Background

“Wi$h Li$t” is the eighth track from Taylor Swift’s twelfth studio album, The Life of a Showgirl. It was written and produced by Swift, Max Martin and Shellback.

In this song review of Taylor Swift’s “Wi$h Li$t”, I explore how the production choices created a dissonance with the track’s energy, how the songwriting is a honest happy ending but not my cup of tea, and how she deserves the right to do what she wants.

I Hope I Get What I Want

The energy doesn’t match the production choices. Or at least ones I’m used to. And that contributes to my underappreciation of the track.

On the surface, the stylized title (“Wi$h Li$t”), the trap beats, and the vocal stutters make the track sound like a confident, modern anthem about power and wealth. She even uses the phrase “boss up,” referencing total control of her destiny and her money. These creative decisions suggest a person who takes what they want from the world without asking permission, fitting the image of a global superstar.

However, once I listen to the actual lyrics, a deep disconnect appears. Despite the boss energy of the music, Taylor’s tone is surprisingly insecure and fragile. She doesn’t act like she deserves this happy life (even changing the lyric for others deserving what they want, as opposed to her simply knowing).She sounds like she is quietly hoping or even begging for it to finally stay.

Her feelings are valid. I just wished that some of the liberties the production trio have taken were changed.

Got Me Drеaming ’bout a Driveway with a Basketball Hoop

For many artists, the songwriting in “Wi$h Li$t” would already be a career highlight. But I would rank this quite low in Taylor’s discography.

In terms of her overall career narrative, “Wi$h Li$t” serves as a rare happy ending that stands in stark contrast to the heartbreak and longing found in her earlier work. For years, Swift’s discography was defined by the tortured search for a love that lasts, often ending in the ruins of tracks like “All Too Well” or the desperate prayers of “The Prophecy.” This song finally breaks that cycle of sadness and I could not be any happier for her.

And I know I’m not even 1% of the artist Taylor is. But I do find the lyrics can feel overly simple or basic, compared to her more poetic albums like Folklore or Evermore. Lines about “having a couple kids” or wanting a “basketball hoop” feel quite literal and lack the complex metaphors or sophisticated storytelling that earned her a reputation as a master lyricist.

Have a Couple Kids, Got the Whole Block Looking Like You

Many criticisms about the track also stem from the point of view that Taylor is supposedly promoting the traditional wife lifestyle. Not only is that an incorrect interpretation. But even if it were, who cares? She’s free to be who she wants to be. And adopting that lifestyle is a choice as legitimate as any can be.

Some believe the lyrics are anti-feminist. Critics argue that by singing about wanting to settle down and having a couple of kids, Taylor was telling young girls that the only way to find a happy ending is to give up their power and focus entirely on a husband and a home. Since Taylor has spent her life being a powerful, independent woman, I can understand why some thought that way. But I wholeheartedly disagree that any imposition or influence is being exercised here.

After working for twenty years as a global superstar and a showgirl for the public, Taylor has the right to want a quiet, private life. Choosing to be a mother or a wife does not make her less powerful, it just means her dreams have changed as she has grown older. She is simply being honest about what makes her happy right now, showing that a woman can be both a boss in business and a person who loves her family at home.

Conclusion

“Wi$h Li$t” was not on my wish list. But I do respect her sentiments and her choices. I hope that she continues getting what she wants. She surely deserves it.