Continuing the tracklist of my version of Taylor Swift’s latest album…
Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #10: ‘Clara Bow’
The back half of my revised album is focused on Swift’s feelings about her career. While yesterday’s track was a biting and sarcastic shot at her critics, this one is a much more somber take on life in the spotlight.
The first two thirds of ‘Clara Bow’ finds Swift recalling her own reception, with comparisons to “It Girls” of the past (including the original It girl, the silent film actress who gives the song its name). The final lines allude to a new crop of stars being compared to Swift herself.
The “you’ve got edge she never did” line certainly calls to mind Olivia Rodrigo, a young star with whom Swift is rumored to have beef. But I don’t see this song as derisive. It’s more of a cautionary tale about the double edged sword of that promised dazzling future.
“You look like Clara Bow
In this light, remarkable
All your life, did you know
You’d be picked like a rose?”
[Pre-Chorus]
“I’m not trying to exaggerate
But I think I might die if it happened
Die if it happened to me
No one in my small town
Thought I’d see the lights of Manhattan”
[Chorus]
“This town is fake, but you’re the real thing
Breath of fresh air through smoke rings
Take the glory, give everything
Promise to be dazzling”
[Verse 2]
“You look like Stevie Nicks
In ’75, the hair and lips
Crowd goes wild at her fingertips
Half moonshine, a full еclipse”
[Pre-Chorus]
“I’m not trying to exaggeratе
But I think I might die if I made it, die if I made it
No one in my small town thought I’d meet these suits in L.A.
They all wanna say…”
[Chorus]
“This town is fake, but you’re the real thing
Breath of fresh air through smoke rings
Take the glory, give everything
Promise to be dazzling
The crown is stained, but you’re the real queen
Flesh and blood amongst war machines
You’re the new god we’re worshipping
Promise to be dazzling”
[Bridge]
Beauty is a beast that roars down on all fours
Demanding more
Only when your girlish glow flickers just so
Do they let you know
It’s hell on earth to be heavenly
Them’s the breaks, they don’t come gently
[Outro]
“You look like Taylor Swift
In this light, we’re lovin’ it
You’ve got edge, she never did
The future’s bright, dazzling”
Meet Me In Montauk 
This one stuck out for me as a highlight, so I’m glad it made the cut of your truncated album.
This one has grown on me tremendously. If it’s a diss track at all, it’s towards the whole machine, not any individual artist.
certainly not a diss song like Kendreck Lamar and Drake are battling 🤪
Also glad this one made the cut – and agreed that it’s one that has grown on me with further listens. I’ve not heard a song that tackles the music/entertainment industry in this way and certainly not from her vantage point. There’s such a pursuit in capturing lightning in a bottle again – finding a formula that works, but convincing everyone why the new model is better and worth following. Such a strange way to view humans and particularly young women who are trying to establish themselves in their own right.