If you’re like me then you cannot wait for the release of Taylor Swift’s rerecorded album to come out (it is being released tonight at midnight as I write this article). The second time around is different, unarguably different, then the version of her album first released in 2008. As we all know, in the 10 plus years, we have all grown from heartbreak, love or lack thereof, through emotional, physical, and mental development. Yet, I do not think anyone will ever be prepared for this.
I am confident when writing that every single individual can all remember the moment when we first heard our now favorite songs, whether it was a day filled with sunshine, rainbows, and utter happiness, or if it were similar to that of a sad music video with rain pouring, cloudy skies, and little to no positivity in that very moment. Time, place, and mental state are all factors in how songs resonate so deeply with us as individuals.
Back in 2008, I was 7. I can confidently say that my first listen of her song “Love Story” told the world-renowned story of star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet, and I can say without fail that my initial hearing of that song, up until high school, she told the truth behind the love story, and I was content with that.
To my pleasant surprise, or not so pleasant, it was a rude awakening to learn that that was not the case, in fact, her song was far from the real story. As we know, the Shakespearean tale goes, a boy and girl meet, fall in love, but cannot be together due to family differences and utter hate towards the other house, the lover’s resort in taking their lives in order to live with each other in some alternate lifeform, arguably heaven or something of the sorts, and the story ends with a funeral and that’s about it. The reason why I share this anecdote My 7-year-old mind believed in the love, the messiness of love, but ultimately, the happily ever after ending.
The reason why I share this anecdote with my readers is that it was a moment of realization for me, walking into high school, realizing that something I had believed in as a child was pretty much completely false. Ten years have passed since the release of her song “Love Story,” and I have been through the wringer with heartbreaks, holding Swift’s hand closely in mine, as she seems to know every in and out and emotion even if I do not quite understand it myself. So, this ended up being an ode to my favorite producer, writer, and human being ever, as I am constantly amazed with the work she puts out into the world, and how she has taken it upon herself to allow her listeners to grow up alongside her.