“Marjorie” by Taylor Swift

Cover art for Swift’s album “Evermore.”
Credit: Wikipedia

Back in 2020, when Taylor Swift was churning out new material faster than Covid variants could emerge, she released “Evermore” as a sister album to “Folklore.” Together with collaborators Jack Antonoff and The National’s Aaron Dessner, Swift managed to create yet another cathartic masterpiece, an album dedicated to learning life’s lessons from those who came before us. This is exemplified by the track “Marjorie,” a touching song dedicated to Swift’s late grandmother.

Released in December to coincide with her 31st birthday, Swift intended the album to help those who feel their grief more acutely during the holiday season, telling Variety that “this holiday will be a lonely one for most of us and if there are any of you out there who turn to music to cope with missing loved ones the way I do, this is for you.”

The Meaning Behind “Marjorie”

The thirteenth song on the album – a spot reserved for Swift’s most sentimental tracks – is dedicated to her grandmother, Marjorie Finlay. A talented opera singer and television personality, Finlay was an inspirational figure for Swift. She credits her grandmother with instilling her love of music and her drive to succeed in a notoriously difficult industry.

Marjorie Finlay, Taylor Swift’s maternal grandmother, in 1949.
Credit: Wikipedia

In “Marjorie,” Swift is paying homage to her grandmother – even including her voice, rescued from old recordings and used as backing – but also expressing her grief that still lingers long after Finlay’s death in 2003. She wishes her adult self could have learned more from this woman whom she so admired, because she was too young to appreciate it then; a sentiment many can relate to after losing a grandparent.

What died didn’t stay dead

You’re alive, so alive

The autumn chill that wakes me up

You loved the amber skies so much

Long limbs and frozen swims

You’d always go past where our feet could tough

And I complained the whole way there

The car ride back and up the stairs

I should’ve asked you questions

I should’ve asked you how to be

Asked you to write it down for me

Should’ve kept every grocery store receipt

‘Cause every scrap of you would be taken from me

Watched as you signed your name Marjorie

All your closets of backlogged dreams

And how you left them all to me

The Universality of Grief

As Chris Willman of Variety wrote in his review, “Marjorie will leave a dry eye only in houses that have never known death.” It is a song about communing with someone who is gone, and striving to recall their presence as if you could somehow glean new wisdom from your memories. For anyone who has experienced grief, this song will speak to that part of you that still clings to a loved ones’ possessions, or enjoys a good cry over old photographs.