Which X-Women Were Each And Every Song On Taylor Swift’s 2020 Album folklore Written About?

Full disclosure: I am not a Taylor Swift fan. Some might assume it’s a matter of taste, others might allude to the fact I’m “old” or “seriously, this is embarrassing, you’re not even the target audience.” Regardless, it was impossible to miss the release of her new album, Folklore, which landed online last month and sent the internet into ethereal, angsty euphoria. 

I only know this because I witnessed it in real-time. Within minutes of the album’s release, X-Men fans on my favorite corner of Twitter had forgotten Krakoa and were posting Folklore reactions, reviews, or simply educating the wide-eyed novice (i.e. me) on what exactly was happening. And while I had no idea what the hell was going on, I loved it. Their enthusiasm was infectious. So much so that recently I decided to finally listen to the album that everyone told me was so good.

And I have to admit, my first thought was, “damn it, they’re right.” But it was quickly followed up by another thought which was “wait…is this about my favorite X-Women?”  Now, did this epiphany hit me because my entire listen was inspired by other X-Fans? Or does it point to my obsessive, probably unhealthy, investment in the emotional well-being of these mutants?

More importantly: who cares? The real story here is that after a few listen-throughs, it’s clear that while I may not be a Taylor Swift fan, she would absolutely be a fan of our favorite X-Women. Here’s the proof.

the 1: Polaris

 If there’s one X-woman who epitomizes the essence of Taylor Swift and her catalog of true love and crazy break-ups, it’s Lorna Dane. So it’s no surprise that the first line of the album’s first song immediately calls to mind our favorite green-haired mutant.

I’m doing good, I’m on some new shit

Been saying “yes” instead of “no”…

Yes, Lorna has been on some new shit. But despite her new team and new book, the new era of the X-Men isn’t an automatic fresh start for her. There’s baggage there. And while we know she’s moved on from her long-time love/one-time fiance/some-time nemesis, Alex Summers, it’s clear from the first DOX issue of X-Men that the memories are still raw. But this is Lorna, after all. So as much as she might look back, she’s also looking forward. And it’s clear that Alex missed out on the best thing that ever happened to him. 

In my defense, I have none

For digging up the grave another time

But it would’ve been fun

If you would’ve been the one.

cardigan: Boom Boom

Yes, Boom Boom’s relationship with Sam Guthrie happened years ago, but it also defined the early years of both characters. And as the song suggests, it wasn’t just young love; for Tabitha, it symbolized a kind of acceptance that was as surprising as it was welcome.

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan

Under someone’s bed

You put me on and said I was your favorite

While I always loved them together, their relationship didn’t last. Since their break-up, Sam has gone on to other relationships and a bigger spotlight on various X-Men teams, but Tabitha has always struggled to find her footing in the fallout. Fingers crossed she finds it on Krakoa; she deserves it.

I knew you

Tried to change the ending

Peter losing Wendy, I

I knew you

Leavin’ like a father

Running like water, I

And when you are young, they assume you know nothing

the last great american dynasty: Moira X

Okay, this one is simple. We’ve all been wondering what Moira was doing for the first part of her sixth life and Taylor answers it right here.

Flew in all her Bitch Pack friends from the city

Filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names

And blew through the money on the boys and the ballet

And losing on card game bets with Dalí

Let’s be honest. By the time Moira barrels into her sixth life, she’s died numerous horrific deaths, watched the people she loves the most become her enemies, seen her enemies become her lovers, and witnessed all of them die over and over and over again. The woman is tired. For just one life, LET HER LIVE.

Who knows, if she never showed up, what could’ve been

There goes the most shameless woman this town has ever seen

She had a marvelous time ruining everything.

exile: Captain Britain

This song alludes to two lovers seeing each other after their break-up, each with a different perspective on how it ended and where to go from here. Now, I think we can all agree that this song is obviously about Betsy, but while most will attribute the lover to Warren, I need you to know that I sat in my car sobbing thinking it was Fred.

And it took you five whole minutes

To pack us up and leave me with it

Holdin’ all this love out here in the hall

Yes, Betsy and Fred’s affair in last year’s X-Tremists was short-lived and technically not in the “real world” but unlike some other AU adventures, the X-Men remember Age of X-Man. Betsy and Fred came to Krakoa with all the memories of their relationship intact. And while Betsy was prepared to move on, we never got Fred’s perspective. As a character that for decades existed as a two-dimensional caricature, he came alive in X-Tremists. He fell in love. And then, just as quickly, he had it all ripped away. Let’s allow him some bitterness and confusion, okay?

I never learned to read your mind (Never learned to read my mind)

I couldn’t turn things around (You never turned things around)

‘Cause you never gave a warning sign (I gave so many signs)

(You didn’t even see the signs)

my tears ricochet: Madelyne Pryor

Thanks to Taylor Swift, we finally have a song that encompasses the complex emotions of a woman who discovers her husband has left her for the dead woman she was cloned from and whose subsequent rage manifests in a fury of blood lust and demonic possession. It’s about time.

Even on my worst day, did I deserve, babe

All the hell you gave me?

‘Cause I loved you, I swear I loved you

‘Til my dying day

While Madelyne Pryor is easy to classify as a villain, we sometimes forget that underneath all that black leather and volumizing hairspray, there’s a woman who never asked for any of it. A woman who was abandoned by her husband, lost her son, and was left at the mercy of near strangers to get through it all. So we can forgive her if she doesn’t go without a fight, right? Because yes, she’s psychotic and homicidal, but also, she’s just heartbroken.

I didn’t have it in myself to go with grace

And you’re the hero flying around, saving face

And if I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake?

Cursing my name, wishing I stayed

Look at how my tears ricochet

mirrorball: Dazzler

Is it a cop-out to claim that the song about a disco ball is the same song that’s about Dazzler? Probably. But it also fits. This song finds Taylor pondering her life as a performer, always on display, entertaining those around her, even at the expense of herself.

I want you to know

I’m a mirrorball

I’ll show you every version of yourself tonight

I’ll get you out on the floor

Shimmering beautiful

And when I break, it’s in a million pieces

How could this not be Allison, a character whose entire inception was based on a marketing venture? And even though years have passed since her creation, the weight of it still hangs on the character: she’s still a fun-loving pop star while every trauma she’s experienced is swept to the side. I mean, it’s wonderful to see her singing at the Green Lagoon, but is anyone going to finally tell her that she’s the mother of another adult living on Krakoa? ANYONE?

And they called off the circus, burned the disco down

When they sent home the horses and the rodeo clowns

I’m still on that tightrope

I’m still trying everything to get you laughing at me

seven: Rogue 

There’s no question that after years battling her own demons, and well, actual demons, Rogue’s found peace on Krakoa with newly-minted wife guy, Gambit. But none of that takes away from the fact that she is battleworn; she still struggles with a mutant power and the numerous people that live in her own head because of it. So a song that wistfully recalls the innocence and lost loves of childhood, fits her perfectly.

Please picture me in the trees

I hit my peak at seven

Feet in the swing over the creek

I was too scared to jump in

Childhood was the one time we ever saw Rogue as, well, only Rogue. No one else was taking up real estate in her mind. She was herself in the truest sense of the word. So while she’s finally found happiness, it’s bittersweet: the hopes and dreams of that little girl will only ever exist in her (very crowded) memory.

And I think you should come live with me

And we can be pirates

Then you won’t have to cry

Or hide in the closet

And just like a folk song

Our love will be passed on

august: Nature Girl 

While Nature Girl and Eye Boy were never officially “together,” that’s only because Christina Strain’s Generation X run was canceled before they could make it official. In any case, this song fits their (almost) relationship perfectly.

Your back beneath the sun

Wishin’ I could write my name on it

Will you call when you’re back at school?

I remember thinkin’ I had you

“August” is an ode to the kind of summer love that only really comes in your teenage years when everything is new and exciting. And yes, Lin might not have had the opportunity to give it an actual go with Trevor, the wonderful angst leading up to it was almost just as good.

Back when we were still changin’ for the better

Wanting was enough

For me, it was enough

To live for the hope of it all

this is me trying: Emma Frost

A song that features Taylor Swift struggling to accept responsibility for relationship issues and working to mend them is as close as we’ll ever come to the same from Emma, but it more than does the job.

I’ve been having a hard time adjusting

I had the shiniest wheels, now they’re rusting

I didn’t know if you’d care if I came back

I have a lot of regrets about that

While we’ve all been celebrating the new monogamy-free zone that is Krakoa, it’s easy to forget that for some it still might not be ideal. Yes, Emma has Scott back in her life but whether he wanted her there or not still hasn’t been thoroughly addressed, nor where they stand now that he’s playing family man on the moon. But one thing is clear: she’s trying.

And it’s hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound

It’s hard to be anywhere these days when all I want is you

You’re a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town

And I just wanted you to know that this is me trying

illicit affairs: Jean Grey

Now, some might argue that this is Emma’s song but those people would be wrong. This song is absolutely about Jean. Why? Because even before Emma came into the picture, Jean was in the completely insane position of not only being the person Scott cheated on but the one he cheated with.

And that’s the thing about illicit affairs

And clandestine meetings and longing stares

It’s born from just one single glance

But it dies and it dies and it dies

A million little times

An unintended consequence of absorbing Madelyne Pryor’s memories is that Jean now recalls not only what it was like to be the woman who Scott cheated on Madelyne with but also the pain and heartbreak it caused Madelyne. She’s the wife and the other woman in the same affair. And while she seems to somehow have gotten over this, I can’t imagine it happened without a lot of…discussion.

Don’t call me “kid,” don’t call me “baby”

Look at this idiotic fool that you made me

You taught me a secret language I can’t speak with anyone else

And you know damn well

For you, I would ruin myself

A million little times

invisible string: Captain Kate Pryde

Kate’s romantic history has been littered with men (many of them weirdly named Peter) while we all wait patiently for her to realize that the person she’s meant to be with was right there by her side all along. (Hint: she’s the crazy blonde with the sword.)

Time, curious time

Gave me no compasses, gave me no signs

Were there clues I didn’t see?

Yes, Kate, of course there were clues! But it’s fine, because thanks to Gerry Duggan and the current run of Marauders, we’re finally daring to hope that we’ll get what we’ve all wanted from the beginning: Kate and Illyana together. And when it finally hits Kate with the profundity that we know it will, I hope that, like this song suggests, it will be followed by a smile and a shrug and casual “of course.” 

And isn’t it just so pretty to think

All along there was some

Invisible string

Tying you to me?

mad woman: Polaris (again)

Did you honestly think we were done with Lorna? Absolutely not, especially when there’s a song called “mad woman” on the album. And let’s be honest, after everything Lorna has been through, she deserves a second slot on this list.

Every time you call me crazy, I get more crazy

What about that?

And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry

There’s no doubt that Lorna has been cast as the crazy scorned woman, but somehow it’s rarely noted that she didn’t get there on her own. Anger begets anger, and Lorna has a lot to be angry about. And more importantly, she has every right to it. What, you think she would be left at the altar by her long-time fiance and just not make a battle helmet out of the reception flatware?

And there’s nothing like a mad woman

What a shame she went mad

No one likes a mad woman

You made her like that

epiphany: Cecilia Reyes

It may seem like another obvious choice to pick a doctor for the song about doctors but there’s more going on here as well. Taylor’s song about those battling feelings of impotence while on the front lines of a violent, chaotic world brings an interesting facet to Cecilia, who is now serving as a doctor on Krakoa.

With you I serve, with you I fall down, down

Watch you breathe in, watch you breathing out, out

Something med school did not cover

Someone’s daughter, someone’s mother

In the past, Cecilia’s duty as a doctor has almost always come before her duty as an X-Woman. But what does that profession look like right now? How is she weighing her duty against this new reality where her patients can (and do) suffer but they can also be brought back to life? How does it change who she is? It hasn’t been touched on in any X-Books yet, but hopefully it’s something they’ll address soon, if only to give Cecilia some more panels. She deserves it.

Only twenty minutes to sleep

But you dream of some epiphany

Just one single glimpse of relief

To make some sense of what you’ve seen

betty: Magik

I mean, this is Illyana. This is Illyana and Kate.

If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it?

Will it patch your broken wings?

I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything

But I know I miss you

What else is there to say.

peace: Storm

I’m just going to say it: Storm has never been in a relationship with someone that deserved her. And she knows it. Which is why this song’s mature view of love and moving on fits Ororo so well.

Family that I chose, now that I see your brother as my brother

Is it enough?

But there’s robbers to the east, clowns to the west

I’d give you my sunshine, give you my best

But the rain is always gonna come if you’re standin’ with me

As much as she has had her heart broken, she’s also a woman who doesn’t resent the weakness of her past lovers; she knows her flaws, but she also knows her worth; she knows what she deserves and she knows they don’t deserve her. And ultimately, she doesn’t hold it against them.

But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm

If your cascade, ocean wave blues come

All these people think love’s for show

But I would die for you in secret

The devil’s in the details, but you got a friend in me

Would it be enough if I could never give you peace?

hoax: Erik

Yes, I know Magneto isn’t technically an X-Woman but he is a messy bitch who will never, ever quit Charles and I love him for it, which is why this song is his song.

My best laid plan

Your sleight of hand

My barren land

I am ash from your fire

I mean, come on. If this doesn’t fit a self-absorbed megalomaniac who has been struggling with his on-again/off-again relationship with another self-absorbed megalomaniac, what does? These two deserve each other, mostly because it will always end in disaster and I love mess.

You know I left a part of me back in New York

You knew the hero died so what’s the movie for?

You knew it still hurts underneath my scars

From when they pulled me apart

You knew the password so I let you in the door

You knew you won so what’s the point of keeping score?

So, yeah. Maybe I am a Taylor Swift fan after all.