Philosophy club and Professor Drew Leder hosted a talk at Loyola about Swift and her insightful lyrics, starting conversations about the message behind her songs and what she is insinuating about her life.
“I thought it would be fun for me, everybody wants a little piece of Taylor Swift. And for me, I get to have a little piece of Taylor Swift by talking about it. But also, I thought there would be a lot of people at Loyola who would be interested too,” Leder said.
Many of the questions asked were based on how we would interpret Swift’s words. As she holds a large fanbase, what message is she sending to her listeners?
Leder shared his take on Swift and her impact on viewers and philosophy.
“I feel like a lot of people in the audience feel like [Swift] gets them, because of the things she talks about in her music have involvement to their own lives, including romance and breakups. She is relatable,” Leder said.
The talk was very insightful into digging deeper into Swift’s lyrics. Over the course of the lecture, Leder discussed the story behind the popular songs “Right Where You Left Me” and “Getaway Car.”
There were many members of the Philosophy Club and the Swiftie Society, two clubs on campus, in attendance. Many shared their ideas on what Swift truly meant with her lyrics.
“I feel like they are also drawn to a woman in power. She is a beautiful artist and a lovely performer. She probably means a lot to different people,” Leder said.
In the interpretation of her song “Right Where Left Me,” Leder discussed the viewpoint of Swift in her story. Many viewers interpreted the story as someone who is stuck in the past, watching life move on while they are still living and trying to grasp at their old memories.
“It was also to send the message that philosophy is not just something you study, it’s kind of all around us, in intelligent popular culture and intelligent performers and sing lyrics are often looking very deeply at human spirit and morality,” Leder said, when asked as to why he wanted to host this talk for the students at Loyola.
This discussion allowed fans and listeners to connect pop culture to a common course at Loyola, giving attendants the experience of finding more meaning behind popular songs and connecting to someone as big as Taylor Swift. Leder captured fans’ feelings and Swift’s intentions with her lyrics.
In his discussion of “Getaway Car,” Leder opened a discussion on who listeners believe the getaway car is, who was the driver, and what role was Swift playing in this song. The talk allowed its attendees to share their opinions on how they interpreted the song, or how it related to Swift’s life or their own.
“It was very important to me that the talk wasn’t Taylor Swift and philosophy, like we are going to philosophically talk about her. But instead, titled Taylor Swift as a philosopher, because I want to treat her respectfully. To get people to look for philosophy in accessible forms. To kind of feel themselves involved and experience that it’s interesting and enjoyable to really look deeply,” Leder said.
