"Cleveland!" Discussion Megathread

[u/PassionateAsSin]

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.

[u/chamomileyes]

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. 

[u/Spicehawk86 → u/chamomileyes]

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.

[u/getoutlonnie → u/Spicehawk86]

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

[u/Modesto96 → u/Spicehawk86]

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

[u/Intrepid-Drummer-787 → u/Spicehawk86]

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.