We Need to Talk about Taylor Swift
Yes, that’s right. Put me on the list of people who has something to say about Taylor Swift. Taylor has been making music for 17 years, which is almost my entire life, and over that time, she has made real connections with fans.
Since she became famous, she has been taken advantage of, had her heart broken more times than I can count, and been subject to the life of a pop star. Everyone always had something to say about Taylor, and for a long time, she bent over backwards to look good for the media and to please those who brought her down.
I’m happy to report that that is not the way it is anymore. Taylor took control of her own career and is able to enjoy making music while also loving herself. I think one of her best songs is You’re On Your Own, Kid, and we need to talk about it.
I will now provide a breakdown of each stanza of the song and analyze it. This song is a story of her journey, navigating her career and her relationships as well as finding herself. The lyrics I used came from Genius Lyrics.
Verse 1
Summer went away, still, the yearning stays
I play it cool with the best of them
I wait patiently, he’s gonna notice me
It’s okay, we’re the best of friends
Anyway
I hear it in your voice, you’re smoking with your boys
I touch my phone as if it’s your face
I didn’t choose this town, I dream of getting out
There’s just one who could make me stay
All my days
This is about Taylor’s growing up and falling in love in her hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania. She indicates that she would have given up her dream of “getting out” of her hometown for one person, who either wasn’t enough or didn’t feel the same way she did.
Chorus
From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I waited ages to see you there
I search the party of better bodies
Just to learn that you never cared
You’re on your own, kid
You always have been
This feels like a high school party to me. She waited for that special person to show up and they didn’t, so she decided she was on her own. It was time to leave Reading and her old life behind to become a musician.
Verse 2
I see the great escape,
so long, Daisy May
I picked the petals, he loves me not
Something different bloomed, writing in my room
I play my songs in the parking lot
I’ll run away
This verse is all about Taylor realizing she wanted to become a musician and deciding she will do whatever it takes to achieve that dream. She plays the songs she writes and hopes she will get recognized.
Chorus
From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I called a taxi to take me there
I search the party of better bodies
Just to learn that my dreams aren’t rare
You’re on your own, kid
You always have been
Soon, Taylor left Reading, but realized she would have a lot of competition. She had to work hard to get recognized by a talent agent. She was on her own once again.
Bridge
From sprinkler splashes to fireplace ashes
I gave my blood, sweat, and tears for this
I hosted parties and starved my body
Like I’d be saved by a perfect kiss
The jokes weren’t funny
I took the money
My friends from home don’t know what to say
I looked around in a blood-soaked gown
And I saw something they can’t take away
‘Cause there were pages turned with the bridges burned
Everything you lose is a step you take
So, make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it
You’ve got no reason to be afraid
This is the most heartbreaking part of the song. Taylor lists all she had been put through during her journey to stardom and afterward. She talks about playing up the “nice girl” act that she was told to perform and starving herself because body image issues happen so often when someone gets as much attention as pop stars do (and let’s face it, we’ve pretty much all had body image issues).
But what is the thing “they can’t take away?” I think it’s her music. Music is why Taylor did all of this in the first place–it is her passion. This line was Taylor saying “Oh, you have an issue with me/my career? Sounds like a you problem.”
And the last few lines are Taylor looking back at her younger self and telling her to take more risks and be present in the moment. Stop worrying about everyone else. You are who you are no matter what anybody says.
Final Chorus
You’re on your own, kid
Yeah, you can face this
You’re on your own, kid
You always have been
What a beautiful ending to this song of reflections, past memories, and mistakes. Through it all, Taylor Swift remained a name you cannot spit on because she is never going away. She make music until she’s dead and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it. She does not need you to like her, but if you do, she’ll be happy to have you singing along with her in the car, dancing in your house, or even one of her concerts.
Photo of Taylor singing "tolerate it" from her evermore album. I took this photo at The Eras Tour on June 16 in Pittsburgh.
As someone who attended one of the Eras Tour concerts in Pittsburgh, I must say it truly is a different experience seeing an artist in person as opposed to in a music video. Taylor Swift was my first concert ever, and I’m glad it was. I don’t think anyone could ever top her, either.
From the way she talked to her fans in between each song showed me that she feels a relationship with her fans even though she can’t have a one-on-one conversation with any of them as that is not only dangerous for famous people to do, but it would also take forever in Taylor’s case.
I wasn’t always a huge fan of her, either. I remember listening to her songs when they were on the radio, but I never went out of my way to listen to her other songs that weren’t as popular. I also remember being annoyed with some of her songs and not really understanding them.
And yes, a lot of her songs are about past loves that didn’t work out, and there was a time when that’s all the media had to talk about. Taylor has done very well if the worst thing anyone can say about her is, “She dated too many people.” Well, so has every other male pop star you can think of, and it doesn’t seem to be a problem with any of them. Taylor knows this, and guess what? She wrote a song about it.
I started to pay more attention to Taylor once I realized she was re-releasing her albums as “Taylor’s Version.” I think it is so cool that she now owns the rights to her own songs. It sounds surreal that anyone else would own the right to her work, but that is the way of the music industry. Taylor lived, learned, and is now a genius and a force to be reckoned with.
I still don’t know all of her songs, but I have an immense respect for her. Taylor showed me that you can come back from anything anyone puts you through, and that it is never too late to take back control of your life.
She taught me to find my passion, what I’m good at and what brings me joy, and to focus on that because what others have to say about it doesn’t matter in the end. There is no point spending my energy on people who can only point out everything wrong with me. That is not how I want to live, so from now on, I will be teaching myself to live for myself; I’ve got no reason to be afraid.