E18: Deep Dive - Death By a Thousand Cuts

2024-01-10

My, my, my, my. We get deep into our feelings on this deep dive today with “Death By a Thousand Cuts,” from Lover. With a title referencing an imperial form of torture, what is this Taylor Swift song really about? As always, our hosts look at the lyrics from very different perspectives based on our own personal experiences, from moving out of a childhood home (“chandelier still flickering here”) to a breakup (“You said it was a great love”) to Spiderman (“I see you everywhere”). We talk about idioms, loss, grief, the emotional burden of pain, and how asking the traffic lights for answers may...

My, my, my, my. We get deep into our feelings on this deep dive today with “Death By a Thousand Cuts,” from Lover. With a title referencing an imperial form of torture, what is this Taylor Swift song really about? As always, our hosts look at the lyrics from very different perspectives based on our own personal experiences, from moving out of a childhood home (“chandelier still flickering here”) to a breakup (“You said it was a great love”) to Spiderman (“I see you everywhere”). We talk about idioms, loss, grief, the emotional burden of pain, and how asking the traffic lights for answers maybe isn’t as far-fetched as some of us originally thought. Will we ever hear this song the same way again? “I don’t know!”

Mentioned in this episode:

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald
“Death By a Thousand Cuts,” Lover (2019)
“Death By a Thousand Cuts” Tiny Desk Concert
Wikipedia definition of “death by a thousand cuts”
Tom Holland’s Umbrella Lip Sync Battle
Finding Nemo
Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
The Notebook
Moby Dick, Herman Melville
Love Again
Someone Great
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, Lori Gottlieb

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Episode Highlights:

[02:15] Defining “death by a thousand cuts”

[08:18] My, my, my, my: What is this opening?

[15:50] United we stand: The things shared in a relationship

[20:03] Paper thin plans: Connecting this song to “Paper Rings”

[22:11] Trying to find a part of me you didn't take up: Why this love is so hard to get over

[28:11] I ask the traffic lights: Looking anywhere for answers

[34:00] It's just a thousand cuts: The purpose of the song

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.

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