Spoiler’s for Dawson’s Creek ahead…be warned!
One of the only good things to come out of the Covid19 pandemic was Taylor Swift’s (possibly) best album Folklore — 17 heart-wrenching tracks that perfectly encapsulate deeply human tales of heartbreak, love, loss and nostalgia. In many ways, this album was also a reflection of life during the pandemic itself, a time when many were forced — for the first time ever — to sit with themselves, look inward and reckon with the past.
This album is also happens to be deeply rooted in classic storytelling traditions, drawing inspiration from a variety of sources including literature, film, television, history and mythology. In this analysis, I argue that among these prime influences is the late 90s’ teen drama Dawson’s Creek — a story focusing on similar themes of love, grief and, of course, the complex and often painful journey that is growing up.
“I found myself not only writing my own stories, but also writing about or from the perspective of people I’ve never met, people I’ve known, or those I wish I hadn’t. A seventeen-year-old standing on a porch, learning to apologize. Lovestruck kids wandering up and down the evergreen High Line.”
- Taylor Swift (2020)
Human beings need connection, and in times of forced isolation, art provided a powerful way to bridge the distance between us. Characters, whether born out of someone else’s imagination or our own are there to keep us company, to entertain, and to ultimately help us feel less alone. Folklore and Dawson’s Creek are intertwined in their subject matter, and in this shared effect.
So without further ado, let’s deep dive into how Folklore is all about Dawson’s Creek…
“The 1”
Folklore starts at the end, so to speak, with “The 1,” a track that explores the bittersweet feeling of a lost love, the pain of what could have been, and whether a different choice could have changed a final outcome. Dawson’s Creek’s first episode similarly begins in it’s own state of reflection and grief as our protagonists — best friends Joey and Dawson — are forced to contend with the changing nature of their life-long dynamic.
While “The 1” invites us to look to the past, Joey and Dawson’s relationship asks us to think about the future. How can things stay the same forever? (spoiler, they cannot). The song also foreshadows the long and complex road Joey and Dawson have waiting for them. Like ill-fated magnets, the two characters are continually drawn back together throughout the show, always convinced that they must be soulmates despite their ongoing challenges. Ultimately, they are not “the one,” for each other, despite hoping they could be.
Important Lines
“I’m doing good I’m on some new shit”
“If you never bleed your never gonna grow”
“We never painted by the numbers baby”
The pilot starts with Joey not wanting to sleepover in Dawson’s bed anymore. She establishes this boundary which presents the show’s first themes around the end of childhood and how loss of innocence is an inevitable part of growing up.
Despite Joey deciding things must be different now because of the way the world works, the episode ends with Dawson attempting to push back against this claim and define their own path.
“Persist and resist the temptation to ask you if one thing had been different would everything been different?”
“It would have been sweet if it could have been me”
Joey and Dawson go back and forth throughout six seasons and never land on the same page. Throughout the show, they fall in and out of love which ultimately ends in heartbreak each time.
“I guess you never know, never know. And it's another day waking up alone.”
In season 6, after they finally sleep together then have a falling out, Joey agonizes over writing an email to Dawson which he never sees. The episode ends with him writing his own email to her which he never sends.
I thought of this moment because after their night together Joey wakes up to an empty bed. Later in the season, Dawson and Joey find themselves back in his childhood bedroom where he wakes to find her not there.
“You know the greatest films of all time were never made.”
“In my defence I have none for never leaving well enough alone.”
The line about the greatest films is especially Dawson coded. His idealism is a major aspect of their relationship which consists of many grand gestures and ongoing emotional intensity.
Early in the series, Jen points out to Dawson that being a romantic doesn’t have to mean manufacturing picture perfect moments. He must learn to accept unpredictability and the messiness of relationships.
While Dawson attempts to make it work, Joey must go on her own emotional journey that does not involve him. This song sets up the themes of the whole show, growing up and letting people go.
Joey and Dawson both want each other to be the “one” but the universe has other plans for them. While they may be platonic soulmates, their love is tied more to memory, childhood and nostalgia than to a sustainable an adult relationship.
“Cardigan”
Like all good songwriting — or any kind of storytelling for that matter — “Cardigan” is a song that can be interpreted in many ways. The track’s metaphor (a cardigan) as a comforting but ultimately discarded piece of clothing is reminiscent of many DC relationships. The song is also the first part of a high-school love triangle told across the album, focusing on the fictional characters of Betty, James and Augustine. When Folklore came out, Taylor explained that the song explores “long-lost love and why young romance leaves such an indelible mark on our memories” including all the beautiful and painful feelings associated with it.
I believe “Cardigan” closely resembles Dawson and Joey’s dynamic. Like an old cardigan, they continually return to each other as a source of familiarity and comfort. HOWEVER, the song may also apply to other relationships on the show including Joey and Pacey who consistently seek each other out for support, or even the group of friends as a whole. Additionally, the setting of the creek itself is like it’s own “cardigan,” an environment tied to comfort, safety and warmth.
Important Lines
“A friend to all is a friend to none, chase two girls lose the one.”
I find this line especially reminiscent of early Dawson/Joey/Jen. In season one, Dawson wants to be with Jen, but he also doesn’t want anyone to have Joey. This creates the foundation of the triangle that remains ongoing throughout the series. In chasing Jen, he loses Joey and then in chasing Joey, he ultimately gives up Jen.
“Lose the one” might also refer to the previous song about the potential soulmate who doesn’t end up as such. In chasing Jen, Dawson loses Joey (the one).
“I knew you, your heartbeat on the high line once or twenty lifetimes.”
“You drew stars around my scars but now I’m bleeding.”
“When I felt like I was an old cardigan under someones bed, you put me on and said I was your favourite.”
This line is very Dawson/Joey coded. They always talk about being each other’s soulmates, but are unsure if their deep-rooted connection is only based on their childhood bond.
Additionally, Dawson and Pacey have both always made Joey feel special and beautiful despite her past traumas. Both continually made her heart swell, then broke it, tearing her emotional wounds right open again.
The cardigan line may also relate to Joey and Pacey’s connection throughout the series. In moments when Pacey didn’t feel good enough or was hurt by his family, Joey continued to support him and help him see his value. He did the same for her.
“I knew you stepping on the last train marked me like a blood stain.”
“Tried to change the ending, Peter losing Wendy.”
These lines are reminiscent of Joey’s breakups with both Dawson and Pacey. Dawson and Pacey are each like Peter Pan in their own ways, always resisting growing up and having to face the harsh realities of adulthood.
They also both physically leave Joey at the end of their relationship, each moving away to signify emotional and romantic distance.
“The smell of smoke would hang around this long, I knew everything when I was young.”
“You’d be standing in my front porch light. I knew you’d come back to me.”
The first line seems to encapsulate the drama of the series as teenagers believe they have all the answers to their romantic destiny. They also each linger in each other’s minds even after their relationships have ended. The “porch light” is significant aspect of the DC triangle. Joey and Pacey discuss their potential relationship out on Dawson’s front porch where he eventually discovers their secret romance.
The front porch is also a metaphor in itself — for safety, stability and childhood. Later in the series, Joey and Dawson return to a fake front porch constructed for the movie set Dawson is working on. This seems to signify how you can never really go home again. Joey will always be tied to Dawson’s “front porch” although it’s meaning in her heart will evolve and change as she grows up.
“Exile”
“Exile” is probably one of Taylor’s saddest songs of all time, and therefore truly captures all the perfect melodrama of teen soaps. The song represents a tragic miscommunication between ex-lovers and features Bon Iver who plays the role of the blindsided ex, struggling to understand how his relationship ended. Taylor plays the role of the other person, tired of grasping at straws and existing within a dysfunctional and seemingly one sided partnership.
In essence, this song perfectly covers Dawson and Joey’s relationship over the course of the show, which is mainly defined by misunderstanding, miscommunication and wrong timing. The end of the song captures the two characters talking over each other in a tense back and forth, illustrating why the relationship ultimately failed: they could never align.
Important Lines
“I can see you standing, honey with his arms around your body.”
“It took you five whole minutes to pack us up and leave me with it.”
These lines are very representative of Joey and Dawson’s falling out in season three when she chooses Pacey over him. At this point, he can’t understand why they didn’t work out, but he knows she has chosen someone else and that it’s too late for them… (insert Dawson crying meme 🙂↕️)
“I think I’ve seen this film before and I didn’t like the ending. You’re not my homeland anymore so what am I defending now?”
Another reference to “film,” veryyy Dawson. After each breakup, both Dawson and Joey must reckon with the fact that they cannot truly grow up without letting the other go. While they will always be each other’s safety and a source of comfort, love alone cannot sustain a healthy relationship.
“You were my town now I’m in exile seeing you out. I think I’ve seen this film before.”
This line is probably the most significant reference to DC in the song. The “town,” representing the creek itself, a place that is important to both Dawson and Joey. Like the setting of Capeside, Dawson and Joey’s relationship is comfortable, familiar and feels like coming home.
When Dawson and Joey lose each other, they also lose a physical place in each other’s lives and a connection to the past. As a result, the show demonstrates how leaving your home town (or a person who reminds you of your past) is also part of growing up.
“I can see you staring, honey, like he's just your understudy.”
“I think I've seen this film before So, I'm leaving out the side door.”
These lines are from the woman’s POV and are extremely reminiscent of Joey’s internal thought process. The first line feels directly aimed at Dawson and Pacey as Dawson now views his best friend as a rival when it comes to winning Joey’s heart. Dawson also sees Pacey as just a bump in his relationship with Joey or filler until she returns to him.
The second line feels especially representative of Joey’s character due to the mention of the “side door.” A motif throughout the show involves Joey climbing in through Dawson’s bedroom window. Climbing up the side of the house and entering each night contains it’s own symbolism — the bedroom window is an open invitation to Dawson’s world, but it also has the potential to shut her out if he chooses to close it.
“Seven”
Out of every song on this album, I think “Seven,” best encapsulates the overall feeling of Dawson’s Creek and also captures why it is still so beloved today. It’s true that the show offered viewers a comforting, nostalgic time capsule involving growing pains, first love and found family. However, it also didn’t shy away from depicting the harsher realities of youth, teenhood and what it means to be human. In Seven, Taylor explores themes of childhood innocence and the complexity of familial trauma that feel very reminiscent of what is covered on DC.
This song and the show itself sit in the middle ground between our rose coloured view childhood and the real world. Everyone in Dawson’s Creek must encounter a tragedy at some point, and when this happens it is usually followed by a heart-warming scene where characters reminisce about how life used to be so much less complicated when they were younger. If each of these emotional speeches could be summed up in one sentence, it would probably be: we’re growing up.
Important Lines
“Please picture me in the trees, in the swing over the creek”
“I was too scared to jump in. Are there still beautiful things?”
This one feels quite obvious but if you didn’t catch it…we’re literally mentioning THE CREEK. This line feels very Joey to me, especially at her most guarded and cynical.
“And I’ve been meaning to tell you I think your house is always haunted your dad is always mad and that must be why.”
“And I think you should come live with me and we can be pirates then you won’t have to cry.”
These might be the most significant lyrics of this song in relation to DC. The show represents all facets of childhood and growing up which can include dysfunctional or abusive family dynamics. The show also champions “found family,” and the comfort that can be found outside the home.
The core friend group exists as their own little family, preserving the innocence and joy of childhood with their friendship as a shield against danger. These lines especially feel like they apply to most characters in the show, but are also the most like Pacey to me.
“Or hide in the closet and just like a folk song, our love will be passed on.”
Alternatively, these lines feel very Jen and Jack to me. The double entendre of the “closet” relating to Jack’s sexuality, as well as the maternal note of the lyrics which are skin to Jen’s character. Additionally, years after the finale (and the tragic event that occurs), Jack will remember his friendship with Jen and how it shaped him into the person he becomes.
“August”
“August” might be the most Dawson’s Creek song on this album…(have I already said that??). I also think we all know why that is…it’s almost like Taylor finished the s3 finale of DC, whipped out her notebook and recreated the exact feeling.
“August” is a song about a fleeting summer romance. It is one part of Folklore’s fictional, high school love triangle and is told from the POV of the “other girl” who falls for a boy named James, knowing he will ultimately return to his girlfriend, Betty. But these details are neither here nor there because I think we all know this song is about Joey and Pacey sailing off into the sunset for a summer of romance before their senior year...
My perspective: “August,” is told from Pacey’s POV. His summer on the sea with Joey is intense and magical, but he knows reality awaits them back on shore. When they get back, will she stay with him? Or return to Dawson…
Important Lines
“Salt air, and the rust on your door, I never needed anything more.”
“Whispers of, "Are you sure?" "Never have I ever before."
First of all, Pacey and Joey sailing off for the summer…on the sea…you know…with the SALT AIR.
Now the second line…for reference the exact words from this scene in the show are as follows:
Joey: “I want to come with you.”
Pacey: “What? Are you crazy?”
Joey: “I want to stop standing still, I want to move forward. I want to come with you.”
I rest my case.
“But I can see us lost in the memory, August slipped away into a moment in time cause’ it was never mine.”
This line is very s4 episode 1 “Coming Home.” AKA when the lovebirds return and find life isn’t as perfect and dreamy as it was on the boat. While their summer together will always be a fond memory, real life is more complicated.
“Your back beneath the sun, wishin' I could write my name on it. Will you call when you're back at school? I remember thinkin' I had you.”
“Back when we were still changing for the better. Wanting was enough, for me it was enough.”
These lines truly reflect a fleeting summer romance you wish you could hold into forever. Thankfully Joey and Pacey do stay together when they return to school…although it doesn’t last forever.
Especially towards the end of their relationship, Joey was sooo in love and wanting to see the best in Pacey despite the fact that he couldn’t see it in himself. She believed wanting was enough but in the end it couldn’t save them.
“Remember when I pulled up, and said, "get in the car" and then canceled my plans, just in case you'd call?”
“Back when I was livin' for the hope of it all, for the hope of it all, ‘meet me behind the mall."
This amazing summer, much like this romance, is transformative, intense but ultimately does not last. While the boat arc was an escape from reality, it was also a test for these two who (thankfully) figure it out and find their way back to each other…eventually.
Their relationship really is built on hope that two broken people can work out in the end…and they do!
Bonus: please find an edit I made last summer to the song August to truly understand how magical this song is
“This is Me Trying”
“This is Me Trying,” AKA the sad girl anthem, AKA Jen Lindley’s theme song. The song perfectly encapsulates feelings of emotional exhaustion and the effort it takes simply to keep going when you feel like you have nothing left to give. When I think of Jen’s character over the course of six seasons, just trying, perfectly sums it up. Just trying to find herself, just trying to find love and support, just trying to be okay.
One moment from the show comes to mind in relation to this song: in season 2, Jen encounters a horrific tragedy that leaves her feeling depressed and vulnerable. When Joey’s restaurant burns down with the gang inside, Jen stands still. Later she explains that if they were all going to die then, she would have been fine with that. Taylor explained how the narrative of this song follows someone driving to a lookout, contemplating self harm and ultimately turning the car around and driving home. In essence, the act of just surviving another day is sometimes a massive accomplishment all by itself.
Important Lines
“I've been having a hard time adjusting, I had the shiniest wheels, now they're rusting.”
“I didn't know if you'd care if I came back, I have a lot of regrets about that.”
Jen arrives in Capeside in season one where she is the shiny new thing in town. Her mystery and maturity feel emblematic of how together she is as a person, which we come to see isn’t actually the case. Over the course of s1-2, she goes from being strong and capable to rebelling and eventually falling apart.
After breaking up with Dawson — one of the only good guys she ever dates — Jen regrets her choice and attempts to get him back, ultimately failing to do so.
“They told me all of my cages were mental, so I got wasted like all my potential.”
“Pouring out my heart to a stranger, but I didn't pour the whiskey.”
In season 4, Jen tries therapy for the first time and has many revelations about her upbringing and the ways being sexualized at a young age shaped her. Throughout the series, aspects of her potential are apparent, but also constantly sabotaged by her unresolved trauma.
The image of alcohol as a means of self soothing, poured by someone else also feels very Jen. Throughout the show, she consistently drinks to deal with her pain and repress the loneliness she feels.
“And it's hard to be at a party when I feel like an open wound.”
"You're a flashback in a film reel on the one screen in my town.”
“Film reel…” he’s back ohmmyyygoddd
No matter where she goes, she can’t escape Dawson (at least for the first few seasons). Mainly because this is a small town and despite the fact that this friend group is very incestuous, they continue to hang out even after breaking up.
“Invisible String”
Another song that perfectly fits within the world of Dawson’s Creek…I’m shocked! True, “Invisible String” could beautifully relate to every relationship on this show. Hpwever, I like to believe it is specifically addressing Joey and Pacey and their seasons long slow-burn romance.
The lyrics explores the concept of fate, suggesting how an unseen thread connects soul mates together across their entire lives (…obsessed). It also highlights how everything we experience in our lives — including tragedy and heartbreak — ultimately guides us exactly to where we need to be and who we end up with.
Pacey and Joey have known each other since childhood but only ever tollerated each other due to their shared friendship with Dawson. In season 1, Pacey catches feelings for Joey but she turns him down. Fast forward a few years, in season 3 after Joey and Dawson break up, Pacey and Joey start spending more time together and become…friends?? And then…more?? The song — like their relationship — suggests how timing is everything and that sometimes the universe has other plans for us…
Important Lines
“Time, curious time, gave me no compasses, gave me no signs were there clues I didn't see?”
“And isn't it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string, tying you to me?”
These lines feel very Joey season 3 coded. All throughout junior year, Pacey’s feelings for her develop as she mainly remains oblivious. That is until he has to spell it out for her and she finally wakes up. When Pacey reveals his feelings, Joey eventually reciprocates (unlike in season 1), realizing she had been falling for him this whole time.
“Time, mystical time, cuttin' me open, then healin' me fine.”
This line is emblematic of every heartbreak on this show which typically involves a tragic falling out and then the inevitable healing and getting back together.
Pacey and Joey hurt each other at the end of s4 but ultimately remain friends and then get back together.
“A string that pulled me out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons.”
“One single thread of gold tied me to you.”
Both Pacey and Joey had to experience a handful of problematic relationships before they could find their way back to each other.
Some were worse than others…bonus points if you can guess my least fave pairing for each of them…
“Cold was the steel of my axe to grind for the boys who broke my heart.”
“Now I send their babies presents.”
I had to include this line solely for the moment when Joey gifts Dawson a book of drawings for his baby sister…
“Time, wondrous time gave me the blues and then purple pink skies and isn’t it just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string tying you to me?
Okay so maybe I quoted most of this entire song…I’m okay…it’s fine…
The point is they are the show’s OTP AND endgame so we can all sleep well at night <333
“Betty”
Guys, we have finally arrived at the song that was the inspiration for this entire piece. Not to be dramatic but this is IT. The moment we’ve all been waiting for. The triangle that is Joey/Pacey/Dawson takes many forms over the course of six seasons. This song Betty, is told from the perspective of a 17-year-old boy named James apologizing to his love interest for cheating on her over the summer and begging to be taken back.
Like every song on this album, the lyrics are filled with depth and nuance and could inspire several interpretations. In my mind, the story of Betty could relate to a few key events from the show: Pacey showing up on Joey’s doorstep (or Dawson’s) to let his feelings be known, or every time Dawson came back to Joey asking her to take him back. I think of the months after Joey and Pacey broke up, him dating and sleeping around and yet clearly still pining after her. The list of emotional moments is endless and isn’t that fun???
Now hear me out, if Joey is Betty (at least in this song), let’s think from her POV for a second. The song “Cardigan” where she sings about a love that is familiar and comfortable but ultimately imperfect. AKA Dawson…Peter losing Wendy. Now this is where it get’s a bit complicated…I think “Cardigan” is about both Pacey and Dawson but at different points in time.
In Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions Taylor let’s us know that Betty in fact does end up with James. However, “Cardigan” seems to put distance between them. This could means two things: Taylor is a Dawson/Joey shipper and wants them to be endgame. OR (my preference), the characters do not neatly fit into the assigned roles of Betty, Augustine and James but instead each embody all of these characters at some point in the show.
Important Lines
“But if I just showed up at your party, would you have me? Would you want me? Would you tell me to go fuck myself? Or lead me to the garden?”
The opening lines to the chorus remind me of a few DC moments. If Betty is Joey and Dawson is James, then I think about Dawson/Joey in season 6 when they finally sleep together and Joey learns Dawson had a girlfriend over the summer (who he was technically still with) he neglected to tell her about. Or earlier in the show, when Joey and Pacey ride off on the boat and Dawson was home all summer thinking about her.
However, if we look a bit closer, there are many Joey/Pacey - isms in this song to consider. One moment comes to mind, specifically at the end of season 4 after pjo have broken up. Joey (literally) show’s up on Pacey’s doorstep…
Pacey: “I miss you Jo.”
Joey: “I miss you too.”
OK…now this is where it get’s interesting…PAY ATTENTION:
“Betty, I know where it all went wrong, your favorite song was playin’ from the far side of the gym.”
“I was nowhere to be found I hate the crowds, you know that, plus, I saw you dance with him.”
Following the doorstep the scene I just mentioned, the NEXT LINES are as follows…
Pacey: “I’ve been replaying everything that happened at that stupid prom, it wasn’t supposed to end like that.”
So what happens at this prom exactly? I’ll tell you: JOEY DANCED WITH DAWSON. And Pacey watches them. But then again, there is a moment in season 3 when Joey dances with Pacey and Dawson watches them so…
“I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anythin’ but I know I miss you.”
This line feels VERY Dawson coded to me. No explanation needed.
“The worst thing that I ever did, was what I did to you.”
Then again, this one feels VERY Pacey…
“Slept next to her, but I dreamt of you all summer long.”
And this feels like both of them in every other relationship that isn’t with Joey…
“Betty, I’m here on your doorstep and I planned it out for weeks now but it’s finally sinkin’ in.”
“Betty, right now is the last time I can dream about what happens when you see my face again. The only thing I wanna do is make it up to you…”
Again, this feels very Dawson OR Pacey to me. The amount of times on this show that either of them shows up on her doorstep is endless…they also both have much to atone for…
So who wins??? Who is James????????? Because in August, it feels like James could actually be Joey and Pacey is Augustine. I’m also realizing in this exact moment that James very well could be a nod to the actor who plays Dawson, so maybe everything in favour of Pacey is a complete wash. But…I still think the truth is that there really isn’t one answer. What we DO have is the end of this song. I (think) we at least have some clues provided and so my head cannon is that in this particular song, Pacey is James. Let’s get into it:
“Yeah, I showed up at your party will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends?”
“If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it? Will it patch your broken wings?”
“Standin' in your cardigan kissin' in my car again. Stopped at a streetlight, you know I miss you.”
The Clues IMO
The porch mentioned here could be referring to the scene when Dawson finds out about Joey and Pacey secretly hooking up on his front porch.
Wondering if love simply can mend a broken heart or fix the past resembles Joey and Pacey’s dynamic near the end of the show. He knows how he feels about her, but isn’t sure if that’s enough for them to work out.
Joey and Pacey are kind of famous for car scenes (they have many) and one does in fact involve kissing and a cardigan so…I rest my case...again.
“Peace”
“Peace” is one of my personal favourite songs on this album and maybe a top Taylor song of all time. It’s so simple in it’s message, yet incredibly insightful and hits you hard. One of the themes of this album is the complexity of loving, being loved and accepting that you could be worthy of love. I think these ideas similarly exist in Dawson’s Creek, and it’s overal emphasis on growing up. The show explores romantic love, platonic love, familial love and a million other complex human emotions that are never black and white.
“Peace” comes at the end of the album and truly feels like it contains the emotional growth of a group of young people who have experienced love, loss and are now entering the even more tortured realm of adulthood. If I had to associate two characters with this song, they would be Pacey and Joey. For one, Joey has never been able to provide Pacey with peace in their teen relationship because of the threat of Dawson always looming over them. Additionally, Pacey feels broken by circumstance and his own issues and therefore sabotages aspects of his relationship with Joey at different points in the show. He cannot give her or himself the peace and maturity that comes with healing emotional wounds.
Then again, this song could also be about Dawson and Joey and how their doomed love is destined to torture them for eternity. there is also a level of maturity and acceptance in this song that proposes how obtaining “peace” might not be that simple and ultimately not the most important factor in the end.
Important Lines
“Our coming of age has come and gone. Suddenly this summer it’s clear.”
“And it’s just around the corner darling because it lives in me, no I could never give you peace.”
These lines feel reminiscent of the end of season 4 towards Joey and Pacey’s breakup. Whereas the previous summer resulted in them professing their feelings for each other and riding off together, this summer they realize maybe they are not meant to be and end up parting ways.
Pacey especially realizes his destructive behaviour may be hurting Joey and decides she deserves better than him despite her protests.
“But I’m a fire and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm, if you cascade ocean wave blues come.”
“The devils in the details but you’ve got a friend in me.”
After breaking up, Joey and Pacey both acknowledge they love each other and may meet again one day. They also remain friends throughout the next few years before they eventually find their way back. Even so, he is always there for her as a friend despite not being together.
“Your integrity makes me seem small, you paint dreamscapes on the wall.”
Paint on the wall??… (iykyk)
“And you know that I'd swing with you for the fences, sit with you in the trenches.”
“I’d give you my sunshine, give you my best but the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me.”
Maybe the most Pacey coded lines of this whole album. Our tragic hero.
“Hoax”
Hoax is another track that happens to be one of my favourites and maybe the most complex song on Folklore. In the Long Pond Studio Sessions, Taylor revealed how it isn’t strictly about one specific person, but instead serves as a kind of thesis of the album, exploring the intertwining emotions of doubt, love and betrayal. Like “Betty,” I don’t think this song neatly captures any one character or relationship in the show, yet it’s meaning is relevant and thematically prominent in several storylines.
Dawson is categorized by his optimism and heart throughout the show, while Joey remains more cynical and less hopeful for the future. I think these lyrics could fit them nicely, as Dawson’s constantly drawn to Joey despite her loving someone else. The song is also about two people who clearly love each other but also hurt each other deeply. Alternatively, the song could apply to Joey being in love with Dawson earlier in the show, while he openly pines over someone else.
Important Lines
“My only one. My smoking gun. My eclipsed sun, this has broken me down.”
The narrator of the song (Betty?) starts by introducing her love, the “only one” or the person she consider as her soulmate. This could also connect back to the first track on Folklore “The One,” who we know isn’t actually the one.
The “smoking gun” refers to a weapon which has already been fired. Dawson and Joey’s relationship could have been the shot: powerful, intense and bright at the start, but now it’s just the smoke that remains. The “eclipsed sun,” is no longer burning, or, what the narrator thought would last forever is now over.
“My twisted knife. My sleepless night. My win-less fight.”
Now, this line feels like it’s more from Dawson’s POV than Joey’s. A “twisted knife” feels like a kind of betrayal (her choosing Pacey). But especially a “winless fight” meaning no matter how much they try and repair their relationship, it’s a fight they can’t win.
This feels especially Joey/Dawson s6 to me. After they sleep together, they think they are finally ready for a serious relationship, only to break up in the next episode. They also discuss how no matter how many times they try and get it right, something always seems to get in the way.
“Your faithless love’s the only hoax I believe in.”
“Don't want no other shade of blue but you, no other sadness in the world would do.”
The second lyric feels like it’s directly referencing similar phrasing in other Taylor songs including “Paper Rings” where she says “I’m with you even if it makes me blue.” Meaning, the narrator wants to be with this person even if they will always make them unhappy. The “Paper Rings” connection is interesting to me mainly because Joey and Dawson were supposed to be endgame (like a married couple)…until they weren’t.
While “Paper Rings” feels very like a younger Dawson/Joey who were rooted in the potential of their life long friendship - turned soul mates, the lines in Hoax feel more complex in the reality of them as adults. That what binds them for life romantically is their dysfunction, which they both choose to experience again and again over the alternative: aka letting each other go.
“My best laid plan, your sleight of hand. My barren land, I am ash from your fire.”
“My best laid plan” feels self aware in that it speaks to Joey’s pining after Dawson and the show’s own plotting to get them together.
Then, “your slight of hand” is the deception into which she fell, as he made her think they were endgame. This feels very s6 Joey/Dawson after they sleep together and she finds out about his Hollywood girlfriend. Their fight after the fact mainly focuses on Dawson insisting their night together was meaningful, while Joey blames him for misleading her.
In Taylor’s song loml, she states, “our field of dreams, engulfed in fire, your arson match your somber eyes.” This directly parallels “my barren land” where a field (the relationship) that could grow so many things has been burned (beyond repair). This reminds me of Joey and Dawson’s s2 breakup which directly follows her restaurant literally burning down, symbolizing the destruction of the relationship.
loml is first meant as “love of my life” which then becomes “loss of my life” later in the song. That parallel to these lyrics feel very Joey and Dawson to me — ie, two platonic soulmates who at first think they must be the love of each other’s life, only to find that they do not belong together.
“You know I left a part of me back in New York. You knew the hero died, so what's the movie for?”
If you haven’t caught on by now, any mention of movies is immediately Dawson coded, I don’t make the rules!
“You knew it still hurts underneath my scars from when they pulled me apart but what you did was just as dark.”
“My only one my, kingdom come undone.”
Finally, these lines feel very Joey to me. She has her own trauma and equates Dawson’s betrayal of her as another form of abandonment. She also considers him (and his home and bedroom literally), as a second home. So when they break up, her “one kingdom” has come undone. Movie nights stop and everything that once felt safe and secure is gone.
“The Lakes”
We’ve finally arrived at the end! To anyone still reading, I’m genuinely impressed. (Comment your fave song on Folklore if you made it this far)…
“The Lakes” is ANOTHER one of my all time favourite song’s on this album and Taylor songs in general. It just feels so special and intimate, perfect for the creative girls and eldest daughters (guilty) who “Hate it Here” (The Lakes’ unofficial sister song). In relation to DC, I think this song serves as a kind of a love letter to all the outcasts, which is truly what this show is about. In some ways, we are all on the outside, looking through a metaphorical window into other peoples lives.
Dawson lives in fantasy, in his big, crazy dreams and fictional movie worlds. His friends are his muse, and are also what tie him to reality. Ultimately, the show explores the idealism of youth versus the conformity and harsher realities of adulthood including grief and loss as a right of passage. This song feels like it’s a goodbye to so many things: people who have gone, aspects of ourselves that have changed, and of course, to childhood.
Important Lines
“I’m not cut out for all these cynical clones, these hunters with cell phones.”
When I think of the end of Dawson’s Creek, I mainly am reminded just how far the characters have come in six years. The last season especially focuses on these teens being thrust into adulthood, having to deal for the first time with the real world…
This line feels especially akin to Dawson and Pacey’s respective arcs. Dawson finds himself living the Hollywood dream, only to realize the industry is not what he thought, and not all filmmakers have the intention of creating art.
Similarly, Pacey finds he’s good at a job and making money for the first time, only to realize he has lost himself in the process. When he loses it all, he’s able to more clearly see how far removed he has become from the kind of person he wants to be.
“Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die, I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you.”
This feels like a reference to everyone on the show. “The Lakes” being a symbolic land of youth and idealism, where dreamers are safe and able to be themselves without judgement from the outside world.
“I’ve come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze tell me what are my words worth.”
This line is reminiscent of Dawson and Joey’s respective s6 arcs. Joey has to deal with a critical school environment, while Dawson pitches a movie to a studio only to have them ignore and reject him.
“My calamitous love and insurmountable grief.”
Finally, the two most significant themes in the show, love and grief. By the end of DC, we understand that you cannot have one without the other. That losing someone or letting them go might be the greatest thing you for the one you love. And that ultimately, loss is part of growing up. But with this loss comes the knowledge that you have loved deeply and truly.
And that’s it! DC truly is the love triangle blueprint. Fun fact, the T in Taylor stands for (love) triangle. Also, The Summer I Turn Pretty definitely took inspiration from this show and Taylor happens to be connected to that one too…all I have to say is: her mind!!!
Thank you all for reading this very long and detailed analysis. What are your thoughts? Did I miss anything?? Should I do something like this again? Let me know! Until then, see you all in the next one xx
If you made it this far, thank you!
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