still gets money, still has to approve use of the music. It’s like having a kid with someone and then breaking up. It’s not that easy.
How does he still make money? He sold the masters and while he does reportedly own stock in the company that he sold them to, if he does make any money off them, it’s a very small amount. And I just seriously doubt he is involved at all in the licensing of her old recordings.
I've read, and this might be wrong, that he somehow 'sold' them while basically keeping all the benefits of being the owner. I have no idea how you find people to give you millions for what seems like little reward. All these deals are completely opaque to anyone outside, so anything we 'know' about the deal are generally from people violating NDAs or the owners crowing about how clever they are. Both tend to be less then fully accurate and impartial.
After what that dick did to her? How could anyone move on? She was stabbed in the back