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Taylor Swift is Right: I’m the Problem

By Joey Spencer | February 2, 2023


“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

—Genesis 3:6–8
 
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Garden pic

Taylor Swift is Right: I’m the Problem

By Joey Spencer | February 2, 2023

“So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.”

 
—Genesis 3:6–8
 

I will confess to all the “Swifties” out there that I am no expert on Taylor Swift or her music, and, in addition to possibly putting my ignorance of Taylor Swift on display, the fact that I am writing about her in my latest musing may be opening myself up to lots of future jokes from my colleagues in the Alcuin Institute. But that’s okay, full steam ahead. I should start by laying out the context of how this particular musing came about. Some time ago I was able to spend quality time with my nephew who is in eighth grade. Like many eighth graders, his world is one filled with music, movies, and pop culture. In one of our conversations, it came up that Taylor Swift had just released a new album (my nephew would want me to clarify at this point that he is not a “Swiftie” …we were discussing music in a general sense). So as a result of this conversation, I listened to the first song released called “Anti-Hero.” Thus, this musing.

What caught my attention were the lyrics. Maybe the words were simply creative songwriting, but they come across to the listener as being very personal insights into the life of Taylor Swift, confessional even. One particular line states, “I should not be left to my own devices, they come with prices and vices, I end up in crisis, tale as old as time.”[1] Now, anytime I hear “tale as old as time” tied to “vices,” my thoughts are immediately directed to the story of the Fall in Genesis.

It is a well-known story. Adam and Eve rejected God’s warning about eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and, left to their own devices, they ended up in a crisis. The price of their sin was death and separation from God. In the aftermath of recognizing their sinfulness they hide from God among the trees. When God asks, “Adam, where are you?” it is not that God doesn’t see them in hiding, or that He doesn’t know their location. He is asking the question out of love. God gives Adam the opportunity to confess the sin and make things right. Adam does not confess, rather he blames his sin on Eve and even God Himself since He gave Eve to be his wife. As the Easter Exsultet says, “O happy fault, O necessary sin of Adam, which gained for us so great a redeemer!” Through the crucifixion, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sin has been forgiven and we are once again able to enter into a relationship with God.

Being sinners, we tend to fall back into sin over and over again. Because of this, the Church has been gifted with the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church refers to this sacrament as the sacrament of forgiveness, “since by the priest’s sacramental absolution God grants the penitent ‘pardon and peace’” (CCC, 1449).

Back to Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift’s song ends with lyrics which insinuate that at her funeral, her family members will think that she is laughing at them in hell when they realize that she has left them nothing in the will. Now if this is some insight into Taylor Swift’s self-perception and not just creative songwriting, this is heartbreaking. Taylor, it does not have to end this way. Just as in the case of Charles Dicken’s Ebenezer Scrooge, there is time for conversion. In fact, it is encouraging that, unlike Adam and Eve, who blame everyone but themselves, in the chorus of Taylor’s song there is a line which says, “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.”[2] There is no hiding in the trees here. In a world in which we like to make excuses for all of our sins and problems, this seems like a refreshingly honest confession. So, Taylor, forgive me, I don’t know much about you, but if you are reading my musings, I do have the answer to where you can find the peace you are seeking. If the lyrics of this song are your own struggles, you have the confession down, you should take it to Christ through the Sacrament of Confession. If you are Catholic, after confessing the priest will give you absolution; if not, you can also find healing and mercy in the conversation with the priest. The same goes for anyone else reading this article and carrying around the weight of your sins. Go to Confession, ask for forgiveness, be forgiven, and enter into the pardon and peace of Jesus Christ.

  [1] Taylor Swift, “Anti-hero,” Midnights (New York: Republic Records, 2022).[2] Taylor Swift, “Anti-hero,” Midnights (New York: Republic Records, 2022).

Joey Spencer

Joey Spencer is a Tutor for the Alcuin Institute for Catholic Culture, and serves as the Archivist for the Diocese of Tulsa.

4 Comments

  1. Tracey Moomaw on 02/03/2023 at 2:11 AM

    Thank you Joey. 1st Saturday, I’ll be in the line for confession. Wish all people had the great gift of confession.

  2. Joey Spencer on 02/09/2023 at 5:04 PM

    Thank you Tracey!

  3. Alondra on 03/01/2023 at 12:25 PM

    I’ve said this many times before, but I think Taylor Swift wants to be Catholic…she just doesn’t know it yet! She has many songs that are “confession like” or expressing the desire to be “clean” again. Let’s pray for her conversion!

  4. Joey Spencer on 03/01/2023 at 3:46 PM

    Yes indeed! I agree!

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