The True Meaning of "mirrorball" by Taylor Swift

A lyrical analysis of "mirrorball" by Taylor Swift

I find that ‘mirrorball’ by Taylor Swift can be absorbed in an array of ways, depending on how the light hits it. 

It begins by giving sound to a disco ball. Shimmery trickles of rhythm, before a voice says: 

“I want you to know 

I'm a mirrorball 

I'll show you every version of yourself tonight.” 

There is not much ambiguity here. Taylor is telling us exactly how it is. She herself is a metaphorical disco ball and she will be showing her fans every version of themselves tonight. Much like the central, glittery ball that provides extra charm to a party by showing off its broken shards, Taylor centers herself amongst thousands of fans and provides them with endless outlets for emotional catharsis.  

She has been broken a million times, like a mirrorball, and has used these very events to make beautiful things. Things that people listen to that make them feel understood, things that cause people to say, “This is me. I thought of this. I have gone through this. I just couldn’t say it, but she was able to.” With her art, she not only can reflect people's true selves but also can reveal what stirs them, exposing their genuine emotions, even in moments when they are difficult to discern.

Furthermore, she has the tendency to induce feelings upon people with her music, even when they are not initially feeling them. She has an ineffable ability to produce an emotion out of listeners through her songwriting. Her pallet of music is so expansive and emotionally potent that her listeners can go from feeling fair-minded to eccentrically reflective, simply because of her phrasings. They can go from feeling  horribly dismayed to giddily smitten, almost seamlessly, because of how vibrant her melodies and writings are.

“I'll get you out on the floor 

Shimmering beautiful 

And when I break, it's in a million pieces.” 

Here, the complexity of being a metaphorical disco ball for her fans is unveiled. At the core of it all, she does this for them and she wishes to get them out on the floor, dancing as they shimmer beautifully. However, in publicly presenting the personal, broken shards of herself to give something to her fans, she is constantly being reminded of her brokenness as well as getting judged for it. Her songs have proven to be raw and at times, heart-wrenching and difficult to perform, yet she knows it is for the greater good. She seems to be aware that this habit of hers has helped an inconceivable amount of people, therefore she will sacrifice her own discomfort at times.  

Separately, her songs have also been used as weaponry for the media throughout the years, despite that they have never been written for tabloids to comment on, but only for her introspective listeners to consume, feel, and dance to. I believe that these two complications of being who she is are reflective of when she says, “when I break, it’s in a million pieces.” Her pain is plastered everywhere, in millions of little pieces and shards, being lit up and pointed at, studied and commented on. She is not a fan of this reality, but she will live with it, because the dynamic she has established with her fans is much stronger than any of it.

“Hush, when no one is around, my dear 

You'll find me on my tallest tiptoes 

Spinning in my highest heels, love 

Shining just for you 

Hush, I know they said the end is near 

But I'm still on my tallest tiptoes 

Spinning in my highest heels, love. 

Shining just for you” 

This is when, in my mind, Taylor puts a finger to the quivering lips of her fans. Hush, she says, I am not going anywhere. Despite this background noise that has been created (ie. The medi  contaminating her art), she will not be going anywhere. She will remain in her highest heels, on her tallest tiptoes, for her fans. Even if no one else listens to her, or everyone else hates her, or thinks her career is over, she will continue to create for them and only them.  

She carefully says, “I know they said the end is near, but I’m still on my tallest tiptoes. . . shining just for you.” 

‘They’ are her detractors, the article writers, the media distributors that count seconds until a female artist’s demise (usually around 30 / Taylor was 30 when she wrote this). She is aware that they are watching her until the success ends, which would (in their minds) naturally be an end to her art. Yet, she caresses the cheeks of her fans as she assures them this is not the case. She is not going anywhere and she will remain shining for those who truly care.  

I also like to believe that this is a sign that Taylor has also let go of her longtime fear that she must "top what she has done before or it will be deemed a colossal failure” (something she stated in Miss Americana when Lover was about to be released). This mindset is understandable for anyone in the entertainment industry, but it is incredibly damaging as it sabotages the magic of each individual piece of art and reduces them to a vessel for competition. Why must each of her albums be compared when they are all entirely different? This song has led me to believe that she too has adopted this mindset. She is over trying to impress those outside of her fans. It is exhausting and fruitless. From now on, she will only shine for them, because they are the only people who have stayed with her throughout all the turmoil. 

“I want you to know 

I'm a mirrorball 

I can change everything about me to fit in 

You are not like the regulars 

The masquerade revelers 

Drunk as they watch my shattered edges glisten.” 

In this verse, Taylor pays homage to the changes women must make to themselves in the industry if they wish to stay relevant. If one were to look at the aesthetics, styles, colors, sounds, and general energy of each of Taylor Swift’s albums, they are all undeniably individual. She has never failed to reinvent herself (almost like clockwork, every 2 years for the last decade) to fit in with the times. Throughout all of these shifts, people have judged her variations, found delight in her defeats, accused her of being calculated, and laughed at her pain.  

All the while, her fans have remained wide-eyed and pleased, awestruck and grateful. She says that, because of this, they are not like the regulars. They are not like the ones who judge people on a whim, that revel at falsehoods, that find joy in other people's pain. Instead, they find comfort in the rawness of her songwriting, they find home in the realness of it all. Like her, they are arguably obsessed with the concept of capturing something so emotionally potent in a few phrases, in a few melodies. This  ivy-wrapped bridge between Taylor and her fans is very sacred, something only the two of them truly understand.

“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.” 

Given that folklore was an album written during the pandemic, I have always been quick to assume that the so-called ‘called off circus’ and ‘burnt disco’ is in reference to the canceled Lover Fest that was meant to ensue in the summer of 2020. However, it could also be more general. Regardless, the bottom line here is that they (ie. Her detractors, her critics, and even world catastrophes such as the pandemic) will always be here trying to tear down this bubble that Taylor and her fans have always been  trying to preserve. It doesn’t matter though, she assures. She will still be on that ‘tightrope’ trying her best to keep their attention; this reality was displayed even with the release of folklore. Despite all the previous plans being torn down, she still released two sister albums specifically for the fans with no build-up. 

There is also a certain desperation in this bridge that tends to show in numerous songs that reference her fans. It is almost as though she so badly wants to keep them that she feels as though she would lose her sense of self if she did. This feeling is mutual, though, so it works out well. She will risk having her most delicate, broken pieces broadcasted and lit up for the rest of her life if it means she gets to keep them. She will balance on a tightrope and risk falling if it means they will be laughing with her and caring about her. She will put easter eggs in music videos to keep their attention, she will surprise them, she will bake for them, she will invite them over to her house, and she will make sure they are cared for. She tries very hard for them and only them. 

“And I'm still a believer, but I don't know why 

I've never been a natural, all I do is try, try, try 

I'm still on that trapeze 

I'm still trying everything to keep you looking at me” 

The first line could mean an array of things, which I think is purposeful. Despite all that Taylor has been through, she still believes in a lot of things. Love, for one, is certainly something that she could have stopped believing in a long time ago. She remains to be a hopeless romantic though, and she doesn’t even know why. She continues to say that she has never really been a prodigy of any sort, she has just  worked consistently and immensely. Even as a child, she recalls practicing guitar until her fingers would be rubbed raw and bloody. As a vocalist, she has only ever improved throughout her career as she has dedicated thousands of hours to bettering it. In a similar manner, she will try just as hard to keep her fans attention. She will remain on that trapeze, shining, glittering, her heart on a platter, if it means her fans will continue to look at her.