Taylor Swift Wrote Coney Island Ft. The National About Steve Rogers And Bucky Barnes. In This Essay I

taylor swift wrote coney island ft. the national about steve rogers and bucky barnes. in this essay I will...

due to popular demand (i haven't even posted it yet) here is the essay:

"in for the long haul" is literally just a way of saying. like. 'until the end of the line.'

to me this means, 'you said until the end of the line (meaning, loosely, til death do us part), we aren't dead yet, so why are you leaving?'. this would refer to Steve leaving in endgame.

this lyric strikes me as a huge indicator of it being about stucky.

mainly because the place that makes up the title of the song (Coney Island) and the message of the song (reminiscing about past, untouchable, long-gone memories of going to the arcade or the fair) are both literally stucky canon. I don't know who Taylor could be writing about as although she could have obviously gone to Coney Island previously, or simply gone to brood alone, or even just used the fair as a metaphor for good times, it is SO SPECIFIC.

in my opinion, too specific not to be tailor-made (haha see what I did there) for captain america and the winter soldier

speaking of the winter soldier.....

the main themes in stucky's narrative, romantic or not, are loyalty, hope, and most commonly seen throughout their arcs, loss. both of them at some point in the narrative lose each other— the first not even being Bucky falling from the train, or even his first HYDRA kidnapping, but when he went to the frontlines and left Steve in Brooklyn. they've lost each other so many times that when Steve finally chooses to leave at the end of it all, it feels almost like they should've expected it. or, "over and over, lost again with no surprises."

(more of the times losing each other include: Bucky losing the smaller Steve after the serum, Steve losing 40s Bucky to HYDRA twice, Bucky losing and regaining Steve over and over and over again in his jumbled and erased memories, Steve losing Bucky in the blip, and finally, Bucky losing Steve to his past)

this stanza so perfectly represents that and might also be a nod to 'winter' as a season with a "colder and colder" OR a nod to Steve's time in the ice. maybe both!

this bit in the song, I've noticed, is partly sung first by the National, then by Taylor. I found this really interesting because to me the lyrics could be about either Bucky or Steve.

about Bucky: a lifetime of achievement being his life up until his 20s, arguably not a lot of time, but certainly enough to feel solidified in parts of your identity as someone who takes care of Steve Rogers. it then changes drastically to when years have passed and he's still in his 20s, except now he's worried that Steve has always wanted to abandon Post-Hydra Bucky but stayed out of obligation.

about Steve: a lifetime of achievement as 'not a perfect soldier, but a good man.' and 'I can do this all day' and even 'each one you buy is a bullet in the barrel of your best man's gun'. you get the gist. but the second lyric being about Pre-Serum Steve and how Bucky shouldn't have stuck around for him.

they make me real sad guys.

THESE. FUCKING. LYRICS.

I'm sorry, paradise being a future where Bucky is forgiven, with his best friend, with Wakanda. "will you forgive my soul when you're too wise to trust me and too old to care?' TOO OLD TO CARE????? TOOOOO OLDDDDD TO CAREEEEEE? I wonder who THAT could be about. yeah. #notmysteverogers

this part is also very similar to the stanza that mentions coney island— all these things are extremely situation-specific to stucky yet in an outside context still sounds vague enough to be Taylor's own experiences.

"we were like the mall before the internet" because they're old

"the mischief, the gift wrapped suburban dreams" because they're from the forties

"sorry for not winning you an arcade ring" because they were childhood best friends

AND NOW. THE BRIDGE.

this to me is SO Bucky talking to Steve after decoding the Winter Soldier— wondering just how long Steve has been without him. a universe away???? your bluest skies the darkest grey????????? guys. guys can you hear me.

okay. FINALLY. THIS LINE. THIS LINE RIGHT HERE.

I'm not crazy, right? Taylor Swift when I GET YOU what does when I got into the accident even mean. when. I. got. into. the. accident. the same one that gave you 20 stitches in a hospital room? or the one that got you that shiny metal arm. please answer quick.

I rest my case.

thank you for reading, if you've come this far I apologise.