How “The Manuscript” Hands Off to The Fate of Ophelia | Taylor’s Hidden Key Change Connection

Ok, I could keep pointing harmony stuff out in this song, but 5 parts is enough I think:) Drop your questions in the comments, please! I could write a book about this stuff. Thank you for being here! xo brigid

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Welcome to Part 5 of my deep-dive into Taylor Swift’s “The Manuscript.”
This time, we’re connectWelcome to Part 5 of my deep-dive into Taylor Swift’s “The Manuscript.”
This time, we’re connecting the final chord of The Tortured Poets Department to the first chord of The Fate of Ophelia from Showgirl — and yes, the connection is intentional.
If you’ve been following the series, you already know that “The Manuscript” ends on an Fsus2 — a IV chord with no third, no resolution, and no sense of “home.”
It’s an opening, not a closing.
But here’s the wild part:
“The Fate of Ophelia” begins in the exact same tonal universe.
It lives in the key of F, and although the first chord you hear is G minor, that G minor is the ii chord in F — still “away,” still unresolved, still in motion.
So the final track of one album and the first track of the next share:
• the same harmonic neighborhood
• the same emotional direction
• the same refusal to “go home”
One song fades out.
The next sneaks in.
It’s not a conclusion — it’s a continuation.
A harmonic handoff.
You don’t need to know the theory words to feel it.
Your ear already understands that neither song begins or ends at home…
and that’s exactly the point.
“The Manuscript” begins in ambiguity.
It ends in release.
She can reread the manuscript,
but she doesn’t have to live inside its pages anymore.
Thanks for hanging out — and don’t forget to watch Parts 1–4 if you missed them.
More songwriter-level deep dives coming soon.ing the final chord of The Tortured Poets Department to the first chord of The Fate of Ophelia from Showgirl — and yes, the connection is intentional.
If you’ve been following the series, you already know that “The Manuscript” ends on an Fsus2 — a IV chord with no third, no resolution, and no sense of “home.”
It’s an opening, not a closing.
But here’s the wild part:
“The Fate of Ophelia” begins in the exact same tonal universe.
It lives in the key of F, and although the first chord you hear is G minor, that G minor is the ii chord in F — still “away,” still unresolved, still in motion.
So the final track of one album and the first track of the next share:
• the same harmonic neighborhood
• the same emotional direction
• the same refusal to “go home”
One song fades out.
The next sneaks in.
It’s not a conclusion — it’s a continuation.
A harmonic handoff.
You don’t need to know the theory words to feel it.
Your ear already understands that neither song begins or ends at home…
and that’s exactly the point.
“The Manuscript” begins in ambiguity.
It ends in release.
She can reread the manuscript,
but she doesn’t have to live inside its pages anymore.
Thanks for hanging out — and don’t forget to watch Parts 1–4 if you missed them.
More songwriter-level deep dives coming soon.