Songs I Placed on 'Anger' Stage of Grief from TTPD

I know Taylor made lists categorizing the new songs from TTPD within the Stages of Grief.  I haven’t looked at those so that I could get my own sense of the feelings within each song.  It’s helpful to ascertain the vibe of each song by deciding the main emotion behind it.  Of course songs convey more than one emotion at a time, especially braided lyrics with different character and story strands mixed in one song.  But I tried to decide the primary stage of grief for each one, and learned a lot by pulling lyrics that back-up my opinion.  Let me know if you agree in the comments!

Anger

TTPD

But Daddy I Love Him-

Track 6

Stage of grief- Taylor is pretty straightforwardly pissed off.  Nearly every line conveys anger.

I forget if this was ever fun

I just learned these people only raise you to cage you

I just learned these people try and save you/... cause they hate you

They slammed the door on my whole world/The one thing I wanted

No, I'm not coming to my senses

The saboteurs protested too much

I'll tell you something right now/I'd rather burn my whole life down/Than listen to one more second of all this griping and moaning

I'll tell you something about my good name/It's mine alone to disgrace

I don't cater to all these vipers dressed in empath's clothing/God save the most judgmental creeps/Who say they want what's best for me/Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I'll never see

You ain't gotta pray for me/If all you want is gray for me/Then it's just white noise/And it's just my choice/There's a lot of people in town that I/Bestow upon my fakest smiles

I'm his lady, and oh my God/You should see your faces/Time, doesn't it give some perspective/No, you can't come to the wedding

I'll tell you something right now you ain't gotta pray for me

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived-

Track 14

Stage of grief- anger

I would've died for your sins/Instead I just died inside [This person made Taylor do things she normally wouldn’t have, and there was no appreciation of that.  Depressed.]

You gazing at me starry eyed…/Who the fuck was that guy? [It was an act or the good behavior and feelings from the relationship are long gone. Anger.]

And I don't even want you back…/And I don't miss what we had but could someone give/A message to the smallest man who ever lived [Taylor isn’t pining for this person she wants to tell them to fuck off. Anger.]

And I'll forget you but I'll never forgive [Anger.]

And you'll confess why you did it/And I'll say good riddance [Anger.]

You didn't measure up/In any measure of a man [Anger.]

And you deserve prison/but you won't get time [Anger.]

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?

Track 10

Stage of grief- anger

… Is it a wonder I broke? Let's hear one more joke/Then we could all just laugh until I cry [sad, past-tense]

And you taught me/…I am what I am 'cause you trained me [Taylor has accepted she’s jaded and more angry and vindictive because of the way she was handled.]

I was tame, I was gentle 'til the circus life made me mean [Angry]

'Cause you lured me (you should be)/And you hurt me (you should be…/…You caged me and then you called me crazy [Taylor was baited, and hurt, and trapped, then gaslit.  She started out gentle and earnest, and  is now angry and vengeful because of how she was treated. Anger.]

Then say they didn't do it to hurt me/But what if they did?/… I wanna snarl and show you just how disturbed this has made me/You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me [anger]

… If you wanted me dead, you should've just said/Nothing makes me feel more alive…/Who's afraid of little old me?/You should be [It’s a threat.  She mad.

… So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street/Crash the party/ like a record scratch as I scream [Anger]

Cassandra

Track 11/27

Stage of grief- anger

So they set my life in flames, [Taylor’s life was destroyed.  Depression at the loss.]

When it's, "Burn the bitch", they're shrieking/When the truth comes out it's quiet [Disappointment that the vindication was anticlimactic, especially compared to the initial fervor.  Sad.]

When the first stone's thrown there's screamin'/In the streets there's a ragin' riot [The people are portrayed as unreasonably aggravated and spiteful.  Anger.]

The family, the pure greed, the Christian chorus line/They all said nothin' [The disrespectful language and calling out greed shows anger.]

Blood's thick, but nothin' like a payroll [Family is using her and she’s resentful. Anger.]

Bet they never spared a prayer for my soul [When it came to Taylor, they never took the time, never showed mercy, never removed from guilt. Anger.]

So they filled my cell with snakes,/I regret to say/Do you believe me now? [Anger.]

I was in my tower weaving nightmares/Twisting all my smiles into snarls [Their outrage has changed Taylor for the worse. Anger.]

They say what doesn't kill you makes you aware/What happens if it becomes who you are? [She’s jaded and has more edge than before.  Suspicion.  Vengeful. Anger.]

So Long, London-

Song 5-most emotional

Stage of grief- anger 

I kept calm and carried the weight of the rift/Pulled him in tighter each time he was drifting away/My spine split from carrying us up the hill/Wet through my clothes, weary bones caught the chill [Taylor has been doing all the emotional labor and she’s tired and resentful. Anger.]

I didn't opt in to be your odd man out…/you left me [Anger.]

I stopped CPR, after all it's no use/The spirit was gone, we would never come to/And I'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free [It’s hopeless Taylor isn’t going to try anymore.  Anger.]

Stitches undone/Two graves, one gun [One person has ruined everything, and it’s not Taylor. Anger.]

And you say I abandoned the ship/But I was going down with it/My white knuckle dying grip/Holding tight to your quiet resentment… [She’s refuting this person’s argument. Anger]

My friends said it isn't right to be scared/…When you're not sure if he wants to be there [Anger]

So how much sad did you think I had,/Did you think I had in me?/How much tragedy?/Just how low did you think I'd go? [She’s angry at this person for not taking any actions to help their situation when she was so, so sad about it.]

You swore that you loved me but where were the clues?/I died on the altar/ waiting for the proof [This person never followed up their words with actions to back up what they were saying. Anger.]

You sacrificed us to the gods/of your bluest days/And I'm just getting color back into my face/I'm just mad as hell cause I loved this place [Taylor loved it.  She tried.  She is mad that this person made her so depressed.]

Down Bad [depressingly horny; desperate leading to embarrassing choices/behavior]

Track 4

Stage of grief- Anger

What if I can't have us./I might just not get up/I might stay down bad [depressed]

come back and pick me up [bargaining]

Did you really beam me up?.../Then sent me back where I came from [Incredulous. Angry.]

Did you take all my old clothes? big pause……/Just to leave me here naked and alone [angry]

I loved your hostile takeovers…/How dare you think it's romantic/Leaving me safe and stranded [Conflicted feelings here, but hostile, indecent and stranded are negative = anger]

The Anthology

Robin-

Track 14/30

Stage of grief- anger

Way to go, tiger/Higher and higher/Wilder and lighter [Tone changed to positive compared to the verse  = denial bc of the juxtaposition with the other lines in the song?  [Taylor is succeeding in all of her dreams, and those around her (that benefit) are encouraging. Denial/Acceptance.]

You'll learn to bounce back just like your trampoline/But now we'll curtail your curiosity [People have decided what’s best for Taylor instead of giving her all the information and letting Taylor decide what’s best for Taylor. Acceptance.]

To keep it for you/In sweetness [Secret kept w/good intentions. Sarcastic? = Acceptance or anger?]

Out window panes talking utter nonsense/You have no idea [dumb; ignorant = anger]

Covered in mud, you look ridiculous [anger]

You have no room in your dreams for regrets/You have no idea/The time will arrive for the cruel and the mean [protecting her from harshness didn’t do her any good, and was less protecting her and more protecting their reign = this is Taylor repeating what they have told her as their excuse from keeping the secret from her. Anger]

Long may you roar/At your dinosaurs/You're a just ruler [Sounds like a justification, roaring is animalistic and a negative way to lead.  That’s what the subject says?  Taylor is being flippant? Anger.]

You're an animal/You are bloodthirsty [No humanity; cruel = anger]

You have no idea/Strings tied to levers/Slowed-down clocks tethered [people behind Taylor control her; the "leader" is a puppet.  As a result, Taylor is stuck and in a precarious situation she can’t get out of (the closet, for one). Animosity/Anger]

Imgonnagetyouback

Track 2/18

Stage of grief- Anger

Bygones will be bygone eras fadin' into gray (fadin' into gray) [Acceptance]

Whether I'm gonna be your wife or/…Take you back to my house, I…/Or I might just love you 'til the end [Will Taylor accept this other person’s less than desirable behavior?]

Told my friends, "I hate you but I love you just the same" [Taylor isn’t sure how she feels, but if you’re transitioning or wavering between stages of grief, it’s not acceptance.  The final stage is more of an end-point.  Anger.]

Haven't decided yet , mm/But I'm gonna get you back/I'll make you wanna think twice [It starts out ambivalent, but think twice is a warning.  Anger.]

Act like I don't care what you did  [biiiig pause] [That pause tells me she cares very much. Anger.]

I'm an Aston Martin/That you steered straight into the ditch/Then ran and hid [This person sullied a luxury item than chickened out and ran away. Anger.]

Gonna smash up your bike, I/…Whether I'm gonna curse you out or/…Flip the script and leave you like a dumb house party [Anger]

Even if it's handcuffed, I'm leaving here with you [It isn’t really a romantic sentiment.  I’d say she’s still angry.]

Pick your poison, babe/I'm poison either way [Taylor says whichever choice she makes–punish the person or accept what they did and love them forever–is going to hurt.  Either way the person is going to be penalized. Anger.]

The Black Dog

Track 1/17

Stage of grief- I think it’s more anger than depression.

Six weeks of breathing clean air/I still miss the smoke [denial that things were bad]

And I still can't believe it [Denial.]

And pierce new holes in my heart [depression]

And it hits me/I just don't understand/How you don't miss me [sad]

I move through the world with the heartbroken/My longings stay unspoken [sad]

Old habits die screaming [depression playlist?]

You said I needed a brave man/Then proceeded to play him/Until I believed it too/And it kills me [Angry about the broken promises and phony talk that broke her heart.]

'Cause tail between your legs you're leaving [Anger.]

Do you hate me?/Was it hazing?/For a cruel fraternity I pledged [Anger at mistreatment.]

Now I want to sell my house and set fire to all my clothes/And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons [Anger.]

Even if I die screaming/And I hope you hear it/And I hope it's shitty [Anger.]