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!

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!

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

PS This was the last song written for the record.

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".

Out of the Woods

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

When I first heard this song I could definitely hear the 80's sound, especially the intro. According to USA Today it features percussion and synthesizers, a Yamaha DX7 and a "super-distorted Minimoog Voyager". Taylor wrote this song with Jack Antonoff, he wrote the track and then she put lyrics and a melody to it.  What she came back with was brilliant Jack said to USA Today, "she wove this whole story that felt like it came from the outer space of your head."  One of the most interesting things about the development of the song was Jack's voice being used as the back ground.  He told USA Today, "I just chopped this piece of my voice singing and started looping it over and over. Then I started banging on some drums I had in the room and stomping on the floor and sampling all these sounds to make this big bombastic looping beat with the sample on top of it."

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift

Taylor says, "This song is about the fragility and breakable nature of some relationships, this was a relationship where it was kind of living day to day wondering where it was going if it was going to go anywhere, if it was going to end the next day.  It was a relationship where you kind of never feel like you're standing on solid ground.  That kind of a feeling brings on excitement, but also extreme anxiety, and kind of a frantic feeling of wondering, endless questions.  This songs sounds exactly like that frantic feeling of anxiety and questioning. But it stresses that even if a relationship is breakable and fragile and full of anxiety, it doesn't mean that it isn't worthwhile, exciting, beautiful and all the things that we look for." The verses and the chorus serve as a counterpoint to one another.  The chorus is repetitive and frantic, "Are we out of the woods", and "Are we in the clear" repeated over and over.  Then the verses have a distinct melody and tell a story. She is wondering, hoping if their relationship is in the clear. She spends the whole song looking for that clear, just to get that relief.

I think a lot of people can relate this this stage, the honeymoon stage in a relationship, where everything is new and exciting, but you don't know where you stand, the relationship stands, what the other person wants. You are just dating and it can be so stressful.

Who is this song about?

Taylor Swift and Harry Styles wearing matching airplane necklaces.

It's about Harry Styles. They dated twice, but this song is about the second time they dated. It was a whirlwind romance. They dated from November 2012 to January 2013. The whole time was crazy. She told Rolling Stone "every day was a struggle. Forget making plans for life � we were just trying to make it to next week." They were in different cities all the time, Taylor promoting her new album Red. They met in many places; meeting up in Central Park for a very public date, New York for New Year's Eve, LA for her performance on X Factor, LA for him to get a tatoo, London for her birthday, Utah to spend some time in the snow where the line "20 stitches in a hospital room" came from, and finally Virgin where things ended and Taylor was seen leaving on a boat by herself.

According to Rolling Stone "She says it was inspired by a snowmobile ride with an ex who lost control and wrecked it so badly that she saw her life flash before her eyes. Both of them had to go to the ER, although Swift wasn't hurt. She corrects herself: 'Not as hurt.' "  This was their ski trip in December 2012 in Utah. She asked the hospital staff not to say anything and they didn't.  It was a miracle.  She told Rolling Stone she included this line because "People think they know the whole narrative of my life, I think maybe that line is there to remind people that there are really big things they don't know about."

Photo courtesy of Harry Styles

The song describes other things they liked to do together that the media didn't see, taking Polaroids, wearing matching airplane necklaces (I wonder if they chose this because they had to fly to be with each other), "moving the furniture so [they] could dance". But the pace was too frantic, it didn't work out. They were constantly hounded by the media, they couldn't be alone. It scared them so much, they "couldn't take the heat", she "walked out", and said �I�m setting you free.� But later Taylor realized that the monsters chasing them were just trees, not as scary as what they had imagined. I hope that Taylor doesn't give up on love, because there will be a time when she will get out of the woods and it really doesn't matter what other people think of her relationships. I am glad she enjoyed this one even if it was so stressful.

Taylor's Friends Music Available on iTunes

Lorde

Pure Heroine
Pure Heroine Extended
Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Hunger Games: Catching Fire
Ladder Song - Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I
Yellow Flicker Beat - Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I
Flicker Kanye West Rework - Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I

Ed Sheeran
X Deluxe Edition
X
+ Deluxe Edition
+

Selena Gomez
For You
Stars Dance
When the Sun Goes Down
A Year Without Rain
Kiss & Tell
Another Cinderella Story (EP)

One Direction (Harry Styles)
Four (Deluxe Edition)
Four
Midnight Memories (Deluxe Edition)
Midnight Memories
Take Me Home (Yearbook Edition)
Take Me Home
Up All Night (Deluxe Edition)
Up All Night

"Bad Blood", "I Wish You Would", "All You Had to Do Was Stay", "Style",and "Out of the Woods" Introduction

Today's Taylor Swift SONGS are the introductory meanings of the songs; "Bad Blood", "I Wish You Would", "All You Had to Do Was Stay", "Style", and "Out of the Woods" from her 1989 album. They are featured in the Rolling Stone article, "The Reinvention of Taylor Swift" from September 8, 2014.

Who is each one about?

Taylor Swift (Photo Credit: Theo Wanner)

The Rolling Stone article gives us some clues.

"Bad Blood" is about Katy Perry.    Taylor told 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?'" Then last year, the other star crossed a line. "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." 

She wanted to make sure people knew it was not about a boy, "But I just want people to know it's not about a guy. You don't want to shade someone you used to date and make it seem like you hate him, when that's not the case. And I knew people would immediately be going in one direction." (Rolling Stone)

Katy stole some of Taylor's dancers and crew from her 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. Click here for a detailed analysis of this song. 

Taylor Swift (Photo Credit:Theo Wenner)

"I Wish You Would" is "about an ex who bought a house two blocks from" Taylor's place. (Rolling Stone)

"All You Had to Do Was Stay" is "about a guy who was never willing to commit (ditto)." (Rolling Stone). Click here for a detailed analysis of this song.

"Style" is "a sexy Miami Vice-sounding throwback about a guy with slicked-back hair and a white T-shirt and a girl in a tight little skirt." (Rolling Stone) Click here for a detailed analysis of this song.

"Out of the Woods" (click here for the updated analysis of "Out of the Woods")  is quite possibly the song I am most excited for from this new group.  It is "a frantic tale" about her relationship with Harry Styles where she says "'every day was a struggle. Forget making plans for life � we were just trying to make it to next week.'" They even ended up in the hospital following a snowmobile accident in Utah in December 2012 because he "lost control and wrecked it so badly that she saw her life flash before her eyes." They both had to go to the ER, but Taylor wasn't hurt as bad.  She said that they went to the hospital and asked everyone to not say anything, and no one did.  (You revealed your own secret Taylor!)
 Harry had a banged up chin, "Remember when you hit the brakes too soon/Twenty stitches in a hospital room." (lyrics from "Out of the Woods"). (Rolling Stone)

I am so excited for all the new songs and can't wait to hear all of them! Don't forget I'll include some more detail analysis once we have the songs in hand.

"Shake It Off"

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of the first single from her new album 1989, "Shake It Off". This song is extra special for me because I was at the Yahoo live stream in New York City August 18th, 2014 when it was released. I was also there the first time she heard it in the radio in her house and then also danced to it in her kitchen by the refrigerator with her.

Photo courtesy of Taylor Swift: "Shake It Off" single cover.

I don't know about you, but with all new Taylor songs it takes me a while to get used to them and then I love them. I love them the more I learn about why she wrote them and the meaning behind the song. It was so fun to dance with her to this song at the live stream, but I really didn't appreciate it until I heard why she wrote it and thought about it more. 

Who is this song about?

Taylor Swift dancing with a fan at the Yahoo livesteam August 18, 2014 in New York City to "Shake It Off".
Photo credit ABC News.

This song is about Taylor! During the last couple of years she has gotten a lot of flack for dating lots of guys, most notably Carrie Underwood at the 2012 CMA Awards when she and Brad Paisely joked about her split from Conor and Amy Poeler/Tina Fey at the Golden Globes when they joked she should stay away from Michael J Fox's son. There have also been numerous articles about her love life. Let me just tell you right now I went on just as many dates as Taylor or more, but I wasn't under the same amount of scrutiny and am glad for that. I don't know if I could have handled it the way she does. 

In her Good Morning America interview August 18, 2014 Taylor said, 

"The message in the song is a problem I think we all deal with and an issue we deal with on a daily basis. We don't like just in a celebrity takedown culture, we live in a takedown culture. People will find anything about you and twist it to where it's weird or wrong or annoying or strange or bad. You have to not only live your life in spite of people who don't understand you; you have to have more fun than they do."

I think it's amazing that she is able to just "shake" off all the negativity and that she had this music in her mind telling her everything's going to be okay. 

In the rap portion of the song, she references Harry styles with is new girlfriend, Kendall Jenner, "My ex man brought his new girlfriend". He is the also the player that is referenced in the song. "Players going to play", and he certainly does that. I don't blame her for not staying with him.   

Taylor has really shown that she is just dancing it off and dancing to her own beat. At numerous award shows and concerts she is the liveliest one in the audience. Taylor I am so glad you are able to shake off all the players and haters and know that everything's going to be alright!

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Shake It Off".

Girl At Home

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of "Girl At Home" from her deluxe Target Red album.

I so relate to Taylor in this song.  I have known plenty of guys in my lifetime that were dating someone else and flirting incessantly with other girls or weren't dating anyone specifically, but flirted with every girl they knew.

Taylor tells Yahoo music, "And there's a song called 'Girl at Home,' which was about a guy who had a girlfriend, and I just felt like it was disgusting that he was flirting with other girls."

Who is the guy that was flirting with other girls?

Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, Central Park 2012

I thought about it long and hard, and decided on Harry Styles!  They met at the 2012 Nickelodeon's 25th Annual Kids' Choice Awards introduced to each other by Justin Bieber and while he was nice, he flirted with tonz of girls.  He even kissed Emma Ostilly after he met Taylor.

Taylor shows that she has interest in him, "it would be a fine preposition" but she would only go along with it "If I was a stupid girl/And yeah I might go with it/If I hadn't once been just like her." He's "the kind of man who makes me sad/While she waits up/You chase down the newest thing/And take for granted what you have."  She has had this happen a few times to her, one of the biggest ones being Joe Jonas, which she sings about in "Better Than Revenge".

I am proud of Taylor for not going along with this flirtatious guy.  I know from experience that they can be very charming to you and to every other girl they meet, and it only ends in heartbreak.

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Girl At Home".