Taylor Swift’s new song “You Need to Calm Down” has a message to haters, and we’re already blasting it on repeat
Haters are still gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, but this time Taylor Swift isn’t just going to shake it off. At midnight on June 13th, Swift dropped “You Need to Calm Down,” the second single off her highly anticipated seventh album, Lover.
The track speaks out against online bullying, homophobia, and pitting women against each other—all against a fun pop beat. Needless to say, fans are in a love frenzy.
Yesterday, Swift announced the title of her upcoming summer album, Lover, and that it would be released August 23rd. In her announcement, she said that the album would be heavy on romance—but not just the lovey-dovey kind we would normally expect. Earlier, Swift has said Lover would have “political undertones,” and now with “You Need to Calm Down,” those messages and vibes are all coming together.
"Why are you mad when you could be GLAAD? / Sunshine on the street at the parade / But you would rather be in the dark ages / Makin' that sign must've taken all night" Swift sings, clearly referencing LGBTQ pride parades.
Later, in “You Need to Calm Down,” she doubles down on being an ally for the LGBTQ community.
"You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace /And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate / 'Cause shade never made anybody less gay"
It’s not Swift’s first time speaking out for LGBTQ rights. June 1st, the singer wrote an open letter to her senator urging him to vote to pass the Equality Act, which would protect LGBTQ people from “discrimination in their places of work, homes, schools, and other public accommodations.”
The new song also speaks to the pressure women in public face to be perfect, and how online trolls and bullies are constantly trying to pit women against each other just to tear them down.
"And we see you over there on the internet / Comparing all the girls who are killing it / But we figured you out / We all know now we all got crowns
Check out all messages and hear “You Need to Calm Down” for yourself in this lyric video.
After Swift’s album announcement last night, Instagram promptly crashed…coincidence? Luckily everything is back up and running now for Swifties to show their love.
THIS SONG HAS MADE ME THE OPPOSITE OF CALM OMG. I FEEL EMPOWERED I FEEL GREAT I FEEL IMPORTANT. TAYLOR SWIFT DID THAT. @taylornation13 @taylorswift13 #YouNeedToCalmDown
— jacob richey (@jacobrichey134) June 14, 2019
omg she really did that pic.twitter.com/KeG7JTvdBL
— GLAAD (@glaad) June 14, 2019
SPOILER ALERT: NOBODY IS CALM!!! #YouNeedToCalmDown
— Carolina (@carolinatswift) June 14, 2019
Honestly though, #YouNeedToCalmDown talks about self-expression, bullying, double standards, being gay, AND it's an 80s synth-esque bop. Thank you, @taylorswift13. pic.twitter.com/zjNgLqcAxH
— Ryan Schocket (@RyanSchocket) June 14, 2019
The music video for “You Need to Calm Down” won’t drop until Monday, June 17th on Good Morning America, but it’s safe to say all of us Swifties will be too busy listening to the song on loop to worry about the wait.
