The Tortured Poets Department shows audiences a lot of messages we have seen before. Some things are easy to spot, such as “So Long, London” being the depressing contradiction to “London Boy” from Lover.  

Another example of this is TTPD’s “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” being the sequel to “You’re on Your Own, Kid” from Midnights. Both songs tell Swift’s story of failure, prevalence, and success. These songs are fan favorites because they are about falling and getting up again. “You’re On Your Own, Kid” focuses more on the dramatic ups and downs Taylor has faced throughout her career, while “I Can Do It with a Broken Heart” is more directed towards the story of Swift going through a breakup with Joe Alwyn, then continuing with her Era’s Tour. Each song comes to the same conclusion: Taylor Swift will always pull through for her fans, and the Swifties are the ones who drive her to continue succeeding.  

My personal favorite from TTPD, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” shares a similar theme with “mirrorball” from folklore. The main parallel between these two songs is the circus imagery. In “mirrorball”, Swift sings: “And they called off the circus / Burned the disco down.” The parallel lyric in “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” comes at the beginning of the bridge, “I was tame, I was gentle ‘til the circus life made me mean / Don’t you worry folks, we took out all her teeth.”  

While the two songs have parallels, they are the antithesis of each other. With “mirrorball” being about bringing others joy at your own expense, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” is about reaching your breaking point. Both tell a story of a people’s pleaser, doing anything necessary to feel loved and appreciated; but it ends with them being walked all over. However, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” is the emotional outburst this person experiences after being mistreated for years.  

Taylor has mentioned in interviews that the mirrorball character is always just there, hanging from the ceiling, but still shining bright for everyone’s entertainment. The “WAOLOM” character is trying to fight their fate with anger, but they’ve been made defenseless (i.e., having her teeth taken out).  

The circus imagery in both makes me believe even more that Taylor is singing about the same character, or type of person. One who is emotional but is casually chalked up to being “crazy”. 

To me, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” is the sequel to “mirrorball,” but it is a story of revenge. They may have been forced into the circus and a life of fake, performative work, but they will no longer lay down and be walked over. It’s time to march to their own tune, which to everyone else’s; shock, it is not the tune of clown cars and balancing acts.