Pop Culture Buddhism: Taylor Swift's Karma
| Karma & Nirvana 1895-6 | Origins | Reincarnation & Karma | Taylor Swift's Karma |
Karma is real (Taylor Swift, April 2016)
The world moves on, another day another drama
But not for me, all I think about is karma (Taylor Swift, November 2017)
Karma is a cat, purring in my lap (Taylor Swift, October 2022)
Contents
- A Swift version
- Lyrics
- Karma and Reincarnation
- Getting it out there
- References
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1. A Swift version
American singer / songwriter Taylor Swift is famous for many things - music, fame, fortune, and a fandom which proudly goes by the name Swifties. She is even the source of a new "ism" - Swiftism. All of these accolades reached a peaked during 2023-24, in part due to the ERAS world tour, a cinema release concert film, and an explosion of Swift's music on streaming apps such as Spotify and Apply Music, breaking numerous records along the way. Taylor Swift had by early 2024 become a twenties pop culture icon, the subject of numerous books, articles, posters and concert collectibles such as t-shirts, hoodies and mugs. Thrown in amongst this proliferation of commodities is Buddhism, largely the result of one of her most famous and popular songs from 2022 - Karma. As of 25 April 2024, the Karma lyric video on YouTube, which was released in October 2022, had 27 million views, whilst the official remix video, released in May 2023, had 58.1 million views.
Taylor Swift, Karma (lyric video), Taylor Swift, 22 October 2022, YouTube, duration: 3.29 minutes.
Written and produced in collaboration with Jack Antonoff, Mark Anthony Spears (Sounwave), Jahaan Akil Sweet and Keanu Torres (Keanu Beats), Karma was released on the Midnights album in October 2022 (Cohen 2022). A remix version produced by Ice Spice also appeared around the same time.
Karma - Taylor Swift ft. Ice Spice, Taylor Swift, 27 May 2023, YouTube, duration: 3.25 minutes.
The lyrics to Karma were a combination of personal reflections and accounts of incidental events. This was not the first time that Swift had made mention of the Buddhist concept of karma. She did so in an April 2016 Vogue magazine interview, in her November 2017 song Look What You Made Me Do, and in the video for her 2020 song The Man.
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| Taylor Swift, The Man [video screen capture], 2020. |
It has also been suggested that Karma was to be the name of a so-called 'Lost' album planned for release in 2016 (Spanos 2022). We can therefore see that the concept of karma has resonated with Swift since the mid' 2010s. The question has been asked: Why? Raised a Christian in the United States southern state of Tennessee, there is no simple answer to this. Yet it appears Swift believed karma held the key to some of the personal issues she faced around 2016 when the then 27 year old's external and internal conflicts appeared at their height. A lot of time subsequently spent alone during this period was utilised for reflection upon the events surrounding her. Song writing was a significant creative outlet. Obviously Swift also found some solace is aspects of the teaching of Buddha and Buddhism, where her Christian upbringing can be said to have been wanting. The lyrics to the 2022 song Karma reveal the complexity and development of her thoughts and associations with the subject of karma over the previous seven years.
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2. Lyrics - Karma
You're talking shit for the hell of it
Addicted to betrayal, but you're relevant
You're terrified to look down
'Cause if you dare, you'll see the glare
Of everyone you burned just to get there
It's coming back around
And I keep my side of the street clean
You wouldn't know what I mean
'Cause karma is my boyfriend
Karma is a god
Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend
Karma's a relaxing thought
Aren't you envious that for you it's not?
Sweet like honey, karma is a cat
Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me
Flexing like a goddamn acrobat
Me and karma vibe like that
Spider-boy, king of thieves
Weave your little webs of opacity
My pennies made your crown
Trick me once, trick me twice
Don't you know that cash ain't the only price?
It's coming back around
And I keep my side of the street clean
You wouldn't know what I mean
'Cause karma is my boyfriend
Karma is a god
Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend
Karma's a relaxing thought
Aren't you envious that for you it's not?
Sweet like honey, karma is a cat
Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me
Flexing like a goddamn acrobat
Me and karma vibe like that
Ask me what I learned from all those years
Ask me what I earned from all those tears
Ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here
(I'm still, I'm still here)
'Cause karma is the thunder
Rattling your ground
Karma's on your scent like a bounty hunter
Karma's gonna track you down
Step by step from town to town
Sweet like justice, karma is a queen
Karma takes all my friends to the summit
Karma is the guy on the screen
Coming straight home to me
'Cause karma is my boyfriend (karma is my boyfriend)
Karma is a god
Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend (weekend)
Karma's a relaxing thought
Aren't you envious that for you it's not?
Sweet like honey, karma is a cat
Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me
Flexing like a goddamn acrobat
Me and karma vibe like that
Karma is my boyfriend
Karma is a god
Mm-hm
Karma's a relaxing thought
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3. Karma and reincarnation
Karma is no longer a Christian belief, though it has been popular in the Pop Culture zeitgeist since the 1960s. Reincarnation and the related concept of karma were officially declared heretical by the Catholic church and banned at the Second Council of Constantinople in 553 A.D. (Kersten 1979). Since then both have remained divisive and controversial subjects amongst believers, with karma presented therein as a negative and retributive force, seemingly at odds with the belief in a loving, merciful God. Rejection of reincarnation by the Catholic Church was due to the perceived complexity of the processes surrounding non-physical (spiritual) existence after death and subsequent rebirth. Within Catholic theology there is the belief that, if reincarnation is accepted, there can be no heaven or hell and final redemption and unification of the body and the soul. However, outside of the Catholic Church, a wide variety of opinions and analyses of reincarnation have been expressed by individuals, groups and religions, including Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism, with all in support of the concept, though to varying degrees. Much of this occurred prior to the existence of the Christian Church. Existing in the nexus between science and belief, the subjects of reincarnation and karma will perhaps forever be shrouded in uncertainty and unknowing, ultimately subject only to belief.
Taylor Swift is a modern example of where the philosophical underpinnings of Buddhism in its many Western forms find application in a pop cultural environment. Therein concepts such as blame can be attributed without any negative elements being brought to bear upon the person apportioning blame. For example, Swift's use of the concept of karma around 2016 was framed in the following context:
The singer-songwriter Taylor Swift released her fifth studio album, 1989 (2014), to critical and commercial success. During promotion of 1989, Swift's public image suffered from increasing tabloid scrutiny, in part brought by a highly publicized dispute with the American rapper Kanye West and the media personality Kim Kardashian over West's 2016 single "Famous." Swift went on a hiatus and secluded herself from public appearances. (Wikipedia, 2024)
In other words, use of the term karma is said to be a method by which Taylor Swift is able to blame certain people in her life for causing her suffering, without a bad light being thrown upon her in the act of doing so. The blame rests with the person committing the offence, i.e., it is their bad karma, not Swift's. This, at least, is one way to look at it, though it is a rather negative perspective and ultimately at odds with the positive vibe engendered by the song Karma and its associated sweet, upbeat musical accompaniment.
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4. Getting it out there
When a crowd of 288,000 Australians gathered in the Melbourne Showground stadium over three nights during February 2024 to sing Karma with their idol, there was definitely a good vibe being put out to the universe. Swift has put karma on the lips and in the minds of millions around the world. Of those millions, perhaps thousands may delve deeper into the concept and, as a result, open their minds and hearts to the teachings of the Buddha. That is a good thing.
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5. References
Cohen, Jonathan, Taylor Swift Reveals 'Karma' As Eighth Song From Midnights, Spin (archived), 6 October 2022.
Kersten, Holger, Jesus Lived in India, Element Books, Shaftsbury, 1979, 246p.
Spanos, Brittany, Is 'Karma' Real? Inside The Mystery of Taylor Swift's 'Lost' Album, Rolling Stone, 26 September 2022.
Wikipedia, Karma (Taylor Swift song), Wikipedia, accessed 24 April 2024.
-----, Taylor Swift, Wikipedia, accessed 24 April 2024.
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Last updated: 25 April 2024
Michael Organ, Australia
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