r/TaylorSwift • they say, "I hate that bi—" • 22d ago

Megathread "Cleveland!" Discussion Megathread

Taylor Swift - Cleveland!

Track #14 on The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore

Length: 3:26

Composers: Taylor Swift, Max Martin & Shellback

Producers: Taylor Swift, Max Martin & Shellback

Lyrics: Genius

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Use this thread to discuss your thoughts, reactions, and theories on the song. We will be removing all future self-post discussion threads about it in order to consolidate discussion to this thread.

If you want to talk about The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore album in general, you can use the general The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore discussion thread here.

247 Upvotes

2.5k comments sorted by

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u/[deleted] 2d ago edited 2d ago

Bitch I’m from Cleveland and I was horrified by this song. Bone Thugs, Kid Cudi, and Coleson would be thoroughly disappointed to have this city represented by this bubbly gum trash of a song.

Taylor. Cleveland Heights doesn’t want you here spewing this. Go on home or shut up.

Are you all like 12-year-old girls, or just really stupid adults? Serious question.

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u/Cleverfield113 11d ago edited 11d ago

As a native Clevelander and someone who currently lives about 2 blocks from where the Kelces grew up I think there’s important subtext many are missing about this song. Historically Cleveland is a much maligned city (nickname was Mistake on the Lake). The river burned in the 1960s, the city went into default, factories closed, population declined, the mayor’s hair caught on fire. It was the national butt of jokes for decades. But Travis Kelce is a full on Cleveland cheerleader. He loves this city despite what everyone says about it. He sees the good in it. That parallels how he feels about Taylor. Despite the negatives a lot of people see in her, he loves her, he sees the best in her, ignores the haters, and he’ll always be her biggest cheerleader. “He likes what he likes”.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

As a person who was completely ambivalent about Taylor Swift but raised in Cleveland, I definitely don’t feel any sort of connection to Cleveland and this song.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

Were you actually raised in Cleveland or in a suburb? Because this doesn’t sound like Cleveland proper at all.

The Cleveland folk I grew up around don’t bash the city for it having a river that caught on fire. They criticize it because of the high rate of violent crime and high rate of substance abuse amongst folk who get stuck there for good. Environmental protection isn’t even close to their radar because they’re just focusing on survival. Wages are low and lots of folks in the city can’t afford to relocate. Then theres the issue of silent segregation if you venture too far beyond city borders.

Which Cleveland neighborhood are you from exactly?

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u/theoristOfTheArts "a poet in a 9-to-5" :guitar: 7d ago

Thank you so much for sharing :)!!! I loved the song already, but I didn't know at all this historical context of Cleveland; that's so interesting to learn about!!

What a beautiful take on how one's unwavering faith in their hometown can parallel unwavering love for other people 🥹💛.

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u/OrganicKetchup7 12d ago

It reminds me of a cheesy TV theme song in all the right ways. It also immediately made me think of the Drew Carey Show, even though the theme songs don't sound the same, but Cleveland, ya know?!

The music video for this in my head is opening credits and title sequence for a 90s style comedic sitcom in the vein of Full House, or Step by Step, something like that.

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u/AstrologicalOne 3d ago

You remember the Drew Carey show??

We're friends now!

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u/Empty-Interstate 12d ago

the beginning melody sounds just like something but i can’t place it, i think it would be a theme song but i couldn’t be certain. did anyone else feel this?

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u/dorday2112 12d ago

To me it sounds Eeriely similar to the end of Broken Social Scene's 7/4 (Shoreline), plus, like, a quarter note.

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u/Foxwood2212 Taylor Swift 12d ago

The office

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u/hairs9 Lover 13d ago

I never hated this song but it’s grown on me so much to the point where it’s a career highlight

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u/Unusual-Secret-8593 13d ago

I love this song. People hate the lyrics but I think there’s a lot of depth in it. It’s definitely inspired by her life, but I think the song is about a character that she created.

The girl is rich but not as pretty, she is awkward, etc. and she agrees with her critics (“I can see what you mean” or “there’s something we all can agree on”). She knows that she is not the smartest or most beautiful girl out there, but for some reason the guy likes her (“my baby likes what he likes”). The guy is not complex, he just likes her a lot. Simple. No need to use metaphors.

I think the song is about the joy of being chosen by someone you really like, and you think is out of your league.

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u/Cleverfield113 11d ago

I think it’s also a reference to Travis loving Cleveland, a city that might not get love from everybody, in fact it gets a lot of hate, but “he likes what he likes”.

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u/_artemisawika yes I got your letter, yes I'm doing better 13d ago

I was watching YouTube without adblock on my work laptop and I got this add haha thought it was funny and cute

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u/simoskeltoi 13d ago

the quadruple entendre in "The Heights"💀 (the place, the podcast, his redwood tree, and peak happiness)

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u/Conscious_Kick_7643 13d ago

The pure happiness and joy at being in love and married is the best. So happy for her!!

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u/Defiant-Bluebird-649 15d ago

Is no one understanding this is everything they were saying about her

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u/Brilliant_Ad4229 16d ago

This song is a jam.

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u/Fickle-Time9743 16d ago

Looks like they are in a 2023 GMC Yukon in the lyric video. Maybe borrowed from her security team?

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u/Faleinn 17d ago

Any other Swedes who think the melody is extremely similar to "Från och med du"? It gives me a sense of melancholy and longing somehow.

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u/[deleted] 17d ago

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u/alfann1517 15d ago

Probs you. 

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u/BuiscuitsAndTea 17d ago

Has anyone seen the movie “Sing Street”? Because the opening of Cleveland sounds like a song from the Sing Street soundtrack called “A Beautiful Sea.”

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u/BuiscuitsAndTea 17d ago

Here’s the video for “A Beautiful Sea” and it’s just the opening that sounds similar to Cleveland

https://youtu.be/qPj6Rryb5b4?si=BlJgS8aX-yvSxDV2

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u/[deleted] 18d ago edited 18d ago

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u/shuna3456 17d ago

So agree with this - like every lyric has to be compared to her deepest songs ever - who cares :)

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u/Illustrious_Top_5908 17d ago

Dont caree i love the song!

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/OkRepresentative5222 18d ago

you are welcome! 🤗

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u/gowonagin 18d ago

That’s really a reach. These things are planned months in advance, particularly premiering the video at the VMAs (which we learned was in the works for quite some time).

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u/Zeusifer 18d ago

I'm not saying this song is the greatest thing she's ever written (I think it's probably the weakest of the four new tracks) but I think she's intentionally having a a laugh with it. After watching the lyric video, I think it's hard to deny the obvious references to the old Hastily made Cleveland Tourism Video and its sequel.

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u/JouwVada your buzzcut and my hair bleached 18d ago

So it's been a few days since release, and I'm here to change my original opinion. The song has grown on me a bit. I still don't really like the production and that Christmas advert sound but it is very catchy. The spoken bit isn't my favourite spoken part of a song she's ever done, and as a fan since 2006 I do think it's one of her weaker songs in the discography in my opinion (personal taste).. but I'm definitely dancing around to it more and I'm not skipping it when it comes on. I'm at a Taylor Swift nightclub event next month and I think this will go hard after a few gin slushies 💃🏼

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u/Rrrrrrrrrr901 18d ago

How come her voice sounds so bad in this song.

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u/xsabrix 19d ago

I honestly think a lot of people don't get Taylor's sense of humor. I've seen people on social media saying stuff like "does Taylor Swift really think 'having someone who doesn't find you absolutely insufferable' is a romantic thing?!" Like...she's obviously being tongue-in-cheek. Same thing happened with "spelling is fun!" She's not being earnest, she's joking around and poking fun at herself. She's always liked writing humorous songs, but it's like she's become so big that people take everything she says seriously

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/cdev 17d ago

They don't like it because they have no sense of humor.

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u/littleraccon The Tortured Poets Department 19d ago

Blank Space (Travis' Version)

This song is amazing on so many levels. It's also album 12 track 14, (12/14, the day after her birthday of 12/13).

Travis says his favorite song was Blank Space and favorite album was 1989. So now we have Cleveland! on Showgirl! And it's about him! I love how they're both comfortable about this. He's comfortable with where he came from, and she's happy to sing about!

I wonder how this was written, did she have to ask someone to put on a radiation suit and go to the dark shadow places of the snark subs? Either way the mockery is the best self-defense. It feels like the finale of a musical that leaves the antagonists seething due to being mocked.

But at the same time, it's so happy. It's her appreciating this time while it's still in prime, in her honeymoon phase. It's the foil to Babylon.

Tough choice between all 4 but I think this is my favorite off the Encore.

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u/sunflowersauce :1989tv:starbucks lover 19d ago

Absolutely obsessed

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u/Upbeat-Escape-5161 19d ago

The song is fun and so funny and haters can just go to Cleveland. ✌️♥️

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u/[deleted] 19d ago edited 12d ago

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u/InternationalFall515 16d ago

Agree… I’m yet to see a truly romantic song she has written for Travis, it’s sad

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u/InternationalFall515 16d ago

Edit to add: I know the point of this song was sarcasm not romance, but that’s precisely what I think is sad. That her relationship with Travis is not generating romantic inspiration just sarcasm defense

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/Ordinary_Structure39 20d ago

This is my least favorite of the Encore tracks and it’s not even close. It is probably one of my least favorite songs of hers ever. It’s…so bad. I think the concept is great. A significant other taking you home to meet his family and show you around their hometown is a big relationship milestone and one worthy of writing a song about. But she couldn’t have written a song that tapped into those emotions instead of spending so much time calling out the haters? I get what she was going for with it, repeating things internet trolls write about her and pointing out that Travis loves her anyway but it could have been so much better executed. I’ve seen people compare it to London Boy, which I see to an extent but even that was better and had more emotion than this. Even I Knew It, I Knew You elicited a stronger emotional reaction from me than this and she wrote that song about some toys, not her husband. But I think it says a lot that she collaborated with Jack on that one.

I also find some of the defenders of this song to be quite condescending. I’ve seen a lot of people say that if you don’t like this song it means you don’t understand it because you haven’t met your person yet. How about no, just accept that the song isn’t for everyone.

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u/crazylsufan 9d ago

I’m not really a Taylor swift fan but will acknowledge she’s got a few bops. This song is an affront to the art form of song writing

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u/SwiftieSailorMoon24 12d ago

Right, and its specially silly because Taylor has delivered better with similar themed songs in the past ... hell, Blank Space is one of her biggest hits and the entire song is a big sarcastic love letter she penned towards the media and the exaggerated narratives against her lol Taylor is excellent with fun, laid back songs as much as she is with deeper and more meaningful lyrics, but Cleveland is just ... not her strongest by a mile.

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u/celinakou evermore 15d ago

And people saying that we don't get the humour of the song? I'm sorry, but I find the song very bad. It's bad if it's serious and it's bad if it's humour. And it's not a BOP either.

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u/TrontRaznik 20d ago

This song is so fun to get drunk and dance to. Ask me how I know 😂

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u/VincentJoshuaET Fearless (Taylor's Version) 20d ago

Surprised Ajay cried to this song lol.

But I did also tear up as well on my second listen actually listening to the lyrics

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u/gowonagin 19d ago

It’s tears of joy from a person with low self-esteem. I get it.

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u/CannWeGetMuchHigh3r 20d ago

My name is Cleveland Brown and I am proud to be

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u/Immediate-Study-8311 20d ago

Justice for Cleveland!!! 😍😍 First of all, I love her vocals on it. The way she sings “He alllllllreaddy toooook meee to Cleeeveland” scratches my brain in the best way.

I love how catchy and fun it is. I agree with all the comps to Paper Rings and similar songs, all of which I also love!

I wish I could hug Tay Tay because it’s so sad that she’s basically like “yeah I think he could do better than me too” but it’s also all very tongue in cheek and the double meaning with how much Cleveland gets shit on too - I think it’s such a wonderful song. And I can’t wait to dance and sing with my besties while my husband watches on from the corner with a smile 🫶🏼

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u/apparentlyhatedbyall 20d ago

Cleveland! is literally her kind of song.. taylor constantly shifts her style, music, and what she produces. Not every song and album needs to be some kind of interecate masterpiece? its a silly and soft hearted song addressing the hate, speculations and celebrating her current love.

Humans can shift their love, and be with many partners this is not new, and never will be. Let Taylor be taylor she has done it since her first song, I do not get the hate at all. Weirdos online who cannot take 2 seconds away from their online personas.

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u/Rutabaga2022 Cat eye sharp enough to kill a man. 20d ago

I think alot of the dislike of this song would have been avoided if she changed the word "but" to "that." "There's something we all can agree on, THAT my baby likes what he likes." Instead of all agreeing that she's all of these mean things, we can all agree that he likes whatever. I personally would have also enjoyed a more romantic lyric for the "You only need to find one person in this world who doesn't find you completely insufferable" line as the song was about his childhood home city but that's just me.

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u/GWeb1920 20d ago edited 20d ago

I love when Swift tells everyone to go fuck themselves.

From Mean, to But Daddy I love him to Cleaveland she writes such a good fuck off I love my life.

I also think it’s hilarious someone bragging about being taken to cleaveland.

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u/Beginning-Ice-7172 mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card cancelled 💅 20d ago

Something we all can agree on—

Okay I think she knows that right now it’s cooler and more popular to dunk on her and Travis than to be a fan. This song says as much. As the gripes and critic takedowns roll in I am seeing this song as her predicting it all- the zeitgeist is to agree she is fake, not a girls girl, a bitch (‘how is she so petty at almost 40 yrs old?!’), new money rich. She’s ahead of the curve. I also think it’s funny that the people complaining about the pettiness are using snarky headlines for their take (pot meet kettle). Instead of Cleveland this song could have been called “something we all can agree on is that Taylor swift sucks!” All I know is bet against Taylor at your peril. She plays the long game. This whole group of songs has grown on me since first listen and it made me listen to my favorite TLOAS songs again too.

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u/Modesto96 Childless Cat Lady 20d ago

Imaging driving into Cleveland for your daily commute, looking to the lane next to you, and spotting Travis and Taylor. I might pass out right there in the car 😂

Lyric video is adorable

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u/RequirementGeneral67 Short story long it was the incorrect gentleman 19d ago

This is worrying, you might swerve and injure them in some way, I would recomend not driving into Cleveland 😄

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u/Modesto96 Childless Cat Lady 20d ago

My husband and I love this one, it's been what we've listened to the most this weekend

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u/ethylredds my mind turns your life into folklore 20d ago

I posted this song on my IG notes and wrote "He already took me to [insert city my boyfriend is from]" and I can't stop laughing at myself for how corny and cheesy it is but it's true! He took me there! He's the love of my life!

So yeah, I pretty much get this song

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u/Aslexteorist 20d ago

I love this song. Hate all you like I love this song. Is pure Taylor. You want people to just ignore forever when someone insults you constantly, this just ain't Taylor . She has a reason for this song. People said Travis is a bad muse but she loves him so get used to it, because that îs what she loves, and I love happy Taylor.

Is hard to ignore all bad comments when there are multiple subredits only with hate and most likely she got similar hate comments from real people in real life.

This song îs purely showgirl , is a combinations between Opalite and Eldest daughter , The Life of a Showgirl with a bit of Florida from TTPD.

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u/chai_candle 19d ago

i don't get why some people keep saying "why is taylor still writing about haters? she's a billionaire and she should ignore it, it's petty to keep writing about them" like.... she writes about haters bc she has so many of them and reads the discourse falsely speculating about her life.

it's strange that some people think bc she's rich and famous she's never allowed to poke fun at people trying to insult and demean her.

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u/theoristOfTheArts "a poet in a 9-to-5" :guitar: 20d ago

Honestly, based on her words in interviews I really think she’s not even noticing as many of the current “hate” comments (her time spent in media/online is very curated now so why would she?).

Many if not all of the snarks in this songs have already been thrown at her for years. These comments coming from new voices don’t make the comments any newer :P. So I feel like this is just using the concept of snark as a creative prompt: Suppose she was a person who heard these kinds of comments about her life and partner now, and she did internalize them…how would that person feel? How might she react?

Because, the catch here is she already was that person, years ago. She’s gone through that process, she’s healing from it. And she very clearly has expressed over the past few years how much more confident she is in herself and her worth now.

So I think the “troll” of this song is that she’s basing it off of things she already went through long ago and just using current-life elements as the setting, because she knows the theme will still be relevant because she knows society will still behave the same :P. So this time she doesn’t even need to see (let alone internalize) the comments to “clap back” at them.

And so, she no longer has to worry about it 😁

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u/Aslexteorist 20d ago

Comments are still currently relevant to her , as she still hears about them this time in connection to her current husband. And currated or nor she just need one to understand she îs still hated

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u/enjoytheshowX 20d ago

I love this song, and it makes me hope to have a love like Taylor has with Travis.

At first, it made my heart ache.

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u/lalafelina 20d ago

I've decided i really liked this song. I didn't on the first listen and agreed with a lot of the takes on the lyrics. But I played the encore in the car while driving home and it just clicked - it is a fun, happy, silly song. It reminds me of gorgeous, london boy, paper rings and of course wood. Taylor is corny when she is in love!

I like that she is able to share her joy this way without it being overly intimate - she doesn't owe us the intricate details of their love story. Instead she is reflecting back the negativity coming from the public and saying yeah sure but so what? I found mine! I love that for her. And bonus - this song is ridiculously fun to sing while driving down the freeway.

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u/theoristOfTheArts "a poet in a 9-to-5" :guitar: 20d ago

The best thing about this song for me is that it’s literally the solution for its own negative discourse: If I see too many instances of people being rude about it…I can literally just listen to it again and make my “muse” the song itself 😋!

“So hate all you like; this is the love of my life” 😁😁😁

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u/pensivvv I’ve loved in shades of wrong 20d ago

Yes- literally this

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u/New_Candidate9468 20d ago

I didn’t think this was a love song at all! It was satire. She was showing us she knows the shit people say. She’s in the on “joke”.

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u/tokidokitiger 20d ago

Posted this in the main Encore discussion thread too, but re-posting here. The lyric vid for Cleveland! gave me newfound appreciation for the song. Not only is there a "deeper" message going on here - "something we can all agree on" adds an unsuspecting layer of a statement in times where there are clearly great divides in politics, beliefs, etc.... And Taylor is fine if gossip about her is something that unites people, because f--- it, she's happy, so talk all you want! Besides that, there's a cleverness in the "vulgar" lyrics she purposefully leaves out and just insinuates as fill-in-the-blanks that... we can all agree on. (Ie: whore, ass, b!tch < although that does get a partial slight background vocal, and maybe something missing after "he's been saying forever, must not have read that ____"?). It's not my fave track, but something about seeing the lyrics laid out and feeling that added depth (that I could just be reading into) of unifying people who may not agree on many things - if only for a minute to talk about her - and her nonchalant attitude towards the talk because she's happy and in love, adds something extra to the more light-heartedness of the song & makes me appreciate it more.

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u/lalafelina 20d ago

The little clip of her and travis driving into Cleveland got me.

-2

u/beroore 20d ago

I think the push-back is because Taylor has so few songs that are happy in a relationship and this time it's permanent.

We are not used to happy Taylor but we have to need to be used to this future.

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u/opal_air96 18d ago

why do people say this??? it has nothing to do with her happiness. you can be happy and still come up with something better than the lyrics of cleveland. she’s done it so many times but all of a sudden wants to make it like a “i’ll show them with this one” ahh song. like 😭 it’s a dumbed down version of call it what you want.

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u/GWeb1920 20d ago

Getting married is the least important and least difficult part of being married. The idea that celebrity marriages are permanent is not well founded and I assume that the legal teams made a financial decoupling easy.

I really hope they make it but if they can get 10 years even that would be very successful for two celebrities who have to choose eachother each day.

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u/xamxamzam 20d ago

Not used to happy Taylor?

Call It What You Want
Daylight
and then mind you, LOVER!

But this one she wants us to be jealous that he brought her to Cleveland???

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u/Lizzie-Parker 20d ago

I think Cleveland is my favorite song of the 4. It’s 100% not supposed to be taken seriously. I’m not sure why people hate Taylor so much. I was thinking about going to the CMAs and I mentioned to a co-worker that the tickets were high probably due to Taylor being there. She goes “I don’t like her at all”. And I said, “Why?” She said, “Because she is demonic” W H A T ? I don’t know her but she’s very talented in so many ways.

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u/EmployMobile943 20d ago

I listened to this song for the first time last night and after sitting with it longer, it makes me unbearably sad. The fact that she is still so focused on and concerned with online discourse around her and her relationship. I reflect on Antihero and The Archer, songs that I thought really represented this maturing and self awareness, and to think that a few years on, after a historic tour, becoming a billionaire and meeting and marrying the love of her life, that she has not only moved beyond some of the petty grievances of her youth but is actually indulging than more than ever.

She engages in none of the actual dialogue and valid criticism around her and the contradictions she creates about her own relationship (leave us the fuck alone but also could 1,000 people come watch us get married at a cheesy sports venue) and instead claims the conversation centers on people calling her a whore with an annoying smile…?

And don’t even get me started on the fact that this is like the fifth song that is supposedly about Travis, but is actually about how her inner high school girl feels validated because she got “picked” by the cool guy.

It honestly makes me so sad for her that at this moment in her life with so much success and achievement and what should be happiness, this is where she is staying?

4

u/GWeb1920 20d ago

Your inner child being validated and healed is was healing wounds and enjoying your life becomes. I haven’t said that well but peoples emotional core and needs are formed during childhood and creates these deep needs that you hope life fulfills.

If you look back and both mistakes and achievements of yourself I suspect you find it’s tide in someway to your child and young adults development.

To see someone who fufilled and accomplished validate themselves to themselves to me is happy.

5

u/Feeling-Culture7594 20d ago

This sums up my feelings. I wrote down my initial thoughts on first listen and it was all around “girl, you don’t need to be insecure anymore!! Stop worrying about what people think you’re loved! Just be happy” not every song has to be some clap back at what you see online. The insecurities about her dancing etc who cares Taylor, we don’t! You rock it on the stage.

I think she is a mastermind, and I will forever be grateful to have her music in my ears. Just wish she would see her own value and own it instead of the insecurities and worry about others think.. She still doesn’t see it I guess. Otherwise we wouldn’t all be here commenting on posts I guess

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u/Spiritual_Hour_7787 20d ago

And what’s the deal with saying he “already” took her to Cleveland?! They’ve been together for years and married now! What’s there to prove??

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u/ClogsAndFrogs 20d ago

I took “already” to mean more like, saying to the haters “well it’s too late, he already took me to Cleveland, we’re never breaking up now.” But that’s just one interpretation.

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u/Spiritual_Hour_7787 20d ago

Ah that’s a good take

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u/Modesto96 Childless Cat Lady 20d ago

I think this is maybe because she wrote the song a while ago? Maybe when their relationship was brand new and everyone was hating on it so much

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u/Spiritual_Hour_7787 20d ago

I thought about that but too but then there’s the part about wearing white so it’s just mismatched if thats what happened

1

u/Modesto96 Childless Cat Lady 20d ago

That part could have been written much later! Maybe she had the idea for the song from the beginning of their relationship, but didnt finish it until more recently

Or she wrote that line early on hoping it would come true!

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u/Spiritual_Hour_7787 20d ago

I get that, especially since she said she wrote this after TLOAS initially released well. I’m just saying I don’t get why she wouldn’t make something more meaningful at this stage for release. I agree with some other critiques that she’s written some really good happy and sad songs and Cleveland almost seems lazy

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u/Beanssss_Rice your thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition 20d ago

Pretty much sums up my thoughts exactly on the song! Like to still define yourself through the lens of other people’s perception is so sad

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u/Jayxir 21d ago

Awful. Terrible.

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u/strawberriekisses420 21d ago

It sounds like a song the main character from a sitcom would sing during their musical episode.

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u/[deleted] 21d ago

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u/Lucky_Platypus341 21d ago

Naw, Kayla WISHED it was aimed at her as she tries to be relevant. lol

IMO it's aimed at all the social media snubs she calls out (and we all heard floating around at the time).

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u/Ok-Reporter-5960 21d ago

I like this one - it's campy and feels like a Ben Folds track.

3

u/lanad3lr3y_81 21d ago

the intro sounds like some song my spanish teacher in high school used to play.

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u/Disc0yo 21d ago

This song gave me the ick because it sounds more and more like she feels the need to convince us that she's in a healthy relationship when we really haven't been shown anything otherwise. Glad she's found love but she's like that one girl at the party who doesn't talk about anything other than her bf

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u/[deleted] 18d ago

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u/thelargescientist 16d ago

That’s not what they’re saying at all.

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u/mhittens 21d ago

I am not a musical theater nerd but what stood out to me is that Cleveland! is stylized like the musical Oklahoma! Waiting on someone smarter than me to explain if that’s anything.
I approach the song from a theatrical and campy perspective and I like it!

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u/nyki 21d ago

Not sure about the exclamation point specifically, but I'm 99% sure the lyric video font references our "Hastily Made Cleveland Tourism" videos. They were wildly popular locally to anyone who is about Travis's age and I'm certain he would have showed them to her.

But exclamation points in Oklahoma! and other musicals work too. Despite people snarkily asking "what's showgirl about Cleveland?" Playhouse Square is a really big deal here. It's the largest theater district outside of NYC and something locals are really proud of.

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u/gowonagin 21d ago

I rewatched the 30 Rock Cleveland clip and it has an exclamation point there, too! It does feel like a sitcom theme.

1

u/hmmnitzyy 20d ago

I was hoping the song would have to do with 30 Rock

1

u/gowonagin 20d ago

I think it’s a nod to it.

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u/chamomileyes 21d ago edited 21d ago

I read so much criticism before listening to it and I hate to say I kind of agree. I support her releasing whatever she makes because I love her music but this one I can’t believe I feel like should have actually stayed in the vault. 

I think what strikes people as most inappropriate is that the instrumentals are done in a way that’s very big and celebratory but what they’re celebrating is… her husband not finding her insufferable?

I think the lyrics and song writing are fine but it should have sadder and/or more sweet instrumentals because lyrically it’s a very wounded song.

Another thing that I think makes it rub wrong is that she writes “this is the love of my life” not “I’m the love of his life”, and I feel like the latter would have fit the theme better of “he likes what he likes and that’s me”. Because the way she suddenly proclaims in the song that he’s the love of her life after singing about how he doesn’t hate on her like other people feels very bare minimum and sad. If it had been framed as he likes what he likes and I’m the love of his life, it would have just hit better and taken away more of the icky implications. 

I think it’s also led to a lot of discussion about what kind of love songs she writes about him because again the framing of I love you because you put up with me is a very wounded thing to say, even if there’s merit in saying you want to find someone who likes you in the long term no matter what. 

Edit: I originally quoted the song lyrics as he’s the love of my life when what she actually says is this is the love of my life. I don’t think there’s a big difference in meaning. 

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u/Spicehawk86 21d ago

The “insufferable” line is an obvious joke (hence the laughing you can hear right after it). She is playing on the idea that so many online trolls find her insufferable.

Also, the line is “this is the love of my life.” As in their shared love/relationship is the love of her life. It’s not a one way street statement as you suggest. Using “this” instead of “he” actually does describe it from both sides of the relationship as you argue it should.

1

u/getoutlonnie 19d ago

Inside every joke is a little bit of a joke, the rest is the truth.

3

u/Modesto96 Childless Cat Lady 20d ago

I love her laugh after that line, reminds me of the laugh in This Is Why We Cant Have Nice Things. I immediately knew we werent supposed to take that line seriously when I heard her laugh

10

u/Intrepid-Drummer-787 21d ago

I actually love this song and I love that it's a Midwestern nice way of telling people to go fuck themselves. She stops herself from swearing, she makes references to being eaten out, and she brags while using subtext. I only liked about 3 other songs on the original album. I like the layers she put into this song.

11

u/Eegeria 21d ago

I like it a lot and it might even be my favourite of the 4! I think it's a fun bop and I like the happiness behind it. She's loudly shouting and yes boasting she's happily married now. This is completely expected, she's the woman who made love songs (and being loved) her whole reason of existence, the woman who was never good enough to get married and whose cringier side was not tolerated. And now things have completely flipped. It's normal she's now proclaming her love loudly! It's nice to hear something good and joyful :)

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u/sillyrebby 21d ago

It’s like the kidz bob version of Call It What You Want

5

u/chai_candle 20d ago

it seemed to me like the lovey-dovey version of shake it off lol

10

u/obligernotupholder 21d ago

In the show Community a character dies and leaves a iPod to another character in his will. He includes a note that says « for music to take life less seriously by » and this song needs to be added to that iPod. It feels like watching an early 2000s romantic comedy. 🥹

18

u/kylo_hun Midnights 21d ago

Idk if anyone has watched Crazy Ex-Girlfriend but this song would fit so perfectly in that show! This would def be something Rebecca would sing and have a full dance number too!!! It’s soooo showgirl and I can see the full theatre production in my head! People writing serious dissertations about this song are hilarious to me!

5

u/roscoerex725 20d ago

This is part of why I like the song so much! I love CrExGf, and I imagine this song being so bonkers and over the top, full production and sequins. I love the silliness!

3

u/captainpantalones 21d ago

Oh shoot, you’re right! I would have never connected the dots but 💯

2

u/Global_Grapefruit103 21d ago

Can anybody tell what kind of car they’re driving in the Cleveland lyric video?

17

u/Purplegummy8 evermore 21d ago

I love life of a showgirl but i think this may be her worst song ever. One and done listen for me. A forever skip.

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u/Illustrious_Top_5908 17d ago

Cleveland is the most showgirl song. Reminds me of the ophelia mv aesthetics

1

u/Purplegummy8 evermore 17d ago

Wooooof

2

u/chai_candle 20d ago

genuine question but do you think wi$h li$t and wood are better than this song? i think they are all similar quality - campy, awkward poppy love songs

4

u/Purplegummy8 evermore 20d ago

I like wood 😆. Wish list is okay, i don’t always skip it. Yes they are better songs imo

8

u/naomigoat I think for me um 21d ago

I've always loathed the phrase "girl's girl" so I love when anyone makes fun of it

3

u/Warm-Sherbert3488 21d ago

Aaaw I’ve always loved it. I love the idea of girls uplifting other girls. What phrase would you use for that?

4

u/naomigoat I think for me um 21d ago

I agree about girls uplifting other girls, but I dont typically see the phrase used in that context. "Girl's girl" is more often used to criticize or restrict women's behavior. More than wanting to be a girl's girl, its like we're terrified of being called "not a girls girl" or worse, a "mean girl." It kinda hinges on the assumption that women aren't allowed to have conflict or negative feelings about each other. It's not a sin against feminism if you don't like someone or are interested in the same guy that they are (men are often centered in these conversations too). I never hear the phrase "Boy's boy" and I think that's because men are allowed to have conflicts and compete with each other.

Personally, I prefer the phrase "empower women" because it emphasizes that women are systematically disempowered and we can work together to change that. It doesn't imply that one must blindly support all girls all the time or else be deemed a gender traitor.

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u/Many_Crazy Midnights 21d ago

Yeah this def is not it. This track is horrible and I’ve listened to her since 06

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u/stardust902 21d ago

Everyone is taking this song way too seriously lmao

1

u/Spiritual_Hour_7787 20d ago

Well she’s repeating all the same criticisms and the fact that she knows about them, with the same arc that she doesn’t care about them for whatever reason of the season (in this case because Travis likes her). There’s clearly still something bugging her or that she feels she has to prove, because serious or not, she shouldn’t be giving it any time of day anymore unless there’s something new she feels she needs to address. It seems very high school (irony) and I know she’s talked about her growth curve being a little stunted but my god she’s married now. The fact that happened kinda tells us they love each other.

And… I don’t wish this on them AT ALL - I love them together - but I also had to consider how even WORSE this would be than normal if they ever split, because she made such a point about it in this song. Can you even imagine the ammo this would give people?!

3

u/alfann1517 21d ago

Exactly! She’s read all the Reddit hate, is calling it out and it’s hilarious. I like this song. 

19

u/estellaq 21d ago

Swiftie since 2008 and I loved this one! It's giving Lover vibes

9

u/carmarthestar this is me try, try, trying (to let it go) 21d ago

Travis Kelce's London Boy! 🫶🏼

21

u/The-Comma-Oxford Speak Now (Taylor's Version) 21d ago

It’s okay, but sounds like the Office theme song 🫣 now I can’t unhear it

16

u/bhad-bhunny 21d ago

Guys it’s so cute 😭 I love singing “he already toooook me to Clevelaaand 🎶 “ smugly while doing the dishes

12

u/MrCrimson6 21d ago

I liked it and didn't think it's her worst song.

10

u/One-Let5585 21d ago

The song is peak cringe but ngl the lyric video kind of redeemed it a bit because it’s so cute

7

u/msmojorisin1 21d ago

I realized this morning that this song reminds me of The Darkness “I believe in a thing called love”— which I believe both of them love. It’s like her version of that song.

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u/dnekeorcown 21d ago

It occurs to me that this song is in interesting conversation with… what was that song that went “I wouldn’t marry me either / a pathological people pleaser.” Like yes Taylor is insecure, yes she is affected by the hate she reads about herself, yes she desperately wants to be liked by everyone. A pathological people pleaser. And yes these comments get into her head — “I guess that’s something we all can agree on.” And the revelation for her here is that there’s someone who looks at all these things people dislike about her—that she dislikes about herself—and goes, actually, I like all of that. I don’t need you to be any other way. I like the whole package.

If this is raising questions, it’s only that—how much of her loving Travis is for how much he seems to refreshingly, unabashedly love and celebrate her, and how much is it for everything that he is. Like, it’s heady to be loved, and possibly she hasn’t been loved in this way before—again, “tolerate it” comes to mind. But that’s uncharitably reading into a song that isn’t meant to be addressing every aspect of their relationship (which by all accounts has always seemed genuinely loving and supportive). The point of this song seems to be specifically the angle of, “haters hate me and say everything about me is annoying, and most days I agree with them, but the man I love doesn’t. He just miraculously doesn’t and he loves me and it makes me feel wonderful. Yes, both my haters and I are surprised, but here we are. Cheers!”

8

u/breakfastatremys 21d ago

I agree with all of this. I think the biggest thing some folks aren’t thinking about is this is one angle of their relationship, and specifically from her very public showgirl persona.

2

u/bluebleedingheart 21d ago

I feel like as people we should be allowed sometimes to fall in love with someone simply because they love us? If as a person I went through the events of TTPD , whoosh, I'd deserve to turn my brain off and go into a Showgirl era. 

3

u/icantbestill29 21d ago

To your second point, it's people with preconceived ideas about her relationships who would see the song from that angle or others who might not have seen interviews and such and understand she loves him very much. I agree with everything you wrote, though.

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u/Elleno14 21d ago

I realize songs literally fall out of her, but not all of them need to be released. I wonder if she needs more people in her life that challenge her judgment a bit, and help her curate what she releases

1

u/[deleted] 21d ago

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u/LonelyCheeto 21d ago

She's written happy love songs that are better than this

31

u/llOMll 21d ago

Happiness is lovely to see... So is good writing. She could do both.

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u/[deleted] 20d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/opal_air96 18d ago

i personally find lyrics like that off putting unless it’s in rap where i’m expecting it 😬 there’s a time and place for everything

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u/[deleted] 21d ago

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4

u/isthisfunenough I was enchanted to meet you 21d ago

I feel like her different eras and entire discography goes to show that there’s a sound for everyone and not everyone’s gonna like what someone else likes, but you found it necessary to say this in more than one thread because it’s probably the only validation you get. Good for you!

0

u/MuchJello3865 21d ago

What other thread?

0

u/PikaV2002 21d ago

What an incredibly odd comment.

37

u/bluebleedingheart 21d ago

Guys, what's wrong with me? Cause I...really like this song? Especially after a couple listens😥 I didn't like most of Showgirl, and at first listen it seemed cringe but now... I reallyyy like it. Should I get checked for a brain tumour? Are there others like me? Please tell me there are.

3

u/Beginning-Ice-7172 mistake my kindness for weakness and find your card cancelled 💅 20d ago

I think it’s meant to be fun and anyone who takes it way too seriously is more likely the unwell one.

3

u/captainpantalones 21d ago

There’s something about it that’s just fun. But I also like Me so maybe I’m not a good example 😂

3

u/bluebleedingheart 20d ago

Curious, do you also like Stay Stay Stay? I think I'm sensing a pattern in us Cleveland lovers😂

8

u/Alternative_Quit928 21d ago

Yeah I understand why people don’t like it, but it was my favorite of the four. But I mean I also like Me

11

u/Loverissuperior Fake Interview 21d ago

I like it too! It’s cute! Not everything needs to be a lyrical masterpiece, sometimes I just need some fun in my life. Cleveland is that for me. There’s plenty of Taylor songs to listen to if I’m looking to be lyrically inspired.

6

u/bluebleedingheart 21d ago

Yeah and I mean, I don't mind that it's cheesy because for me, that's supposed to be the point. She made a song about being cringe and insufferable while being extra cringe and insufferable in the song, and a cute gotcha is that her partner likes both her and this kind of song so super cute all in all.

15

u/Altruistic_Ad3485 21d ago

It’s okay to like things even if others don’t. The negativity can be a bit tiring. Taylor is very funny and this is an example, it’s not the worst song ever made. 

14

u/bluebleedingheart 21d ago

I honestly don't care mostly if others don't like a song or an album (I'm a ME! and evermore survivor), but what's strange for me is that I honestly don't understand what's unlikeable about this song so it's a bit of a paranoia for me (so much so that real reviews are calling it her WORST song, like what??!). Like I get why people don't like ME! and I like it and it's fine.

But Cleveland has a cohesive story, vocal stims, her intention for making the song translates so well, is it that people don't get it? Or is it that the sound alienates them so much, they don't care. It's truly a puzzle for me tbh.

1

u/simmishkait 21d ago

I initially hated it, then got to the point where I really really liked it, and then I realized no matter how fun it was, I couldn’t get over the bridge. It’s so cringey lol and that’s so the point, and I’m happy for her, but Cleveland is gonna end up being a skip most of the time JUST because of that bridge

5

u/bluebleedingheart 21d ago

I HATED the bridge at first too, super cringe, but I don't know after once or twice I became immune to it, idk I'm kinda happy i can enjoy the full song without stopping at the bridge and cringing haha

13

u/owleaf The Life of a Showgirl 21d ago

My favourite song. I’m happy she made a song like this. After last year and everyone going crazy about her, she had to say something

24

u/voodoocaat for you i would ruin myself 21d ago

Oh there’s so much hate for this and genuinely I think it’s one of my fave love songs by her! The lyrics aren’t great but the tune is catchy and her voice is just so joyful- I was properly grinning by the end.

But then, I actually like ME! so maybe my taste is just wrong

-5

u/Bright-Ant-382 21d ago

Girl what tune? Tune where?

11

u/gowonagin 21d ago

The one I’m bopping along to. No need to be dismissive.

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