Who was Clara Bow? The original ‘it girl’ who inspired Taylor Swift’s new song

Taylor Swift’s latest album has been out for less than a day – but fans and critics are already decoding the meaning of her somewhat cryptic lyrics.

The pop icon gigantic project, The Tortured Poets Department, ended up being a secret double albumwith the first part ending with a track simply titled Clara Bow.

Unless you’re a Hollywood history buff, the reference may have been lost on you.

So here’s what you need to know about Bow and more on how Swift referenced her and the possible reasons.

The original “it girl”

American actress Clara Bow was one of the most successful film stars of the silent film era and became the original “It girl” after starring in the hit 1927 film, It.

And while her profession doesn’t match Swift’s, there are clear parallels when it comes to the trajectory of her career and the attention that followed.

Born in 1905, Bow grew accustomed to extraordinary fame as a young woman, and as a result her romantic life was exposed to the public.

Learn more:
Dismantle the Department of Tortured Poets
The hidden meanings and people Swift appears to be referring to

She was regularly linked to a number of leading men and was often a source of gossip and speculation for the public.

Perhaps that’s where the similarities end, as well as the fact that the actress is having a hard time adjusting to being seen as a sex symbol.

It was rumored that Bow’s career collapsed because his thick Brooklyn accent was undesirable for talkies.

However, Swift has dominated her field since she was a teenager, and the now 34-year-old’s career shows no signs of stagnating.

Bow, according to reports from the 1940s, later attempted suicide and was sent to an asylum.

The actress died of a heart attack at the age of 60 in 1965, according to the New York Times.

What could the song mean?

It begins with the following verse:

You look like Clara Bow from this…remarkable angle

All your life, did you know

Would you be picked like a rose?

And the song ends with a similar verse, but this time Bow’s name is replaced with his own:

You look like Taylor Swift from this angle

We love it

You have an advantage she never had

The future is bright… dazzling.

Of course, all songs are up to interpretation. But it’s certainly interesting to see Swift take the name of the “it girl” from nearly 100 years ago and, at the end of the song, replace it with her own.

Bow’s industry ultimately forced her to pass the torch, and it seems Swift has no illusions that at some point (although it seems quite distant) she will be forced to do the same – and her successor could even have “the edge she never had”.

Our arts and entertainment reporter Bethany Minelle gives us her take on Swift’s lyrics:

“She gives us a personal analysis that both addresses the fickleness of the music industry and pokes fun at her own ever-growing success.

“We hear a young aspiring girl being congratulated by ‘suits in LA’, saying, ‘You look like Taylor Swift from this angle, we love it. You have an edge she never had.’

“Always looking to the future, to her next era, perhaps when her ‘girl sparkle shines’, Swift, now in her thirties, is always one step ahead of the industry which it currently dominates.

“As she tells us: ‘The future is bright… Dazzling’.”