Blank Space Essay 2

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Morgan Magel
Adrienne Cassel
ENG 1201
3 April 2020
Blank Space
In 2015, the band, Our Last Night, came out with a rock version of "Blank Space," which
was originally written and published by Taylor Swift in 2014. Our Last Night's version of "Blank
Space" gives a deeper feeling to Taylor Swift's original version of "Blank Space." Taylor's
version is more upbeat-pop about going through multiple relationships from a girl's perspective.
Our Last Night's version is more emotional where you can feel the pain of what the lyrics can
mean coming from a guy's perspective.
When "Blank Space" originally came out in 2014, there were a lot of rumors coming out
about Taylor being a 'serial dater'. Many gossips and news sites said that she was full of drama,
always throwing tantrums, and just plain awful to be in a relationship with. So when she started
putting this song together, she wanted to create a certain character in the video. The role played
by Taylor is a stuck up rich girl with her large mansion estate and is always wearing Dolce and
Gabbana around the house.
At the beginning of Taylor's video we open to her sitting in a giant bed with white horses
on each side of her, in a gorgeous mansion with marble floors. Throughout the video, Taylor
starts dating someone, and all is going well in the beginning. Their relationship starts so happy
and fun by riding bikes around the house, horseback riding on the grounds, sketching their names
on a tree together, having sweet picnics, and much more. But somewhere along the way, things
start to turn sour. She starts throwing all of these tantrums, creating drama out of nowhere, and
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by the end she even destroys the man's car with a golf club. But as soon as he leaves, another
man soon pulls up to the mansion, and the process starts all over again. It is this never-ending
cycle of an important verse in this song "so it's gonna be forever or it's gonna go down in
flames." So one way or the other, going through relationships is a part of life and you have to try
again.
Our Last Night did a whole album of popular songs converted into the rock genre. They
wanted to take popular songs and give them a different feeling, or meaning than the original
versions. Although the verses stay the same, Our Last Night's video is based around the band
recording and performing "Blank Space." I think that they didn't want to be setting a mood
through watching a story, they actually wanted it to be heard through the music.
The opening scene to their video is all about the music, it starts on the guitar and then
changes so you can watch the emotion of the lead singers. Throughout the video it changes
perspectives to see the different members of the band, from the guitar player, to the drums, back
to the singers. It really makes a person connect more with the music and lyrical aspects of the
song. This is important when coming from a guys perspective too, because it starts slowly, like
any relationship. But when the tempo picks up it takes you through a different emotion that is
difficult and hard.
These songs have an emotional appeal, this is how both versions connect to people. The
song goes through many changes when it is transformed from a pop song into a rock song. It
loses its peppy upbeat attitude, kind of making fun of the 'crazy girl' stereotype, a song about
how relationships come and go at extremes. But when you change the music and the grit of the
words, it makes it a completely different story. It gives it a deeper feeling of loving someone and
losing them and having to go through it all again. It can have different effects on each person,
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like Taylor, in her video being portrayed as the 'crazy girl'. But Our Last Night's version then
changes up the lyrics so it is a guys perspective, this makes it seem like the 'bad boy' stereotype.
There is a line "girls only want love if it's torture, don't say I didn't warn ya" and it always
reminds me of girls going after the wrong guys, even when they know that they're the wrong
person. This version just portrays such a deeper meaning to the song when you strip away all the
glam and pop of the original. You start to realize the importance of these lyrics. It can be to help
young people know what being dragged through a hard relationship can be like and how it
affects everyone differently.
Works Cited
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Our Last Night. “Taylor Swift- “Blank Space” Cover.” Youtube, uploaded by Our Last Night, 20
January 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXHiLPUgr8I. Accessed 3 April
2020.
Swift, Taylor. “Blank Space.” Youtube, uploaded by Taylor Swift, 10 November 2014,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg. Accessed 3 April 2020.

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Magel 1

mean coming from a guy's perspective.

Gabbana around the house.

difficult and hard.

affects everyone differently.

January 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXHiLPUgr8I. Accessed 3 April

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-ORhEE9VVg. Accessed 3 April 2020.

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