It has been a couple of months since Taylor Swift’s surprise album release of Evermore. We have also gotten a deluxe version since! I think it is safe to say that the “cabin in the woods” era is coming to a close soon with her re-recording of Fearless coming in April and more re-recordings on their way. To continue this 2-part series, let’s look at the last nine songs on the deluxe album.

9) coney island (featuring The National)

This song features the National, which is founded by one of Taylor’s co-writers Aaron Dessner. We also know that this song was co-written by Taylor’s boyfriend, “William Bowery” (aka Joe Alwyn). The song is all about Taylor reflecting on her past, often making deliberate references. There are so many references in this song, but let’s look at two big ones. First, she references her song called “Delicate” when she says, “Did I close my fist around something delicate?” There is also speculation that she is alluding to a previous Evermore song, “Champagne Problems,” when she sings, “Your heart was glass, I dropped it.” In this song, Taylor also sings the lyrics, “Did I leave you hanging every single day? Were you standing in the hallway With a big cake, happy birthday.” This seems to reference the experience from, “The Moment I Knew,” when Jake Gyllenhaal forgot her birthday. She also seems to reference, “Out of the Woods,” when she sings about the accident the song is based on, saying, “And when I got into the accident the sight that flashed before me was your face.” Although these are just a few lyrics, Taylor poured her unresolved feelings and emotions into this song, almost releasing a full memoir of her public life in the music industry.

Best lyrics: “’Cause we were like the mall before the Internet/ It was the one place to be,” “Sorry for not winning you an arcade ring”

10) ivy

This song is part of Taylor’s character storytelling. It can be connected to her song, “Illicit Affairs,” on her album Folklore, since they seem to tell a similar story and are both track 10s. She uses the imagery of ivy growing up a house and just totally covering it, the same way the character is feeling. When she compares her feelings to a strong fire and a “blaze in the dark,” it responds to her lyrics from 1989’s “I Know Places,” when she said “Love’s a fragile little flame, it could burn out.” This song’s melody will be stuck in your head forever and it quickly became many people’s favorite.

Best lyrics: “My house of stone, your ivy grows/And now I’m covered in you”

11) cowboy like me

This song is noticeably different from the others on the album. Taylor goes back to her original country days with a song about two “cowboys” chasing a fancy life. She released “chapters” of similar songs from both Folklore and Evermore, and two of the names of these chapters are in the lyrics, including “ladies lunching” and “forever is the sweetest con.” The song also alludes back to “I Think He Knows” from Lover when she adds the lyrics, “But that was all before I locked it down.” Overall, the song seems very similar to the theme of “Getaway Car” from Reputation.

Best lyrics: “Never wanted love/Just a fancy car,” “You’re a bandit like me”

12) long story short

This track is probably the most pop song and has a more upbeat tempo. It is full of references to songs, and here’s a few: First there are references to Folklore’s “peace.” For example, she responds to the song saying, “We live in peace now,” and also, “Now I just keep you warm (Keep you warm)/ And my waves meet your shore,” which echoes the “peace” lyrics that say, “But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm/ If your cascade, ocean wave blues come.” One of my favorite parts of this song is when she talks to her past self, particularly about her reaction to Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.

Best lyrics: “If the shoe fits, walk in it ’til your high heels break,” “Your nemeses/
Will defeat themselves before you get the chance to swing”

13) marjorie

Taylor dedicates her lucky number track, #13, to her late grandmother Marjorie. It’s a sentimental song for her grandmother and her memory, similar to the 13^th track from Folklore’s, “epiphany,” which was dedicated to her grandfather. She clearly had a special connection with her grandmother and even dressed like her in her “Wildest Dreams” music video a few years ago.

Best lyrics: “Never be so kind/You forget to be clever/Never be so clever/You forget to be kind,” “And if I didn’t know better/I’d think you were singing to me now”

14) closure

Many have speculated that this song is about Taylor’s experience with her former producer Scooter Braun. The repeatedly mentioned letter is assumed to be the letter she received informing her that Scooter sold her master recordings yet again. When she responds, “Yes, I’m doing better,” she seems to be confirming that she will re-record and own her songs once again. This song may also include other parts about people other than Scooter, but most clues seem to point to him.

Best lyrics: “It cut deep to know ya, right to the bone”

15) evermore (featuring Bon Iver)

This song is Taylor’s second collaboration with Bon Iver, with her first being “exile” from Folklore. One of my favorite song-linking lyrics from this album is when Taylor titles an album and song Folklore, but also sang, “You and me forevermore,” in “New Year’s Day” on Reputation. She also echoes some lyrics from her previous Bon Iver duet. For example, here she sings, “Can’t remember/What I used to fight for,” and in “exile” she sings, “You’re not my homeland anymore/So what am I defending now?” As Taylor has explained, the last chorus creates the imagery of a person going back inside to her warm and safe cabin to finally find hope again.

Best lyrics: “Hey December/Guess I’m feeling unmoored,” “I rewind the tape, but all it does is pause”

16) right where you left me (bonus track)

This song is all about Taylor being stuck in time while everybody moves on. She clearly reveals this meaning when she sings the second verse, “Did you ever hear about the girl who got frozen?/Time went on for everybody else, she won’t know it/She’s still twenty-three inside her fantasy/ How it was supposed to be/.” This again goes back to her movie Miss Americana about the period where nobody heard from Taylor because of the harsh media criticism of her songwriting and every move she made.

Best lyrics: “Trends change, rumors fly through new skies/But I’m right where you left me”

17) it’s time to go (bonus track)

This track is the perfect closing track, as the name would suggest. This is all about knowing when your gut tells you when you’re finished, specifically about her experience with Scooter Braun. This is very apparent with the third verse, where she sings about how she doesn’t own her songs, but that she still has herself to re-record and take pride in them. The lyric that stands out as an allusion is, “Sometimes to run is the brave thing,” which echoes the lyrics, “The bravest thing I ever did was run,” which was from a song she wrote called, “Better Man” (that was ultimately sung by the band Little Big Town).

Best lyrics: “Sometimes giving up is the strong thing/Sometimes to run is the brave thing/Sometimes walking out is the one thing/That will find you the right thing”

That brings an end to the Evermore series, and possibly the cabin era. Now we are waiting for the Fearless re-recordings in April and are rooting for her to own and release her own songs that she put her effort into writing. This is a lesson for all of us: take pride in your work! Happy Women’s History!