I Know Places

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of "I Know Places" from her 1989 album.

When I first heard this song I thought it was probably the least relatable song on the 1989 album. The whole concept of the song is the paparazzi and press are these vultures "circling", with cages, boxes and guns that take shots at her. "They are the hunters, we are the foxes".  Taylor has lived her life under the spotlight for years and her every move is tracked. This kind of life sounds crazy.  I can not imagine someone tracking my EVERY move, and twisting all the words I say. She is a pro at dealing with it, a pro.  In the Rolling Stone article form September 2014 she says, 'There's someone whose entire job it is to figure out things that I don't want the world to see. They look at your career, they look at what you prioritize, and they try to figure out what would be the most revealing or hurtful." I can't even imagine what that would be like.  I really can't believe there are people out there like that.  Why do they have to make her life harder?  She is a person too right?

Who is this song about?

Taylor Swift and Harry Styles in Central Park in December 2012, Taylor is wearing a foxes sweater...

Yes I tried to mislead you with the picture, this song is not about Harry Styles.  Taylor says in her song by song analysis.  "This is a song about how other people will really ruin a relationship if they get a chance to, and how it might be the best way to go about starting a relationship to keep it a secret as possible, just because it's very fragile. I think that this was a song that I wrote about sort of how covert it would have to be in order for me to ever make something work eventually."

Interestingly enough he wrote a song about Taylor in rebuttal to her album, "Perfect".  Click here for the meaning of that song.

In June 2015 she told Elle magazine, " 'I figured the way that they’d be able to relate to 'I Know Places' is like when you’re in high school and start dating someone and you really like him. And you go to your friends, 'Oh my God, I like this guy!' And they’re like, ‘Who?’ And you’re like, ‘Trevor.’ And they’re like, ‘Trevor’s, like, a weirdo emo kid, I heard his parents are swingers… Oh my God, why are you talking to Trevor? Trevor paints his nails with a Sharpie…’ And you’re like, ‘But I like Trevor.’ And then all of a sudden, people tell everybody, ‘Oh my God, Stacy likes Trevor! Oh my God, that’s so weird—maybe we shouldn’t hang out with Stacy anymore.’ It’s the same dichotomy of what happens to me when I’m like, ‘I like this guy.’ And they’re like, ‘Oh Taylor, no! Not him.’ I felt on some level we go through the same stupid social complexities. And I just knew that I’m not the only one who goes through that, that’s not unique to my situation. And I always wanted to write about foxes, to be honest. When I came up with that line—’They are the hunters, we are the foxes and we run’—I was just like, ‘This is going on the album no matter what. Foxes? Check.’ And they like that line, so I’m happy about that.’ "

After I read this quote I realated to this song more.  There was an instance in college where I liked a boy and I think he liked me too, but then his friends made fun of him and boom all of the sudden he was scared.  I can only imagine this is what happened with Harry Styles.  They were jetsetting around the world, Park City, New York City, LA, London, tropical vacations.  They were just in the spotlight too much and EVERYBODY recognized them and reported them.  Their every move was tracked.

Taylor took a very long time off dating, but I am SO GLAD that she decided to give dating a second chance, she looks so happy with Calvin Harris now.  They seem to be taking their relationship slower and more out of the spotlight, which is incredibly good for them.  Good luck Taylor and Calvin, I'm cheering for you and I hope you have found all the right places to get that fire burning strong!

Calvin is in the following picture, but guess where they are? Not in the public eye, but in her kitchen, building that strong connection away from the public eye!

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Clean

Today's Taylor Swift song is "Clean" from her 1989 album.

This song is interesting for me. To me I wish it would have been a bonus song and she would have ended the album with "New Romantics" instead and this would have been the last song of the entire album. New Romantics would have made a great juxtaposition to welcome to the New York. It's basically saying the same thing as clean. She's ready to move on, but it is just such a strong song. 

That said I think clean is a great song and it can apply to so many toxic relationships not just romantic ones. There's been times in my life when I've just had to say goodbye to a friend for me, because it was a bad friendship. And in the end I was clean of that person and ready to move on.

Who and what is this song about?

It's about Taylor and her being finally clean after her relationship with Harry Styles. It took her a long time to get over Harry, "months and months of back of forth." The song is full of metaphors, "a wine-stained dress [she] can't wear anymore" symbolizing how the stain he had left on her heart, "sky turned black like a perfect storm", a common metaphor describing feelings and emotions being black, and "Rain came pouring down", usually rain is a good thing for Taylor, but this time is was "drowning" her.  She let the "butterflies [turn] to dust", she let the emotions inside of her for him fade away, "I let the flood carry away/All my pictures of you," She let got of the pictures and good times she had swirling in her mind of him. She was "10 months sober", it was 10 months since they broke up, she says she will not get back with him, she's "never gonna risk it". She finally let the "flowers that we'd grown/Together [die] of thirst." The relationship is over she is not going to nurture that relationship anymore.  She's "finally clean" and over Harry.

Click here for lyrics to the song "Clean".

Taylor wrote "Clean" after her Red Tour in London finished, where Harry lives and she realized that she didn't need him anymore. She didn't need his texts and didn't need to see him. It is also fitting that at this time when she realized she was clean she also got a new haircut to symbolize her cleanliness. She tells Elle magazine on May 7, 2015.

" 'Shake It Off' and 'Clean' were the last two things we wrote for the record, so it shows you where I ended up mentally. 'Clean' I wrote as I was walking out of Liberty in London. Someone I used to date—it hit me that I'd been in the same city as him for two weeks and I hadn't thought about it. When it did hit me, it was like, Oh, I hope he's doing well. And nothing else. And you know how it is when you're going through heartbreak. A heartbroken person is unlike any other person. Their time moves at a completely different pace than ours. It's this mental, physical, emotional ache and feeling so conflicted. Nothing distracts you from it. Then time passes, and the more you live your life and create new habits, you get used to not having a text message every morning saying, "Hello, beautiful. Good morning." You get used to not calling someone at night to tell them how your day was. You replace these old habits with new habits, like texting your friends in a group chat all day and planning fun dinner parties and going out on adventures with your girlfriends, and then all of a sudden one day you're in London and you realize you've been in the same place as your ex for two weeks and you're fine. And you hope he's fine. The first thought that came to my mind was, I'm finally clean. I'd been in this media hailstorm of people having a very misconstrued perception of who I was. There were really insensitive jokes being made at awards shows by hosts; there were snarky headlines in the press—'Taylor Goes Through a Breakup: Well, That Was Swift!'—focusing on all the wrong things."

Taylor Swift February 12, 2014 sporting her new haircut, she's finally Clean.

Magazines are not the only Taylor is talking advice relating to "Clean", she also told a Swiftie on instagram on July 31, 2014, (This is pre 1989 album being released by the way.) 'Hey Caitlin, You are absolutely beautiful. Your pictures are so intriguing and I love your style. You seem so incredibly unique, In the words of one of my favorite Paramore songs, I hate to see your heart break. Honestly I wish it had never happened to you and I wish you could speed up time and all of a sudden see this pain in retrospect. We get used to things, don’t we? Waking up to a text every morning, falling asleep to a phone call, hearing someone’s name and lighting up. These are all habits we have to break when we lose someone and it’s NOT FAIR because it’s TERRIBLE and you are AWESOME. Time will break all of the old habits and create new ones for you, and in the process, you will try to handle this immense pain with dignity (because you’re that kind of girl). You actually will have to move on and you actually will be fine and that’s when he may actually miss how incredible and special you are. But whether or not that happens, I just want you to take one day at a time. You and I both know there’s got to be some greater storyline for you than 'girl gets heart broken, was sad forever'." Little did everyone know this advice was actually about her song clean.

I think it's so great she moved on and found her happiness. She's in a good place. I was worried too that she'd also sworn off dating, but she hasn't and now glad she's finally clean of those toxic people that made fun of her love life is not listening to them anymore and is loving life on her terms not theirs. I think it's great to move on from a past relationship, but also be clean enough to start a new one.

Taylor Swift and Calvin Harris on a date May 14, 2015

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Bad Blood Remix Lyrics

Bad Blood Remix feat. Kendrick Lamar Lyrics (Single)

[Chorus - Taylor Swift:]
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood
You know it used to be mad love
So take a look what you’ve done
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!
Now we’ve got problems
And I don’t think we can solve ‘em
You made a really deep cut
And baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!

[Verse 1 - Kendrick Lamar:]
I can’t take it back, look where I’m at
We was on D like DOC, remember that?
My TLC was quite OD, ID my facts
Now POV of you and me, similar Iraq
I don’t hate you but I hate to critique, overrate you
These beats of a dark heart, use basslines to replace you
Take time and erase you, love don’t hear no more
No I don’t fear no more, better yet respect ain’t quite sincere no more

[Pre-Chorus - Taylor Swift:]
Oh, it’s so sad to
Think about the good times
You and I

[Chorus - Taylor Swift:]
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood
You know it used to be mad love
So take a look what you’ve done
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!
Now we’ve got problems
And I don’t think we can solve ‘em
You made a really deep cut
And baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!

[Verse 2 - Kendrick Lamar:]
Remember when you tried to write me off?
Remember when you thought I’d take a loss?
Don’t you remember? You thought that I would need yah
Follow procedure, remember? Oh wait you got amnesia
It was my season for battle wounds, battle scars
Body bumped, bruised
Stabbed in the back; brimstone, fire jumping through
Still, all my life, I got money and power
And you gotta live with the bad blood now

[Pre-Chorus - Taylor Swift:]
Oh, it’s so sad to
Think about the good times
You and I

[Chorus - Taylor Swift:]
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood
You know it used to be mad love
So take a look what you’ve done
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!
Now we’ve got problems
And I don’t think we can solve 'em
You made a really deep cut
And baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!

[Bridge - Taylor Swift (Kendrick Lamar):]
Band-aids don’t fix bullet holes
You say sorry just for show
You live like that, you live with ghosts
(You forgive, you forget but you never let it go)
Band-aids don’t fix bullet holes
You say sorry just for show
If you live like that, you live with ghosts
If you love like that, blood runs cold!

[Chorus - Taylor Swift:]
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood
You know it used to be mad love
So take a look what you’ve done
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!
Now we’ve got problems
And I don’t think we can solve 'em
You made a really deep cut
And baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!

[Chorus - Taylor Swift:]
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood
You know it used to be mad love
So take a look what you’ve done
Cause baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!
Now we’ve got problems
And I don’t think we can solve 'em
You made a really deep cut
And baby, now we’ve got bad blood, hey!

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"Bad Blood" Music Video featuring Kendrick Lamar

Without further adieu, here is the "Bad Blood" featuring Kendrick Lamar music video from Taylor Swift's 1989 album.  Although I'm not a big fan of rap I think it fit well with the song.  The music video is fun and certainly start studded.  It features Taylor as Catastrophe and Selena Gomez as Arsyn.  I think it needed another minute or two of intro honestly to set up the plot and characters.  It was a little confusing what had happened to Selena and Taylor in the beginning.  It would have been cool to feature them as friends somewhere else besides this new world and had them forced to become enemies, as often happens with war.  Good job Taylor on setting us all on fire!

Click here for the meaning of the song "Bad Blood".
Click here for the Bad Blood Remix feat. Kendrick Lamar song lyrics.

 

 Jessica Alba-Domino, 

Lily Aldridge-Frostbyte, 

Cindy Crawford-Headmistress 

Cara Delevingne-Mother Chucker 

Lena Dunham-Lucky Fiori, 

 Selena Gomez-Arsyn 

Martha Hunt-Homeslice, 

Elle Goulding- Destructa X, 

Gigi Hadid-Slay-Z, 

 Mariska Hargitay-Justice 

Karlie Kloss-Knockout, 

 Kendrick Lamar-Welvin Da Great, 

 Ellen Pompeo-Luna 

Serayah-Dilemma, 

Hailee Steinfeld-The Trinity, 

Taylor Swift-CATastrophe 

 Hayley Williams-The Crimson Curse, 

 Zendaya-Cut-Throat.

In case you wanted to see pictures of the whole cast, here it is!

*The only other thing I wish about the video is I wish Taylor wasn't trending towards the style of dress she is, sultry and sexy.  If she wants to its okay, but I hope she isn't being pushed by stylists to present a certain image.  I see it far too often with many pop stars, they feel they need to show more in their craft and are pushed. At other times in their life they have been uncomfortable showing that much.  Let's take a step toward feminism and say no to having to dress like that to get more album sales etc. 

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"Bad Blood" Music Video Introduction and Cast

Who is excited for the premiere of the music video "Bad Blood" directed by Joseph Kahn?  The "Bad Blood" music video will premiere May 17 at the Billboard Music awards where Taylor Swift is nominated for 14 awards. Good luck Taylor! Click here for the meaning of "Bad Blood".

And in case you missed it, here's the rest of the cast for the music video "Bad Blood".  It's an all star A list cast, many which star in their own shows or movies! As a side note, they all chose their own names. One of the hints so far is the video will be Catastrophe vs. Knockout, Taylor Swift versus Karlie Kloss, one of her best friends. Now we also know that Selena Gomez will play the rival character to Taylor. Another side note is Mariska plays Olivia Benson on Law and Order and Ellen Pompeo plays Meredith Gray on Gray's Antomy.  Taylor has named both her cats after these characters! 

Jessica Alba-Domino,
Lily Aldridge-Frostbyte,

Cindy Crawford-Headmistress
Cara Delevingne-Mother Chucker
Lena Dunham-Lucky Fiori, 

Selena Gomez-Arsyn

Martha Hunt-Homeslice,
Elle Goulding- Destructa X,
Gigi Hadid-Slay-Z, 
Mariska Hargitay-Justice
Karlie Kloss-Knockout, 
Kendrick Lamar-Welvin Da Great, 
Ellen Pompeo-Luna
Serayah-Dilemma,
Hailee Steinfeld-The Trinity,
Taylor Swift-CATastrophe 
Hayley Williams-The Crimson Curse, 
Zendaya-Cut-Throat.

Here are the awards Taylor is nominated for. Good luck Taylor!

Artist of the Year

Top Female Artist

Top Billboard 200 Artist

Top Hot 100 Artist

Top Radio Songs Artist

Top Digital Songs Artist

Top Streaming Artist

Top Social Artist

Billboard Achievement Award

Top Billboard 200 Album-1989

Top Hot 100 Song-"Shake It Off"

Top Digital Song-"Shake It Off"

Top Streaming Song (Video)-"Shake It Off"

Top Streaming Song (Video)-"Blank Space"

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"Style" Music Video

Here is the music video for "Style" by Taylor Swift from her 1989 album. I am not the biggest fan of this video. It would be a great video minus some parts, like the creepy eyes showing up everywhere. It just doesn't fit the song. The song is upbeat and happy, this could have been such a fun happy video celebrating their relationship. This footage in this video could have been used for "Clean" or Wildest Dreams" much more appropriately.

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Bad Blood

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of "Bad Blood" from her 1989 album.

I have heard varying opinions on this song in the Taylor fandom, but I personally relate to this song to the T.  There have been people in my life that have just started ignoring me for no reason, been mean to me for no reason, and many tears have been shed. Unfortunately it doesn't end with high school.  When I first heard about this song I knew I would relate to it, and every time I hear it, it speaks to me.  For me it's a way to release myself of the unjustified hate that others bring on me so I can focus on the real relationships that matter to me in my life.

Click here for the music video for "Bad Blood".

Taylor tells Rolling Stone on September 8, 2014, "Sometimes the lines in a song are lines you wish you could text-message somebody in real life. I would just be constantly writing all these zingers – like, 'Burn. That would really get her.' And I know people are going to obsess over who it's about, because they think they have all my relationships mapped out. But there's a reason there are not any overt call-outs in that song. My intent was not to create some gossip-fest. I wanted people to apply it to a situation where they felt betrayed in their own lives."  I can definitely relate this to my life.

Who is this song about?  For not wanting to give it away in the song, Taylor gave it away in the article. She tells Rolling Stone, "For years, I was never sure if we were friends or not.  She would come up to me at awards shows and say something and walk away, and I would think, 'Are we friends, or did she just give me the harshest insult of my life?' She did something so horrible.  I was like, 'Oh, we're just straight-up enemies.' And it wasn't even about a guy! It had to do with business. She basically tried to sabotage an entire arena tour. She tried to hire a bunch of people out from under me. And I'm surprisingly non-confrontational – you would not believe how much I hate conflict. So now I have to avoid her. It's awkward, and I don't like it."

Who stole Taylor's people?  It was Katy Perry.

Katy and Taylor came on the music scene about the same time and were seen together at many events.  Taylor desperately wanted to be friends with her.  Katy was always the wild and crazy one when they were together.  But their relationship grew strained over the years as each went on their paths.

Katy stole some of Taylor's dancers and crew from her "Red" tour for her "Prism" tour.  An ex dancer of Taylor's Lockhart Brownlie, who formally danced with Katy told Manika Dadson Dec. 20, 2013, "I was with Taylor for the first six months. It was a great experience and she's a great person to work with, but then Katy contacted us." And the rest is history, or a song in this case.

The tour is not the only thing these two had in common.  They both dated John Mayer, a guy Taylor has written about many times.  I think Katy was jealous of the feelings that John had for Taylor.  In his song "Paper Doll" he describes his relationship with Taylor.  He says, "sure was fun being good to you". He confesses he looks back fondly and enjoyed being with her.  "You’re like twenty-two girls in one/And none of them know what they’re runnin’ from/Was it just too far to fall?/For a little paper doll". He references her song 22 from "Red" and says she was the one who ran.  Then he also references her parents, saying she should, "cut the cord and pull some strings."  In her song "Ours" she also references her dad not approving of his tattoos. In "Dear John" she says her mom doesn't approve of the relationship either.  Things ended by her just not responding anymore.  She "stopped pickin’ up" the phone calls from him  and "Dear John" "is to let you know why."  In the "Story of Us", Taylor says she never knew "what page you're on", she never knew where they were standing.  "Paper Doll" was an answer to her "Speak Now" album of song about him.  Basically he didn't know why she ran away and he enjoyed being with her.  Well for Katy that probably wasn't the thing she wanted her boyfriend to be singing about.  Telling an old girlfriend that he enjoyed her.  Katy here set herself up for failure though, she was the one that was dating her "friend's" ex-boyfriend.  You just don't do that if you're friends.

After that I can only imagine that Katy was like ice to Taylor, mean to her etc and that's why Taylor was hurt.  First she started her dating her ex-boyfriend and then she stole her dancers.  She probably also wasn't very kind to her in passing.  Taylor says in her track by track descriptions, "Bad Blood is a song that I wrote about a new kind of heartbreak that I experienced recently which was when someone I desperately wanted to be my friend and thought was my friend ended up making it very obvious that she wasn't. This was somebody that I really looked up to and really really longed for the approval of this person so it was kind of devastating to receive a kind of low blow from that person.   This song is the first time I ever really stood up myself in that relationship cause she was always the bolder one and the louder one. I think it's important to stand up for yourself even if you can only really come up with the courage to do it in song form then that's how you should do it."

She certainly does that in this song.  She calls out Katy, talks about how they used to have "mad love", but she's "still got scars on my back from your knife" because she "made a really deep cut". and they can't "pretend we'd be fine".  They've "got problems", and she doesn't think they can "solve them".  Katy brought this on, she didn't "think it all through".  She did things to intentionally hurt Taylor.  But Taylor is not going to take Katy's "sorry just for show".

I think Katy grew jealous of Taylor through the years.  Even though they started out the same time Taylor has had infinitely more success than Katy.  And worse yet for Katy, Taylor had a little piece of her boyfriend's heart.  Katy did all these things for spite.  Honestly I don't know how to resolve this.  I've resolved my Katy Perry's by moving away and never having to talk to them again.  It would be nice if they could just get in a room and talk it out.  There was a person in my life that this sort of thing started happening.  She called me out and we went and duked it out in the rain.  Well not really duking because it was just words.  And you know what? She became one of my best friends.  Now everyone that I've had those sort of problems with have I become best friends, sometimes I just ignore them.  I hope this situation with Katy doesn't blow up even more.  I know Katy is egging it on.  I am glad Taylor is just standing up to her, ignoring her and concentrating on the people that really matter in her life.  Keep strong Taylor and don't let her get to you!

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Bad Blood".

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How You Get the Girl

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the song, "How You Get the Girl" from her 1989 album.

This is surprisingly one of my favorite songs on the album. It's a catchy upbeat song about a girl telling a guy how he gets the girl and then how he lost the girl.

On October 29th 2014, Taylor told Radio.com “The song ‘How You Get the Girl’ is a song that I wrote about how you get the girl back if you ruined the relationship somehow and she won’t talk to you anymore. Like, if you broke up with her and left her on her own for six months and then you realize you miss her. All the steps you have to do to edge your way back into her life, because she’s probably pretty mad at you. So it’s kind of a tutorial. If you follow the directions in the song, chances are things will work out. Or you may get a restraining order.”

Who is this song about?

Like many other songs on the album it's about Harry Styles. They first met and started dating in March 2012 at the Nickelodeon Kids Choice awards. She then saw him with another girl, hence how he lost the girl. He begged and begged for Taylor to take him back and six months later she did. I wonder if he really showed up at her door in the rain. For anyone that has listened to Taylor's music you know she has an obsession with doors and rain. (Someday I'll write a post on those two subjects.) He got her back but couldn't keep her. He "left her all alone/And never told her why". He left her all alone while they were on vacation in Virgin Gorda.

I really love the chorus maybe that's why it's one of my favorite songs. In it she is quoting what she would like the guy to say. Some of the language comes from marriage vows. "I want you for worse or for better, I would wait forever and ever." It shows what Taylor wants in a relationship, some commitment and long term love. I hope you find that Taylor, sorry it didn't happen with Harry!

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Style

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the song "Style" from her album 1989.

This song it sounds like two different songs, the chorus and the verses have a different and distinct sound.  This first part of the song sounds like you are driving around with just a drum and synthesizer playing an ostinato, the same musical phrase over and over.  The chorus has a fuller sound incorporating a lot more instruments and a lot more confident tone. It all makes it sound amazing and really defines the two moods of the song.  The verses focus on the story and Taylor's uneasiness in the romance.  The guy comes picks her up at "midnight" and she knows that last time things didn't end well. But her reasoning is ignored, because their relationship is just that good.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

Taylor said at her livestream secret session October 27, 2014 "When I wrote this next song I was thinking about how we have these kind of fashion staples that never quite, we never quite throw them out of our closet, right? No one's going to be like, why are you wearing a little black dress, no on wears that, that was so two years ago. Everybody has that perfect little black dress or for a guy that great white t-shirt that fits you perfect. You may not necessarily wear them all the time, but they're always there in the back of your closet in case you need to go to your old standby, that classic thing that always works.  I was thinking about that, and I then I was thinking about how there are feelings like that, how there are trends that never go out of style and how there are feelings that never go out of style.  Do you see where I'm going with this?"

She compares the love to classic looks like "red lip classic", "long hair/slicked back
White t-shirt" and a "James Dean daydream look in your eye", who coincidentally make the white t shirt famous.

Who was this romance with that never went out of style?

James Dean in a white t-shirt

Just take a look at the name of the song, Style.  It was Harry Styles. 

Taylor Swift told On the Air with Ryan Seacrest, on October 31, 2014, "Well it's basically kind of one of those relationships that's always a bit off. I talk about in another song on the record, a crooked love, which is kind of like never quite synced up right.  The two people are trying to forget each other and they've both been out with other people and they've both tried to forget the other.  It's like, I heard you went out went off with her and you came back and well I've done that too so... I would never have said anything like that on a previous album.  My previous albums have always been sort of like, I was right you were wrong, you did this, it made me feel like this, kind of a sense of sense of right and wrong in a relationship.  What happens when you grow up is you realize that the rules in a relationship are very blurred, and that it gets very complicated very quickly. There's not always a case of who was right and who was wrong."

Taylor Swift and Harry Styles recreating a classic pose 12/11/2012
from Dirty Dancing.  Harry has his white t-shirt on :)

This is exactly how their story went down.  Taylor met Harry at the 2012 Nickelodeon Kids Awards in March 2012.  Then she saw him in the news with other girls, hence the lines, "I say I heard -Oh
That you been out and about/With some other girl".  But while he'd been out with other girls, she'd been out with other guys, Conor Kennedy.   Hence the lines, "I said I've been there too a/Few times".  This happens all the time.  I had friends in high school that liked each other, but never at the same time. They were always dating other people usually at opposite times. They finally got in sync when they went to college.  When they decided they wanted to get married, they waited for a few years, because one of them was out of the country always doing something.  It took a long time, but their love is solid.  There are some things in life that are just classic and will never go out of style, sounds like they had a great time together!

Interestingly enough he wrote a song about Taylor in rebuttal to her album, "Perfect".  Click here for the meaning of that song.

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Style".

PS This was the last song written for the record on February 19, 2014.

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"Blank Space" Music Video

Here is the music video for "Blank Space" by Taylor Swift from her "1989" album.

 Click here for the meaning of the song, "Blank Space".

Here is the American Express UNSTAGED: Taylor Swift app for iPhone and Android that provides an interactive experience with the video.

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Blank Space

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the song "Blank Space" from her 1989 album.

This is a really fun upbeat song from her album and definitely a fan favorite.  From a musical standpoint, the chorus is my favorite part of the song.  It has a really good melody.  My other favorite part of the song comes during the bridge, "Boys only one love if it's torture".  She does amazing things with her voice that sound a lot like Lorde's music.

Who is this song about?

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

It's about Taylor, kind of.  Taylor told Chris Willman of Yahoo November 6, 2014,  I just wanted "to write this completely satirical song about the fictionalization of my personal life, and just kind of poke fun at it."

In her secret session livestream on October 27, 2014 she said,  "This is a song that I wrote with Max Martin & Shellback and I always bring them lots of ideas. I bring them like 4 or 5 first choruses that I've kind of worked on and I decided that I like them. We decide together which ones we're going to work on that day. With this one I did not think it was going to get picked because I kind of wrote it as a joke. I was thinking a lot about, you guys know, you've seen in the last couple of years, it's been interesting what the media has decided to fictionalize and sensationalize about my personal life. It's been pretty gnarly.  I was thinking about that. I was thinking about how they've drawn up this character, she's like emotionally unstable, and needy and clingy, but she gets all these boyfriends but they leave her.  She's devastated.  She goes to her evil lair and writes songs for emotional revenge. I was thinking about the juxtaposition of that and my actual personal life which involves just kind of me just sitting there with two cats watching Friends marathons. But I got to thinking about it and I thought, which one is more interesting to write about? I thought the character they've drawn up, although it may be fictional, it's actually sort of interesting. I thought of this line that went, 'I've got a long list of ex lovers/They'll tell you I'm insane/But I've got a blank space baby and I'll write your name.' "

The song has a lot of satirical elements to it, "I get drunk on jealousy", "You look like my next mistake", "I'm dying to see how this one ends", "Got a long list of ex-lovers, They'll tell you I'm insane, But I got a blank space, Baby, And I'll write your name.", "Be that girl for a month", and "boys only want love if it's torture".

Taylor's rooftop livestream secret session October 27, 2014, photo courtesy of iHeartRadio

But what makes the song extra special is how she uses this song to illustrate her thoughts about love, as many great writers do. (Jane Austen I'm looking at you.) In this song she sings about guys with "New money, suit and tie".  Some guys think the way to impress is by having nice things.  I went on a date once with a guy and he had a nice car and that was it.  He didn't know how to treat a lady, he didn't open doors and talked about himself the whole time.  I was not impressed and kept asking myself, am I really on a date? She addresses the fact that some guys only like the chase and once they have the girl it's over, with the lines, "Love's a game, want to play?" and "Boys only want love if it's torture".  She answers the media and those game loving boys with "So it's gonna be forever, or it's gonna go down in flames".  She doesn't want someone who isn't willing to commit. "I can read you like a magazine".  She can see through them and see exactly what they want. And she says she's not going to just take it, "I can make all the tables turn/Keep you second guessing like/Who is she/I get drunk on jealousy". Yes the media may spin it it to appear she is just jealous, but she is not going to take someone who is playing around, as no one should. She knows some guys just want a "girl for a month", like the latest thing, but she wants someone that is going to be around forever. She uses this song to let the media and potential suitors/ex suitors know exactly what she doesn't want in a relationship.  She doesn't want to leave people with "a nasty scar", or with the pain. She doesn't want to have the "worst [] yet to come", tell "pretty lies" and "get drunk on jealousy".  She is not "dying to see how this one ends", but she wants her relationship to be "forever" and not "go down in flames".

Dating is really all about wading through the muck (alot of muck) to find that diamond, to find that prince. It takes time and lots of lots and lots of dates.  It can last forever and it can be the best thing that ever happened in your life.  I hope Taylor you can "grab your passport" and someones hand and not just make things "good for a weekend", but good for "forever".

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Blank Space".

Click here to see the music video for "Blank Space".

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All You Had to Do Was Stay

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the song "All You Had to Do Was Stay" from her 1989 album.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

This song tells a story of a guy who begged to be back in Taylor's life after they had ended their first attempt at romance.  She says in the song, "People like you always want back/The love they gave away/And people like me want to believe you/When you say you've changed." He kept wanting to get back together with her, and she believed him. But he didn't stick around, wasn't fully committed. He "drove [them] off the road", an allusion to "Out of the Woods" where they ended up at the hospital. The guy got stitches because he couldn't drive the snow vehicle on the road. She then says he was the one that changed his mind wanted to end it, "Let me remind you.../This was what you wanted/You ended it/You were all I wanted/But not like this..."  She wanted him, enjoyed being with him, but he ended it.  She says that in the end even though "People like you always want back/The love they pushed aside/But people like me are gone forever/When you say goodbye".  He said goodbye and she is gone forever. She is not getting back together with him. She tells him in the song that If he really had wanted her "all [he] had to do was stay."

Who is this song about?

It's about Harry Styles and how he ended their relationship the second time around after he tried and tried to get back together with her. The relationship was a whirlwind, and he could never fully commit.  He was all she ever wanted, but he just couldn't stay around.

One of the interesting parts of this song is story of the high pitched Stay. Taylor told fans in her ask/reply on Youtube, "I think the oddest scenario that I ran in to when I was writing this album was when I woke up from a dream that I was having.  It was kind of one of those social anxiety dreams, where you get embarrassed in front of a person that you don't really want to be embarrassed in front of.  In this dream I was trying to talk to someone and instead of being able to speak normally the only thing that would come out of my mouth was this very high pitched singing, going, STAY, the word stay, but it was sung really high and that was all that would come out of mouth, instead of just normal talking. So I woke up from the dream, I was really weirded out by it.  I decided to incorporate that sound into a song called 'All You Had to Do Was Stay.' I'm very lucky that I had that very weird dream because it's a great song."  I can totally relate to Taylor, I've had some very weird vivid dreams, where I couldn't fly, or I could fly, couldn't read something, or the dream just unfolded and I had no control, but I remember lots of details.  I even had a dream to a while ago that I'm turning into a novel, look for that later.  I'm glad that she was inspired by her dreams, because I sometimes think I am weird that I have such vivid dreams.

This song is similar to "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", but nicer. You can tell she has grown since writing that song. In WANEGBT she told her suitor that she was never getting back together with him. In this song she is tells her suitor (a different suitor) what they should have done to stay together, why she is gone forever. He just had to stay.

Click here for lyrics to the song, "All You Had to Do Was Stay".

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