Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? explained

Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
Artist:Taylor Swift
Album:The Tortured Poets Department
Studio:
Genre:Chamber pop
Length:5:34
Label:Republic
Producer:

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department (2024). She and Jack Antonoff produced the track, which is a Southern Gothic-inspired chamber pop song that incorporates dense echo and strings. The lyrics were inspired by Swift's bitter feelings while reflecting on her teenage rise to stardom, and they compare a narrator to a wicked witch and a trapped circus animal, detailing how her upbringing in an asylum contributes to her callous and viscous nature.

Critical reception of "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" was mixed. Some critics found the tone heavy that makes the track hard to listen to and the lyrics confusing, but some others praised the musical elements and complimented the lyrics as biting and impactful. The song peaked at number nine on the Billboard Global 200 and charted in the top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. It also received a silver certification from the United Kingdom. Swift performed it on the 2024 shows of her Eras Tour.

Music and lyrics

In a commentary for Amazon Music, Swift recalled that she wrote "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" alone on piano, while being in a bitter state reflecting on how her teenage rise to stardom influenced her self-perception. She said that "the world has this sense of ownership" over public figures, leading them to be easily critiqued for their behaviors; "We put them through hell. We watch what they create, then we judge it. We love to watch artists in pain, often to the point where I think sometimes as a society we provoke that pain, and we just watch what happens."[1]

Swift produced "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" with Jack Antonoff, who programmed it and played instruments including synths (Juno, Moog, M1, Mellotron), drums, bass, electric guitar, piano, and cello. The track was recorded by Jonathan Low, Jack Manning, Joey Miller, and Laura Sisk at Conway Recording Studios in Los Angeles, Electric Lady Studios in New York, and Esplanade Studios in New Orleans. Other musicians on the track include Sean Hutchinson (drums), Aaron Dessner (piano), Zem Audu (synths), Mikey Freedom Hart (synths), Evan Smith (synths), and Michael Riddleberger (percussion). The song is track 10 on Swift's eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, which was released on April 19, 2024, via Republic Records.[2] [3]

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" a chamber pop song[4] that is instrumented by dense echo and strings[5] and infuses elements of Southern Gothic.[6] The bridge incorporates a resonating bass.[7] The lyrics detail Swift's perception of her public image. The song starts with Swift confronting her critics ("If you wanted me dead, you should've just said/ Nothing makes me feel more alive") and, in the chorus, imagines herself as a witch that unleashes her anger onto a town ("So I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street/ Crash the party like a record scratch as I scream/ 'Who's afraid of little old me?'/ You should be").[8] [9] In the next verse, Swift recounts having been raised in an "asylum" and expresses how she becomes cold-hearted in the face of speculation on her personal life ("I was tame, I was gentle/ Til the circus life made me mean").[10] She details how she had to conform herself to a culture in which she was brought up: "You taught me, you caged me, and then you called me crazy."

Several critics compared the song's theme to that of "Anti-Hero" (2022), a track about Swift's self-critique and self-loathing. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone described "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" as a "luridly comic goth-horror melodrama of girlhood in America" and labelled it an "evil twin" of "Mirrorball" (2020) while also being "filtered through" Mary Shelley's 1818 novel Frankenstein.[11] Vulture's Craig Jenkins thought that the lyrics portrayed a "thirst for supernatural revenge" that recalls "witch trials and Carrie".[12] Vogue Australia thought that the title is a reference to Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, a 1962 play about a derailed marriage.[13]

Critical reception

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" received mixed reviews. Several critics remarked that the song had a heavy tone that made it hard to listen to. Mark Savage of the BBC thought that the theme was "salty and mischievous" and described the sound as "suffocated". Olivia Horn of Pitchfork deemed the lyrical imagery "convoluted" as the track portrays Swift as both a witch and a circus animal,[14] and Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe criticized the lyrics as overwritten, blemishing the song's attempt at showcasing Swift at her "most lacerating".[15] In The New York Times, Jon Pareles lamented that the track lacked the "playful but self-questioning touch" of "Anti-Hero", making it "pretty much just sad or angry" and thus regress into "teenage petulance",[16] and Lindsay Zoladz found it surprising that Swift "doesn't deliver this one with a (needed) wink" despite having "played dexterously with humor and irony elsewhere in her catalog".[17] Beats Per Minute's John Wohlmacher described the composition as being "both too theatric and lo-fi at the same time" and the revengeful lyrics as confusing, given "the respect and adoration [Swift has] gotten from press and audiences".[18]

On a positive side, PopMatters' Jeffrey Davies deemed the track the album's best, writing that it demonstrates a "vicious cycle" of Swift's detractors "still [providing] her with enough ammunition for new material".[19] Laura Snapes from The Guardian thought that the "vengeful wrath" of the song contains some of Swift's most cutting lyrics and deemed it a "deservedly bitter, barbed update of the cutesier and more cloying 'Anti-Hero. Writing for the Associated Press, Maria Sherman was an amalgam of Swift's past albums, namely the "musical ambitiousness" of Folklore and Evermore (2020) and the sharp "sensibilities" of Reputation (2017), but with more depth and complexities. The Hollywood Reporter's Ryan Fish ranked "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" fourth out of the 31 tracks on the album, deeming the portrayal of Swift's "witchy persona" compelling and saying that the production has a hook "[needing] to be shouted by a crowd in a stadium".[20]

Commercial performance

When The Tortured Poets Department was released, tracks from the album occupied the top 14 of the US Billboard Hot 100; "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" debuted at a peak of number nine on the chart, where Swift became the first artist to monopolize the top 14.[21] In Australia, the song reached number nine on the ARIA Singles Chart and made her the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29.[22] Elsewhere, "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" peaked at number nine on the Billboard Global 200 and reached the top 10 in Canada and New Zealand and the top 25 in Singapore (14), the Philippines (20), Portugal (22), Luxembourg (23), Switzerland (23), and Belgium (25). The song received a silver certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

Live performances

Swift included "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" among other tracks from The Tortured Poets Department in the revamped set list for her sixth concert tour, the Eras Tour, starting from the May 2024 shows in Paris.[23] [24] She performed the song while standing atop a glass-plated block that moved across the stage.[25] Clash wrote that Swift was "rising and flying around the stage"[26] while The Scotsman described that she "actually [levitated] down our street", ranking it the best number of the concert because it had the "biggest singalong of the night".[27] Billboard considered the track a "live standout" among the newly-added songs, opining that it was exemplary of Swift's description of the act as "Female Rage: the Musical".[28]

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of The Tortured Poets Department.[29]

Charts

Chart (2024)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[30] 9
Belgium (Billboard)[31] 25
Brazil (Brasil Hot 100)[32] 60
Denmark (Tracklisten)[33] 31
France (SNEP)[34] 90
Greece International (IFPI)[35] 16
Lithuania (AGATA)[36] 55
Luxembourg (Billboard)[37] 23
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 10
Norway (VG-lista)[39] 38
Philippines (Billboard)[40] 20
Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100)[41] 76
Singapore (RIAS)[42] 14
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[43] 39
Swiss Streaming (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] 23
UK Streaming (OCC)[45] 13

Notes and References

  1. Richardson . Kalia . 2024-04-22 . Taylor Swift Reveals Meaning Behind Songs in The Tortured Poets Department . limited . 2024-06-11 . . June 11, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240611133014/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-song-meanings-1235008538/ . live .
  2. Swift . Taylor . . 2024 . . liner notes.
  3. Web site: April 19, 2024 . As The Tortured Poets Department drops, here's all Taylor Swift's albums ranked by sales . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240419095336/https://www.musicweek.com/talent/read/as-the-tortured-poets-department-drops-here-s-all-taylor-swift-s-albums-ranked-by-sales/089645 . April 19, 2024 . June 11, 2024 . Music Week.
  4. Web site: Donovan . Thom . 2024-05-14 . Ranking the 5 Best Songs on Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department . 2024-06-11 . . May 24, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240524080115/https://americansongwriter.com/ranking-the-5-best-songs-on-taylor-swifts-the-tortured-poets-department/ . live .
  5. News: Savage . Mark . 2024-04-19 . Taylor Swift Tortured Poets Department review: Album finds star vulnerable but vicious . 2024-06-10 . . April 19, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240419161708/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-68846376 . live .
  6. News: Snapes . Laura . 2024-04-19 . Breakups, fantasies and her most cutting lyrics: inside Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department . 2024-06-10 . . April 22, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240422092026/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/19/taylor-swift-album-the-tortured-poets-department-lyrics . live .
  7. Web site: Sherman . Maria . 2024-04-19 . Music Review: Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department is great sad pop, meditative theater . 2024-06-10 . . April 22, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240422093825/https://apnews.com/article/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-review-b24d2275df5cf78ffa9069c61b9825ec . live .
  8. Web site: Gonzales . Erica . 2024-04-19 . Taylor Swift Reflects on Her Reputation in 'Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?' . 2024-06-11 . . May 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527124411/https://www.elle.com/culture/music/a60549518/taylor-swift-whos-afraid-of-little-old-me-lyrics-meaning/ . live .
  9. Web site: Prance . Sam . May 17, 2024 . Taylor Swift Reveals Real Meaning Behind 'Who's Afraid Of Little Old Me?' Lyrics . 2024-06-11 . . May 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240527124411/https://www.capitalfm.com/news/music/taylor-swift-whos-afraid-of-little-old-me-lyrics-meaning/ . live .
  10. Web site: D’Souza . Shaad . 2024-04-19 . 8 Takeaways From Taylor Swift's New Album The Tortured Poets Department . 2024-06-10 . . April 20, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240420200910/https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/takeaways-from-taylor-swift-new-album-the-tortured-poets-department/ . live .
  11. Sheffield . Rob . Rob Sheffield . April 25, 2024 . 'Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?' (2024) . June 11, 2024 . . June 11, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240611133035/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/taylor-swift-songs-ranked-rob-sheffield-201800/whos-afraid-of-little-old-me-2024-1235008827/ . live .
  12. Web site: Jenkins . Craig . 2024-04-23 . The Performative Poets Department . limited . 2024-06-10 . . April 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423211931/https://www.vulture.com/article/the-tortured-poets-department-taylor-swift-album-review.html . live .
  13. Web site: Miyashita . Nina . Waterhouse . Jonah . April 24, 2024 . All the hidden meanings in Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department album . June 11, 2024 . . April 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423150126/https://www.vogue.com.au/culture/features/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department/image-gallery/6d24952094c0b5fd2a02d1406bdf8a53 . live .
  14. Web site: Horn . Olivia . April 22, 2024 . Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department / The Anthology . 2024-06-10 . . April 25, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240425125150/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-the-anthology/ . live .
  15. Web site: Keefe . Jonathan . 2024-04-22 . Taylor Swift The Tortured Poets Department Review . 2024-06-10 . . April 22, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240422051544/https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-album-review/ . live .
  16. News: Pareles . Jon . Jon Pareles . Sisario . Ben . Ben Sisario . Zoladz . Lindsay . Ganz . Caryn . 2024-04-23 . Tortured Poets Has Shifted the Taylor Swift Debate. Let's Discuss. . limited . 2024-06-10 . . June 7, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240607031601/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/23/arts/music/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-debate.html . live .
  17. News: Zoladz . Lindsay . 2024-04-19 . On The Tortured Poets Department, Taylor Swift Could Use an Editor . limited . 2024-06-10 . . April 20, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240420000556/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/19/arts/music/taylor-swift-album-tortured-poets-department-review.html . live .
  18. Web site: Wohlmacher . John . 2024-04-23 . Album Review: Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department . 2024-06-10 . . April 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423190310/https://beatsperminute.com/album-review-taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department/ . live .
  19. Web site: Davies . Jeffrey . 2024-04-25 . Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department Is Ambitious . 2024-06-10 . . April 27, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240427123858/https://www.popmatters.com/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-review . live .
  20. Web site: Fish . Ryan . 2024-04-22 . Every Song on Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department, Ranked . 2024-06-10 . . April 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240423002656/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/taylor-swift-the-tortured-poets-department-songs-ranked/ . live .
  21. Trust . Gary . April 29, 2024 . Taylor Swift Claims Record Top 14 Spots on Billboard Hot 100, Led by 'Fortnight' with Post Malone . May 9, 2024 . . April 29, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240429170523/https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-hot-100-top-14-fortnight-post-malone-record/ . live .
  22. News: Gbogbo . Mawunyo . April 29, 2024 . Taylor Swift's New Album The Tortured Poets Department Smashes Chart Records in the US, UK and Australia . 2024-05-10 . . en-AU . May 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240510010807/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-29/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-charts-uk-billboard-aria/103779382 . live .
  23. News: Bayer . Lili . 2024-05-09 . Taylor Swift Eras tour adds Tortured Poets Department and combines Folklore and Evermore eras – as it happened in Paris . 2024-06-11 . . May 10, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240510080204/https://www.theguardian.com/music/live/2024/may/09/taylor-swift-eras-tour-europe-opening-paris-tortured-poets-live . live .
  24. Web site: Rosenbloom . Alli . 2024-05-09 . Taylor Swift debuts revamped Eras Tour setlist with Tortured Poets Department songs . 2024-06-11 . . May 21, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240521075345/https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/entertainment/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-eras-tour/index.html . live .
  25. Web site: Shafer . Ellise . 2024-05-09 . Taylor Swift Plays 'The Tortured Poets Department' Songs Live for the First Time at Paris Eras Tour Show . 2024-06-11 . . May 21, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240521051131/https://variety.com/2024/music/global/taylor-swift-tortured-poets-department-eras-tour-1235989512/ . live .
  26. Web site: Sinclair . Hannah . 2024-06-08 . Taylor Swift's Murrayfield Show Is An Eras Extravaganza . 2024-06-11 . . June 8, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240608220321/https://www.clashmusic.com/live/taylor-swifts-murrayfield-show-is-an-eras-extravaganza/ . live .
  27. News: Hepburn . David . June 10, 2024 . Taylor Swift Eras Tour Edinburgh Ranked: All 44 song performances rated - from incredible to merely good . June 11, 2024 . . June 11, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240611132944/https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/music/taylor-swift-eras-tour-edinburgh-song-performance-ranked-best-to-worst-4659441 . live .
  28. Levine . Robert . 2024-05-10 . Taylor Swift's Eras Tour Kicks Off European Leg in Paris: 8 Best Moments . 2024-06-11 . . May 22, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240522154104/https://www.billboard.com/lists/taylor-swift-paris-eras-tour-europe/ . live .
  29. The Tortured Poets Department . 2024 . Taylor Swift . Republic Records . The Manuscript edition vinyl liner notes . 602458933314.
  30. Web site: ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart. Australian Recording Industry Association. April 29, 2024. June 7, 2024. May 9, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240509103914/https://www.aria.com.au/charts/singles-chart/2024-04-29. live.
  31. Taylor Swift Chart History (Belgium Songs). Billboard. June 7, 2024. October 30, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231030165312/https://www.billboard.com/artist/taylor-swift/chart-history/i28/. live.
  32. Taylor Swift Chart History (Brasil Hot 100). Billboard. June 7, 2024. November 3, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231103232956/https://www.billboard.com/artist/taylor-swift/chart-history/bzl/. live.
  33. Web site: Track Top-40 Uge 17, 2024. Hitlisten. June 7, 2024. April 30, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240430205836/http://hitlisten.nu/default.asp?w=17&y=2024&list=t40. live.
  34. Web site: Top Singles (Week 17, 2024). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. French. June 7, 2024. May 31, 2021. https://archive.today/20210531082745/https://snepmusique.com/les-tops/le-top-de-la-semaine/top-albums/?categorie=Top%20Singles. live.
  35. Web site: IFPI Charts . June 7, 2024 . www.ifpi.gr . May 1, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240501120745/https://www.ifpi.gr/digital_ien.html . live .
  36. Web site: 2024 17-os savaitės klausomiausi (Top 100). lt. AGATA. April 26, 2024. June 7, 2024. April 26, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240426083818/https://www.agata.lt/lt/naujienos/s17-3/. live.
  37. Taylor Swift Chart History (Luxembourg Songs). Billboard. June 7, 2024. November 1, 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221101082555/https://www.billboard.com/artist/taylor-swift/chart-history/i12/. live.
  38. Web site: NZ Top 40 Singles Chart. Recorded Music NZ. April 29, 2024. June 7, 2024. April 26, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240426045359/https://nztop40.co.nz/chart/singles?chart=5799. live.
  39. Web site: Singel 2024 uke 17. VG-lista. June 7, 2024. April 26, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240426142835/https://topplista.no/charts/singles/2024-w17/. live.
  40. Philippines Songs - Week of May 4, 2024 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20240502213709/https://www.billboard.com/charts/philippines-songs-hotw/ . May 2, 2024 . July 5, 2024 . Billboard.
  41. Web site: OLiS – oficjalna lista sprzedaży – single w streamie. OLiS. pl. June 7, 2024. Select week 19.04.2024–25.04.2024.. February 2, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230202134558/https://www.olis.pl/charts/oficjalna-lista-sprzedazy/single-w-streamie. live.
  42. Web site: RIAS Top Charts Week 17 (19 - 25 Apr 2024). RIAS. June 7, 2024. May 1, 2024. https://archive.today/20240501030650/https://www.rias.org.sg/rias-top-charts/.
  43. Web site: Veckolista Singlar, vecka 17. Sverigetopplistan. June 7, 2024. April 26, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240426122136/https://sverigetopplistan.se/chart/41/?dspy=2024&dspp=17. live.
  44. Web site: Streaming Top 100. Schweizer Hitparade. May 15, 2024. May 15, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240515150223/http://swisscharts.com/charts/streaming/28-04-2024. live.
  45. Web site: Official Streaming Chart Top 100. Official Charts Company. July 2, 2024. May 9, 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240509095655/https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/streaming-chart/20240426/7510/. live.

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