How Taylor Swift learned the blueprint of a songwriter

Although it is undeniable that Taylor Swift has influenced pop music, "haters gonna hate..." From her stunning back inventory to the public recovery of her lord accounts, the Grammy winning US craftsman has, at 32, accomplished an uncommon degree of achievement. Her songs have been compared to the acclaimed works of Beyoncé, Joni Mitchell, and Bob Dylan, all of whom are worlds apart. Furthermore, as she plans to deliver her tenth studio collection, Midnights, it appears to be like she's yet to arrive at the zenith of her songwriting ability.

What exactly does she do? She has shown that she can strike a balance between the universal and the hyperspecific since she started her career. Swift has an uncanny ability to portray the world's emotional angst through her own lens, whether it's in the intensely detailed, semi-biographical ballad "The Last Great American Dynasty" (about her unusual connection to the late heiress, composer, and poet Rebekah Harkness) or in the thinly veiled references to a fabled breakup call from her ex-boyfriend Joe Jonas in "Forever & Always."

Swift has revisited her favorite themes of love and heartbreak with a newfound sense of nuance as she has developed as an artist. We couldn't help but root for the adolescent innocence that was crystallized on the early albums Fearless and Speak Now. Then, Swift became more self-assured in asserting both her narrative and sound on her subsequent albums (Red, 1989, and Reputation). She became unafraid of disturbing the state of affairs and pundits, and messed with the job of the reprobate - especially in her cool, confident 6th studio collection Notoriety.

Lover, folklore, and evermore, her most recent three albums, set new standards. Her alt-pop experiments used lines from literary greats (Charlotte Bront in "Invisible String" and Emily Dickinson in "Ivy") and subtle nods to her personal life to evoke distant, isolated soundscapes.

Swift has been aware of the near-conspiracy theory level of online debate that her relationships have sparked throughout everything. On November 21, 2021, she whipped up a particularly frantic frenzy among her devoted followers, or Swifties. Half a month prior to, she'd declared the arrival of her recorded single "Really quite Well" from Red (Taylor's Variant). The original version of the song, which was included on Swift's 2012 album Red, was widely regarded as one of her greatest works and had already achieved near mythical status among fans. However, as the new, 10-minute version became available, Swift's fans discovered that she had added new lyrics and a new meaning to something that the majority of them believed they were familiar with: her relationship with Hollywood actor Jake Gyllenhaal, which was widely reported. But the creation of the world did not end there: Along with the song, Swift also released a short film starring Sadie Sink from Stranger Things and Dylan O'Brien from Teen Wolffame. She stated at the Toronto International Film Festival, "When I would write a song, I would immediately start thinking about how I want to present this on stage." How would it look if I made a music video for this? Swift's dedication as a songwriter is demonstrated by her evident delight in describing these tales in as much detail as possible.

Before her celebrity profile exploded, she was hard at work perfecting her signature writing style. Her first single, "Tim McGraw," was her biggest hit. It was a country-tinged love story set in the summer with Swift's early-age country twang. It was taken from Swift's self-titled debut album in 2006, and it was her first hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It also showed that she was becoming a better songwriter. Since then, many of her greatest hits have shown how well she can capture sprawling relationships and fleeting, loaded interactions. These include "Love Story" and "Fearless," both from her 2008 album Fearless, and "cardigan," which saw Swift's literary attachment to clothing metaphors resurface as the lead single for her surprise album folklore in 2020.

"Quick has a limit with respect to composing tunes and verses that are extremely prompt, that tap into widespread feelings and encounters, and that likewise play with her own public picture, in a way that makes this self-propagating circle of interest and examination of her music," musicologist and Turned On Pop host Nate Sloan lets me know over Zoom.

Consider Swift's maximalist comeback song, "Look What You Made Me Do," in which she slammed the critics, media, and rival celebrities who had hailed her 2016 public "downfall." She sang: "She switched from the romance of Romeo and Juliet to an epic of revenge in the style of Game of Thrones." But just in time, I got smarter and harder. Honey, I rose from the dead and do it all the time. I have a list of names, and yours is highlighted in red. Many people saw "Look What You Made Me Do" as Swift rewriting the story of her as a struggling pop star. However specific those lyrics were, no one can deny that they have longed for vengeance at some point.

The way Swift makes her listeners feel understood, particularly her young female audience, is largely responsible for Swift's songwriting success in the eyes of fans. According to Shahed Ezaydi, a fan and journalist, "Taylor Swift] has shaped my teenage and university years... I will always be grateful for her music and the power of her lyrics." I don't think many artists can write lyrics as well as Taylor does because she writes them as if she is talking directly to her fans.

"Easter eggs," in which familiar images or phrases appear in various songs and their music videos, are one way Swift accomplishes this. For writer Kitty Robson, this adds to Quick's approach to "moving" crowds into her universe: " It provides intimacy as well as a means of feeling so close to her and experiencing the emotions she is describing.

According to Sloan, Swift frequently opens with those universally felt emotions before focusing on her own. He explains, "The perspective opens up and narrows to this more specific, particular experience." It's extremely fulfilling in light of the fact that you get this entire worldwide viewpoint moving to a neighborhood one." Renforshort, a 20-year-old Canadian artist, has observed and been inspired by Swift's literary sensibility. The writing of Taylor Swift is undeniably exceptional. She tells me that it will always set her apart from other artists. Her capacity to be so open yet so wide [means the audience can] decipher yet comprehend what Taylor was expecting. That has given me a lot of ideas.