Taylor Swift - Master of Storytelling: Carolina

byNguyen Huy Bao •
0

Carolina is the song Taylor wrote for the soundtrack of Where The Crawdads Sing. The song tells the story of the main character of the movie, Kya.

Where The Crawdads Sing is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by American author Delia Owens. The story follows the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as she grows up isolated in the marshes of North Carolina.

Lost I was born, lonesome I came. Lonesome I'll always stay.

Regarding the song Taylor shared in her post on June 24, 2022, on Instagram:

"π΄π‘π‘œπ‘’π‘‘ π‘Ž π‘¦π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿ & β„Žπ‘Žπ‘™π‘“ π‘Žπ‘”π‘œ 𝐼 π‘€π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘‘π‘’ π‘Ž π‘ π‘œπ‘›π‘” π‘Žπ‘π‘œπ‘’π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ π‘‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘¦ π‘œπ‘“ π‘Ž π‘”π‘–π‘Ÿπ‘™ π‘€β„Žπ‘œ π‘Žπ‘™π‘€π‘Žπ‘¦π‘  𝑙𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑑 π‘œπ‘› π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘œπ‘’π‘‘π‘ π‘–π‘‘π‘’, π‘™π‘œπ‘œπ‘˜π‘–π‘›π‘” 𝑖𝑛. πΉπ‘–π‘”π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘‘π‘–π‘£π‘’π‘™π‘¦ & π‘™π‘–π‘‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘™π‘™π‘¦. π‘‡β„Žπ‘’ 𝑗𝑒π‘₯π‘‘π‘Žπ‘π‘œπ‘ π‘–π‘‘π‘–π‘œπ‘› π‘œπ‘“ β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿ π‘™π‘œπ‘›π‘’π‘™π‘–π‘›π‘’π‘ π‘  & 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒. π»π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘–π‘œπ‘ π‘–π‘‘π‘¦ & π‘“π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿ π‘Žπ‘™π‘™ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘›π‘”π‘™π‘’π‘‘ 𝑒𝑝. π»π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘π‘’π‘Ÿπ‘ π‘–π‘ π‘‘π‘–π‘›π‘” 𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠 & π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘€π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘™π‘‘’𝑠 π‘π‘’π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘Žπ‘¦π‘Žπ‘™ π‘œπ‘“ 𝑖𝑑. 𝐼 π‘€π‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘‘π‘’ π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘  π‘œπ‘›π‘’ π‘Žπ‘™π‘œπ‘›π‘’ 𝑖𝑛 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘šπ‘–π‘‘π‘‘π‘™π‘’ π‘œπ‘“ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘›π‘–π‘”β„Žπ‘‘..." 

Carolina opens with mellifluous lyrics akin to a fairy tale:

"π‘‚β„Ž, πΆπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘™π‘–π‘›π‘Ž π‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘’π‘˜π‘  π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘›π‘›π‘–π‘›π‘” π‘‘β„Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘’π‘”β„Ž π‘šπ‘¦ 𝑣𝑒𝑖𝑛𝑠
πΏπ‘œπ‘ π‘‘ 𝐼 π‘€π‘Žπ‘  π‘π‘œπ‘Ÿπ‘›, π‘™π‘œπ‘›π‘’π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ 𝐼 π‘π‘Žπ‘šπ‘’
πΏπ‘œπ‘›π‘’π‘ π‘œπ‘šπ‘’ 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 π‘Žπ‘™π‘€π‘Žπ‘¦π‘  π‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘¦"

Kya has Carolina coursing through her veins. She was born and raised in the misty, marshy wetlands, her first taste of solitude coming at the age of six when Kya's mother left her after enduring beatings from her alcoholic abusive husband.

At ten, siblings and even her alcoholic father departed, leaving the girl deserted amidst the desolate marshland, befriending the small creatures within it. That's why only Carolina understands all the loneliness, pain, abandonment, vulnerability, and longing for love and freedom of the little girl.

"Carolina knows why, for years, I roam
Free as these birds, light as whispers
Carolina knows"

Kya is like a drop of water in the vast and gloomy swampland of North Carolina. No one truly acknowledges her presence, and her mother occasionally appears in fleeting dreams.

"And you didn't see me here
No, they never did see me here
And she's in my dreams"

Kya grew up and threw her heart away twice.

The first time was for Tate Walker - a boy with a warm heart. Every day, Tate brought her beautiful feathers and taught her to read, write, and do math, opening up a beautiful world beyond Carolina for her. But then Tate left her to go to his own world.

At the age of 19, another boy, Chase, rich and polite, came, pulling the "marsh girl" closer in hopes of integration and becoming "normal" like everyone else, cared for, conversed with, and loved. And then Chase got engaged when Kya was 21, but the fiancΓ©e was another woman.

Her heart, though incredibly fragile, was truly courageous. It shattered completely.

"πΌπ‘›π‘‘π‘œ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘šπ‘–π‘ π‘‘, π‘–π‘›π‘‘π‘œ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘π‘™π‘œπ‘’π‘‘π‘ 
π·π‘œπ‘›'𝑑 π‘™π‘’π‘Žπ‘£π‘’
𝐼 π‘šπ‘Žπ‘˜π‘’ π‘Ž 𝑓𝑖𝑠𝑑, 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 π‘šπ‘Žπ‘˜π‘’ 𝑖𝑑 π‘π‘œπ‘’π‘›π‘‘"

She still prays for the boys who shattered her heart for the wonderful things in the world outside, the futile longing. The bitterness when she couldn't step into their world in the end, and only Carolina embraced and comforted the little girl.

"𝐴𝑛𝑑 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘’ π‘π‘™π‘Žπ‘π‘’π‘  𝐼 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙 π‘›π‘’π‘£π‘’π‘Ÿ, π‘’π‘£π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘”π‘œ
𝐴𝑛𝑑 π‘‘β„Žπ‘–π‘›π‘”π‘  π‘‘β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ π‘œπ‘›π‘™π‘¦ πΆπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘™π‘–π‘›π‘Ž 𝑀𝑖𝑙𝑙 π‘’π‘£π‘’π‘Ÿ π‘˜π‘›π‘œπ‘€"

Ultimately, the girl's pain from those years past, now a young woman in the marsh, remains unhealed, still cracked, fragmented, and lonely. The longing for love, the desire for reassurance for a life abandoned. The dirty dress, scars that cannot be erased, traces lasting forever, as bleak as the very life her mother left behind.

"πΆπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘™π‘–π‘›π‘Ž π‘ π‘‘π‘Žπ‘–π‘›π‘  π‘œπ‘› π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘‘π‘Ÿπ‘’π‘ π‘  π‘ β„Žπ‘’ 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑑
𝐼𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 π‘ π‘π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘ , π‘π‘–π‘£π‘œπ‘‘π‘Žπ‘™ π‘šπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘˜π‘ 
𝐡𝑙𝑒𝑒 π‘Žπ‘  π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 π‘ β„Žπ‘’ 𝑓𝑙𝑒𝑑"

Chase departed in a veil of mystery death, with Kya becoming the prime suspect.

"π‘‚β„Ž, πΆπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘™π‘–π‘›π‘Ž π‘˜π‘›π‘œπ‘€π‘  π‘€β„Žπ‘¦ π‘“π‘œπ‘Ÿ π‘¦π‘’π‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘  π‘‘β„Žπ‘’π‘¦'𝑣𝑒 π‘ π‘Žπ‘–π‘‘
π‘‡β„Žπ‘Žπ‘‘ 𝐼 π‘€π‘Žπ‘  𝑔𝑒𝑖𝑙𝑑𝑦 π‘Žπ‘  𝑠𝑖𝑛 π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 𝑖𝑛 π‘Ž π‘™π‘–π‘Žπ‘Ÿ'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑑"

Only Carolina knows why, after all these years, they still label me as the culprit, lying on a bed full of deceit.

"𝐡𝑒𝑑 π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ 𝑠𝑙𝑒𝑒𝑝 π‘π‘œπ‘šπ‘’π‘  π‘“π‘Žπ‘ π‘‘ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ 𝐼'𝑙𝑙 π‘šπ‘’π‘’π‘‘ π‘›π‘œ π‘”β„Žπ‘œπ‘ π‘‘π‘ 
𝐼𝑑'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑑𝑀𝑒𝑒𝑛 π‘šπ‘’, π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘, π‘Žπ‘›π‘‘ π‘‘β„Žπ‘’ π‘ π‘’π‘Ž
πΆπ‘Žπ‘Ÿπ‘œπ‘™π‘–π‘›π‘Ž π‘˜π‘›π‘œπ‘€π‘ "

Yet only Carolina knows how quickly sleep comes to me, without any demons disturbing. Surrounded by white sand and blue sea.

The song ends ambiguously here, a hint just enough for Where The Crawdads Sing. Where will Kya's story go from the marshes of Carolina? Perhaps this journey won't end there. The final secret behind, who is the liar? How much of the truth we know is true? But there's so much each of us can feel profoundly clear listening to Taylor sing a four-and-a-half-minute song.

The tug-of-war between what seems like boundless natural freedom and endless constraints. All the curiosity and fear, Kya's enduring gentleness, and the world's betrayal towards it. The shattered, the doubt, the weakness, and the bitterness. Those feelings no one else could fathom, ultimately returning to her in the marsh. In the end, it's only Carolina who truly knows...

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