Throughout her career, Taylor Swift has been an advocate for the LGBTQ community. Her songs on albums like Folklore and Evermore explore sensitive topics like sexual assault and teen pregnancy in an all-out, passionate way.
Her most recent album, Midnights, released on October 21, and the track listing invites speculation about all sorts of things -- from a possible love-affair between Swift and Karlie Kloss to a potential relationship with Harry Styles. But one song in particular is ripe for sleuthing: “Question...”
The lyrics are evocative, but the concept of questioning and doubt are also a key part of the story. The song is also a subtle nod to Swift’s own experiences with uncertainty and fear.
In the song, she tells a friend that she’s afraid of something because her friend’s father “hides his anger under this house.” She goes on to explain that her friend is scared of ghosts too, but her parents won’t let her see them because they think they’ll be dangerous.
She goes on to describe her friend’s life as one of abuse and neglect, saying that she was forced to sleep on the floor with her father’s dirty socks in order to get by. She also details her friend’s fear of the “monster under the bed.”
This could be a reference to her own childhood, or it could be a callback to an old song she’s written about a similar subject. Regardless, the lyrics are incredibly heartbreaking and seem to be aimed at Taylor’s own experience.
