Taylor Swift’s latest album has dropped, and fans with a love for Hollywood’s golden age may notice a salute to one of films biggest stars.
“The Life of a Showgirl,” which debuted at midnight Friday, Oct. 3, features “Elizabeth Taylor” as track No. 2, named after the iconic 20th century actress, with lyrics evoking Elizabeth Taylor’s legacy.
Here’s what to know about Elizabeth Taylor and Taylor Swift’s new album.
How does Elizabeth Taylor appear in ‘The Life of a Showgirl’?
On Taylor Swift’s new album “The Life of a Showgirl,” track No. 2 is titled “Elizabeth Taylor,” a nod to the acclaimed actress, USA TODAY reported. Swift turns Taylor’s legacy into a sparkling pop bop, fusing old-Hollywood glamour with a modern-day love letter — almost certainly to her fiancé Travis Kelce, USA TODAY’s review says.
The track includes the lines “If your letters ever said, ‘Goodbye’ / I’d cry my eyes violet / Elizabeth Taylor / Tell me for real do you think it’s forever?” and closes with the vow “All my white diamonds and lovers are forever / Don’t you ever end up anything but mine.”
Taylor, before her death, lent her name to a perfume called White Diamonds that remains on the market. The Oakland History Center, in a Facebook post, noted Taylor visited the Oakland Mall in 1992 to promote the fragrance at the one-time Hudson’s store.
It’s not the first time Swift has referenced Taylor. In her 2017 hit “…Ready For It?” Swift sang, “And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor / Every love I’ve known in comparison is a failure,” USA TODAY noted, a reference to Taylor and one of her ex-husband’s, Richard Burton, a fellow 20th century actor.
Who was Elizabeth Taylor?
Born Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor in 1932 in London, England, to American parents, the actress is considered one of Hollywood’s 20th century icons.
Her more than six-decade career saw her perform in dozens of films and TV shows, notably starring in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf,” “Cleopatra, (with Burton) and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (with Paul Newman).
One of her earliest starring roles, opposite Mickey Rooney, was “National Velvet” in 1944.
Taylor was famously married eight times, twice to Burton, and had five children, according to IMDB.
Taylor was a close friend with pop star Michael Jackson.
Taylor died in Los Angeles in 2011.
Taylor’s home life was the subject of a photography exhibit at the University of Michigan in 2016.
Has ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ come out yet?
Swift’s album “The Life of a Showgirl” debuted Oct. 3.
USA TODAY contributed.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Who was Elizabeth Taylor? ‘Life of a Showgirl’ references late Hollywood icon
Reporting by Jenna Prestininzi, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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