“In silent screams and wildest dreams, I never dreamed of this. This love is good. This love is bad. This love is alive back from the dead.”
This week we’re setting sail on one of history’s greatest epics, Homer’s The Odyssey, and asking a very important question... did Taylor Swift write it? (We’re mostly joking. Mostly.) In this Show & Tell episode, we each make the case for a Taylor Swift song that illuminates a different facet of the Odyssey, from Penelope’s 20-year vigil to Odysseus weeping on a gorgeous island, to the sirens, the wine-dark sea, and a very significant scar. Along the way, the hosts dig into questions of translation and interpretation — particularly the significance of Emily Wilson’s landmark female translation of the text — discuss the role of Athena in the story of the epic, and geek out about the archery contest that shows up in both the Odyssey and two Indian epics. Plus: the upcoming Christopher Nolan adaptation, the musical Epic by Jorge Rivera, Madeline Miller’s Circe, and why All Too Well (10 Minute Version) might just be Taylor’s own Odyssey.
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Songs Discussed in This Episode:
This Love — Taylor Swift (1989, 2014) | Written by Taylor Swift and Nathan Chapman
I Don’t Want to Live Forever — Taylor Swift & Zayn (Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, 2017) | Written by Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, and Sam Dew
Willow — Taylor Swift (evermore, 2020) | Written by Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner
Honorable Mentions:
Long Story Short (evermore) — previously discussed in our Greek Mythology episode (E67)
Breathe (Fearless)
Treacherous (Red)
The Great War (Midnights)
The Story of Us (Speak Now)
High Infidelity (Midnights)
Castle’s Crumbling (feat. Hayley Williams, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version))
Dear Reader (Midnights)
State of Grace (Red)
Gold Rush (evermore)
Mentioned in This Episode:
The Odyssey, Homer (trans. Emily Wilson)
The Odyssey, Homer (trans. Robert Fagles)
Circe, Madeline Miller
The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller
The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood
Epic: The Musical, Jorge Rivera-Herrans
Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey (upcoming film)
All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) — mentioned as a potential “Taylor’s Odyssey”
Ulysses, James Joyce (briefly mentioned)
Episode Highlights:
[~00:01] Welcome and why the Odyssey, why now
[~10:45] Maansi’s pick: This Love as Penelope’s story — the weaving scheme, the suitors, and letting go
[~24:00] Jenn’s pick: I Don’t Want to Live Forever as Odysseus refusing immortality on Calypso’s island
[~38:27] Jodi’s pick: Willow — ships, the wine-dark sea, Charybdis, the sirens, and the bait-and-switch of Odysseus’ return
[~01:00:19] Honorable mentions: Breathe, Treacherous, The Great War, The Story of Us, High Infidelity, Castle’s Crumbling, Dear Reader, State of Grace, Gold Rush
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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own. Intro music produced by Scott Zadig aka Scotty Z.
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