Chains of Media

Taylor Swift it a slightly polarizing artist these days: there are the Swifties who regard her as one of the best artists of the 21st century, and there are others who say she's just another pop queen. Personally, I see where the haters come from: the music is repetitive, uninventive, and frequently synthezised. However, it is difficult to argue that her lyrics are mundane or generic. Swift puts hidden meanings (and retaliation) specific to her life in each and every one of her songs. The lyrics paint images in front of the listeners very eyes while getting across messages charged with emotions. The song Dancing With Our Hands Tied from her new album Reputation is one such example of her poetic license. The song focuses on the idea that even true love can be torn apart by the strain of outside pressure, and that as a high profile celebrity, much of her life is spent fearing the end of every relationship.


Swift is infamous for her history with guys, and she openly addresses this accusation in the first stanza, singing, "My love had been frozen." This use of metaphor is symbolic both of how the media often depicts her as cold-hearted and of how she has closed herself off to relationships in the past to avoid heartbreak. She describes her relationship with the un-named lover as one that "painted her golden," which creates a beautiful imagery of ice thawing to reveal a beaming interior. She continues on to illustrate her undying love by singing," I could've spent forever with your hands in my pockets." This line once again paints a picture and shows their love as opposed to Swift simply telling us she is in love. 


The song quickly transitions to the chorus, where the title line is constantly repeated: "We were dancing, dancing with our hands tied." This metaphor represents how despite their love for one another, they were chained to the expectations of others.They were in love, "dancing," but not able to do so fully and openly. Swift furthers the idea that their love is a difficult one by adding, "I loved you in spite of/deep fears that the world would divide us." This explicitly states the challenge in their relationship as being caused by exterior forces, as opposed to internal opposition. The external forces are described metaphorically, with Swift elaborating, " Can we dance/through an avalanche?".This metaphor gives the sense of destruction erupting around the couple, a dramatic scene that is easily conjured by the listeners. 






The metaphors Swift employs not only add to the imagery of the song and help the listener picture the events but also contribute to the meaning as a whole. Despite the intense love the couple shares, the opposition they face leaves them vulnerable to the whims of others and ensures a dangerous future. While the media is never explicitly mentioned, her repetition of "dancing with our hands tied" can be related to mean that her hands are tied by the expectations of others.