Karma (Sofie's Version)
Karma (Sofie's Version)
Tzu Ching Huang Sofie
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Karma (A Presentation)Karma by Taylor Swift
You're talking shit for the hell of it
Addicted to betrayal, but you're relevant
You're terrified to look down
'Cause if you dare, you'll see the glare
Of everyone you burned just to get there
It's coming back around
Karma by Sofie Huang
You're talking shit for the hell of it
Addicted to creating suffering for others
You're terrified to look down
'Cause if you dare, you'll see the glare
Of everyone you burned just to get there
It's coming back around (at some point that you’re not aware of)
[Pre-Chorus, Taylor]
And I keep my side of the street clean
You wouldn't know what I mean
[Pre-Chorus, Sofie]
And I keep my side of the street clean
It doesn’t matter because fate is mean.
[Chorus, Taylor]
'Cause karma is my boyfriend
Karma is a god
Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend
Karma's a relaxing thought
Aren't you envious that for you it's not?
Sweet like honey, karma is a cat
Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me
Flexing like a goddamn acrobat
Me and karma vibe like that
[Chorus, Sofie]
Cause karma is an effect
Karma does not care
Karma is uncontrolled by God and goes unchecked
Karma’s normally unfair
Aren’t you realizing suffering isn’t rare?
Natural like water, karma is a fish
Swimming in a pond ‘cause its instinctive
Jumping out like it might be a dish
Karma doesn’t grant my wish
[Verse 2, Taylor]
Spiderboy, king of thieves
Weave your little webs of opacity
My pennies made your crown
Trick me once, trick me twice
Don't you know that cash ain't the only price?
It's coming back around
[Verse 2, Sofie]
Spiderboy, king of thieves
Weave your little webs of suffering
My pennies made your crown
Wicked deeds unfold, to be precise
Don't you know that cash ain't the only price?
It's coming back around (at some point that you’re not aware of)
[Pre-Chorus, Taylor]
And I keep my side of the street clean
You wouldn't know what I mean
[Pre-Chorus, Sofie]
And I keep my side of the street clean
It doesn’t matter because fate is mean.
[Chorus, Taylor]
'Cause karma is my boyfriend
Karma is a god
Karma is the breeze in my hair on the weekend
Karma's a relaxing thought
Aren't you envious that for you it's not?
Sweet like honey, karma is a cat
Purring in my lap 'cause it loves me
Flexing like a goddamn acrobat
Me and karma vibe like that
[Chorus, Sofie]
Cause karma is an effect
Karma does not care
Karma is uncontrolled by God and goes unchecked
Karma’s normally unfair
Aren’t you realizing suffering isn’t rare?
Natural like water, karma is a fish
Swimming in a pond ‘cause its instinctive
Jumping out like it might be a dish
Karma doesn’t grant my wish
[Bridge, Taylor]
Ask me what I learned from all those years
Ask me what I earned from all those tears
Ask me why so many fade, but I'm still here
(I'm still here, I'm still here)
[Bridge, Sofie]
Ask me how I stop my deepest fears
Ask me how I hop to better years
Ask me why so many suffer, but I can fade my tears
(I’m unattaching from desire)
[Breakdown, Taylor]
'Cause karma is the thunder
Rattling your ground
Karma's on your scent like a bounty hunter
Karma's gonna track you down
Step by step, from town to town
Sweet like justice, karma is a queen
Karma takes all my friends to the summit
Karma is the guy on the screen
Coming straight home to me
[Breakdown, Sofie]
‘Cause karma is the thunder
Rattling your ground
Karma’s not responsible for your blunders
Karma’s not what’s getting you down
Life by life, from frown to frown
Sad like injustice, karma lets suffering
None blame me for stealing sheep
Karma makes suffering smothering
Sheep-stealing comes home to me
Artist's Statement
Artist's Statement
I am exploring the Buddhist concept of karma through my analytical presentation, breakdown, and rewrite of Taylor Swift’s song Karma. Towards the beginning of the piece, I am focused on the Western lens that Swift takes in her song and her meaning of the term karma, which she largely relates to her well-known public conflicts with Kanye West and Scooter Braun. She takes the stance that the people who have wronged her has achieved their karmic retribution, through divorce, bankruptcy, etc. However, this is not an accurate portrayal of the Buddhist version of karma, which is more so related to the suffering you inflict that follows you into your next lives in a cause and effect sort of way. I outline Amber Carpenter’s argument in Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? to provide a framework of analysis for analyzing Swift’s song.
The following slides include a close look at verse 1, the chorus, the bridge, and the breakdown. I removed the second verse because my analysis of it was largely the same as it was for the first verse and found it redundant. In the rest I analyze parts of her song, including her attachment to retribution and justice, which recurs throughout the piece. Swift also wrongly assumes that karma brings happiness, such as in the chorus, when she says karma is her boyfriend and karma is her cat. This framing is inaccurate, as the Buddhist philosophical framework emphasizes only the absence of suffering by attaining nirvāṇa, rather than presenting happiness as a reward. Swift also makes errors in more philosophical arguments of karma, such as saying karma is a God and karma is sweet like justice, both of which are not true in Carpenter’s view.
Following my analysis, I provide an edit of the song, including an entirely new chorus and breakdown, while slightly tweaking the the first and second verse to focus on the Buddhist concepts of suffering. This presentation and song would best be done live (unfortunately), so feel free to ask me to sing it live for you. I am not a world-class singer, but I can get the words out. Some lyrical highlights include: “Karma doesn’t grant my wish”, “No one blames me for stealing sheep,” and “The sheep-stealing comes home to me.” Please note that I am not a world-class song-writer, but hopefully I conveyed the concepts of Carpenter through this work.
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