 |
| Source: here |
People
say that human’s heart is fickle; deeper than the sea, larger than the ocean.
They say it’s unpredictable; has many unknown territories like the outer space.
It has many blank spaces. When love comes to one, it stays. When the love is over,
it doesn’t mean that it goes away just like that. Sometimes it never leaves. So
when other love comes, does it replace the old ones? Nope. A heart has many
rooms, blank space, as I said before. I used to believe that a heart has only
one room at a time, for the most beloved one. As I grow up, I learn that it’s
wrong. And there are many kinds of love too, that a heart can keep at a time.
There are people who have many ex-lovers, jumping from one person to another in
a short time. People like them are usually being judge by society as ‘players’,
well, I used to be one of them who judge, ashamed, indeed. But now I
understand, as I grow up, that they just try to look for what they’re looking
for. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Lovers come and go, and not everyone
is as lucky as you are who could devote to only one person in your lifetime.
Some people, unlike you, have to go through so many before they could find the
right one. Still, it’s better to fail many times rather than do nothing.
“So
it’s gonna be forever, or it’s gonna go down in flames. You can tell me when
it’s over, if the high was worth the pain. Got a long list of ex-lovers,
they’ll tell you I’m insane. ‘Cause you know I love the players, and you love
the game.” –Taylor Swift, Blank
Space
On
the day of my birthday, I was going on a little trip with my besties, a little
escape from our daily routines. While we were riding along, the radio in the
car was playing this one song, perhaps two times or more, it’s Taylor Swift’s
“Blank Space”. And suddenly, just like that, this song was stuck in my head. Felt
like the universe conspired to make me listening to it carefully. And so here
we are, the last song for My Choices:
Continue Living; it’s “Blank Space” by the one and only, Taylor Swift. This
electro-pop song was released on November 10th 2014 and served as the second
single from Swift’s fifth studio album, “1989”. Though all of the songs in the
album are pop songs, as Swift described the album as her first official pop
album, she doesn’t lose her lyrical touch, especially in “Blank Space”, and
that’s what I love from her. As we know it, Swift always writes a song based on
her own experience. Some say that’s childish, but for me personally, that’s
brilliant. I’m a person who highly appreciates the act of sharing meanings,
remember? And this song basically sums up her love life so far, while
satirizing the media’s perception of her and her relationships.
 |
| "Blank Space" single cover - source: en.wikipedia.org |
I
have to say that it’s a brave yet brilliant move for Miss Swift to put herself
as the villain in this song. Yes, the main character is the villain, and I
always love this kind of thing; being an evil main character, I mean.
Generally, “Blank Space” tells about a woman who runs wild in conducting her
romantic life; like a heartbreaker, free-spirited lady, careless biatch, yet
the sensible one. She’s attracted to him since the first time. Guessing that
the crush will be just be a temporary feeling and won’t last long, she offers
to play the game of love. You only live once, and it’s too short to pass an
exciting game like this, right? “Nice to
meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things, magic, madness,
heaven, sin. Saw you there and I thought, oh my God, look at that face, you
look like my next mistake. Love’s a game, wanna play?” She’s pretty aware
of what people’s depiction of her is, yet she assures him to take the chance to
know her and see how and where this will go as time passes by. You only live
once, and it’s too short to pass the adventure trip like this, right? “New money, suit and tie, I can read you
like a magazine. Ain’t it funny, rumors fly, and I know you heard about me. So
hey, let’s be friends, I’m dying to see how this one ends. Grab your passport
and my hand, I can make the bad guys good for a weekend.”
She
can be whatever he wants her to be, and he can take everything that he wants
from her. Indeed, as cruel as a woman
can be, she will give everything and afford anything in the name of love. She’s
all in. But there’s always high and low in love life, and the worst is yet to
come. “Cherry lips, crystal skies, I
could show you incredible things. Stolen kisses, pretty lies, you’re the King,
baby, I’m your Queen. Find out what you want, be that girl for a month. Wait,
the worst is yet to come, oh no.” And from here on, the twist begins. When
she finds out that he turns out to be just the same as her ex-lovers, the huge
anger explodes. Because, like a rose with thorns, she’s good for the good and
bad for the bad. What goes around comes around, right? “Screaming, crying, perfect storms, I can make all the tables turn.
Rose garden filled with thorns, keep you second guessing like, ‘Oh my God, who
is she?’. I get drunk on jealousy, but you’ll come back each time you leave.
‘Cause, darling, I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”
Romance
is, indeed, whether will last forever or die in vain. Love is, indeed, whether
will take us to marriage or end with a breakup. “So it’s gonna be forever, or it’s gonna go down in flames. You can
tell me when it’s over, if the high was worth the pain. Got a long list of
ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane. ‘Cause you know I love the players, and
you love the game.” There is a long list of her ex-boyfriends who will
spread fake news and things about her, because she had trust with them which
turned to be fake. She wants to take this relationship too far, but if it
doesn’t go well, there’s a space for one more name in the long list of her
ex-boyfriends. “‘Cause we’re young and
we’re reckless, we’ll take this way too far. It’ll leave you breathless or with
a nasty scar. Got a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane. But
I’ve got a blank space, baby, and I’ll write your name.” As cool as a woman
can be, she could go all-in in love, but once she’s hurt, she never hesitates
to put him on the list of her ex-boyfriends. Indeed, love could end whether
beautifully or miserably. “Boys only want
love if it’s torture. Don’t say I didn’t say, I didn’t warn ya.” As Miss
Swift said herself in an interview, she was thinking about this, that boys only
want love if it’s torture and a constant chase, but men want love if it’s real,
right, healthy and consistent.
 |
| Taylor Swift on the "Blank Space" music video - source: rollingstone.com |
A
music video of “Blank Space” accidentally leaked on Yahoo! on November 10th 2014. It was directed by Joseph Kahn and
starred model Sean O’Pry as Swift’s love interest in this video. The song
itself was written, composed, and arranged by Miss Swift herself, as always,
along with Max Martin and Shellback. It received not only acclaim from music
critics but also commercial success, by topping the charts with sales of
155,000 copies in just its first week after the release. In its third week,
“Blank Space” climbed up on number one position of Billboard Hot 100, making Swift the first female artist to replace
herself at number one, as the number one song of the previous week was her
previous single “Shake It Off”. A source said that it makes fun of her exposure
in the media about her dating life, which portraying herself as “an overly
attached man-eater who dates for songwriting material”. Well, as Robert Leedham
said, “It's the work of someone who finds
success in misadventure, instead of wallowing in it.” Knocking two birds with one stone, well done Miss
Swift!
“‘Cause
we’re young and we’re reckless, we’ll take this way too far. It’ll leave you
breathless or with a nasty scar. Got a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you
I’m insane. But I’ve got a blank space, baby, and I’ll write your name.”
–Taylor Swift, Blank Space
“Nice
to meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things
Magic,
madness, heaven, sin, saw you there and I thought
Oh
my God, look at that face, you look like my next mistake
Love’s
a game, wanna play?
New
money, suit and tie, I can read you like a magazine
Ain’t
it funny, rumors fly, and I know you heard about me
So
hey, let’s be friends, I’m dying to see how this one ends
Grab
your passport and my hand, I can make the bad guys good for a weekend
So
it’s gonna be forever, or it’s gonna go down in flames
You
can tell me when it’s over, if the high was worth the pain
Got
a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane
‘Cause
you know I love the players, and you love the game
‘Cause
we’re young and we’re reckless, we’ll take this way too far
It’ll
leave you breathless or with a nasty scar
Got
a long list of ex-lovers, they’ll tell you I’m insane
But
I’ve got a blank space, baby, and I’ll write your name
Cherry
lips, crystal skies, I could show you incredible things
Stolen
kisses, pretty lies, you’re the King, baby, I’m your Queen
Find
out what you want, be that girl for a month
Wait,
the worst is yet to come, oh no
Screaming,
crying, perfect storms, I can make all the tables turn
Rose
garden filled with thorns, keep you second guessing like
‘Oh
my God, who is she?’, I get drunk on jealousy
But
you’ll come back each time you leave, ‘cause, darling, I’m a nightmare dressed
like a daydream
Boys
only want love if it’s torture, don’t say I didn’t say, I didn’t warn ya
Boys
only want love if it’s torture, don’t say I didn’t say, I didn’t warn ya”
Wrote by Mashita Fandia
