Taylor Swift made a surprise return with her latest album, folklore, a self-described collection of songs and stories written from the perspective of “people I’ve never met.” One example is the third track, “the last great american dynasty,” in which Swift gives a brief history lesson about Standard Oil heiress Rebekah Harkness.
As Genius contributor KennyTogs points out, Swift bought a Rhode Island mansion in 2015 that was once owned by Harkness. In October 1947, the St. Louis native married Standard Oil heir William Harkness and they moved into a home that they called “Holiday House.” Swift sings about their wedding on the first verse:
Bill was the heir to the Standard Oil name and money
And the town said, ‘How did a middle-class divorcée do it?’
The wedding was charming, if a little gauche
There’s only so far new money goes
They picked out a home and called it ‘Holiday House’
Their parties were tasteful, if a little loud
Similar to Swift’s 2015-era squad, Harkness had a “B-tch Pack” of friends that she would fly in for parties at the mansion:
Flew in all her B-tch Pack friends from the city
Filled the pool with champagne and swam with the big names
As Genius contributor 401kitty points out, the second line calls back to 2017’s “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things," in which Taylor sings about her own parties:
It was so nice throwing big parties
Jump into the pool from the balcony
Everyone swimming in a champagne sea
Swift continues “the last great american dynasty” by referencing Harkness' patronage for the arts. Genius contributor ilndy breaks it down:
“the last great american dynasty” is produced and co-written by Aaron Dessner of the indie rock band The National. Dessner contributed to 11 songs on the album.
Learn more about the life of Rebekah Harkness in The New York Times, and read all the lyrics to Taylor Swift’s “the last great american dynasty” on Genius now.
