Any song about a rebound relationship will be a hard circle to square. For starters, what tone do you strike? Rather than apologetic, Swift chooses to be historical using an extended metaphor to cleverly avoid addressing the elephant in the room. Swift is determined not to lose any ground here. In this way, Getaway Car captures Taylor Swift’s reputation perfectly. Following a series of controversies in 2015 and 2016, everything about Taylor Swift and what she represents was turned into a battlefield so much that she can’t even bring herself to apologise to a former lover for fear of igniting an entire news cycle and endless debate. Paradoxically, rather than end the speculation into her private life, Blank Space propelled Taylor Swift into mega stardom further increasing the scrutiny into her private life. The result is Getaway Car with its telling indifference.
Despite the indifference and lack of significant emotion, Getaway Car is still an excellent song. Swift pulls this one off with meticulous and observant storytelling.
favourite lyrics: You were drivin’ the getaway car/We were flyin’, but we’d never get far/Don’t pretend it’s such a mystery/Think about the place where you first met me/We’re ridin’ in a getaway car/There were sirens in the beat of your heart/Should’ve known I’d be the first to leave/Think about the place where you first met me