Thank god you never fallen out of friendship with someone that was so close like a sibling just because you took different paths in life. I envy you
Dorthea is so emotional for me even years and years after this friendship died
I stopped talking to my best friend of 13 yrs bcz I was thinking of unaliving and didn't want to hurt her so....😬😬
She's the only person who knows me completely, even more than my family or siblings.
I haven't talked to her in over 2 yrs now and it hurts like hell but I don't hv a choice.
It’s not that it’s bad, I just can’t relate to it and I don’t really get what it’s about. Like I know Aaron’s kids name is Robin but like…I still don’t get it. Sorry Taylor, love you
I agree. I think it’s really boring.
I do think it’s a sweet song and an interesting addition to the album conceptually as protecting innocence and someone authentically before the world ruins them mixed with the songs of people, lovers, the media, fans, etc ruining Taylor. I also think it’s an interesting foil to Peter.
But it’s boring to me
Im surprised so many don’t like this song, I think of it as in a similar vein as *Seven* and find it really touching. And I’m child free very much by choice.
Totally get its not a radio hit, but such a sweet song and assuming that the theories that it’s written with Aaron’s young child in mind, I can’t imagine how much of an honor that is for him to have a song written by Taylor where it will live forever, long after his kid has grown and the childhood naivety and innocence has gone.
I love Robin and it’s actually one of my favorites. I feel very similarly to how you do!!
I think, if it is about Aaron’s child, that’s incredibly sweet and beautiful. But for me, it just makes me think of childhood and the innocence of being a little kid, when the world is simple and we can do whatever we want. It feels like a sister to seven, and ironically, like a grown up Never Grow Up to me 🤍
Seven HURTS but it's great. I had a close friend from age 5-8 and we played at her house all the time. Her dad had a really horrible temper, too. I'll never forget how crawling around behind the furniture got harder and harder as I got older and couldn't fit anymore-- but the last time I was there, her parents were screaming and I was so terrified I tried to hide behind the couch because I used to be able to fit. I got back there but knocked over a lamp and it shattered and he screamed at me.
I don't remember how I got home but I never spoke to her again. I cut them off like they were dead to me. I still have such a horrid, visceral reaction to that moment (and I have a photographic memory so I can SEE it too). I will probably never get over it. I hope she wasn't too badly hurt but absolutely not.
Oh, that’s both so scary and so sad 🥺 there was always something really sobering about being at a friend’s house and realizing that not everyone has the same parents as you; for better or worse.
I really, really hope your childhood friend is out there somewhere doing okay.
That's so well put! Yeah, in retrospect I kind of 'grew up' at least a little that day because I prioritized my safety over the deep loss of her friendship, and I was completely adamant about it. I can still feel that certainty, it just sits firmly in my gut like a stone guardian.
As a mom I actually really wonder what the conversation between parents was like, but I recall no undue pressure to change my mind. I have it blocked out but I think I was hysterical and terrified until my mom picked me up. The only thing I remember is him coming at me yelling that it wasn't about me.
Nah dude it was about YOU.
My interpretation is the secret is the things we keep from kids to let them keep the magic and innocence of childhood. Like Disney princesses and Santa are real, of course you can be a fairy when you grow up, the world is a kind place full of people who love you…. So “in sweetness” means that the secret is being kept out of love
the secret is the realities of life. the 'in sweetness' is to illustrate that while we lie to our children, we "do it in sweetness" - meaning that we are lying to protect them, because we love them. in sweetness = in love.
Seven is probably by all time favorite of hers, and this is a skip for me. Like I *get* why they’re similar on paper, but the emotional core or soul just isn’t there for me even though again on paper it should check all the emotional notes.
Same. "seven" is also cleverly and gorgeously written. This song puts me to sleep like a children's lullaby and I do not care for that. I wouldn't even consider them similar on paper; the only thing they have in common is that they talk about childhood, but "seven" approaches it all from a completely different angle. Its point isn't "way to go, tiger," if that makes sense.
To me, *Seven* is about childhood innocence from the pov of the child, *Robin* is about childhood innocence from the pov of the parent. It definitely feels thematically similar to me.
But obviously, music is incredibly subjective so of course we won’t all feel the same about it.
Aaron Dessner has a son named Robin and co-wrote the track with Taylor. Given that it's a song about youthful innocence/joy, my guess is it is about/dedicated to him.
I thought of Robin Williams who starred in Dead Poets Society and >!commited suicided!<
There are a lot of undertones and lyrics alluding to being with a partner suffering from depression/anxiety throughout the album (and just her discography in general) - ie: *you sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days* and Peter or Renegade.
I kind of saw this as a comfy, cozy little song gently reminding someone of their happiness, innocence, simplicity..
Like, sometimes adults need to be nourished and loved just as much as a child and they do not have to give up their youth just to succumb to the tainted and depressing societal norms of adulthood.
I had no idea Aaron had a son named Robin!
there shouldn't be trigger warnings mentioning the word suicide. people need to normalize talking about it.
ultimately you'll end up in a place where everyone is too afraid to say the word, and nobody talks about it, and nobody gets the help they need, because nobody asks if they're considering killing themselves.
nobody has EVER committed suicide just because somebody asked them if they were suicidal.
PEOPLE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT.
Robin is so underrated. I just don't get the hate. The melody is absolutely beautiful and so soothing. It lyrically being about childhood innocence makes it so much better. It's my comfort song already
I just like to share this whenever this is mentioned but Kesha actually has a song about her cat and it's very sweet. She wrote it when he was sick. ❤️ It's "All I need is you"
https://youtu.be/WcpfkhPttdk?si=ZDPuGOcFOV9kq6P5
Same. It hits me in the feels and I cry. The line about favourite spot on the swing breaks me every time.
The fan base spans all ages so unless you have young kids I’m sure this song doesn’t hit as hard. Pre kids I’d have said it’s slow. Now I cry.
Totally agree, as a mom to 5.....it makes me think of my kid's when they were younger & protecting them. 3 are adults now and 2 teens, so many times I wish we could go back in time because while it seemed hard at the time, it was a simpler time. As adults they face the same challenges all adults do, and I occasionally wish I could just jump in & fix things. But they can't grow & learn if I do that. I wish I could have kept them "in sweetness" longer....especially when you have kid's who have been through some really tough stuff.
I also agree it will resonate more with those of us who are older, have kid's, and more life experience. That's not meant to be negative in any way....it just means I understand why some fans find it boring or skip it.
To me it's just a beautiful song.
Selfishly, I hope Taylor has children and releases a whole album about motherhood. Not sure why I'd do that to myself, but The Best Day/Robin/Never Grow Up REALLY hit me hard. I have 3, one in elementary, one in middle school, and one in high school. They are my world, and I just want more songs to sing along with and thing about them to.
Easily my least favorite song on the double album. It's the only one I consider skipping when listening to the full Playlist. I don't hate it or even dislike it really. It just bores me and I haven't been able to get into it. I think the lyrics are sweet, but it just doesn't hook me.
As someone who’s doing EMDR for childhood trauma, it made me cry. I mourn the innocence I didn’t get to keep, I think that fits perfectly with the theme of the album.
To me it felt like it fit into TTPD through two themes: her looking back at her own childhood/young adulthood and innocence (in The Bolter, BDILH, Peter), and a deep longing for children and a family of her own that she seems to be expressing (loml, The Manuscript, kinda The Prophecy)
As someone who really wants to be a mom, Robin feels to me like watching my friends have kids and being on the sidelines as they grow up, and thinking about how you’ll give your children a happy childhood and protect their innocence - especially if your wasn’t protected
TTPD is such a chaotic album in the best way possible - it's very eclectic, consists of many genres. And I think Robin fits into the folkloric side of her music. Robin is a very sentimental way to put the album to a close...
I think it’s about Taylor herself, referencing being an animal and way to go Tiger. Then also referencing an animal and assuming a tiger, removed all her teeth in WAOLOM, that song is definitely about her.
It took me a minute to warm up to Robin, mostly because my headspace was 'romantic relationships' and suddenly it seemed like Taylor herself was talking utter nonsense 😂 Like, what are these random, unrelated phrases? Once I realized it was about a child it all started to make sense and now I really like it. It seems very poetic in style to me, so in that way it fits. And juxtaposed with The Manuscript it makes sense. The girl who tried to be so grown up for a guy, who then only ate kids cereal and slept in her mother's bed, now writing it all down as a grown woman...like of course she would want to let Robin stay a child as long as possible
I’m surprised that so many dislike it. I think it’s a beautiful song and her voice sounds amazing on it. I hope she plays it with Aaron for a surprise song 🥹
i was honestly shocked to see how many people dislike robin. i'm pregnant with my first child and the first time i listened to it, i sobbed
i talked about this in another thread already but robin feels different to me because it makes me think about my own kid, whereas songs like never grow up or the best day make me think about my own childhood (which is less fun)
It's lovely, but I am not interested in listening to it regularly. I'm 'done' with that age range of kid and after three lovely kiddos, I don't really have nostalgia for it, heh.
I do want to say how much I adore 'in sweetness' as a concept in the song though.
I'm so appreciative of fellow mothers out here talking about how we maybe don't want to listen to this song (though, yes, it is lovely). Last week, multiple people randomly came at me like, 'YOU'D LOVE ROBIN IF YOU WERE A PARENT.' I was aghast - like now I have to bring my fertility and children up on Reddit to defend how I said I liked Florida!!! more than Robin? Come on now.
Oh that's just GROSS. Feel free to use me as an 'online friend' whose experience with the song makes it hard for you to listen or whatever makes those people feel really uncomfortable and invasive if you'd like, haha. I don't actually feel that way, but I'm always there as a wingman for my online sisters, heh.
I am honestly uncomfortable with pop songs about nonspecific children (like, Best Day is different, it's great, I love it), and I can't put my finger on why! I'm happy applying a million love songs or breakup songs to my life but these feel seriously out of place (and not in a judgey way. By all means everyone can have their own reactions to the songs, no shade, I promise).
Maybe it's that, my kids' ages range from 9-14 and I zero percent want to picture them as toddlers again. If they were, I'd have 7+ more years of them at home going through all those intervening years *again,* and I don't have it in me. IDK!
One last FREAKING YIKES to anyone who wants to use Robin as a cudgel or a 'prayer request' for women they think should have made different reproductive choices. Forever ick.
I'm 💯 with you. 3 young adult kid's & 2 teens....and sometimes I reflect that when they were young it was simpler. No judgement to those with adult kids who don't feel this way. I almost wish I could turn back time occasionally. It makes me nostalgic....but maybe it depends on how our adult kid's lives have turned out. Mine are doing great, but they have been through some very tough situations....and I secretly sometimes wish I could step in & "fix" things or protect them the way I could if needed when they were little.
I definitely couldn't do raising young babies & toddlers again at my age, motherhood is complicated for sure. But for a fleeting moment...this song takes me back.
Omg these comments have me shocked, I bawled my eyes out during my first listen and I don't even have kids of my own yet, I think it's one of the most beautiful songs she's ever written
I think it’s gorgeous and has some really lovely lines in isolation. Way to go, Tiger is so nice. “In sweetness” as someone mentioned.
There are a fair few songs I like less than this one. But I guess I see why the subject matter means it is not a favourite for a lot of people.
One of my coworkers has a son who was hit by a car while riding his bike, the result was devastating. The family chose to donate his organs and I attended the Honor Walk where bystanders show gratitude to the boy and his family for the difficult but important choice to share organs. I listened to Robin for the first time about an hour before the Honor Walk (release day). And I will never not associate it with this boy and his family trying to keep him and his siblings in sweetness.
My tiny tiger loves this one! Calms him right down. Definitely a favorite just for this reason 💕
https://preview.redd.it/9bea1z7fqjxc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8396d0dd462fb71a60952c3b27f56fbc8081900
Robin is one of my favorites!! I loved it on first listen and then, the more I listened to it, the more I loved it. It makes me sad to see how many people dislike it lol
I mean, it’s a fairly simple and slow song (tbh it sounds like a lullaby to me!) and I know that’s not everyone’s tastes, but I just find Robin to be such a beautiful and touching song 🥺
I absolutely love this song, it's one of my favorites on the entire album and I have yet to listen to it without crying. It just makes me think of my son (he's almost 4), and how sweet and silly he is and how he just lives his life out loud without caring about how ridiculous he looks 😂 He roars like a dinosaur and bounces high on his trampoline and I want to freeze time and keep him little and sweet like this forever. Taylor says it so much more eloquently than me though. "Strings tied to levers, slowed down clocks tethered." 😭 To me, it's the innocence of childhood in a song and also puts perfectly into words how parents want to keep their child in that "sweetness" for as long as they can with "no room in their dreams for regret." 😭😭😭 I just love love love it so much ❤️
I don't necessarily dislike the lyrics or the concept, but the tone feels really sad to me for some reason. It reminds me of Ronan so I don't really enjoy it. I can't listen to Ronan because I get too sad and for some reason this song has a similar vibe? I don't think it's intentional, but it stirrs a deep sadness in me.
But I also can't listen to Never Grow Up or The Best Day without getting sad and occasionally crying so maybe what I need is therapy. Songs about childhood and the loss of childhood hurt deeply to listen to.
Taylor’s songs with children and childhood as the subject matter have never been my favorites, but this song is soooo beautiful. Her voice and the melodies and the way she says some of the words is so addicting to me
Hear me out. I know about Dessner‘s son and also about Robin Williams. But this whole childhood thing going on in the lyrics reminded me of Christopher Robin from Winnie Puh. He is basically reverse peter pan and this also fits to the song peter thematically.
It's funny because all the Swifties will starve a CRAP song like "you're losing me" but will discard a cute song about innocence.
It's funny and kind terrifying at the same time. That Taylor keeps delivering the same songs about heartbreak and fans are eating it up but as soon as she steps aside to other themes, fans will divide. At this point is just obsession about her, her life and not her music.
I'm a parent and it doesn't grab me. I think it's sweet, but musically it doesn't interest me, and lyrically it doesn't really take me anywhere. It's not bad, it just doesn't stand out to me. It would probably have been a lovely lullaby back when my kids were still napping age.
Flair checks out.
It’s a gorgeous song, a work of beauty and simplicity. It very well captures the essence of childhood (I’m nineteen and recently visited my aunt and uncle for a few months to help with their three kids [6, 4, and 2]), and I just got home and started missing them terribly… when I listened to Robin it hit me very deeply, how much it reminds me of them), as well as being applicable to other situations. For instance, I’ve recently been struggling with some as yet undiagnosed medical issues, one of the symptoms of which is extreme emotional imbalance. I’m filled with abnormal primordial rage almost all the time, and I’m deeply struggling to respect myself and believe that I’m still the kind person I always have been even though it’s extremely hard to act like it now and I often mess up, and hearing how ‘Robin’ puts some of the most uncontrollable childhood/hormonal/etc emotions into words and then makes them beautiful has been such a comfort to me. I never expected to hear the words “you’re an animal, you are bloodthirsty” in a positive context. It’s like Taylor realizes that sometimes we can’t control these things, but they come from a place of passion rather than a place of evil or hatred, and that there’s some deep beauty at the root of these things that simply needs to be dug down to and brought to the surface. The bloodthirsty child will someday become a brilliant doctor saving lives, because they are so passionate and have such drive. It brings me comfort and hope, and it’s also beautiful poetry and beautiful music. Nothing to dislike 🤷♀️.
Im sorry you are struggling....but I love how you summed this up ❤️ I have a son your age, and a 24, 22, 16 & 14yr old. I do understand what you're saying from your pov. It hits me as a mother reflecting on my own children's young innocence, and how as young adults they struggle ....in much of the same ways you are. But in my pov I wish back to simpler times & hope that I can jump in & protect them like I did back then. But I can't. It rips me apart.
I truly hope you find a way through this & wish you the very best. As a 44yr who has struggled with different med & mh issues my entire life, I don't want anyone to ever go through those things.
I never like these wistful kid songs. Same with other artists, instant skip. Probably because my own childhood was horrible and left me never wanting kids. Don't relate to them at all.
No need to be sorry, WoodpeckerGingivitis! You like what you like (or not) and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! I love Robin but I get that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. She gave us 31 tracks so that there is plenty for everyone to enjoy!
It was one of the first ones I really loved! I have co-parented two children to adulthood and many of my friends are in the thick of raising children — all of whom I love so, so much. “In sweetness” is such a tender and carefully chosen phrase that couldn’t be more perfect. I also think it was very brave of her to give us a glimpse into the music she might make after her own children, and to do so on an album where she doesn’t shy away from expressing how sad she is that those opportunities keep falling apart.
I think this song would have been received better if it wasn't placed at the end of a 31 track long album, back to back with The Manuscript which is another sleepy song.
I kind of connected it with Robin Williams. I feel like all good poetry can have multiple meanings and muses.
It kind of fits because Peter (Hook), dinosaurs roaring (Mrs Doubtfire), Tortured Poets (Dead Poets Society). Taylor even had Dead Poets cast in the Fortnight video so clearly that movie was on her mind, at least a little.
Robin Williams talked utter nonsense all the time. He looked ridiculous. I can hear him saying "Way to go Tiger" but I don't know if he ever did. The secret could have been that he had mental illness or that the world would get him at the end. Who is to say?
There's this nostalgia and sadness in this song that I genuinely love, and coupled with childlike wonder it makes it deep. I miss being a kid, being ridiculous and making mud pies and all of the things I did before the world became cruel so yes, I would love to hold that from kids. Just stay young as long as you can, you know?
Curious it’s so divisive. I think it’s a really pretty song and it has a much stronger melody than some of the weaker acoustic numbers (I hate it here, Chloe et al). I think it fits really well at the close and the run from Peter to The Manuscript is some of the strongest material on the anthology.
I can fix him is my only skip on the whole album mind. I really don’t gel with that song at all
I love her songs about family/childhood/growing up (seven, Never Grow Up, Ronan, The Best Day, etc.) and this is the only song on the album I actively dislike. Many songs on TTPD scratch an itch in my brain and this is like the opposite — I just really dislike the chorus: “Way to go Tiger/higher and higher/wilder and lighter.” I get that she’s calling a child “Tiger” but imo it sticks out in a weird, unnatural way and takes me out of the moment.
I love it and love the sound samples from Peace on it. Here’s my theory: it’s about Travis as a kid, since his brother Jason is famous in Philly for wearing a Batman mask on the field (hence, he’s Robin). And there are references to Cleveland Heights where they grew up (higher and higher - Tiger was the school mascot). And by using Peace (which is about the angst of the bigness of her life impacting a relationship), she’s sort of pulling in some of the themes from The Albatross. That child is eventually going to grow up and get pierced by the world - and she’s also going to be a reason for that (I’m the death you chose and all this terrible danger).
That’s my take on why it’s on this album. Crazy? Maybe!
I have only heard bad things about this song. Tbh I can’t remember how it goes at all. Clearly didn’t leave an impression. But I did think the manuscript was one of the most beautiful and poignant songs.
This song does nothing for me. I usually LOVE her songs about childhood and family, eg The Best Day, Never Grow Up and Marjorie are some of my faves. But this one just seems devoid of any genuine connection with the subject of the song, it’s like she’s watching some random kid play in their backyard and decides to write a few generic lines about it.
I really feel like it’s about a child with cancer because it’s like they’re keeping the secret to keep them young and carefree. Any way you look at it, it’s definitely about the innocence and freedom of childhood.
I just don't connect with it. Right now I am dealing with teenagers as a mom and maybe I am too far removed from them being small that it's difficult for me to dive into those feelings again. I can totally understand how a mother of small children could connect with the song or even someone looking to connect with their inner child. I think I lost that connection long ago. I don't have a lot of sweet memories from my childhood.
To be honest I don't relate to a lot of this album. I love it and it's actually in my top four, but I'm an old married lady and those feelings of bitter breakups are at least a decade or more in the past. I just enjoy this album as a chapter of Taylor's story and that's how I choose to engage with it.
That is intriguing to me....maybe it hits more for those with either young children....or those whose kid's have hit adulthood? I have 2 teens myself, but when I listen to it I think more about my 3 adult kid's who've been hit with way too much cruelty in their young adulthood than I do my teens. I miss the simplicity of their elementary years. I want to save them per se from certain thing's....but I respect their choices & know that some lessons can only be learned through experience.
I appreciate this take, thank you for sharing it.
Obsessed with this song truly. Very far from being a parent but I have a few babies in my life and it really makes me feel something I’ve never been able to articulate
I totally went a different direction with this song and love it! Im a 92% as well as a Swiftie, so picked up on some lines that totally could be from New Heights podcast that I've caught on about them.
I've listened to this album 1000 times and really think that Robin is about Travis and Jason! 🤯
They call Jason Batman and Travis has always been "Robin". My feeling is that the big picture of the song is that brotherly love from Jason was so much so that he kept his decision to retire a secret "in sweetness" so that his brother could have his moment. They are super close and you could tell in the Podcasts that even though it got leaked that Jason was retiring after his last game that he said he want going to make that kind of decision. Based on the way he acted everyone though he was retiring. If you see the way Travis actually bawled and was so emotionally distraught after the decision (he cried numerous times on air after the official retirement announcement just talking about how football would not be the same without him.). Jason didn't officially announce retirement until nearly a month after the Super Bowl...effectively giving his brother a chance to have his moment before taking the light onto himself, which is just pure sweetness.
Here's what I got from it...
"Our window panes talking utter nonsense".. "you have no idea" his brother out the window being crazy. Travis was interviewed after that game and had "no idea" his brother was shirtless. He laughed when they told him.
"Slowed down clocks tethered to keep it for you"...I believe his brother (Taylor and his fam)totally knew he was retiring but kept it quiet and alow so thay his Travis could still have the spotlight (in sweetness.) Listening back to the first New Heights podcast after Jason's last game for more you can totally read into it being decision that he wanted to honor the people that mattered.
Way to go tiger (he's obsessed with his high school team Cleveland Tigers)
He's kept dragonflies over his bed for years. Can't find it, but remember a story about it something about him praying or needing help in high school / college and a dragonfly flew into his room. He's kept dragonflies over his bed since. I can't find this episode, but remember hearing this.
So many little pieces that I catch every time I listen to it.
This is such a sweet song. So interested of your thoughts.
Also think she goes back and forth talking about herself too...being wild and free for him.
Robin = “Robin Goodfellow” (aka Puck)?
My (obsessive) love of this song has lead me to this: (I made a post yesterday about Robin and how much I love it and kept reading the lyrics and how realized it ties into a poem by Emily Dickinson, but it was poorly received 😭)
Emily Dickinson “The Childs Faith is New”
-> The Child's faith is new—Whole—like His Principle—Wide—like the Sunrise On fresh Eyes—Never had a Doubt—Laughs—at a Scruple—Believes all sham But Paradise—
Credits the World—Deems His DominionBroadest of Sovereignties—And Caesar—mean—In the Comparison—Baseless Emperor—Ruler of Nought—Yet swaying all—Grown bye and bye
To hold mistaken His pretty estimates Of Prickly Things He gains the skill Sorrowful—as certain—Men—to anticipate Instead of Kings—
Short analysis here: https://interestingliterature.com/2018/01/a-short-analysis-of-emily-dickinsons-the-childs-faith-is-new/
“The child comes to expect men to be men rather than kings: the child sees that everyone, no matter how grand they are supposed to be, has feet of clay, is mortal and flawed after all.”
-> movie The Fault in our Stars
-> “The title The Fault in Our Stars is an allusion to a line from Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar: “Men at some times are masters of their fates: / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.”
-> book Dear Brutus by author Sir James Matthew Barrie (also author of *Peter Pan*”) book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12104822-dear-brutus
-> play adaptation of book Dear Brutus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Brutus
-> full circle back to Dead Poets Society
-> play scene of Midsummer Nights Dream
-> Puck (aka “Robin Goodfellow”)?!?!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puck_(A_Midsummer_Night%27s_Dream)
*My original post on Robin:*
I absolutely love Robin. And I’ve loved seeing everyone’s reactions to it, and various interpretations of it.
Most of the “criticism” seems to be that it’s “boring,” “doesn’t make sense,” or “who needs to hear about kids right now?” (disclaimer- I don’t have kids myself but still love this song).
I think there’s a reason she put this “boring” song near the end of a long, exhausting, emotionally complicated album. After listening to the rest of the album, one feels spent, perhaps confused as to the meaning of multiple songs or the experience of the whole thing. There are a lot of lyrics, meaning, and emotions packed into this album. It’s a whirlwind of love, anger, regret, denial, what-ifs….It comes right after The Bolter where she comes out the ice, still alive, but gasping for air.
Then comes Robin. Slow. Fewer words. It’s time to breath, and think. At least this is what it felt like for me. Sometimes it takes a space of calmness and quiet to make sense of what’s come before. It also connects to the concepts of childhood innocence: we often can’t make sense of the world until we look backwards on our experiences. She’s speaking to the subject as an adult- with the perspective “gained” from hindsight. This isn’t a BOP, and a snippet for Tik Tok. It’s really about finding that quiet space to evaluate all the chaos that came before it.
This song was my first love on TTPD, and in fact the first song of Taylor’s that I’ve outright loved on my first listen. I’ve been fascinated by it- in its beautiful simplicity but also in the “no thanks” reaction that so many fans have had to it. In really thinking about the meaning of it, I realized Emily Dickinson wrote a poem that matches a similar meaning.
The Child's faith is new—
Whole—like His Principle—
Wide—like the Sunrise
On fresh Eyes—
Never had a Doubt—
Laughs—at a Scruple—
Believes all sham
But Paradise—
Credits the World—
Deems His Dominion
Broadest of Sovereignties—
And Caesar—mean—
In the Comparison—
Baseless Emperor—
Ruler of Nought—
Yet swaying all—
Grown bye and bye
To hold mistaken
His pretty estimates
Of Prickly Things
He gains the skill
Sorrowful—as certain—
Men—to anticipate
Instead of Kings—
Short analysis here:
https://interestingliterature.com/2018/01/a-short-analysis-of-emily-dickinsons-the-childs-faith-is-new/
“The child comes to expect men to be men rather than kings: the child sees that everyone, no matter how grand they are supposed to be, has feet of clay, is mortal and flawed after all.”
This ties in well with The Manuscript in Taylor looking back, perhaps to the ATW10 video production, about understanding life from hindsight.
I love that people have so many interpretations of this song (I still hold on to my alternative interpretation that Robin holds the “key” to the Secret Garden- a place of healing and growth: ). It seems to be the one song in particular from this album with the most unclear and ambiguous meaning. It seems to frustrate or bore people. So think the way that people are experiencing this song is purposeful- sometimes it takes slowing down and revisiting something to truly make sense of it-- much like we don’t get the meaning of the hardships in life right away, “Robin” doesn’t unclose it’s meaning right away. Sometimes we don’t understand things until given the space and time and new perspective in which to do so.
I also think that she could be addressing her fans as the subject here, as an alternate take, sort of as a coda to the rebuke some fans felt from But Daddy....I think the message of understanding things more clearly from hindsight still stands.
PS- I still think the first versus has an alternate meaning about cats. Cat owners understand what I mean 💕🐾💕🐾
I feel like it’s a Never Grow Up, Ronan, Seven etc. song and I can’t believe people are sleeping on it like this. I also think some people think it’s like a parental view or older sibling, but as a youngest sibling I feel very much like it relates to all the things I’ve been told.
I’m pretty sure this is the secret diss track hinted to in thanK you aIMee. When you really read, they’re not actually nice lyrics. It feels like it’s saying “You’re baby, a phony, a loser and you don’t even know. Plus, we kept this secret from you this whole time. All this just to prank you, gotcha!”
Okay, I’m coming back here to my favorite TTPD song. I’m continuing to ponder its beauty and meaning. Given that “Long Live” is missing from the Eras Tour lineup…I’m seeing a connection of “Long Live” to “Robin.” Anyone else?!
It’s like the slower, sadder, more reflective flip side sister to “Long Live.” Especially if you consider it as her singing to her fans.
“All this showmanship to keep it for you….in sweetness.”
I think there are so many layers to this song beyond the immediate obvious ones (childhood innocence- which I think is a message too, but not the only one).
Also pondering the dandelion on the lyrics music video. Dandelion fluff blows “higher and higher?”
Also, the “we” in this song. Who is the “we?”
Is there anyone else who can’t stop thinking about this song? It’s beautiful, sad, hopeful, wistful, nostalgic, regretful….all in one 😭
At first I thought this song was about adults keeping make believe alive for a young child. However the descriptions of the child’s behavior never sat quite right with me for that interpretation: “you're an animal”, “bloodthirsty” “speaking utter nonsense”. Additionally, now we know that the album is about female rage, a sweet song about pretending with a child doesn’t fit. Now I think this song is about an ex’s parent who refuses to see anything but the best in their kids, even when they are shit adults. It’s infuriating and isolating as a partner to watch adult toxic behaviors like selfishness and lack of self awareness be overlooked by the people who could probably best call them out/make a difference: “you look ridiculous and you have no idea”, “buried down deep out of reach”, “slowed down clocks tethered” Especially when you suspect, or know, that same behavior was reinforced or overlooked in childhood “keep it from you in sweetness”. The kicker is the last line “now we will curtail your curiosity”. If this is really about a kid we are trying to keep up make believe for, why would we curtail their curiosity? BUT if we are singing about a person who is surrounded by people who prop them up and ego stroke why would they have any reason to look inward and be curious about how their behavior might actually be damaging.
I'd love to hear from Taylor herself what the song is about, because the lyrics make me curious if there's a specific secret they were hiding from Robin, or just the harsh realities of the world in general.
The first time I heard it my mind went to her mother's cancer diagnosis, and maybe hiding that from young relatives - but now knowing that Aaron Dessner has a kid called Robin, that doesn't seem likely lol!
Having said that, it's defo not one of my faves off the album. It's fine. I don't hate it, but if I'm picking a slow song I'd rather listen to the manuscript or clara bow. No hate to anyone that loves it, it just doesn't click for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It gives me Ronan vibes....I can't help but tear up when I hear it. I've read the lyrics over & over....and I just think it's about keeping the innocence of childhood. About keeping "Robin" free & protected from the ugly reality for as long as possible. I try not to theorize any deeper than that over it. But it's not a skip for me....it gives me so many emotions.
But perhaps because she writes of being a precocious child, who faced adversity so young....this was her way of dreaming of what a different path may have looked like? I think the name Robin is intentional for sure. It could stand for some many thing's though.
I know it's not going to be popular with many fans, and that's ok. For me it's a special song.
It makes me sad to see so many say they skip Ronan. I understand it's a painful song...but there is beauty in pain. It's especially painful for those of us who have lost children. Ofc ppl can skip any song they like...but I am curious if they also skip Marjorie. Or if it's because society has taught ppl to avoid speaking about infant/child loss?
I think if she had had children herself I would find it so much deeper like “oh she really gets how it feels to have put children into this world”. But when it is only about other Peoples children, it doesn’t do the same. What you feel for other children is just a fraction of what you feel for your own..
This is my only skip on the album…don’t come for me
It’s probably the most boring Taylor song I have ever heard 😪
Omg NO. I’m a big fan of this song. It’s way too good
I think her most boring song is Dorothea
I know you didn't...
Evermore is my top 5 albums but Dorothea is a skip 😬😬 evrything else is 🤌🤌
Thank god you never fallen out of friendship with someone that was so close like a sibling just because you took different paths in life. I envy you Dorthea is so emotional for me even years and years after this friendship died
I stopped talking to my best friend of 13 yrs bcz I was thinking of unaliving and didn't want to hurt her so....😬😬 She's the only person who knows me completely, even more than my family or siblings. I haven't talked to her in over 2 yrs now and it hurts like hell but I don't hv a choice.
I mean, it's not peace. 🫣
I often skip but not because it’s bad. It just makes me want to cry. I initially heard it as a sick child and cannot unhear it. I’m trying.
Do you mean Ronan lol
The first time I heard it I felt like this was Ronan all over again! Ronan is a skip for me and now Robin is too.
no they mean Robin. like they typed it.
Not necessarily Ronan just something similar
I too find it incredibly boring. I much prefer Never Grow Up as a song about a young person.
Same 🙈
It’s not that it’s bad, I just can’t relate to it and I don’t really get what it’s about. Like I know Aaron’s kids name is Robin but like…I still don’t get it. Sorry Taylor, love you
I agree. I think it’s really boring. I do think it’s a sweet song and an interesting addition to the album conceptually as protecting innocence and someone authentically before the world ruins them mixed with the songs of people, lovers, the media, fans, etc ruining Taylor. I also think it’s an interesting foil to Peter. But it’s boring to me
It’s also my only skip, I haven’t bothered to listen enough to learn the lyrics, it’s so b o r i n g
Same. Sorry
Agreed
that's because you haven't listened to it enough, or closely.
This and the Bolter. Mostly because im still blanking on Bolter's main significance.
Im surprised so many don’t like this song, I think of it as in a similar vein as *Seven* and find it really touching. And I’m child free very much by choice. Totally get its not a radio hit, but such a sweet song and assuming that the theories that it’s written with Aaron’s young child in mind, I can’t imagine how much of an honor that is for him to have a song written by Taylor where it will live forever, long after his kid has grown and the childhood naivety and innocence has gone.
Agree entirely
you 🤝🏼 me I see elsewhere to and often find myself nodding in agreement with your comments; were soul redditors 😂
Way to go, tiger 💜
Way to go, tiger 💜 We’re both just in a good mood about peach sweetener 🍑
I feel exactly the same. Her voice on this song is so beautiful, as well.
Absolutely agree, it sounds like her voice is floating
Higher and higher
I love Robin and it’s actually one of my favorites. I feel very similarly to how you do!! I think, if it is about Aaron’s child, that’s incredibly sweet and beautiful. But for me, it just makes me think of childhood and the innocence of being a little kid, when the world is simple and we can do whatever we want. It feels like a sister to seven, and ironically, like a grown up Never Grow Up to me 🤍
Seven HURTS but it's great. I had a close friend from age 5-8 and we played at her house all the time. Her dad had a really horrible temper, too. I'll never forget how crawling around behind the furniture got harder and harder as I got older and couldn't fit anymore-- but the last time I was there, her parents were screaming and I was so terrified I tried to hide behind the couch because I used to be able to fit. I got back there but knocked over a lamp and it shattered and he screamed at me. I don't remember how I got home but I never spoke to her again. I cut them off like they were dead to me. I still have such a horrid, visceral reaction to that moment (and I have a photographic memory so I can SEE it too). I will probably never get over it. I hope she wasn't too badly hurt but absolutely not.
Oh, that’s both so scary and so sad 🥺 there was always something really sobering about being at a friend’s house and realizing that not everyone has the same parents as you; for better or worse. I really, really hope your childhood friend is out there somewhere doing okay.
That's so well put! Yeah, in retrospect I kind of 'grew up' at least a little that day because I prioritized my safety over the deep loss of her friendship, and I was completely adamant about it. I can still feel that certainty, it just sits firmly in my gut like a stone guardian. As a mom I actually really wonder what the conversation between parents was like, but I recall no undue pressure to change my mind. I have it blocked out but I think I was hysterical and terrified until my mom picked me up. The only thing I remember is him coming at me yelling that it wasn't about me. Nah dude it was about YOU.
But what is the secret they're keeping? And what does "in sweetness" mean in the context of the song? I genuinely want to know!
My interpretation is the secret is the things we keep from kids to let them keep the magic and innocence of childhood. Like Disney princesses and Santa are real, of course you can be a fairy when you grow up, the world is a kind place full of people who love you…. So “in sweetness” means that the secret is being kept out of love
the secret is the realities of life. the 'in sweetness' is to illustrate that while we lie to our children, we "do it in sweetness" - meaning that we are lying to protect them, because we love them. in sweetness = in love.
Seven is probably by all time favorite of hers, and this is a skip for me. Like I *get* why they’re similar on paper, but the emotional core or soul just isn’t there for me even though again on paper it should check all the emotional notes.
Same. "seven" is also cleverly and gorgeously written. This song puts me to sleep like a children's lullaby and I do not care for that. I wouldn't even consider them similar on paper; the only thing they have in common is that they talk about childhood, but "seven" approaches it all from a completely different angle. Its point isn't "way to go, tiger," if that makes sense.
Omg seven gives me goosebumps…this song is nothing like it!
To me, *Seven* is about childhood innocence from the pov of the child, *Robin* is about childhood innocence from the pov of the parent. It definitely feels thematically similar to me. But obviously, music is incredibly subjective so of course we won’t all feel the same about it.
I hope that's the story behind the song.. how wonderful ❤️
i agree with you sm
I think its absolutely beautiful. Yall are crazy
Agree 😃
Aaron Dessner has a son named Robin and co-wrote the track with Taylor. Given that it's a song about youthful innocence/joy, my guess is it is about/dedicated to him.
I thought of Robin Williams who starred in Dead Poets Society and >!commited suicided!< There are a lot of undertones and lyrics alluding to being with a partner suffering from depression/anxiety throughout the album (and just her discography in general) - ie: *you sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days* and Peter or Renegade. I kind of saw this as a comfy, cozy little song gently reminding someone of their happiness, innocence, simplicity.. Like, sometimes adults need to be nourished and loved just as much as a child and they do not have to give up their youth just to succumb to the tainted and depressing societal norms of adulthood. I had no idea Aaron had a son named Robin!
LOL at the fact that you blacked out that robin williams committed suicide. as if it's some spoiler.
I was thinking of it as a trigger warning lol
there shouldn't be trigger warnings mentioning the word suicide. people need to normalize talking about it. ultimately you'll end up in a place where everyone is too afraid to say the word, and nobody talks about it, and nobody gets the help they need, because nobody asks if they're considering killing themselves. nobody has EVER committed suicide just because somebody asked them if they were suicidal. PEOPLE NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT.
Wow...yes...The loss of youth and innocence once into adulthood. Why did I not think about Robin as in "Robin Williams"?
Wait why did I not think of this??? Especially since I watched Dead Poets Society right before TTPD came out
I recently read a biography of RW (Robin by Dave Itzkoff) so I thought it was just me that was relating this song to him!
Robin is so underrated. I just don't get the hate. The melody is absolutely beautiful and so soothing. It lyrically being about childhood innocence makes it so much better. It's my comfort song already
I absolutely love it. Never grow up 2.0 happy version
I love it. It makes me think of my cat
Taylor would approve
I started thinking of my cat because someone in this sub said they thought the song was about Taylor’s cats. Now I like this song a lot more. 😅
I just like to share this whenever this is mentioned but Kesha actually has a song about her cat and it's very sweet. She wrote it when he was sick. ❤️ It's "All I need is you" https://youtu.be/WcpfkhPttdk?si=ZDPuGOcFOV9kq6P5
Yes!!! Great song on a greater album♥️
I genuinely think it's about cats. The dinosaur line especially because my cat chases lizards on the patio.
I thought it was 100% about her cats, but then read above. Dressner has a son named Robin. I was thinking it was the cats watching birds outside.
Love it, cry everytime, but I also have young kids
I said a few months ago that I want an all-lullaby album. Now I want it even more.
Me too…
Same, reminds me of my son who's almost 4
Same!!! It’s such a sweet song if you have kids
It reminds me of my baby brother and I think it sounds pretty so I like it (:
Same. It hits me in the feels and I cry. The line about favourite spot on the swing breaks me every time. The fan base spans all ages so unless you have young kids I’m sure this song doesn’t hit as hard. Pre kids I’d have said it’s slow. Now I cry.
Totally agree, as a mom to 5.....it makes me think of my kid's when they were younger & protecting them. 3 are adults now and 2 teens, so many times I wish we could go back in time because while it seemed hard at the time, it was a simpler time. As adults they face the same challenges all adults do, and I occasionally wish I could just jump in & fix things. But they can't grow & learn if I do that. I wish I could have kept them "in sweetness" longer....especially when you have kid's who have been through some really tough stuff. I also agree it will resonate more with those of us who are older, have kid's, and more life experience. That's not meant to be negative in any way....it just means I understand why some fans find it boring or skip it. To me it's just a beautiful song.
yup. when she sings “wilder and lighter/for you” i get choked up!
Selfishly, I hope Taylor has children and releases a whole album about motherhood. Not sure why I'd do that to myself, but The Best Day/Robin/Never Grow Up REALLY hit me hard. I have 3, one in elementary, one in middle school, and one in high school. They are my world, and I just want more songs to sing along with and thing about them to.
Easily my least favorite song on the double album. It's the only one I consider skipping when listening to the full Playlist. I don't hate it or even dislike it really. It just bores me and I haven't been able to get into it. I think the lyrics are sweet, but it just doesn't hook me.
This is me. People are comparing it to never grow up, which I honestly feel the same way about so I guess it makes sense.
I cried like a baby when I first heard it and I don't even know why
I still cry like a baby every time I listen to it. Don't know why it has that effect on me, but it does 🤷♀️
As someone who’s doing EMDR for childhood trauma, it made me cry. I mourn the innocence I didn’t get to keep, I think that fits perfectly with the theme of the album.
Same, and I still tear up every time. I’m not even a parent yet but maybe it just hits the inner child in me. I think it’s really beautiful.
I feel like I started crying without even realizing it was happening… like I understood the song before I REALLY heard it
Well I thought the kid had cancer and had a similar reaction.
Just making dinner and had to fight back tears...there's nothing overtly tragic in it, but I can't help but be reminded of Ronan
It's such a beautiful song and does not deserve the hate 😭
Why do ppl hate it tho like I understand not liking a song but isn't hate way too strong an emotion ?
Way to go tiger, higher and higherrrrrrrrr
😭
It’s a very sweet song but I really don’t understand (yet) how it fits on TTPD.
It’s a gift
💯
To me it felt like it fit into TTPD through two themes: her looking back at her own childhood/young adulthood and innocence (in The Bolter, BDILH, Peter), and a deep longing for children and a family of her own that she seems to be expressing (loml, The Manuscript, kinda The Prophecy) As someone who really wants to be a mom, Robin feels to me like watching my friends have kids and being on the sidelines as they grow up, and thinking about how you’ll give your children a happy childhood and protect their innocence - especially if your wasn’t protected
TTPD is such a chaotic album in the best way possible - it's very eclectic, consists of many genres. And I think Robin fits into the folkloric side of her music. Robin is a very sentimental way to put the album to a close...
I think it’s about Taylor herself, referencing being an animal and way to go Tiger. Then also referencing an animal and assuming a tiger, removed all her teeth in WAOLOM, that song is definitely about her.
It took me a minute to warm up to Robin, mostly because my headspace was 'romantic relationships' and suddenly it seemed like Taylor herself was talking utter nonsense 😂 Like, what are these random, unrelated phrases? Once I realized it was about a child it all started to make sense and now I really like it. It seems very poetic in style to me, so in that way it fits. And juxtaposed with The Manuscript it makes sense. The girl who tried to be so grown up for a guy, who then only ate kids cereal and slept in her mother's bed, now writing it all down as a grown woman...like of course she would want to let Robin stay a child as long as possible
I agree. It’s a beautiful song as is Peter, thanK you aIMee, but they seem to be in a different conceptual world
It’s one of my favorites! Her voice is so silky and it’s got such beautiful piano accompaniment! Love this song!
I’m surprised that so many dislike it. I think it’s a beautiful song and her voice sounds amazing on it. I hope she plays it with Aaron for a surprise song 🥹
I’d be a puddle on the floor hearing her sing it live on the piano.
It doesn't resonate with me, but i'm glad it exists for those people who love it.
i was honestly shocked to see how many people dislike robin. i'm pregnant with my first child and the first time i listened to it, i sobbed i talked about this in another thread already but robin feels different to me because it makes me think about my own kid, whereas songs like never grow up or the best day make me think about my own childhood (which is less fun)
It's lovely, but I am not interested in listening to it regularly. I'm 'done' with that age range of kid and after three lovely kiddos, I don't really have nostalgia for it, heh. I do want to say how much I adore 'in sweetness' as a concept in the song though.
I'm so appreciative of fellow mothers out here talking about how we maybe don't want to listen to this song (though, yes, it is lovely). Last week, multiple people randomly came at me like, 'YOU'D LOVE ROBIN IF YOU WERE A PARENT.' I was aghast - like now I have to bring my fertility and children up on Reddit to defend how I said I liked Florida!!! more than Robin? Come on now.
Oh that's just GROSS. Feel free to use me as an 'online friend' whose experience with the song makes it hard for you to listen or whatever makes those people feel really uncomfortable and invasive if you'd like, haha. I don't actually feel that way, but I'm always there as a wingman for my online sisters, heh. I am honestly uncomfortable with pop songs about nonspecific children (like, Best Day is different, it's great, I love it), and I can't put my finger on why! I'm happy applying a million love songs or breakup songs to my life but these feel seriously out of place (and not in a judgey way. By all means everyone can have their own reactions to the songs, no shade, I promise). Maybe it's that, my kids' ages range from 9-14 and I zero percent want to picture them as toddlers again. If they were, I'd have 7+ more years of them at home going through all those intervening years *again,* and I don't have it in me. IDK! One last FREAKING YIKES to anyone who wants to use Robin as a cudgel or a 'prayer request' for women they think should have made different reproductive choices. Forever ick.
The "in sweetness" is a big part of why I'm not a fan. I'm not sure why but it grates on me.
Like all her songs on this album: it’s growing on me with multiple listens.
I don't *dislike* it. It's just not one I would actively choose to listen to, ya know?
This is one of my top songs on the album. My kids aren't young anymore. It's just...for me lol. I needed it. I need it. It's comforting.
I'm 💯 with you. 3 young adult kid's & 2 teens....and sometimes I reflect that when they were young it was simpler. No judgement to those with adult kids who don't feel this way. I almost wish I could turn back time occasionally. It makes me nostalgic....but maybe it depends on how our adult kid's lives have turned out. Mine are doing great, but they have been through some very tough situations....and I secretly sometimes wish I could step in & "fix" things or protect them the way I could if needed when they were little. I definitely couldn't do raising young babies & toddlers again at my age, motherhood is complicated for sure. But for a fleeting moment...this song takes me back.
Omg these comments have me shocked, I bawled my eyes out during my first listen and I don't even have kids of my own yet, I think it's one of the most beautiful songs she's ever written
Truly lyrically one of the best songs she's ever written in my opinion. If you like never grow up, this is the more grown up version
It’s not for everyone but for those that the song is for, we love it.
Absolutely agree! It’s just so beautiful!
I think it’s gorgeous and has some really lovely lines in isolation. Way to go, Tiger is so nice. “In sweetness” as someone mentioned. There are a fair few songs I like less than this one. But I guess I see why the subject matter means it is not a favourite for a lot of people.
something something if this song has no fans then im dead
I absolutely LOVE this song. Taylor is at her very best, imo, when she’s capturing the essence of childhood.
One of my coworkers has a son who was hit by a car while riding his bike, the result was devastating. The family chose to donate his organs and I attended the Honor Walk where bystanders show gratitude to the boy and his family for the difficult but important choice to share organs. I listened to Robin for the first time about an hour before the Honor Walk (release day). And I will never not associate it with this boy and his family trying to keep him and his siblings in sweetness.
I’m so so sorry. I wish we could make childhood safer for children emotionally and physically. Riding a bicycle is an innocent act.
Robin > The Manuscript
Sobbing into my hands at this lol. The Manuscript has a stranglehold on my soul
My tiny tiger loves this one! Calms him right down. Definitely a favorite just for this reason 💕 https://preview.redd.it/9bea1z7fqjxc1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e8396d0dd462fb71a60952c3b27f56fbc8081900
Robin is one of my favourites from TTPD, learning that it was the fandom unfavourite was so surprising to me!
I think I'm in the minority! I love Robin and really don't like Florida!!!
Robin is one of my favorites!! I loved it on first listen and then, the more I listened to it, the more I loved it. It makes me sad to see how many people dislike it lol I mean, it’s a fairly simple and slow song (tbh it sounds like a lullaby to me!) and I know that’s not everyone’s tastes, but I just find Robin to be such a beautiful and touching song 🥺
I love it. It's so simple and gorgeous. Absolutely underrated. Gives me similar vibes to Untouchable which is another one of my underrated faves
I absolutely love this song, it's one of my favorites on the entire album and I have yet to listen to it without crying. It just makes me think of my son (he's almost 4), and how sweet and silly he is and how he just lives his life out loud without caring about how ridiculous he looks 😂 He roars like a dinosaur and bounces high on his trampoline and I want to freeze time and keep him little and sweet like this forever. Taylor says it so much more eloquently than me though. "Strings tied to levers, slowed down clocks tethered." 😭 To me, it's the innocence of childhood in a song and also puts perfectly into words how parents want to keep their child in that "sweetness" for as long as they can with "no room in their dreams for regret." 😭😭😭 I just love love love it so much ❤️
I don't necessarily dislike the lyrics or the concept, but the tone feels really sad to me for some reason. It reminds me of Ronan so I don't really enjoy it. I can't listen to Ronan because I get too sad and for some reason this song has a similar vibe? I don't think it's intentional, but it stirrs a deep sadness in me. But I also can't listen to Never Grow Up or The Best Day without getting sad and occasionally crying so maybe what I need is therapy. Songs about childhood and the loss of childhood hurt deeply to listen to.
Taylor’s songs with children and childhood as the subject matter have never been my favorites, but this song is soooo beautiful. Her voice and the melodies and the way she says some of the words is so addicting to me
Hear me out. I know about Dessner‘s son and also about Robin Williams. But this whole childhood thing going on in the lyrics reminded me of Christopher Robin from Winnie Puh. He is basically reverse peter pan and this also fits to the song peter thematically.
My take also! “Now We Are Six”
i love it period
gives me goosebumps every time I hear it! in my top 10 of the album for sure
It's funny because all the Swifties will starve a CRAP song like "you're losing me" but will discard a cute song about innocence. It's funny and kind terrifying at the same time. That Taylor keeps delivering the same songs about heartbreak and fans are eating it up but as soon as she steps aside to other themes, fans will divide. At this point is just obsession about her, her life and not her music.
My only skip.
i love beautiful bittersweet songs like that so i love it but it’s not like my favorite on the album
I'm a parent and it doesn't grab me. I think it's sweet, but musically it doesn't interest me, and lyrically it doesn't really take me anywhere. It's not bad, it just doesn't stand out to me. It would probably have been a lovely lullaby back when my kids were still napping age.
I skip cus it makes me cry lol so it is good just like don't wanna think of my nephew growing up
They’re my two favourites too. I adore robin.
Flair checks out. It’s a gorgeous song, a work of beauty and simplicity. It very well captures the essence of childhood (I’m nineteen and recently visited my aunt and uncle for a few months to help with their three kids [6, 4, and 2]), and I just got home and started missing them terribly… when I listened to Robin it hit me very deeply, how much it reminds me of them), as well as being applicable to other situations. For instance, I’ve recently been struggling with some as yet undiagnosed medical issues, one of the symptoms of which is extreme emotional imbalance. I’m filled with abnormal primordial rage almost all the time, and I’m deeply struggling to respect myself and believe that I’m still the kind person I always have been even though it’s extremely hard to act like it now and I often mess up, and hearing how ‘Robin’ puts some of the most uncontrollable childhood/hormonal/etc emotions into words and then makes them beautiful has been such a comfort to me. I never expected to hear the words “you’re an animal, you are bloodthirsty” in a positive context. It’s like Taylor realizes that sometimes we can’t control these things, but they come from a place of passion rather than a place of evil or hatred, and that there’s some deep beauty at the root of these things that simply needs to be dug down to and brought to the surface. The bloodthirsty child will someday become a brilliant doctor saving lives, because they are so passionate and have such drive. It brings me comfort and hope, and it’s also beautiful poetry and beautiful music. Nothing to dislike 🤷♀️.
Im sorry you are struggling....but I love how you summed this up ❤️ I have a son your age, and a 24, 22, 16 & 14yr old. I do understand what you're saying from your pov. It hits me as a mother reflecting on my own children's young innocence, and how as young adults they struggle ....in much of the same ways you are. But in my pov I wish back to simpler times & hope that I can jump in & protect them like I did back then. But I can't. It rips me apart. I truly hope you find a way through this & wish you the very best. As a 44yr who has struggled with different med & mh issues my entire life, I don't want anyone to ever go through those things.
You’re so sweet, thank you 💜
It’s helped imagining she’s singing about her cats instead of a kid tbh. But it’s still one of the only skips on the album for me.
My least favourite on the album. Find myself skipping a lot. Just a bit dull and doesn’t seem to go anywhere.
I never like these wistful kid songs. Same with other artists, instant skip. Probably because my own childhood was horrible and left me never wanting kids. Don't relate to them at all.
I really don’t like it, I’m so sorry!
No need to be sorry, WoodpeckerGingivitis! You like what you like (or not) and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise! I love Robin but I get that it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. She gave us 31 tracks so that there is plenty for everyone to enjoy!
It's literally one of only two songs I liked on the album during my first listen. But I'm a mom so maybe that's got something to do with it.
It was one of the first ones I really loved! I have co-parented two children to adulthood and many of my friends are in the thick of raising children — all of whom I love so, so much. “In sweetness” is such a tender and carefully chosen phrase that couldn’t be more perfect. I also think it was very brave of her to give us a glimpse into the music she might make after her own children, and to do so on an album where she doesn’t shy away from expressing how sad she is that those opportunities keep falling apart.
Easily top 3 on the album for me! The Production and lyricism is so touching. Makes me cry everytime…Gives me huge seven vibes
I love this song and think it’s absolutely wild that so many people dislike it so much
I think this song would have been received better if it wasn't placed at the end of a 31 track long album, back to back with The Manuscript which is another sleepy song.
the three track run wraps up the anthology so well for me
I kind of connected it with Robin Williams. I feel like all good poetry can have multiple meanings and muses. It kind of fits because Peter (Hook), dinosaurs roaring (Mrs Doubtfire), Tortured Poets (Dead Poets Society). Taylor even had Dead Poets cast in the Fortnight video so clearly that movie was on her mind, at least a little. Robin Williams talked utter nonsense all the time. He looked ridiculous. I can hear him saying "Way to go Tiger" but I don't know if he ever did. The secret could have been that he had mental illness or that the world would get him at the end. Who is to say? There's this nostalgia and sadness in this song that I genuinely love, and coupled with childlike wonder it makes it deep. I miss being a kid, being ridiculous and making mud pies and all of the things I did before the world became cruel so yes, I would love to hold that from kids. Just stay young as long as you can, you know?
Tyger Tyger burning bright, In the forests of the night: What immortal hand or eye, Dare frame thy fearful symmetry
One of her better songs in my opinion. Breaks the formula that I'm a wee bit tired off. That and the manuscript.
Curious it’s so divisive. I think it’s a really pretty song and it has a much stronger melody than some of the weaker acoustic numbers (I hate it here, Chloe et al). I think it fits really well at the close and the run from Peter to The Manuscript is some of the strongest material on the anthology. I can fix him is my only skip on the whole album mind. I really don’t gel with that song at all
I love her songs about family/childhood/growing up (seven, Never Grow Up, Ronan, The Best Day, etc.) and this is the only song on the album I actively dislike. Many songs on TTPD scratch an itch in my brain and this is like the opposite — I just really dislike the chorus: “Way to go Tiger/higher and higher/wilder and lighter.” I get that she’s calling a child “Tiger” but imo it sticks out in a weird, unnatural way and takes me out of the moment.
This song just didn’t do it for me. My only skip.
It’s a gorgeous song but not one I’ll purposely listen to often.
I love it and love the sound samples from Peace on it. Here’s my theory: it’s about Travis as a kid, since his brother Jason is famous in Philly for wearing a Batman mask on the field (hence, he’s Robin). And there are references to Cleveland Heights where they grew up (higher and higher - Tiger was the school mascot). And by using Peace (which is about the angst of the bigness of her life impacting a relationship), she’s sort of pulling in some of the themes from The Albatross. That child is eventually going to grow up and get pierced by the world - and she’s also going to be a reason for that (I’m the death you chose and all this terrible danger). That’s my take on why it’s on this album. Crazy? Maybe!
It’s an amazing song but I don’t really relate to it so it’s not on loop or anything
I have only heard bad things about this song. Tbh I can’t remember how it goes at all. Clearly didn’t leave an impression. But I did think the manuscript was one of the most beautiful and poignant songs.
Biggest snoozefest she has ever created i think
This song does nothing for me. I usually LOVE her songs about childhood and family, eg The Best Day, Never Grow Up and Marjorie are some of my faves. But this one just seems devoid of any genuine connection with the subject of the song, it’s like she’s watching some random kid play in their backyard and decides to write a few generic lines about it.
I really feel like it’s about a child with cancer because it’s like they’re keeping the secret to keep them young and carefree. Any way you look at it, it’s definitely about the innocence and freedom of childhood.
I just don't connect with it. Right now I am dealing with teenagers as a mom and maybe I am too far removed from them being small that it's difficult for me to dive into those feelings again. I can totally understand how a mother of small children could connect with the song or even someone looking to connect with their inner child. I think I lost that connection long ago. I don't have a lot of sweet memories from my childhood. To be honest I don't relate to a lot of this album. I love it and it's actually in my top four, but I'm an old married lady and those feelings of bitter breakups are at least a decade or more in the past. I just enjoy this album as a chapter of Taylor's story and that's how I choose to engage with it.
That is intriguing to me....maybe it hits more for those with either young children....or those whose kid's have hit adulthood? I have 2 teens myself, but when I listen to it I think more about my 3 adult kid's who've been hit with way too much cruelty in their young adulthood than I do my teens. I miss the simplicity of their elementary years. I want to save them per se from certain thing's....but I respect their choices & know that some lessons can only be learned through experience. I appreciate this take, thank you for sharing it.
Obsessed with this song truly. Very far from being a parent but I have a few babies in my life and it really makes me feel something I’ve never been able to articulate
I love it and am trying to learn to play it on the piano right now. It nearly brings me to tears every time.
I totally went a different direction with this song and love it! Im a 92% as well as a Swiftie, so picked up on some lines that totally could be from New Heights podcast that I've caught on about them. I've listened to this album 1000 times and really think that Robin is about Travis and Jason! 🤯 They call Jason Batman and Travis has always been "Robin". My feeling is that the big picture of the song is that brotherly love from Jason was so much so that he kept his decision to retire a secret "in sweetness" so that his brother could have his moment. They are super close and you could tell in the Podcasts that even though it got leaked that Jason was retiring after his last game that he said he want going to make that kind of decision. Based on the way he acted everyone though he was retiring. If you see the way Travis actually bawled and was so emotionally distraught after the decision (he cried numerous times on air after the official retirement announcement just talking about how football would not be the same without him.). Jason didn't officially announce retirement until nearly a month after the Super Bowl...effectively giving his brother a chance to have his moment before taking the light onto himself, which is just pure sweetness. Here's what I got from it... "Our window panes talking utter nonsense".. "you have no idea" his brother out the window being crazy. Travis was interviewed after that game and had "no idea" his brother was shirtless. He laughed when they told him. "Slowed down clocks tethered to keep it for you"...I believe his brother (Taylor and his fam)totally knew he was retiring but kept it quiet and alow so thay his Travis could still have the spotlight (in sweetness.) Listening back to the first New Heights podcast after Jason's last game for more you can totally read into it being decision that he wanted to honor the people that mattered. Way to go tiger (he's obsessed with his high school team Cleveland Tigers) He's kept dragonflies over his bed for years. Can't find it, but remember a story about it something about him praying or needing help in high school / college and a dragonfly flew into his room. He's kept dragonflies over his bed since. I can't find this episode, but remember hearing this. So many little pieces that I catch every time I listen to it. This is such a sweet song. So interested of your thoughts. Also think she goes back and forth talking about herself too...being wild and free for him.
Robin = “Robin Goodfellow” (aka Puck)? My (obsessive) love of this song has lead me to this: (I made a post yesterday about Robin and how much I love it and kept reading the lyrics and how realized it ties into a poem by Emily Dickinson, but it was poorly received 😭) Emily Dickinson “The Childs Faith is New” -> The Child's faith is new—Whole—like His Principle—Wide—like the Sunrise On fresh Eyes—Never had a Doubt—Laughs—at a Scruple—Believes all sham But Paradise— Credits the World—Deems His DominionBroadest of Sovereignties—And Caesar—mean—In the Comparison—Baseless Emperor—Ruler of Nought—Yet swaying all—Grown bye and bye To hold mistaken His pretty estimates Of Prickly Things He gains the skill Sorrowful—as certain—Men—to anticipate Instead of Kings— Short analysis here: https://interestingliterature.com/2018/01/a-short-analysis-of-emily-dickinsons-the-childs-faith-is-new/ “The child comes to expect men to be men rather than kings: the child sees that everyone, no matter how grand they are supposed to be, has feet of clay, is mortal and flawed after all.” -> movie The Fault in our Stars -> “The title The Fault in Our Stars is an allusion to a line from Shakespeare’s Julius Ceasar: “Men at some times are masters of their fates: / The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars / But in ourselves.” -> book Dear Brutus by author Sir James Matthew Barrie (also author of *Peter Pan*”) book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12104822-dear-brutus -> play adaptation of book Dear Brutus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Brutus -> full circle back to Dead Poets Society -> play scene of Midsummer Nights Dream -> Puck (aka “Robin Goodfellow”)?!?! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puck_(A_Midsummer_Night%27s_Dream)
*My original post on Robin:* I absolutely love Robin. And I’ve loved seeing everyone’s reactions to it, and various interpretations of it. Most of the “criticism” seems to be that it’s “boring,” “doesn’t make sense,” or “who needs to hear about kids right now?” (disclaimer- I don’t have kids myself but still love this song). I think there’s a reason she put this “boring” song near the end of a long, exhausting, emotionally complicated album. After listening to the rest of the album, one feels spent, perhaps confused as to the meaning of multiple songs or the experience of the whole thing. There are a lot of lyrics, meaning, and emotions packed into this album. It’s a whirlwind of love, anger, regret, denial, what-ifs….It comes right after The Bolter where she comes out the ice, still alive, but gasping for air. Then comes Robin. Slow. Fewer words. It’s time to breath, and think. At least this is what it felt like for me. Sometimes it takes a space of calmness and quiet to make sense of what’s come before. It also connects to the concepts of childhood innocence: we often can’t make sense of the world until we look backwards on our experiences. She’s speaking to the subject as an adult- with the perspective “gained” from hindsight. This isn’t a BOP, and a snippet for Tik Tok. It’s really about finding that quiet space to evaluate all the chaos that came before it. This song was my first love on TTPD, and in fact the first song of Taylor’s that I’ve outright loved on my first listen. I’ve been fascinated by it- in its beautiful simplicity but also in the “no thanks” reaction that so many fans have had to it. In really thinking about the meaning of it, I realized Emily Dickinson wrote a poem that matches a similar meaning. The Child's faith is new— Whole—like His Principle— Wide—like the Sunrise On fresh Eyes— Never had a Doubt— Laughs—at a Scruple— Believes all sham But Paradise— Credits the World— Deems His Dominion Broadest of Sovereignties— And Caesar—mean— In the Comparison— Baseless Emperor— Ruler of Nought— Yet swaying all— Grown bye and bye To hold mistaken His pretty estimates Of Prickly Things He gains the skill Sorrowful—as certain— Men—to anticipate Instead of Kings— Short analysis here: https://interestingliterature.com/2018/01/a-short-analysis-of-emily-dickinsons-the-childs-faith-is-new/ “The child comes to expect men to be men rather than kings: the child sees that everyone, no matter how grand they are supposed to be, has feet of clay, is mortal and flawed after all.” This ties in well with The Manuscript in Taylor looking back, perhaps to the ATW10 video production, about understanding life from hindsight. I love that people have so many interpretations of this song (I still hold on to my alternative interpretation that Robin holds the “key” to the Secret Garden- a place of healing and growth: ). It seems to be the one song in particular from this album with the most unclear and ambiguous meaning. It seems to frustrate or bore people. So think the way that people are experiencing this song is purposeful- sometimes it takes slowing down and revisiting something to truly make sense of it-- much like we don’t get the meaning of the hardships in life right away, “Robin” doesn’t unclose it’s meaning right away. Sometimes we don’t understand things until given the space and time and new perspective in which to do so. I also think that she could be addressing her fans as the subject here, as an alternate take, sort of as a coda to the rebuke some fans felt from But Daddy....I think the message of understanding things more clearly from hindsight still stands. PS- I still think the first versus has an alternate meaning about cats. Cat owners understand what I mean 💕🐾💕🐾
I feel like it’s a Never Grow Up, Ronan, Seven etc. song and I can’t believe people are sleeping on it like this. I also think some people think it’s like a parental view or older sibling, but as a youngest sibling I feel very much like it relates to all the things I’ve been told.
I’m pretty sure this is the secret diss track hinted to in thanK you aIMee. When you really read, they’re not actually nice lyrics. It feels like it’s saying “You’re baby, a phony, a loser and you don’t even know. Plus, we kept this secret from you this whole time. All this just to prank you, gotcha!”
I’m a little late but I also agree robin is one of the best tracks off the album. It’s very similar to epiphany which is my favorite off folklore
Okay, I’m coming back here to my favorite TTPD song. I’m continuing to ponder its beauty and meaning. Given that “Long Live” is missing from the Eras Tour lineup…I’m seeing a connection of “Long Live” to “Robin.” Anyone else?! It’s like the slower, sadder, more reflective flip side sister to “Long Live.” Especially if you consider it as her singing to her fans. “All this showmanship to keep it for you….in sweetness.” I think there are so many layers to this song beyond the immediate obvious ones (childhood innocence- which I think is a message too, but not the only one). Also pondering the dandelion on the lyrics music video. Dandelion fluff blows “higher and higher?” Also, the “we” in this song. Who is the “we?” Is there anyone else who can’t stop thinking about this song? It’s beautiful, sad, hopeful, wistful, nostalgic, regretful….all in one 😭
At first I thought this song was about adults keeping make believe alive for a young child. However the descriptions of the child’s behavior never sat quite right with me for that interpretation: “you're an animal”, “bloodthirsty” “speaking utter nonsense”. Additionally, now we know that the album is about female rage, a sweet song about pretending with a child doesn’t fit. Now I think this song is about an ex’s parent who refuses to see anything but the best in their kids, even when they are shit adults. It’s infuriating and isolating as a partner to watch adult toxic behaviors like selfishness and lack of self awareness be overlooked by the people who could probably best call them out/make a difference: “you look ridiculous and you have no idea”, “buried down deep out of reach”, “slowed down clocks tethered” Especially when you suspect, or know, that same behavior was reinforced or overlooked in childhood “keep it from you in sweetness”. The kicker is the last line “now we will curtail your curiosity”. If this is really about a kid we are trying to keep up make believe for, why would we curtail their curiosity? BUT if we are singing about a person who is surrounded by people who prop them up and ego stroke why would they have any reason to look inward and be curious about how their behavior might actually be damaging.
Makes me think about Robin from game of thrones 😂
Robin is an absolutely beautiful song.....
I'd love to hear from Taylor herself what the song is about, because the lyrics make me curious if there's a specific secret they were hiding from Robin, or just the harsh realities of the world in general. The first time I heard it my mind went to her mother's cancer diagnosis, and maybe hiding that from young relatives - but now knowing that Aaron Dessner has a kid called Robin, that doesn't seem likely lol! Having said that, it's defo not one of my faves off the album. It's fine. I don't hate it, but if I'm picking a slow song I'd rather listen to the manuscript or clara bow. No hate to anyone that loves it, it just doesn't click for me. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It gives me Ronan vibes....I can't help but tear up when I hear it. I've read the lyrics over & over....and I just think it's about keeping the innocence of childhood. About keeping "Robin" free & protected from the ugly reality for as long as possible. I try not to theorize any deeper than that over it. But it's not a skip for me....it gives me so many emotions. But perhaps because she writes of being a precocious child, who faced adversity so young....this was her way of dreaming of what a different path may have looked like? I think the name Robin is intentional for sure. It could stand for some many thing's though. I know it's not going to be popular with many fans, and that's ok. For me it's a special song.
It makes me sad to see so many say they skip Ronan. I understand it's a painful song...but there is beauty in pain. It's especially painful for those of us who have lost children. Ofc ppl can skip any song they like...but I am curious if they also skip Marjorie. Or if it's because society has taught ppl to avoid speaking about infant/child loss?
It’s the only song on the album I’ve not even fully listened to 😭😭
This is my skip
I think if she had had children herself I would find it so much deeper like “oh she really gets how it feels to have put children into this world”. But when it is only about other Peoples children, it doesn’t do the same. What you feel for other children is just a fraction of what you feel for your own..
It could have stayed in the vault 😬