Text: A Friend to All is a Friend to None

Context: Informant is a diehard Taylor Swift fan who can recognize and recite most of her discography. When asked if they knew any proverbs, informant immediately began thinking of certain lines they have heard in Swift’s music. Informant then recited, in a melodic fashion, “A friend to all is a friend to none,” from Swift’s song Cardigan. Informant describes that this proverb seems too old- fashioned to use in daily speech. However, they do describe the application of its message to daily life. Being a college student, Informant describes how this proverb allows them to understand and stay precautious of relationship dynamics at a large university. The informant describes that their choice to withhold certain information from certain people, being fearful they may tell it to others, it rooted in this proverb.

Analysis: I believe this proverb, and the specific interaction in which it was brought up, offers many insights into the modern distribution of folklore. Music, especially on a mass scale, has the ability to distribute messages to large groups. These folk groups are specific, however, as they are all listeners of the genre. It is also interesting to note that this proverb was recited in a manner very similar to how it was sung in the song. This preservation of oral- tradition may be unique to music, at least in terms of large scale distribution, as the audience canonizes this specific rendition. This proverb, and its non-melodic oicotypes, are likely to become more popular as technology advances because of the modern ease of spreading information. Especially within the youth populations, social media has become a primary means of forming and destroying relationships. As a people, we value trust. Social media has the ability to violate this trust at an unprecedented speed, allowing this proverb to be even more important now than it was in the past.