This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at TAMU chapter.
TAYLOR SWIFT SONGS TO LISTEN TO THIS SPRING BREAK ON YOUR DRIVE HOME.
Hello everyone. It is me again with a new article for the Taylor Swift series. This time I will be talking about my favorite songs from Fearless. Let’s begin!
FEARLESS
-Fearless, Taylor Swift’s second studio album, was released on November 11, 2008. This album was so successful that it allowed Taylor, who was only 18 years old, to become the youngest artist with a best-selling album in history. To this day, just in the U.S, Fearless has sold more than 7 million copies and become multi-platinum in 6 other countries. In fact, many people have recognized Fearless as the best of Taylor’s albums.
-Love Story
- Ok, ok… I must admit that this is one of my absolute favorite songs not only by Taylor Swift but in general. So, I promise I will be as unbiased as I can…Ugh… how can I even begin to describe this masterpiece? I mean… it is technically based on Romeo and Juliet, just one of the most tragic love stories in history! In an interview, Taylor confessed writing this song after having a fight with her parents about a boy that she loved but they did not like, which makes the song even more special altogether. Who has not experienced this? Who has not argued with others to defend a special person? Who has not fought for and on behalf of impossible love? This song narrates the story of two lovers who have to face the discontent of their families to be together. They are aware of the obstacles, yet they also know that their willingness to care for each other’s hearts is stronger than anything. In the video, Juliet, played by Taylor Swift, tells her Romeo that “their love is difficult, but it is real,” encouraging him to not give up, for she refuses to let their story tragically fade away like the original, by Shakespeare, did. In the end, their love conquers; Romeo goes looking for her Juliet, who had been waiting patiently for him, “he knees to the ground, pulls up a ring” and asks her to marry him. Everything about this song is perfect. It is, in a way, a hymn of love. It shows you that one is never too young to experience this amazing feeling, after all, Life is a Love Story, so Baby just Say YES!.
-The Best Day
- This song means a lot to me, and I am sure that after you listen to it, all you’ll want to do it hug your mom and/or dad as tightly as you possibly can. Taylor Swift has always expressed the strong connection she has with her mother, Andrea Swift. In fact, in her newest documentary, Miss Americana, Taylor says that Andrea is her favorite person in the world, and it is possible to observe her mother supporting her all throughout the hardships displayed in the film. Her love towards her, however, is nowhere more evident than in the lyrics of this song. At the beginning of “The Best Day,” Taylor describes how even when she was only five years old and did not know as little as “why all the trees change in the fall,” she had no doubt that her mother was the bravest human being of all. Later in the song, Taylor opens her heart even more and talks about the many times that her school friends were cruel to her. She mentions that she would come crying and that her mother would hold her tight, take the keys, and drive away with her until she forgot “all their names.” And that, suddenly, it did not matter if the next day she did not have someone to talk to at school, for having her mother was enough to turn any bad day into “The Best Day.” Throughout the rest of the song, Taylor describes her mother as the light that always shines over her in the darkest days and says that even now that she knows so much more about life, her mother is and always will be the person that she looks up to. As a college student who lives away from her parents, this song touches me emotionally in so many ways. I have listened to the lyrics a million times, and I confess that I still cry to them. I believe that many times we forget to tell our parents how much they mean to us, and how thankful we are for all their sacrifices… so, after you finish reading this article, I encourage all of us to take a chance to say that we have had the Best Days with them these years.
-The Way I Loved You
- Have you ever loved someone that you lost so much that their memory haunts you even when it should not? Then this song is for you. “The Way I loved You” talks about the inner battle that someone experiences when they start a new relationship but have not completely moved on from their previous one. In the song, Taylor explains how even when this new person is described by everyone as “perfect”, you cannot fool your heart. If you are still in love with someone else, that is not going to change just because you start dating someone everyone else loves. In the end, it will only hurt both of you because your heart will inevitably start comparing every new experience that you have with them to those you had before, thus making peace and closure harder to find. Taylor describes this as a “roller-coaster kinda rush” where you are just breaking down and coming undone, which is not healthy for anyone. Therefore, the message of this song is to take time to heal after a relationship, embrace all your feelings, even when they might be painful so that your heart and mind are clear when you move on.
-You Belong with Me
- Have you ever loved someone in secret, wishing to tell them how much they mean to you but were too afraid of their response? Then drop everything you are doing and play this song to the loudest your phone can. In this song, Taylor talks about having a crush on a guy that she has known for a long time. They are good friends, so she has decided to keep her love in secret. She is also afraid of rejection, for her impossible love is already in a relationship with someone that, far from making him happy, has only brought him down, destroying that “smile that could light up the whole town.” This girl is the opposite of what Taylor is; she is a cheer captain, while Taylor is on the bleachers. She “wears short skirts, while Taylor wears t-shirts. These differences make Taylor feel insecure and afraid of “not being good enough.” (QUICK REMINDER: WE ARE ALL MORE THAN GOOD ENOUGH!). But Taylor knows she has something to give that no one else does: Love and attention. In the lyrics, she describes how she does not only like the boy for his appearance, but rather she has taken the time to appreciate all the special things that make him HIM: his favorite songs, and his dreams. She makes him laugh when he is about to cry. This is what true love is about. This song reminds us that beauty is found within, that a person’s appearance is not reflective of their heart, that popularity does not make you superior, nor the way you dress makes you inferior. That we all have a chance at love, and most importantly, that WE ARE ALL ENOUGH AND SPECIAL.
- Fun fact: In case you did not know, the girl with brown hair that the guy is dating in the video is also played by Taylor Swift.
This concludes the second article of the Taylor Swift series. I hope you have a great time listening and singing to these songs. Stay tuned for part three; I will be talking about Speak Know, which is my absolute favorite album.
May you all have a fun Spring Break!