Taylor Swift Fans Are Looking Up 5 Words From Her New Album: Do You Know Them?
After the release of Taylor Swift’s latest album, The Life of a Showgirl, her fans have driven up searches for a number of words Swift uses in her lyrics. Swift has described herself as an English teacher and emphasizes her songwriting. The moniker is apt, as she appears to have taught some fans new words with The Life of a Showgirl.
Taylor Swift fans are searching for the definition of 5 words from her album
On Oct. 3, Swift released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. Research that language learning platform Preply shared with Showbiz Cheat Sheet shows that searches for words from the lyrics have soared since its release.
In the album’s titular song, “The Life of a Showgirl,” Swift sings, “Looking back, I guess it was kismet.” Searches for the word, which means fate or destiny, have jumped by 411% since the album’s release.
The second most searched word from the album was pyro, short for pyrotechnics, or the creation of fireworks. Swift uses the word in “The Fate of Ophelia.” Searches for it have jumped by 327%.
Swift also uses the word “honing” in “The Fate of Ophelia.” To hone is to refine or sharpen something over time. The monthly searches for the term are up by 166%.
In Swift’s song “Eldest Daughter,” she sings, “Sad as it seems, apathy is hot.” Searches for apathy, which means a lack of emotion or enthusiasm, have gone up by 37% since the release of The Life of a Showgirl.
Finally, in “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift uses the word “melancholy,” which is a reflective sadness. Searches for this word jumped by 18% in the week after Showgirl’s release.
Taylor Swift’s album is a learning experience for some fans
Anna Pyshna, a spokesperson for Preply, praised Swift for helping her fans expand their vocabulary.
“Taylor’s vocabulary is poetic, emotional, and accessible,” she said. “Fans aren’t just singing along, but they’re also expanding their language, understanding nuances, and connecting words to real emotions. That’s how great learning happens.”
Pyshna noted that Swift’s self-identification as an English teacher feels fitting.
“In her own way, Taylor’s turned into a language-learning icon, even calling herself ‘your English teacher’ in her engagement post,” she said. “She’s showing that expanding your vocabulary doesn’t need a classroom, just a great lyric and a feeling that stays with you.”
She spoke about her writing method
While accepting the Songwriter-Artist of the Decade from the Nashville Songwriters Association International, Swift said her favorite part of writing songs is lyricism. She said she has three different approaches to writing lyrics.
“I’ve never talked about this publicly before, because, well, it’s dorky,” she said in her speech, per The Hollywood Reporter. “But I also have, in my mind, secretly, established genres categories for lyrics I write. Three of them, to be exact. They are affectionately titled Quill Lyrics, Fountain Pen Lyrics, and Glitter Gel Pen Lyrics.”
In her “Quill lyrics,” Swift said she used “antiquated words and phrasing.” She said most of her lyrics are “Fountain Pen lyrics,” or “a modern storyline or references, with a poetic twist.” “Glitter Gel Pen lyrics” are “frivolous, carefree, bouncy, syncopated perfectly to the beat.”
Before its release, Swift described The Life of a Showgirl as a “Glitter Gel Pen” album.
