No joke. The Taylor Swift Passover: 1989, Red, And 29 Pesach Connections

Each song from Taylor’s last two albums literally reeks of Passover connections. So, without further ado, here you are.

First, 1989.

Welcome to New York- “Everybody here was someone else before.” You bet. We were all slaves. Now we are free.

Blank Space- My personal favorite. Go to Subway and get your reusable T Swift plastic cup, and place it right in that blank space next to Elijah’s cup and your feminist orange on the table. Because YOLO.

Style- If you’re watched The Ten Commandments, or The Prince Of Egypt, you know Prince Moses had style. Check out the Egyptian bracelets he had on. Damn.

Out Of The Woods- Are we out of Egypt yet? Are we out of Egypt yet? Are we out of Egypt yet? Are we out of Egypt yet? Are we in the clear yet? Are we in the clear yet? Are we in the clear yet? Are we in the clear yet? (Pass through the Sea of Reeds) Good!

All You Had To Do Was Stay- Said the Egyptians and Pharaoh, who missed their slaves. Was it really that bad for you?

Shake It Off- “I stay out too late” for Seders, hence you may not give me or my classmates homework. Hooray for Passover.

I Wish You Would- Let my people go.

Bad Blood- Supremely obvious connection here to both Plague #1 and the ceremonial removal of wine from the glass for the Ten Plagues drops.

Wildest Dreams- Another supremely obvious connection to (good) Pharaoh’s dreams, that led the Israelites from Canaan to Egypt in Genesis, and (bad) Pharaoh’s dreams/visions in Exodus of the Israelites growing too numerous, which led to, well, you know… Passover.

How You Get The Girl- If you’re Moses, you rescue Tzipporah from bandits at a well.

This Love- “Skies grew darker, currents swept you out again” as the Egyptian chariots were swallowed by the crashing waves.

I Know Places- I know places we can go. Like the Sinai for 40 years. Come on, it’ll be awesome.

Clean- Hope you’ve started that to do that already. If you’re meticulous, all chametz has to be gone by 11:44 am on Friday. If you’re less meticulous, just shove all the stuff in a dark corner so your Seder guests won’t see it.

And now, Red

State Of Grace- Don’t forget the Birkat Hamazon, the Grace After Meals, when you get to the barech part of the Seder.

Red– like the Nile. You didn’t need me for that.

Treacherous- “This slope is treacherous. This path is reckless. This slope is treacherous. And I, I, I like it.” Sounds like a narrative of the Sinai experience to me.

I Knew You Were Trouble- In hindsight, Pharaoh’s thoughts about Moses when he walked in.

All Too Well– says every Jewish kid at the Seder. “I remember it all too well…” yes, we know. But read it again anyway.

22- “It seems like one of those nights, this place is too crowded, too many cool kids.” Your quiet thoughts at every big seder you’ve ever been to.

I Almost Do- “I bet this time of night you’re still up. I bet you’re tired from a long hard week.” Yes, but we still have another hour to go. Pass the wine, please.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together– The breakup between Moses and Pharaoh was permanent. Pharaoh learned that the hard way.

Stay Stay Stay– What Pharaoh told Moses after each of the first 9 plagues.

The Last Time- “I find myself at your door, just like all those times before. I’m not sure how I got there; all roads—they lead me here.” Gary Lightfoot might be singing these words, but Elijah the Prophet would 1000% agree.

Holy Ground– directly quoted from the Burning Bush- “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.”

Sad Beautiful Tragic– The Passover story when we feel bad for the Egyptians.

The Lucky One- “It was a few years later, I showed up here, and they still tell the legend of how you disappeared.” Yes, that sounds like the Passover story.

Everything Has Changed- Slavery to Freedom. #paradgimshift

Starlight- “Don’t you dream impossible things?” Moses sure did. But sometimes the impossible is possible.

Begin Again- As we start the counting of the Omer all over again from #1 on the second night of Passover.

 

(For even more fun, sing the 12 parts of the Seder to the tune of Blank Space. It works.)

This post has been contributed by a third party. The opinions, facts and any media content are presented solely by the author, and JewishBoston assumes no responsibility for them. Want to add your voice to the conversation? Publish your own post here. MORE