Why “Anti-Hero” Is a Better Conservative Anthem Than “Rich Men North of Richmond”

Taylor Swift tackles personal responsibility; Oliver Anthony blames everyone else

There is an odd symmetry to these two songs, which begins with their opening salvos:

While pop star Taylor Swift’s depression figuratively “works the graveyard shift,” country crooner Oliver Anthony has literally been “workin’ all day / Overtime hours for bullshit pay.”

Both artists go on to bemoan the existential dread that comes with sitting alone, at home, left to their own devices.

One gets the strong sense that neither Swift nor Anthony is particularly happy with the way their lives have turned out — albeit for very different reasons.

While the former’s fear of abandonment leads to her waking up “screaming from dreaming” that one day she’ll watch as her partner is leaving, the latter wishes he “could just wake up” from the shameful nightmare that is the modern world.

Yes, these surface-level lyrical similarities are intriguing but what I find even more interesting is what happens in the choruses of these respective tunes:

Swift turns inward, boldly declaring herself the problem.