Blank Space: Political interpretations of 10 Taylor Swift lyrics

1.“I’ve got a blank space baby, and I’ll write your name.”

When voters go rogue and add their own options to the ballot paper on election day. We’ve all seen it, we know it happens. What’s the most creative entrant you’ve seen? (I’m partial to Boaty McBoatface). 

2. “I’m so sick of running as fast as I can. Wondering if I’d get there quicker if I were a man.”

When you look at the make-up of the Parliament, a lot of it’s the same: old, white men. The Liberal Party keeps saying they want to encourage more women to get into politics. But they’re failing to pre-select women and they’re pushing senior elected women down the ticket in favour of men. So we’ll let them keep mulling over that one and why it’s not working… 

3. “Never be so polite you forget your power. Never wield such power, you forget to be polite.”

I reckon just about every woman heard this lyric and felt it in their soul. The message is pretty simple: don’t forget to be kind even if you’re in a position of massive power. But on the flip side; don’t let people walk all over you. Don’t forget the power you hold. 

Wise words from Taylor’s late grandmother, Marjorie. 

4. “My team is losing, battered and bruising / I see the high fives between the bad guys / Leave with my head hung, you are the only one / Who seems to care.”

This is more than one line but you can see the vision. It paints a great picture of election night; as the night grows on some parties become more ecstatic, while others start to fade off pretty quickly once they realise they’re not going to be the winner. The ‘only one who seems to care’ is usually the family or friends who knew the candidate before politics.They’re stuck with them anyway. 

5. “Did you hear my covert narcissism I disguise as altruism like some kind of congressman?“

Ever listen to a politician obviously lie through their teeth but they try to make it look and sound genuine anyway? Yep, Taylor too. 

6. “Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate.”

Can’t make a Taylor Swift list without a Shake It Off reference. Politicians get a lot of hate! Disagreeing with their policies in a respectful way is encouraged. But abusing someone or threatening to  kill them because you don’t agree with their views is never on. Whether you like them or not, politicians have to have a pretty thick skin. And learn to shake off the hate. 

7. “This is why we can’t have nice things.” 

I mean, this one speaks for itself. Every day that there’s a new dumb policy, a poorly executed idea or just plain old attack politics, this lyric rings true. 

8. “Darling I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream.”

Ever meet a politician (or lobbyist, activist or other) who seems lovely and level-headed, only for them to be absolutely nuts? There’s a few of them about. 

9. “Karma’s a relaxing thought. Aren’t you envious that for you it’s not?“

Pretty sure this is what some politicians would lie awake at night thinking about, while they sharpen their metaphorical political knives. Not only do pollies end up with their own personal enemies in other parties, but they’re often fending off assassination attempts from inside their own party too. See: 2010 Labor leadership spill, 2013 Labor leadership spill, 2018 Liberal leadership spill…..

10. “Because these things will change / Can you feel it now? / These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down / It’s a revolution, the time will come / For us to finally win.”

This gives ‘we-won-the-election-and-somehow-survived’ vibes. Anyone who’s worked an election campaign (for any political colour) will tell you it’s a bloody hard slog. And there’s a lot of times when you wonder if you’ll actually make it to election day. So there’s nothing sweeter than seeing that pay off with an election win. 

If you liked this and want to see round 2 of political interpretations of Taylor Swift lyrics, let me know in the comments below!

And if you hated it and never want Taylor Swift mentioned on the blog again, let me know in the comments too.