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folklore explained and chronological tracklist; a thread by me
1. seven: when james and betty meet and fall in love. this is probably from james' perspective because he talks about a very angry father, betty's father (which she will later quote in cardigan)
i would actually rename this song as "in the trees"
i would actually rename this song as "in the trees"
2. august: the beginning of james' affair with the august girl (whispers of "are you sure")
plus, august is a fan favorite just like almost every track 2, so why not?
plus, august is a fan favorite just like almost every track 2, so why not?
3. mirrorball: this is both from the perspective of taylor (about social anxiety) and the girl in august describing what they did ("i'll show you every version of yourself tonight")
4. betty: when betty founds out about the cheating and starts to react. this is from james' perspective.
5. this is me trying: this is a vulnerable track, so it fits as track 5. the reason why i didn't put my tears ricochet here is because it doesn't fit in the storyline right now
this is james literally trying to fix this with betty
this is james literally trying to fix this with betty
6. cardigan: now it's betty reacting to both "betty" and "this is me trying". "chase two girls, lose the one".
remember seven? "leaving like a father, running like water" (she is referring to her father, whose she has a toxic relationship) +
remember seven? "leaving like a father, running like water" (she is referring to her father, whose she has a toxic relationship) +
also, wanegbt, lwymmd and sio are number ones. and they're all track 6. so cardigan kinda fits here, right?
7. illicit affairs: now it's time to the august girl to react. she probably didn't know about betty, so she now finds out that is a "illicit affair".
also, illicit affairs IS underrated just like the others track sevens.
also, illicit affairs IS underrated just like the others track sevens.
8. exile: now is when james sees betty with another guy ("with his arms around your body") and they decide to talk, so exile it's them singing to each other and betty putting an end to it all ("I'm not your problem anymore")
9. the one: now it's betty apparently moving on and accepting the end ("i'm doing good, i'm on some new sh*t")
10. peace: james realizes it's really over and he decides to go to war
11. epiphany: this is when james die at the war. also, it's also a reference to COVID-19, so i can see why taylor put it as the original track 13.
12. hoax: when betty finds out about james' death and she gets crazy
13. my tears ricochet: this is when james see betty as his wake. (if i'm dead to you, why are you at the wake?") she probably said that when they fought.
and obviously, this is about taylor x big machine. i put this as track 13 because it has a lot of meaning for her.
and obviously, this is about taylor x big machine. i put this as track 13 because it has a lot of meaning for her.
14. mad woman: some people say this is when betty leaves the town, but i see this as a consequence of james' death. she kinda went crazy.
15. invisible string: now this is about taylor and joe, obviously. no need to explain that.
16. the last great american dynasty: this is when betty (rebekah) dies and taylor buys the rhode island house. this is a sequel of mad woman. "there goes the maddest woman this town has ever seen".
i've always seen this track as one of the last tracks on the album, so here it is
i've always seen this track as one of the last tracks on the album, so here it is
17. the lakes: this is the PERFECT closing track. now taylor is the spotlight of the story (and of the media) and she just wants privacy. kinda a sequel of i know places, but make it poetry
end of thread! 
