Exploring the Meanings of Classic Songs
olivertearle By Oliver Tearle
Interpreting a Taylor Swift song by way of the strict verse form known as the villanelle may seem like an eccentric and unpromising undertaking. But bear with me, because it is through doing so that we can seek to understand precisely what that phrase, ‘Champagne Problems’, means in the song of that name (from the 2020 album Evermore).
By Oliver Tearle
Songs about creepy blokes looking at girls on trains weren’t invented in 2004 with James Blunt’s ‘You’re Beautiful’, but his paean to unwanted male attention on British public transport has certainly become the most famous exemplum of this rarefied (and thankfully fairly rare) subgenre. Before Blunt came along, there was Hue and Cry’s 1988 hit ‘Looking for Linda’, which began with the smitten singer looking at Linda before engaging her in conversation about the price of cigarettes until she ended up telling him what an arrogant shit he is. At least, I think that’s how it went.