Evermore: Grief, Memory, and Moving Forward
Taylor Swift’s Evermore is one of her most emotional and deep albums. It deals with personal grief, heartbreak, and the weight of memory. In the book Taylor Swift and Philosophy, philosophers explore how her songs show us important ideas, like how grief works, both alone and as a group, and how music can help us remember the past. A main theme in Evermore is that while pain and loss can feel overwhelming, we can also grow from those experiences and learn how to carry our memories with us.
One of the most powerful songs on Evermore is “marjorie,” where Swift writes about her grandmother who passed away when she was young. She sings, “What died didn’t stay dead / You’re alive in my head,” showing how someone can still live on through memories. Even though Marjorie is gone, Swift keeps her memory alive not just with lyrics, but quite literally her grandmother’s voice is heard in the background vocals. This connects to the philosophical idea of archival trace. An archival trace is like a piece of the past that we can still see or hear today. Even though it reminds us that something is gone, it also proves it was real. For Swift, “marjorie” becomes an archive of love and memory, saving both of those feelings in music.
Swift’s Representation of Relational Grief
The album also explores grief through heartbreak. In “champagne problems,” we hear the story of someone turning down a marriage proposal. “Sometimes you just don’t know the answer / ‘Til someone’s on their knees and asks you / “She would’ve made such a lovely bride / “What a shame she’s fucked in the head” they said / But you’ll find find the real thing instead / She’ll patch up your tapestry that I shred” The lyrics are sad, but full of meaning. It’s not just about one person saying “no”, it’s about the pain that both people feel afterward, and life continuing on after. The song tells us that grief doesn’t only come from death. It can come from choices, mistakes, and dreams that do not come true. The narrator knows how much pain she caused, and now lives with the sorrow of what could have been.
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Another song, “tolerate it,” shows a different kind of grief. Grief that comes from being unseen in a relationship. The narrator gives everything to someone who barely notices. She sings, “I wait by the door like I’m just a kid / Use my best colors for your portrait,” showing how she’s trying her hardest to be loved, but still isn’t enough. This kind of emotional pain can feel like loss to - the loss of hope, and the loss of self-worth. It reflects the deep sadness of feeling invisible and unimportant.
Philosophers also talk about something called collective grief. This is the kind of grief that whole groups of people feel together, like during the COVID-19 pandemic. Everyone experienced losses—of people, of time, of normal life. During this time, Evermore gave listeners a space to feel seen and understood. Songs like “right where you left me” show the feeling of being stuck in time, not able to move on. But the album also offers growth. The pain in “right where you left me” is followed by the strength in “it’s time to go,” where Swift finally says she’s ready to move on. These songs show grief as a journey—not just staying in the sadness, but learning how to live with it and move forward.
Conclusion
In the end, Evermore is an album about honoring the past, living with grief, and finding meaning in what we’ve lost. Whether it’s through heartbreak, family loss, or feeling overlooked, Taylor Swift uses songwriting to reflect, remember, and heal. As Taylor Swift and Philosophy explains, her music becomes a kind of archive—a place where emotions, lessons, and people are kept alive, even after they’re gone.