Background

I always manifest good luck towards Taylor’s direction every time she releases a new record. She obviously doesn’t need it. And much like the entire album, everything is all good and she need not knock on wood.

“Wood” is a song by Taylor Swift, featured on her album “The Life of a Showgirl” (2025). It was written and produced by Taylor, Max Martin and Shellback. The track is one of 2025’s most searched lyrics in Genius. The world wasn’t ready for explicit and sexual Taylor. But she “ah-matized” us and opened our eyes.

I Want You Back Energy

The first few seconds of “Wood” could easily be mistaken as “I Want You Bad” by the Jackson 5. And I researched whether the former samples the latter, but apparently it doesn’t. Is it the guitar riff? Is the infusion of funk and disco in the tune pushing her into Motown territory? Whether the comparison is apt and merited, the intention is complimentary.

And it’s not just the melody and instrumentation that screams “I Want You Back”. She even sings the chorus with such gleeful energy and young innocence that only a junior Michael Jackson could. She exudes happiness and I love that for her.

She Used a Concept and Ran Away with It

I love how Taylor fixated on the idea of superstitions and milked the idea for all its worth. The images she draws are inspired from our own hopeless romantic lives – picking the petals of daisies hoping the final result is a confirmation of love, avoiding the black cat bringing the bad luck, catching bouquets as the ticket to our own wedding, wishing on a falling star and knocking on wood. Her ability to use everyday details that are common to all of us is a gift that lets her connect with fans like myself.

She’s a billionaire and I’m not even close to 0.1% of her net worth. She’s a superstar adored by millions and I barely have a thousand followers on Instagram. She’s a musician and I’m the Finance guy she spoke of in “I Hate It Here”. Yet, her songwriting is universal and I feel seen.

Open Her Thighs

40 years ago, Madonna released “Open Your Heart” in a cone bra and the world gasped. And now we have Taylor Swift, one of pop music’s most wholesome superstars, 12 albums in, simply speaking about spreading her legs, getting castigated and drawing controversy.

I understand that explicit content is not everyone’s taste. Maybe art is prude. But I hope the aversion is applied uniformly and not simply because people aren’t used to Taylor going this risqué. When Cardi B rapped in “WAP” that she wanted to gag and choke and for him to “touch that lil’ dangly thing that swing in the back of my throat”, there was less drama. But I was living. Now we have a woman hinting at sex and referencing a magic wand, a redwood tree and a hard rock, and the world is reaching its apocalypse. And I’m still here for it!

Some say her writing is cringe. But how exactly? Going more vulgar would be off-putting. Saying less is an imposition of our morals on hers. Maybe just don’t listen if it bothers you too much.

Conclusion

The pessimist in me is always worried that something might go wrong. And even though our relationship is one-sided, my concerns extend to Taylor Swift. Are her days of wishing on a star finally behind her? I hope so.

More than the beat, her energy is infectious. She can make art out of any emotion. But bliss especially sounds good on her!