An analysis of the song Tolerate It by Taylor Swift - By Lily Rowell

Hi! In this week's blog post I will be taking a much different approach than I have recently and going back to my first blog post in a way where I gave book recommendations based off of Taylor Swift’s albums. But in this post I will be discussing Swift’s songwriting methods and how they convey a story of unrequited love and pain,  specifically in her song Tolerate It from her album Evermore. I hope you enjoy :)

highlight = my favorite lines 

[Verse 1]

I sit and watch you readin' with your head low

I wake and watch you breathin' with your eyes closed

I sit and watch you

I notice everything you do or don't do

You're so much older and wiser, and I

Verse 1: This verse really sets the story, giving depictions of her lover from her point of view using smaller details that most people might not notice but she does. I feel that when you truly look up to someone you “notice” everything they do and that is what Swift says that she does here. The line “I notice everything you do or don’t do” really hits home for me, especially the last part. Sometimes hoping that someone will do something and they end up not doing it (like showing affection or supporting her in this relationship) gives you their answer of where they stand in this kind of situation. This last line sets a recurring theme of age throughout the song and we can even see it in other songs from her past and newer albums. 

[Chorus]

I wait by the door like I'm just a kid

Use my best colors for your portrait

Lay the table with the fancy shit

And watch you tolerate it

If it's all in my head, tell me now

Tell me I've got it wrong somehow

I know my love should be celebrated

But you tolerate it

Chorus: The chorus also mentions age and the picture Swift paints of them in her head, supporting her reasoning for staying with them. Like before and Swift mentions her needing to show off to get attention from her lover but they just tolerate it. In the lyric “If it's all in my head tell me now, tell me I’ve got it wrong somehow”, supports the idea of her not wanting to let him go.

[Verse 2]

I greet you with a battle hero's welcome

I take your indiscretions all in good fun

I sit and listеn

I polish plates until they gleam and glistеn

You're so much older and wiser, and I

Verse 2: Swift mentions here kinda a similar situation to Purple Hibiscus with Mama Beatrice cleaning the figurines which I thought was ironic reading the book before fully analyzing the song.

[Chorus]

I wait by the door like I'm just a kid

Use my best colors for your portrait

Lay the table with the fancy shit

And watch you tolerate it

If it's all in my head, tell me now

Tell me I've got it wrong somehow

I know my love should be celebrated

But you tolerate it

Chorus (similar analysis as before): The chorus also mentions age and the picture Swift paints of them in her head, supporting her reasoning for staying with them. Like before and Swift mentions her needing to show off to get attention from her lover but they just tolerate it.

[Bridge]

While you were out buildin' other worlds, where was I?

Where's that man who'd throw blankets over my barbed wire?

I made you my temple, my mural, my sky

Now I'm beggin' for footnotes in the story of your life

Drawin' hearts in the byline

Always takin' up too much space or time

You assume I'm fine, but what would you do if I (I)

Bridge: This is my absolute favorite part of the song and Swift never misses with her bridges. It perfectly captures the emotions that run through her head while realizing that her lover does not truly care for her. My absolute favorite lines are “I made you my temple, my mural, my sky, now I’m begging for footnotes in the story of your life”.

[Chorus]

Break free and leave us in ruins?

Took this dagger in me and removed it

Gain the weight of you, then lose it

Believe me, I could do it

If it's all in my head, tell me now

Tell me I've got it wrong somehow

I know my love should be celebrated

But you tolerate it

Chorus: I feel as if this last and final chorus expresses Swift’s final feelings before leaving the relationship. The analogy of the line, “Took this dagger in me and removed it”, really describes the emotional pain she has trying to realize that her partner is not truly in love with her.

[Outro]

I sit and watch you