I don’t know if Taylor Swift writes her own songs or is just a pretty face with autotune, but the lyrics often have a certain “tay tay” quality, which makes me think she either writes, greatly contributes, or whoever writes her songs can, Pessoa-like, create a distinct Tay Tay persona.
The lyrics please me:
Sleep in half the day just for old times’ sake I won’t ask you to wait if you don’t ask me to stay So I’ll go back to L.A. and the so-called friends Who’ll write books about me if I ever make it And wonder about the only soul Who can tell which smiles I’m fakin’ And the heart I know I’m breakin’ is my own To leave the warmest bed I’ve ever known We could call it even Even though I’m leaving And I’ll be yours for the weekend ’Tis the damn season
I’m discovering the hidden depths of Taylor Swift these days. Many of her songs have the propulsive fun & bittersweet delight of my favourite 80s songs. She has excellent songwriters, as demonstrated when Ryan Adams covered her album 1989. Here, for example, is ‘Style’:
Midnight, You come and pick me up, no headlights Long drive, Could end in burning flames or paradise Fade into view, oh, it’s been a while since I have even heard from you
I should just tell you to leave ’cause I Know exactly where it leads but I Watch us go ’round and ’round each time
You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye And I got that red lip classic thing that you like And when we go crashing down, we come back every time ‘Cause we never go out of style We never go out of style
You got that long hair, slicked back, white t-shirt And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt And when we go crashing down, we come back every time ‘Cause we never go out of style We never go out of style.
So it goes He can’t keep his wild eyes on the road Takes me home Lights are off, he’s taking off his coat, hmm, yeah. I say, “I heard, oh, that you’ve been out and about with some other girl, some other girl.”
He says, “What you’ve heard is true but I Can’t stop thinking about you,” and I… I said, “I’ve been there, too, a few times.”
and then Ryan Adams’ cover, changing the “James Dean daydream look” line to:
You’ve got that Daydream Nation look in your eye I got that pent up love thing that you like
A pleasing reference to Sonic Youth’s 1988 album Daydream Nation. I would have liked to have heard Erasure, The Pet Shop Boys, or Eurythmics cover 1989. In the meantime, you can consider Murdoch Murdoch’s tribute to Tay Tay.
Remainders 