Taylor Swift is facing harsh criticism over a lyric off of her new album that is making people question why she would write it to begin with.
On Friday (Apr. 19), Swift released her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. The track, “I Hate It Here,” features the infamous lyrics in the second verse.
“My friends used to play a game where / We would pick a decade / We wished we could live in instead of this / I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists / And getting married off for the highest bid,” she sings in the song.
Listeners immediately pointed out the fact that slavery wasn’t abolished until 1865… this means that the decade had slaves and heavy racism, not to mention the fact that women did not have some basic human rights nor did LGBTQ+ people. The infamous Trail of Tears began in 1831 in which thousands of Native Americans were murdered and displaced from their land.
All of these things just beg the question, why would someone want to live in this decade and why would she feature it in a song? Fans pointed out that she is trying to make a statement about nostalgia, but what exactly is nostalgic about the decade? Listeners were left divided over the lyrics and some questioned why she chose this decade rather than a another one (without slavery and lack of rights for marginalized groups). Some fans theorized that Swift chose the decade because Emily Dickinson was born on Dec. 10, 1830.
“It’s an interesting commentary on how we sometimes idealize certain eras without fully considering the realities of living in them,” one listener wrote. Another added, “Wait…the 1830’s lyric wasn’t just a Twitter joke.”
See social media reactions to Taylor Swift’s 1830’s lyrics, below.
Photos of Young Taylor Swift at the Start of Her Career
Look back at nostalgic photos of a young Taylor Swift at the start of her career in the mid-to-late 2000s.