Analyzing Lover Tracks- Part II: "Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince"

Thanks for breaking down my most favorite song off of Lover.

Joey Jason Almonia

you did such an amazing job with this video!!!! I was a junior in high school in 2016 and too young to vote. Taylor (and you) really captured that feeling of helplessness my friends and I felt. thank you ☺️

Emma Laudermilch

Oh wow! Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this! It is so interesting to hear from someone who experienced this as a teenager right out of high school. I cannot imagine how difficult this was, especially considering your Puerto Rican heritage! I agree that this song is a REALLY important one! Thank you so much for watching!

English Teacher KP

Yes! I always think the same!!

Camila Dejesus

Watching this video I almost want to cry. I had just graduated high school when the 2016 election happened. I grew up in a private school in Texas and was really brought up to believe America is this amazing place. The election and everything that came with it was such a pivotal moment for me. I think it was the moment I lost my innocence and really saw this country for what it was. I'm Puerto Rican so, my parents weren't shocked. But god, I remember walking through the halls of my predominately POC college the next day, and it just felt like all of us lost. It was the beginning of me really acknowledging just how much evil there really is in this world. Thank you so much for making this video! I've always known this was an allegory, but it really helped me pick up on all the details! Such an important song.

Camila Dejesus

I'm binge watching your Lover analyses and loving them! I always thought "they whisper in the hallway 'she's a bad bad girl'" was an allusion to Trump (and subsequently many other people) calling Hillary a "nasty woman" during that presidential debate

Cassiopeia Morningstar

Yes! Such a bop! I love it ❤❤❤

English Teacher KP

Love how you are able to dissect the lyrics. Love this song too. I have Rep, Lover, Folklore, Evermore and Red TV on shuffle whenever I drive to & from my Dad’s house. Usually singing my heart out to most of the songs but particularly this one, it is definitely a bop!

Emma Daisy

I can do that 😊😊😊

English Teacher KP

I KNOW you not taking sugestions, but Teacher KP do a Only the Young a analysis as a part II to these one, pleeeeease 💙

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all of this! I agree with a lot of it, actually! I, too, used Miss Americana to form my interpretation of the song. I definitely think you're on to something regarding her relationship with Joe and the significance of Joe being British. I chose to focus more on the political landscape and the heartbreak that followed, but I can totally see the things you are saying as well. I also agree that the first person plural nominative pronoun ("we") is significant.

English Teacher KP

So it took my mind a month to find footing on this, but I think I have finally wrapped my head around a meaning that finally makes sense to my brain and just want to word vomit my breakthrough lol. I think the title Heartbreak Prince is supposed to function in the same space as the name Miss Americana. I agree that Miss American is supposed to represent how she was seen as an All-American girl and how she's got the blonde hair and blue eyes and was seen was a good girl, but I also think it's supposed to confirm that she is American. Heartbreak Prince I think is supposed to allude to the fact that Joe is British, and therefore an "outsider." The song is largely about how Taylor was a proud American and then her rose-colored glasses disappeared and the heartbreak from that. Joe on the other hand is outside of it all and maybe could have seen it for what it was before she could, and so possibly was a contributing factor in her understanding just how bad things are in America, meaning he would have contributed to that heartbreak. Part of the reason I think that is also because she says "WE're so sad WE paint the town blue" right after. She is sad about it all, but so is he. And it's compelling them both to go out and try to make change happen, and that makes it even more likely that to me that he shared his views with her and they could have influenced her. If that is the case then he would have, as she describes it, painted her blue. This all could very well be wrong but it makes sense in my head and considering I've been trying to figure out what she meant by Heartbreak Prince ever since the album came out, I'm really happy your video pushed me to actually come to my own conclusion!

Poorly Fleshed Skeleton

I'm so glad you found this video helpful! Thank you for watching ❤❤❤

English Teacher KP

Your insight on this song was excellent, I never really understood the song (not really from here so didn’t had the high school experience, it makes so much sense! Thank you for your hard work on this and all the other reviews.

Claudia L

Of course! I love discussing these songs with you guys ❤❤❤

English Teacher KP

Side note, thanks for actually replying and corresponding with me (and others that follow you). I have never had a youtube person that I subscribe to respond to me. This makes me feel so encouraged.

Deborah Nicholas

I agree that this song is VERY ambitious! I really like it, but it is a hard one to discuss. The tone is definitely hopeless in parts. That is a great word! Thank you so much for watching!

English Teacher KP

I really think that this one of her most ambitious songs and I definitely felt the hopelessness and sadness that she describes in the song during the 2016 election. I also took away that she is going to keep fighting with us so that someday we will win anf "paint the town blue." I felt that this song was her own growth into expressing her beliefs and her need to be on the right side of history as well as a message to her fans to keep fighting because, someday, we will win. Great analysis. Your perspective and explanation helped me understand this song better. It's a complicated but excellent song.

Deborah Nicholas

I agree with you! The high school motif works so well here! You also make a great point about the immaturity of many political leaders 😭😭😭

English Teacher KP

This is my second favorite song off Lover (after Cruel Summer). Honestly, the correlation between politics and high school is so apt, because a lot of the time it really does feel like our country is being run by a bunch of children who just want to bicker and play games. It's exhausting and frustrating. I don't think this song gets enough credit for its message, since many people don't see it until they're told.

Jared Scoggin

Thank you so much for watching my video! I'm so glad you found it helpful! You should definitely watch the Miss Americana documentary if you haven't already! It will add a ton of context!

English Teacher KP

i always interpreted it as her relationship with hollywood and the media , i obviously knew it had some political message but didn't fully grasp it. this insight makes so much sense now!

maxieee

Happy to help! Thanks for watching ❤❤❤

English Teacher KP

Thanks so much for doing this one! I've always loved it as a bop and vaguely knew it was political, but didn't get it. Now I love it even more!

Emily Bradley