Taylor Swift inspired by 'Game of Thrones' to write 'Reputation' album
The singer says the popular HBO show helped her channel her dark side
Taylor Swift (left) says her hit song Look What You Made Me Do was inspired by Arya Stark's kill list on Games of Thrones.It turns out Taylor Swift is a huge Game of Thrones fan, just like the rest of us – so much so, that it heavily inspired her sixth salbum, Reputation.
Swift told US Magazine Entertainment Weekly that she started watching the HBO juggernaut in 2016 after avoiding years of major spoilers, which is nearly unheard of these days.
The grim world of Westeros and the complex characters trying to ascend to the throne instantly hooked the 29-year-old pop star, influencing a sweetly sinister approach to her 2017 album.
“These songs were half based on what I was going through, but seeing them through a Game of Thrones filter,” Swift told the magazine.
For example, Swift said, “Look What You Made Me Do is literally Arya Stark’s kill list.”
Look What You Made Me Do was her lead single from Reputation, and Swift came out of the gate swinging with lyrics that seemed directed at Kanye West. The revenge song eerily channels Arya’s list with “Cersei vibes, too. Daenerys as well,” Swift added.
But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time
Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time
I’ve got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined
I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!
The inspiration did not stop there. “King of My Heart was influenced by Khal Drogo and Daenerys. It’s even got this post-hook of drums - I wanted them to sound like Dothraki drums,” Swift said. “I Did Something Bad I wrote after Arya and Sansa conspire to kill Littlefinger.”
Swift, who is notorious for leaving Easter Eggs for her fans, also credited her clue dropping ways to GoT, like her cryptic countdown last month to April 26.
“My entire outlook on storytelling has been shaped by [GoT] — the ability to foreshadow stories, to meticulously craft cryptic story lines,” she said.
“So, I found ways to get more cryptic with information and still be able to share messages with the fans. I aspire to be one one-millionth of the kind of hint dropper the makers of Game of Thrones have been.“
As for who she thinks will end up on the Iron Throne? “Daenerys, Arya or Sansa,” Swift guessed.
Edited by Charlotte Ames-Ettridge
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