Tay-Tay the lament artist

We’ve been through a lot, but we made it. 7 interest rate rises. A summer of floods. An uptick in national unemployment. Even a Prime Ministerial Valentine’s Day proposal. But it’s finally here. It’s Tay-Tay week in Australia!

In just 10 days, Swift is performing before Aussie crowds totaling more than 600,000.

The diversity of her fanbase is unmatched. She’s as popular in Australia as she is in Mongolia and her fans span the generational spectrum. Prominent ‘swifties’ include the US Attorney General Merrick Garland, Oscar-winning actor Julia Roberts, Australian economists Shane Oliver and Greg Jericho, and even our newly engaged Prime Minister.

There’s an entire field of academic study analysing Swift’s cultural resonance. Perhaps some of it can be explained by her embrace of an ancient spiritual discipline that she has turned into an art form. Lament.

For Christians lament is a vulnerable expression of sorrow. It’s about being real about the storms that so frequently engulf us. There’s even an entire book of the Bible dedicated to it. Its opening verses don’t pull any punches: “This is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to restore my spirit.”

Many of Swift’s lyrics strike similar notes: “It takes everything in me just to get up each day…I want auroras and sad prose…The road not taken looks real good now.”

Lamenting defies the blind optimism of ‘She’ll be right!’ and the escapism of much of our entertainment today. Swift echoes many in the Bible who pour themselves out before reconstructing meaning through their suffering. In a world of perpetual storms and struggles, they remind us that it’s ok to be real with our pain. And then, to dance in the rain.

This column first appeared on Facebook.

Image credit: Paolo Villanueva, @itspaolopv.