We fell down a rabbit hole
Episode 4, a Deep Dive on "Wonderland," out now!
Didn't they tell us "Don't rush into things"?
Yes, they did, but it’s not rushing—it’s already time for another episode of AP Taylor Swift!
This week, we’re doing a deep dive on Taylor Swift’s song, “Wonderland,” from the album 1989.
(Editor’s Note: This episode builds on Episode 3 focused on Taylor Swift’s lyrical influences from the book “Alice in Wonderland.” So if you didn’t listen to episode 3—what are you waiting for?)
In Episode 4, we explore whether the Cheshire Cat is calming or creepy; if New York City really is “Wonderland”; How Taylor Swift’s music, lyrics, and album branding are often at odds with one another; and how this song seems to reference “A Tale of Two Cities” and “The Great Gatsby” all at the same time.
A huge and sincere thank you to everyone who listened, rated, and reviewed our first few episodes! We are overwhelmed and overjoyed by the response, and we appreciate your love and support.
If you know of a Swiftie (or non-Swiftie! We’re not exclusive) who may be interested, please consider sharing this email, the podcast, or our social channels.
And, if you’re looking to get a little more extra credit…keep reading for a closer look at the making of our “Alice in Wonderland” episodes.
This Week’s Extra Credit - Brought to You by Jodi
I was SO excited when we decided to do an “Alice in Wonderland” themed episode! This felt like the perfect topic to officially begin our podcast. Lewis Carroll’s classic is an approachable, widely known story, whether you routinely devoured the Disney film as a child; watched the Tim Burton interpretation from 2010; or, like me, read the book in your own AP English Class.
I started by breaking out that very same book I read in Ms. Apostol’s AP English Class in [year redacted]. There were all my original notes in the margins and flags at interesting passages—noting “‘If I eat one of these cakes,’ she thought, ‘it’s sure to make some change in my size; and, as it ca’n’t possibly make me larger, it must make me smaller, I suppose’” on page 24 as “characteristic of Alice’s childhood reasoning” that she thinks will help her in Wonderland as it helps adults in the real world, and which she soon learns isn’t helpful (or realistic) at all.
In re-reading the classic, I was struck by this point again and again—Alice mimics what she has seen adults do in the real world (using logic and reason) in an attempt to make sense of where she is and get where she wants to go. But, like adults know, in the real world logic and reason don’t get you as far as you thought they would when you were young. The world, like Wonderland, is illogical, unfair, and often unkind.
“‘I don’t think they play fairly at all,’ Alice began, in a rather complaining tone, ‘and they all quarrel so dreadfully one ca’n’t hear oneself speak—and they don’t seem to have any rules in particular: at least, if they are there, nobody attends to them—and you’ve no idea how confusing it is all the things being alive…” (56)
Reading this book as an adult, I realize now how much of this went over my head when I read it in high school. Back then, I saw the world much like Alice did—black and white; right and wrong; a place where rules exist to maintain justice, order, and peace. But that’s not the reality we live in, nor is it the reality of Wonderland. (Is that an oxymoron? “Reality of Wonderland”?).
It’s that simple, child-like thinking and perspective on adulthood that inspired my own song selection in Episode 3, “It’s Nice to Have A Friend”. This straightforward, poetic song is mostly out of place on the Lover album, as it sounds more like a spoken-word poem than a pop song. It tells the story of growing up and falling in love, but with a childlike cadence, perspective and tone. Similar to Alice in her own adventures, the speaker in the song has a child’s point of view on adulthood—where the peak perks include “no curfew” and “stay in bed the whole weekend.”
The imagery throughout the song suggests what’s happening, without actually ever telling the story. “School bell rings/ walk me home/ sidewalk chalk covered in snow” tells us there are two school-age children, likely friends, in the wintertime. Cut to the third verse, “Church bell rings, carry me home / Rice on the ground looks like snow” not only shows the passage of time, it also tells us how this relationship developed from friendship to marriage. “But Jodi—is there any “Alice in Wonderland” imagery? So glad you asked! The passage of time between all three verses relates to the constant talk of time in “Alice in Wonderland.” And don’t forget the speaker “lost my glove” in the first verse, and that White Rabbit is constantly looking for the Queen’s gloves.
From a literary perspective (this is AP Taylor Swift, after all!) The song is written in iambic trimeter (a pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables in the pattern of (unstressed / stressed / unstressed) to create six syllables per line), evocative of the poems throughout “Alice in Wonderland. ” And it uses enjambment (“incomplete syntax at the end of a line, so the meaning ‘runs over’ or “steps over” from one poetic line to the next”) to “create a tension that is released when the word or phrase that completes the syntax is encountered”. This is similar to William Carlos Williams’ poem, “The Red Wheelbarrow,” another AP English class favorite of mine.
It’s Nice to Have a Friend
Something gave you the nerve
To touch my hand
It's nice to have a friend
The Red Wheelbarrow
so much depends upon a red wheel barrow glazed with rain water beside the white chickens
Did Taylor think of all these things when she was writing this simple song? Who knows. Do I still think of the song as simple? Not at all. Just like “Alice in Wonderland,” you can listen to this song on the surface and think “ok, it’s cute, it’s for kids.” Or, you can go a bit deeper—down a rabbit hole, if you will—and see the complexity and depth behind it all. (Spoiler alert: That’s what we do on the podcast!)
Thanks for doing the extra credit with us today (don’t worry, we don’t grade on a curve!)