Day 31: Go Go Go

I've said before that I think Taylor Swift's 2012 album Red has a tone problem. For the most part I think this holds true to some extent, but there's one song where the tone is so blatantly off that it really gets in the way of me enjoying an otherwise good song. Stay Stay Stay is a classic example of what can happen when the music is poorly matched to the lyrics of a song. This makes the song a fine listen at first, but the more I hear it the more frustrated I become with it. To explain what I mean we need to figure out what's happening in the song to begin with.

"I'm pretty sure we almost broke up last night
I threw my phone across the room at you
I was expecting some dramatic turn-away
But you stayed"

This a actually a pretty strong opening to a song. We learn a lot about the relationship in a short period of time. The hot emotions and uncertain nature of everything suggests that it's relatively new, while still being around long enough to have the strength to survive a fight. The way Taylor lingers on the word "you" followed by the brief "stayed" effectively communicates how happy, albeit somewhat surprised, Taylor feels that the dude stuck around. This is even built on pretty well by the chorus, which talks pretty much the same thing.

"Stay, stay, stay
I've been lovin' you for quite some time, time, time
You think that it's funny when I'm mad, mad, mad
But I think that it's best if we both stay"

My core problem with this song is that the serious subject matter of trying to keep a relationship together is paired with an extremely lighthearted tone that undercuts the message Taylor is trying to deliver. This is tricky, since it toes the line between denial and a positive attitude in the face of an issue. I see this song as being on the side of denial, and I think the following line shows this best.

"This morning I said we should talk about it
'Cause I read you should never leave a fight unresolved
That's when you came in wearing a football helmet and said "okay, let's talk."

I'm not gonna linger on the football helmet even though it comes out of nowhere and leads to nothing. Instead, try to notice the healthy communication here. The issue is that this is immediately followed by the chorus. Now here's the important part. The chorus doesn't actually address any issues with the relationship. Staying together because just the other person can tolerate you isn't a healthy response to a serious fight, and this only gets worse as the song progresses.

"All those times that you didn't leave
It's been occurring to me 

I'd like to hang out with you, for my whole life"

Going into the details of a hypothetical relationship would have been a bad idea for a song like this. That said, escalating it to the level of suggesting marriage is completely unwarranted. Everything we've been told about this couple suggests that it has some serious issues, so pushing those aside with no resolution just makes this conclusion feel unearned. I think it's best summarized by Taylor at the very end of the song, in one line caught in the studio that they decided to leave in.

"It's so fun"

I can't disagree. This song is a lot of fun, but presenting itself this way around actual relationship problems without an actual solution doesn't make for a cohesive song. In this way it's biggest strength ends up being it's biggest weakness.

See you tomorrow,

-C