Love Story

Storytelling

Taylor Swift is well known for being an amazing storyteller. Even if you don't like her music, it's impossible to admit that she isn't talented at songwriting. Since the beginning of her career, her songs have been all about stories, many relating to her own life. Sometimes song titles or lyrics directly state that she is telling a story and what the story may be about, but recently (especially in her most recent album, folklore) Swift is trusting her fans to understand what she is doing and just tells the story. Her older albums explicitly say the word ‘story’ or directly imply that a story is being told many times. Spoken lyrics from "The Story of Us" reinforce the story aspect of the song ("next chapter", "The end"). Most of Taylor Swift's songs are love songs, and none more so than the classic, familiar favorite, "Love Story". The song starts with "The flashback starts, I'm standing there", and goes on to tell a Romeo and Juliet style story featuring Swift as the love interest in the music video. The song expresses: "It's a love story, baby, just say yes".

Influence

Most songs generally tell some kind of story, but the way that Taylor Swift is able to paint a picture with her lyrics and musicality is so incredible and intriguing. Every character in every song has a personality and backstory. The emotion and heart that is poured into every song is astounding. The hopelessly romantic love songs, the tragic heartbreak songs, the relationships that end up every possible way are all so creative and moving. This style of music may not be everyone’s cup of tea, and a lot of people think that her music is shallow and just all about men, but her millions of fans and legendary reputation proves that she is able to make connections with an incredible number of people. She even says it’s like we all grew up together, we all had experiences and listened to her write about the same things at the same time.

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Stories in "folklore"

When Taylor Swift announced her most recent album "folklore" on Instagram, in her caption (below), she said "In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness... I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve." She doesn't say the word "story" a single time in the entire 67 minute album, but each of the 17 songs tells a unique and poetic story. Some of the songs are interconnected, such as the infamous love triangle between the protagonists in “august”, “betty”, and “cardigan”. Many of her songs are influenced by her actual life experiences, but “the last great american dynasty” might as well be a journal entry. The following was posted to Taylor’s Instagram account at the time her 8th album, folklore, was released to the public. Even writing about her writing sounds poetic and lyrical.

The Story of Taylor

Each of her albums tells a different story as well. From a 2020 perspective, her earliest albums tell the story of a young, up-and-coming country singer that is just learning about life. As she releases Red and 1989, she begins to transition into pop music and gain more and more fame. After a break, she releases Reputation, which is well known for being about her ‘downfall’, as well as being an entirely different style than her earlier music. Lover is about love and healing, and folklore is her most mature album to date. Reflecting less of how her career is doing at the moment, folklore is exactly what she hoped it would be, tales to be passed down, whispered around, and sung about.