In her latest album The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift references Hollywood legend Elizabeth Taylor, particularly in the track “Elizabeth Taylor.” Taylor Swift draws parallels between the challenges of fame and love that both she and Elizabeth Taylor experienced.
Taylor Swift placed a reference to the late film icon Elizabeth Taylor in the opening track of her album Reputation. The song …Ready For It? points to an unidentified man as the “Burton to my Taylor,” a nod to Taylor’s legendary love affair with the actor Richard Burton. But this reference wasn’t the last. Taylor Swift has drawn new comparisons between her and Elizabeth Taylor beyond their shared name.
Similarities between Elizabeth Taylor and Taylor Swift
In Elizabeth Taylor, the second track off her latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, not only does Swift name the song after the actress directly, but she also weaves Elizabeth Taylor-related lines throughout the lyrics. Using these references, she mentions the Hollywood machinations and the challenges related to a love life under the spotlight. Both problems that Taylor Swift can relate to.
Who was Elizabeth Taylor?
Elizabeth Taylor was one of the most famous actresses of the mid-20th century, making her debut as a child in the 1944 film National Velvet. She gained even more attention for her marriages, of which there were eight to seven different men. (She married, divorced, remarried, then re-divorced Burton.) More than one of these relationships stirred scandals. These high-profile relationships received a lot of media attention.
Elizabeth Taylor by Taylor Swift
Throughout Elizabeth Taylor, Taylor Swift references the actress’s pleasures, passions, and problems. Those references include: “That view of Portofino was on my mind,” a reference to Taylor’s love of the Italian village where Burton proposed to her in 1964. “When you called me at the Plaza Athénée,” a reference to the Parisian hotel where Taylor Elizabeth stayed with Burton. “I’d cry my eyes violet,” a reference to Taylor’s iconic “violet” eyes. But Taylor Swift’s most obvious reference is to Taylor’s fame, which complicated her relationships and blurred her humanity.
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