No prólogo do álbum “Reputation”, Taylor Swift diz que sabe muito bem que a mídia vai dissecar cada letra de suas músicas buscando entender sobre quem elas tratam, “como se inspiração para música fosse tão simples como um teste de paternidade”. É verdade: está acontecendo. Mas é também inevitável. Veículos do mundo inteiro apontam a faixa “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” como uma resposta a Kanye West – a resposta que Taylor guardou por todo esse tempo, enquanto Kim Kardashian se divertia com a hashtag #TaylorSwiftIsOverParty.
A letra da música faz uma alusão muito clara à relação de Taylor com o rapper: “foi tão bom ser amigos de novo. Lá estava eu lhe dando uma segunda chance. Mas você me esfaqueou nas costas ao apertar minha mão”. Se isso não é uma referência à polêmica envolvendo a música “Famous”, justamente quando Kanye e Taylor haviam feito as pazes publicamente… o que mais seria? Na música, Kanye West insulta a cantora, chamando-a de vadia e dizendo que ela lhe deve uma transa, porque ela a tornou famosa (ao estragar o grande momento dela no VMA de 2009… um raciocínio muito particular dele).
Na composição, Taylor ainda diz que “amigos de verdade não tentam te enganar, peguei você no telefone e te desmascarei” – obviamente uma referência ao telefonem que ele gravou sem ela saber, ao criar a música “Famous”. Foi esse material que Kim divulgou no Snapchat para tentar desmoralizar a cantora. “Mas eu não sou o único amigo que você perdeu ultimamente. Se você não fosse tão sombrio…”, Taylor canta na música. Pode ser uma referência à suposta briga de Kanye com Jay Z.
LETRA COMPLETA
It was so nice throwing big parties
Jumping in the pool from the balcony
Everyone swimming in a champagne sea
And there are no rules when you show up here
Bass beat rattling the chandelier
Feeling so Gatsby for that whole year
So why’d you have to rain on my parade?
I’m shaking my head
I’m locking the gates
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can’t have nice things, honey
Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can’t have nice things
It was so nice being friends again
There I was giving you a second chance
But then you stabbed my back while shaking my hand
And therein lies the issue
Friends don’t try to trick you
Get you on the phone and mind-twist you
And so I took an ax to a mended fence
But I’m not the only friend you’ve lost lately
If only you weren’t
So shady
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can’t have nice things, honey
Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can’t have
Here’s a toast to my real friends
They don’t care about that he said, she said
And here’s to my baby
He ain’t reading what they call me lately
And here’s to my momma
Had to listen to all this drama
And here’s to you
‘Cause forgiveness is a nice thing to do
Haha, I can’t even say it with a straight face
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling (darling)
Because you break them
I had to take them away
This is why we can’t have nice things, honey
Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling
(And here’s to my real friends)
Because you break them
I had to take them away
(And here’s to my baby)
This is why we can’t have nice things, darling
(He didn’t care about that he said, she said)
Did you think I wouldn’t hear all the things you said about me?
This is why we can’t have nice things