There’s a lyric on Taylor Swift’s newest album, “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” that is receiving some backlash online in the song titled “I Hate It Here.”
Here’s what to know.
The album itself is a reflection on her fame and relationships from a more raw, depressing viewpoint. In “I Hate It Here,” Swift sings about discontent and the way our recollections can be distorted by nostalgia — and how easy it can be to romanticize the past.
“My friends used to play a game where we would pick a decade we wished we could live in instead of this / I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists and getting married off for the highest bid,” Swift sings in the track.
A lyric card began circulating online with the line, and several people were upset due to the historical context of the 1830s. The Civil War began in 1861, more than 30 years after the decade Swift references in the song. Slavery was still active in the United States during this time.
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Social media reactions online are mixed. Some listeners are upset by the ignorance of selecting an era when slavery was legal and including it in her song; others simply feel it was a bad take.
Others see no issue with the lyrics in the context of the entire song. Some people feel that was the point of the song, to pick an era that was romanticized, but she also would have ended up hating.
Jay Stahl from USA Today contributed to this report.
Katie Wiseman is a trending news intern at IndyStar. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @itskatiewiseman.
