Subscribe
Follow Us
So maybe Olivia Rodrigo fans were a little quick to assume that Vampire, the first single from her new Guts album, was about her reported idol-turned-rival Taylor Swift. But now that the full album has dropped and fans are analyzing every track, buzz on social media seems to be gaining momentum that the tenth song on the record, The Grudge, just HAS to be about Swift.
If Rodrigo's response to a direct question about Vampire's subject matter left followers less than convinced it was indeed about Swift, the online consensus seems to be that The Grudge leaves far less room for doubt, according to a piece on BuzzFeed News. X/Twitter uses are pouring over the lyrics and are hard at work supporting their thesis like it's a high school English essay on Jonathan Swift (where my fellow Jonathan Swifties at?!).
Pop music aficionados may recall that Rodrigo — a major Swift fan at the start of her burgeoning music career — appeared to have a falling out with The Eras Tour superstar shortly after the release of Rodrigo's first album, Sour. This issue at hand was a songwriting credits controversy — after Swift was credited as a songwriter on the Sour album track 1 Step Forward, 3 Steps Back because it uses an interpolation of Swift's 2017 anthem New Year's Day, Swift and her collaborators Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent later got retroactive songwriting credit on the Rodrigo hit Deja Vu because of its alleged interpolation the Swift song Cruel Summer. This supposed similarity was much less straightforward and was highly questioned by listeners and fans of each artist. In addition, it forced Rodrigo to give up 50% of her songwriting royalties for the breakout tune.
It also opened up the door for Swift's friend and fellow musician Hayley Williams of Paramore, and her bandmate Josh Farro, to seek retroactive songwriting credits on Good 4 U, another popular track from Rodrigo's Sour, for its similarity to Paramore's 2007 song Misery Business. The whole situation cast doubts on Rodrigo's originality as an artist, although she was also defended by other established musicians who thought fault lied with the music veterans petitioning a young artist on the rise for questionably warranted songwriting credits.
In short, there was plenty of grounds for sourness and venting, revenge anthems and Rodrigo seems to have delivered with The Grudge. Consider the opening lyrics: “I have nightmares each week 'bout that Friday in May / One phone call from you and my entire world was changed, / Trust that you betrayed, confusion that still lingers / Took everything I loved and crushed it in between your fingers.”
Sour, was released on May 21st, 2021 — a Friday, poignantly — could certainly have generated a Swift phone call about songwriting credits, which definitely changed Rodrigo's entire world after the initial wave of glowing accolades and hoopla over Driver's License.
The next lines also seem to follow the line of logic: “And I doubt you ever think about the damage that you did / But I hold onto every detail like my life depends on it / My undying love, now I hold it like a grudge / And I hear your voice every time that I think I'm not enough.”
Rodrigo frequently professed her love for Swift before the falling out, and a colleague questioning the originality of one's work and demanding a songwriting credit would certainly make an artist doubt oneself.
But the most telling lyrics regarding the controversy in the song are saved for the end: “Ooh, do you think I deserved it all? / Ooh, your flower's filled with vitriol / You built me up to watch me fall / You have everything and you still want more.”
These lines seem to directly parallel a timeline of Rodrigo and Swift's relationship. They started out as close friends when Swift learned of Rodrigo's affection for her. But appearances seemed to be deceiving as Swift sought to claim the songwriting credit on Rodrigo's tracks, which could certainly be interpreted as building someone up to watch her fall. And as for “you have everything and you still want more” — it's hard to argue that doesn't sound like Taylor in the midst of the massive success of The Eras Tour.
X/Twitter users have made their thoughts heard loud and clear now that they've listened to the song.
“The way ‘the grudge' is soooo about Taylor. Yeeeshhhhh,” wrote one user. Another added: “The Grudge is so about Taylor Swift right.”
Many more comments echoed a similar sentiment: “I feel like ‘the grudge' is about taylor. what the f–k? what really happened?” Another confidently declared: “Olivia Rodrigo's The Grudge is about her feud with Taylor Swift, 100%.”
“Don’t hate me but i am a “the grudge is about taylor” truther🤷♀️🤷♀️” someone else admitted.
There were also quite a few Rodrigo fans who admitted they weren't quite sold on Vampire being about Taylor Swift, but they feel differently about this track. Posts like, “Read all the lyrics to the new Olivia Rodrigo album. The drama. The anger. I wasn’t on board with vampire being about Taylor swift. But convinced by the lyrics of the grudge. And now I think Taylor really started beef with a literal teenager. Will be on repeat.”
The irony in all of this is that pouring your heart out about a betrayal and processing a damaged relationship through a thinly veiled song is vintage Taylor Swift, a fact that couldn't have been lost on Olivia Rodrigo. Regardless of whose side you're on in this bad blood, one thing's for sure — airing out your beef without the biggest pop star in the world like this sure takes guts.
