Taylor Swift purchased Rebekah Harkness' former Rhode Island mansion — nicknamed the "Holiday House" — for about $17 million back in 2013, per Business Insider. According to the Washington Post, Harkness was a divorcée who married William Hale Harkness — the heir to the Standard Oil company — and was known for throwing extravagant parties. On "Last Great American Dynasty," the singer draws some surprising parallels between herself and Harkness, who Swift described as a "a misfit widow getting gleeful revenge on the town that cast her out."
Swift's lyrics also detail Harkness' antics including how she "filled the pool with champagne" and dyed her neighbor's pet "key lime green" all while having a "marvelous time ruining everything." But the most interesting part of the track is the bridge where Swift switches into the first person and makes it clear she doesn't care how others see her. "Holiday House sat quietly on that beach/ Free of women with madness, their men and bad habits/ And then it was bought by me," she sings, continuing in to the chorus, "There goes the loudest woman this town has ever seen/ I had a marvelous time ruining everything."
Ah! Swift's mind and songwriting skills never cease to amaze us.
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