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Hugging Artists 17

I’m writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which I’ll be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past I’ve been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

Oh oh yeeah You were in college working part time waiting tables Left a small town, never looked back I was a flight risk with a fear of fallin’ Wondering why we bother with love if it never lasts I say Can you believe it? As we’re lying on the couch? And I can see it Yeah, yeah, yeah, I can see it now Do you remember, we were sitting there by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter You are the best thing that’s ever been mine, yeah Flash forward and we’re taking on the world together And there’s a drawer of my things at your place You learn my secrets and you figure out why I’m guarded You say we’ll never make my parents’ mistakes Oh but we got bills to pay We got nothing figured out When it was hard to take Yeah, yeah, this is what I thought about Do you remember all the city lights on the water? You saw me start to believe for the first time You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter You are the best thing that’s ever been mine, yeah Oh I And I remember that fight Two-thirty AM As everything was slipping right out of our hands I ran out crying and you followed me out into the street Braced myself for the Goodbye ‘Cause that’s all I’ve ever known Then you took me by surprise You said, I’ll never leave you alone You said, I remember how we felt sitting by the water And every time I look at you, it’s like the first time I fell in love with a careless man’s careful daughter Youre the best thing that’s ever been mine I fell in love with a careless man’s careful daughter Youre the best thing that’s ever been mine

Taylor Swift bursts into her mom’s Nashville kitchen, smiling, looking remarkably like Taylor Swift.  “I need someone to help dye my hair pink,” she says, and moments later, her ends match her sparkly nail polish, sneakers, and the stripes on her button-down. It’s all in keeping with the pastel aesthetic of her new album, Lover; black-leather combat-Taylor from her previous album cycle has handed back the phone. Around the black-granite kitchen island, all is calm and normal, as Swift’s mom, dad, and younger brother pass through. Her mom’s two dogs, one very small, one very large, pounce upon visitors with slurping glee. It could be any 29-year-old’s weekend visit with her parents, if not for the madness looming a few feet down the hall. In an airy terrace, 113 giddy, weepy, shaky, still-in-disbelief fans are waiting for the start of one of Swift’s secret sessions, sacred rituals in Swift-dom. She’s about to play them her seventh album, as-yet unreleased on this Sunday afternoon in early August, and offer copious commentary. Also, she made cookies. Just before the session, Swift sits down in her mom’s study to chat for a few minutes. The black-walled room is decorated with black-and-white classic-rock photos, including shots of Bruce Springsteen and, unsurprisingly, James Taylor; there are also more recent shots of Swift posing with Kris Kristofferson and playing with Def Leppard, her mom’s favorite band. In a corner is an acoustic guitar Swift played as a teenager. She almost certainly wrote some well-known songs on it, but can’t recall which ones. “It would be kind of weird to finish a song and be like, ‘And this moment, I shall remember,’” she says, laughing. “‘This guitar hath been anointed with my sacred tuneage!” The secret session itself is, as the name suggests, deeply off-the-record; it can be confirmed that she drank some white wine, since her glass pops up in some Instagram pictures. She stays until 5 a.m., chatting and taking photos with every one of the fans. Five hours later, we continue our talk at length in Swift’s Nashville condo, in almost exactly the same spot where we did one of our interviews for her 2012 Rolling Stone cover story. She’s hardly changed its whimsical decor in the past seven years , so it’s an old-Taylor time capsule. There’s still a huge bunny made of moss in one corner, and a human-size birdcage in the living room, though the view from the latter is now of generic new condo buildings instead of just distant green hills. Swift is barefoot now, in pale-blue jeans and a blue button-down tied at the waist; her hair is pulled back, her makeup minimal. How to sum up the past three years of Taylor Swift? In July 2016, after Swift expressed discontent with Kanye West’s “Famous,” Kim Kardashian did her best to destroy her, unleashing clandestine recordings of a phone conversation between Swift and West. In the piecemeal audio, Swift can be heard agreeing to the line “…me and Taylor might still have sex.” We don’t hear her learning about the next lyric, the one she says bothered her — “I made that bitch famous” — and as she’ll explain, there’s more to her side of the story. The backlash was, well, swift, and overwhelming. It still hasn’t altogether subsided. Later that year, Swift chose not to make an endorsement in the 2016 election, which definitely didn’t help. In the face of it all, she made Reputation — fierce, witty, almost-industrial pop offset by love songs of crystalline beauty — and had a wildly successful stadium tour. Somewhere in there, she met her current boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, and judging by certain songs on Lover, the relationship is serious indeed. Lover is Swift’s most adult album, a rebalancing of sound and persona that opens doors to the next decade of her career; it’s also a welcome return to the sonic diversity of 2012’s Red, with tracks ranging from the St. Vincent-assisted über-bop “Cruel Summer” to the unbearably poignant country-fied “Soon You’ll Get Better” and the “Shake It Off”-worthy pep of “Paper Rings.” She wants to talk about the music, of course, but she is also ready to explain the past three years of her life, in depth, for the first time. The conversation is often not a light one. She’s built up more armor in the past few years, but still has the opposite of a poker face — you can see every micro-emotion wash over her as she ponders a question, her nose wrinkling in semi-ironic offense at the term “old-school pop stars,” her preposterously blue eyes glistening as she turns to darker subjects. In her worst moments, she says, “You feel like you’re being completely pulled into a riptide. So what are you going to do? Splash a lot? Or hold your breath and hope you somehow resurface? And that’s what I did. And it took three years. Sitting here doing an interview — the fact that we’ve done an interview before is the only reason I’m not in a full body sweat.” When we talked seven years ago, everything was going so well for you, and you were very worried that something would go wrong. Yeah, I kind of knew it would. I felt like I was walking along the sidewalk, knowing eventually the pavement was going to crumble and I was gonna fall through. You can’t keep winning and have people like it. People love “new” so much — they raise you up the flagpole, and you’re waving at the top of the flagpole for a while. And then they’re like, “Wait, this new flag is what we actually love.” They decide something you’re doing is incorrect, that you’re not standing for what you should stand for. You’re a bad example. Then if you keep making music and you survive, and you keep connecting with people, eventually they raise you a little bit up the flagpole again, and then they take you back down, and back up again. And it happens to women more than it happens to men in music. It also happened to you a few times on a smaller scale, didn’t it? I’ve had several upheavals in my career. When I was 18, they were like, “She doesn’t really write those songs.” So my third album I wrote by myself as a reaction to that. Then they decided I was a serial dater — a boy-crazy man-eater — when I was 22. And so I didn’t date anyone for, like, two years. And then they decided in 2016 that absolutely everything about me was wrong. If I did something good, it was for the wrong reasons. If I did something brave, I didn’t do it correctly. If I stood up for myself, I was throwing a tantrum. And so I found myself in this endless mockery echo chamber. It’s just like — I have a brother who’s two and a half years younger, and we spent the first half of our lives trying to kill each other and the second half as best friends. You know that game kids play? I’d be like, “Mom, can I have some water?” And Austin would be like, “Mom, can I have some water?” And I’m like, “He’s copying me.” And he’d be like, “He’s copying me.” Always in a really obnoxious voice that sounds all twisted. That’s what it felt like in 2016. So I decided to just say nothing. It wasn’t really a decision. It was completely involuntary. But you also had good things happen in your life at the same time — that’s part of Reputation. The moments of my true story on that album are songs like “Delicate,” “New Year’s Day,” “Call It What You Want,” “Dress.” The one-two punch, bait-and-switch of Reputation is that it was actually a love story. It was a love story in amongst chaos. All the weaponized sort of metallic battle anthems were what was going on outside. That was the battle raging on that I could see from the windows, and then there was what was happening inside my world — my newly quiet, cozy world that was happening on my own terms for the first time. . . . It’s weird, because in some of the worst times of my career, and reputation, dare I say, I had some of the most beautiful times — in my quiet life that I chose to have. And I had some of the most incredible memories with the friends I now knew cared about me, even if everyone hated me. The bad stuff was really significant and damaging. But the good stuff will endure. The good lessons — you realize that you can’t just show your life to people. Meaning? I used to be like a golden retriever, just walking up to everybody, like, wagging my tail. “Sure, yeah, of course! What do you want to know? What do you need?” Now, I guess, I have to be a little bit more like a fox. Do your regrets on that extend to the way the “girl squad” thing was perceived? Yeah, I never would have imagined that people would have thought, “This is a clique that wouldn’t have accepted me if I wanted to be in it.” Holy shit, that hit me like a ton of bricks. I was like, “Oh, this did not go the way that I thought it was going to go.” I thought it was going to be we can still stick together, just like men are allowed to do. The patriarchy allows men to have bro packs. If you’re a male artist, there’s an understanding that you have respect for your counterparts. Whereas women are expected to be feuding with each other? It’s assumed that we hate each other. Even if we’re smiling and photographed together with our arms around each other, it’s assumed there’s a knife in our pocket. How much of a danger was there of falling into that thought pattern yourself? The messaging is dangerous, yes. Nobody is immune, because we’re a product of what society and peer groups and now the internet tells us, unless we learn differently from experience. You once sang about a star who “took the money and your dignity, and got the hell out.” In 2016, you wrote in your journal, “This summer is the apocalypse.” How close did you come to quitting altogether? I definitely thought about that a lot. I thought about how words are my only way of making sense of the world and expressing myself — and now any words I say or write are being twisted against me. People love a hate frenzy. It’s like piranhas. People had so much fun hating me, and they didn’t really need very many reasons to do it. I felt like the situation was pretty hopeless. I wrote a lot of really aggressively bitter poems constantly. I wrote a lot of think pieces that I knew I’d never publish, about what it’s like to feel like you’re in a shame spiral. And I couldn’t figure out how to learn from it. Because I wasn’t sure exactly what I did that was so wrong. That was really hard for me, because I cannot stand it when people can’t take criticism. So I try to self-examine, and even though that’s really hard and hurts a lot sometimes, I really try to understand where people are coming from when they don’t like me. And I completely get why people wouldn’t like me. Because, you know, I’ve had my insecurities say those things — and things 1,000 times worse. But some of your former critics have become your friends, right? Some of my best friendships came from people publicly criticizing me and then it opening up a conversation. Hayley Kiyoko was doing an interview and she made an example about how I get away with singing about straight relationships and people don’t give me shit the way they give her shit for singing about girls — and it’s totally valid. Like, Ella — Lorde — the first thing she ever said about me publicly was a criticism of my image or whatever. But I can’t really respond to someone saying, “You, as a human being, are fake.” And if they say you’re playing the victim, that completely undermines your ability to ever verbalize how you feel unless it’s positive. So, OK, should I just smile all the time and never say anything hurts me? Because that’s really fake. Or should I be real about how I’m feeling and have valid, legitimate responses to things that happened to me in my life? But wait, would that be playing the victim? How do you escape that mental trap? Since I was 15 years old, if people criticized me for something, I changed it. So you realize you might be this amalgamation of criticisms that were hurled at you, and not an actual person who’s made any of these choices themselves. And so I decided I needed to live a quiet life, because a quiet personal life invites no discussion, dissection, and debate. I didn’t realize I was inviting people to feel they had the right to sort of play my life like a video game. “The old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Because she’s dead!” was funny — but how seriously should we take it? There’s a part of me that definitely is always going to be different. I needed to grow up in many ways. I needed to make boundaries, to figure out what was mine and what was the public’s. That old version of me that shares unfailingly and unblinkingly with a world that is probably not fit to be shared with? I think that’s gone. But it was definitely just, like, a fun moment in the studio with me and Jack where I wanted to play on the idea of a phone call — because that’s how all of this started, a stupid phone call I shouldn’t have picked up. It would have been much easier if that’s what you’d just said. It would have been so, so great if I would have just said that . Some of the Lover iconography does suggest old Taylor’s return, though. I don’t think I’ve ever leaned into the old version of myself more creatively than I have on this album, where it’s very, very autobiographical. But also moments of extreme catchiness and moments of extreme personal confession. Did you do anything wrong from your perspective in dealing with that phone call? Is there anything you regret? The world didn’t understand the context and the events that led up to it. Because nothing ever just happens like that without some lead-up. Some events took place to cause me to be pissed off when he called me a bitch. That was not just a singular event. Basically, I got really sick of the dynamic between he and I. And that wasn’t just based on what happened on that phone call and with that song — it was kind of a chain reaction of things. I started to feel like we reconnected, which felt great for me — because all I ever wanted my whole career after that thing happened in 2009 was for him to respect me. When someone doesn’t respect you so loudly and says you literally don’t deserve to be here — I just so badly wanted that respect from him, and I hate that about myself, that I was like, “This guy who’s antagonizing me, I just want his approval.” But that’s where I was. And so we’d go to dinner and stuff. And I was so happy, because he would say really nice things about my music. It just felt like I was healing some childhood rejection or something from when I was 19. But the 2015 VMAs come around. He’s getting the Vanguard Award. He called me up beforehand — I didn’t illegally record it, so I can’t play it for you. But he called me up, maybe a week or so before the event, and we had maybe over an hourlong conversation, and he’s like, “I really, really would like for you to present this Vanguard Award to me, this would mean so much to me,” and went into all the reasons why it means so much, because he can be so sweet. He can be the sweetest. And I was so stoked that he asked me that. And so I wrote this speech up, and then we get to the VMAs and I make this speech and he screams, “MTV got Taylor Swift up here to present me this award for ratings!” And I’m standing in the audience with my arm around his wife, and this chill ran through my body. I realized he is so two-faced. That he wants to be nice to me behind the scenes, but then he wants to look cool, get up in front of everyone and talk shit. And I was so upset. He wanted me to come talk to him after the event in his dressing room. I wouldn’t go. So then he sent this big, big thing of flowers the next day to apologize. And I was like, “You know what? I really don’t want us to be on bad terms again. So whatever, I’m just going to move past this.” So when he gets on the phone with me, and I was so touched that he would be respectful and, like, tell me about this one line in the song. The line being “. . . me and Taylor might still have sex”? And I was like, “OK, good. We’re back on good terms.” And then when I heard the song, I was like, “I’m done with this. If you want to be on bad terms, let’s be on bad terms, but just be real about it.” And then he literally did the same thing to Drake. He gravely affected the trajectory of Drake’s family and their lives. It’s the same thing. Getting close to you, earning your trust, detonating you. I really don’t want to talk about it anymore because I get worked up, and I don’t want to just talk about negative shit all day, but it’s the same thing. Go watch Drake talk about what happened. When did you get to the place that’s described on the opening track of Lover, “I Forgot That You Existed”? It was sometime on the Reputation tour, which was the most transformative emotional experience of my career. That tour put me in the healthiest, most balanced place I’ve ever been. After that tour, bad stuff can happen to me, but it doesn’t level me anymore. The stuff that happened a couple of months ago with Scott would have leveled me three years ago and silenced me. I would have been too afraid to speak up. Something about that tour made me disengage from some part of public perception I used to hang my entire identity on, which I now know is incredibly unhealthy. What was the actual revelation? It’s almost like I feel more clear about the fact that my job is to be an entertainer. It’s not like this massive thing that sometimes my brain makes it into, and sometimes the media makes it into, where we’re all on this battlefield and everyone’s gonna die except one person, who wins. It’s like, “No, do you know what? Katy is going to be legendary. Gaga is going to be legendary. Beyoncé is going to be legendary. Rihanna is going to be legendary. Because the work that they made completely overshadows the myopia of this 24-hour news cycle of clickbait.” And somehow I realized that on tour, as I was looking at people’s faces. We’re just entertaining people, and it’s supposed to be fun. It’s interesting to look at these albums as a trilogy. 1989 was really a reset button. Oh, in every way. I’ve been very vocal about the fact that that decision was mine and mine alone, and it was definitely met with a lot of resistance. Internally. After realizing that things were not all smiles with your former label boss, Scott Borchetta, it’s hard not to wonder how much additional conflict there was over things like that. A lot of the best things I ever did creatively were things that I had to really fight — and I mean aggressively fight — to have happen. But, you know, I’m not like him, making crazy, petty accusations about the past. . . . When you have a business relationship with someone for 15 years, there are going to be a lot of ups and a lot of downs. But I truly, legitimately thought he looked at me as the daughter he never had. And so even though we had a lot of really bad times and creative differences, I was going to hang my hat on the good stuff. I wanted to be friends with him. I thought I knew what betrayal felt like, but this stuff that happened with him was a redefinition of betrayal for me, just because it felt like it was family. To go from feeling like you’re being looked at as a daughter to this grotesque feeling of “Oh, I was actually his prized calf that he was fattening up to sell to the slaughterhouse that would pay the most.” He accused you of declining the Parkland march and Manchester benefit show. Unbelievable. Here’s the thing: Everyone in my team knew if Scooter Braun brings us something, do not bring it to me. The fact that those two are in business together after the things he said about Scooter Braun — it’s really hard to shock me. And this was utterly shocking. These are two very rich, very powerful men, using $300 million of other people’s money to purchase, like, the most feminine body of work. And then they’re standing in a wood-panel bar doing a tacky photo shoot, raising a glass of scotch to themselves. Because they pulled one over on me and got this done so sneakily that I didn’t even see it coming. And I couldn’t say anything about it. In some ways, on a musical level, Lover feels like the most indie-ish of your albums. That’s amazing, thank you. It’s definitely a quirky record. With this album, I felt like I sort of gave myself permission to revisit older themes that I used to write about, maybe look at them with fresh eyes. And to revisit older instruments — older in terms of when I used to use them. Because when I was making 1989, I was so obsessed with it being this concept of Eighties big pop, whether it was Eighties in its production or Eighties in its nature, just having these big choruses — being unapologetically big. And then reputation, there was a reason why I had it all in lowercase. I felt like it wasn’t unapologetically commercial. It’s weird, because that is the album that took the most amount of explanation, and yet it’s the one I didn’t talk about. In the reputation secret sessions I kind of had to explain to my fans, “I know we’re doing a new thing here that I’d never done before.” I’d never played with characters before. For a lot of pop stars, that’s a really fun trick, where they’re like, “This is my alter ego.” I had never played with that before. It’s really fun. And it was just so fun to play with on tour — the darkness and the bombast and the bitterness and the love and the ups and the downs of an emotional-turmoil record. “Daylight” is a beautiful song. It feels like it could have been the title track. It almost was. I thought it might be a little bit too sentimental. And I guess maybe too on-the-nose. Right, yeah, way too on-the-nose. That’s what I thought, because I was kind of in my head referring to the album as Daylight for a while. But Lover, to me, was a more interesting title, more of an accurate theme in my head, and more elastic as a concept. That’s why “You Need to Calm Down” can make sense within the theme of the album — one of the things it addresses is how certain people are not allowed to live their lives without discrimination just based on who they love. For the more organic songs on this album, like “Lover” and “Paper Rings,” you said you were imagining a wedding band playing them. How often does that kind of visualization shape a song’s production style? Sometimes I’ll have a strange sort of fantasy of where the songs would be played. And so for songs like “Paper Rings” or “Lover” I was imagining a wedding-reception band, but in the Seventies, so they couldn’t play instruments that wouldn’t have been invented yet. I have all these visuals. For reputation, it was nighttime cityscape. I didn’t really want any — or very minimal — traditional acoustic instruments. I imagined old warehouse buildings that had been deserted and factory spaces and all this industrial kind of imagery. So I wanted the production to have nothing wooden. There’s no wood floors on that album. Lover is, like, completely just a barn wood floor and some ripped curtains flowing in the breeze, and fields of flowers and, you know, velvet. How did you come to use high school metaphors to touch on politics with “Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince”? There are so many influences that go into that particular song. I wrote it a couple of months after midterm elections, and I wanted to take the idea of politics and pick a metaphorical place for that to exist. And so I was thinking about a traditional American high school, where there’s all these kinds of social events that could make someone feel completely alienated. And I think a lot of people in our political landscape are just feeling like we need to huddle up under the bleachers and figure out a plan to make things better. I feel like your Fall Out Boy fandom might’ve slipped out in that title. I love Fall Out Boy so much. Their songwriting really influenced me, lyrically, maybe more than anyone else. They take a phrase and they twist it. “Loaded God complex/Cock it and pull it”? When I heard that, I was like, “I’m dreaming.” You sing about “American stories burning before me.” Do you mean the illusions of what America is? It’s about the illusions of what I thought America was before our political landscape took this turn, and that naivete that we used to have about it. And it’s also the idea of people who live in America, who just want to live their lives, make a living, have a family, love who they love, and watching those people lose their rights, or watching those people feel not at home in their home. I have that line “I see the high-fives between the bad guys” because not only are some really racist, horrific undertones now becoming overtones in our political climate, but the people who are representing those concepts and that way of looking at the world are celebrating loudly, and it’s horrific. You’re in this weird place of being a blond, blue-eyed pop star in this era — to the point where until you endorsed some Democratic candidates, right-wingers, and worse, assumed you were on their side. I don’t think they do anymore. Yeah, that was jarring, and I didn’t hear about that until after it had happened. Because at this point, I, for a very long time, I didn’t have the internet on my phone, and my team and my family were really worried about me because I was not in a good place. And there was a lot of stuff that they just dealt with without telling me about it. Which is the only time that’s ever happened in my career. I’m always in the pilot seat, trying to fly the plane that is my career in exactly the direction I want to take it. But there was a time when I just had to throw my hands up and say, “Guys, I can’t. I can’t do this. I need you to just take over for me and I’m just going to disappear.” Are you referring to when a white-supremacist site suggested you were on their team? I didn’t even see that, but, like, if that happened, that’s just disgusting. There’s literally nothing worse than white supremacy. It’s repulsive. There should be no place for it. Really, I keep trying to learn as much as I can about politics, and it’s become something I’m now obsessed with, whereas before, I was living in this sort of political ambivalence, because the person I voted for had always won. We were in such an amazing time when Obama was president because foreign nations respected us. We were so excited to have this dignified person in the White House. My first election was voting for him when he made it into office, and then voting to re-elect him. I think a lot of people are like me, where they just didn’t really know that this could happen. But I’m just focused on the 2020 election. I’m really focused on it. I’m really focused on how I can help and not hinder. Because I also don’t want it to backfire again, because I do feel that the celebrity involvement with Hillary’s campaign was used against her in a lot of ways. You took a lot of heat for not getting involved. Does any part of you regret that you just didn’t say “fuck it” and gotten more specific when you said to vote that November? Totally. Yeah, I regret a lot of things all the time. It’s like a daily ritual. Were you just convinced that it would backfire? That’s literally what it was. Yeah. It’s a very powerful thing when you legitimately feel like numbers have proven that pretty much everyone hates you. Like, quantifiably. That’s not me being dramatic. And you know that. There were a lot of people in those stadiums. It’s true. But that was two years later. . . . I do think, as a party, we need to be more of a team. With Republicans, if you’re wearing that red hat, you’re one of them. And if we’re going to do anything to change what’s happening, we need to stick together. We need to stop dissecting why someone’s on our side or if they’re on our side in the right way or if they phrased it correctly. We need to not have the right kind of Democrat and the wrong kind of Democrat. We need to just be like, “You’re a Democrat? Sick. Get in the car. We’re going to the mall.” Here’s a hard question for you: As a superfan, what did you think of the Game of Thrones finale? Oh, my God. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about this. So, clinically our brain responds to our favorite show ending the same way we feel when a breakup occurs. I read that. There’s no good way for it to end. No matter what would have happened in that finale, people still would have been really upset because of the fact that it’s over. I was glad to see you confirm that your line about a “list of names” was a reference to Arya. I like to be influenced by movies and shows and books and stuff. I love to write about a character dynamic. And not all of my life is going to be as kind of complex as these intricate webs of characters on TV shows and movies. There was a time when it was. That’s amazing. But is the idea that as your own life becomes less dramatic, you’ll need to pull ideas from other places? I don’t feel like that yet. I think I might feel like that possibly when I have a family. If I have a family. I don’t know why I said that! But that’s what I’ve heard from other artists, that they were very protective of their personal life, so they had to draw inspiration from other things. But again, I don’t know why I said that. Because I don’t know how my life is going to go or what I’m going to do. But right now, I feel like it’s easier for me to write than it ever was. You don’t talk about your relationship, but you’ll sing about it in wildly revealing detail. What’s the difference for you? Singing about something helps you to express it in a way that feels more accurate. You cannot, no matter what, put words in a quote and have it move someone the same way as if you heard those words with the perfect sonic representation of that feeling. . . . There is that weird conflict in being a confessional songwriter and then also having my life, you know, 10 years ago, be catapulted into this strange pop-culture thing. I’ve heard you say that people got too interested in which song was about who, which I can understand — at the same time, to be fair, it was a game you played into, wasn’t it? I realized very early on that no matter what, that was going to happen to me regardless. So when you realize the rules of the game you’re playing and how it will affect you, you got to look at the board and make your strategy. But at the same time, writing songs has never been a strategic element of my career. But I’m not scared anymore to say that other things in my career, like how to market an album, are strictly strategic. And I’m sick of women not being able to say that they have strategic business minds — because male artists are allowed to. And so I’m sick and tired of having to pretend like I don’t mastermind my own business. But, it’s a different part of my brain than I use to write. You’ve been masterminding your business since you were a teenager. Yeah, but I’ve also tried very hard — and this is one thing I regret — to convince people that I wasn’t the one holding the puppet strings of my marketing existence, or the fact that I sit in a conference room several times a week and come up with these ideas. I felt for a very long time that people don’t want to think of a woman in music who isn’t just a happy, talented accident. We’re all forced to kind of be like, “Aw, shucks, this happened again! We’re still doing well! Aw, that’s so great.” Alex Morgan celebrating scoring a goal at the World Cup and getting shit for it is a perfect example of why we’re not allowed to flaunt or celebrate, or reveal that, like, “Oh, yeah, it was me. I came up with this stuff.” I think it’s really unfair. People love new female artists so much because they’re able to explain that woman’s success. There’s an easy trajectory. Look at the Game of Thrones finale. I specifically really related to Daenerys’ storyline because for me it portrayed that it is a lot easier for a woman to attain power than to maintain it. I mean, she did murder . . . It’s a total metaphor! Like, obviously I didn’t want Daenerys to become that kind of character, but in taking away what I chose to take away from it, I thought maybe they’re trying to portray her climbing the ladder to the top was a lot easier than maintaining it, because for me, the times when I felt like I was going insane was when I was trying to maintain my career in the same way that I ascended. It’s easier to get power than to keep it. It’s easier to get acclaim than to keep it. It’s easier to get attention than to keep it. Well, I guess we should be glad you didn’t have a dragon in 2016. . . . I told you I don’t like that she did that! But, I mean, watching the show, though, maybe this is a reflection on how we treat women in power, how we are totally going to conspire against them and tear at them until they feel this — this insane shift, where you wonder, like, “What changed?” And I’ve had that happen, like, 60 times in my career where I’m like, “OK, you liked me last year, what changed? I guess I’ll change so I can keep entertaining you guys.” You once said that your mom could never punish you when you were little because you’d punish yourself. This idea of changing in the face of criticism and needing approval — that’s all part of wanting to be good, right? Whatever that means. But that seems to be a real driving force in your life. Yeah, that’s definitely very perceptive of you. And the question posed to me is, if you kept trying to do good things, but everyone saw those things in a cynical way and assumed them to be done with bad motivation and bad intent, would you still do good things, even though nothing that you did was looked at as good? And the answer is, yes. Criticism that’s constructive is helpful to my character growth. Baseless criticism is stuff I’ve got to toss out now. That sounds healthy. Is this therapy talking or is this just experience? No, I’ve never been to therapy. I talk to my mom a lot, because my mom is the one who’s seen everything. God, it takes so long to download somebody on the last 29 years of my life, and my mom has seen it all. She knows exactly where I’m coming from. And we talk endlessly. There were times when I used to have really, really, really bad days where we would just be on the phone for hours and hours and hours. I’d write something that I wanted to say, and instead of posting it, I’d just read it to her. I somehow connect all this to the lyric in “Daylight,” the idea of “so many lines that I’ve crossed unforgiven” — it’s a different kind of confession. I am really glad you liked that line, because that’s something that does bother me, looking back at life and realizing that no matter what, you screw things up. Sometimes there are people that were in your life and they’re not anymore — and there’s nothing you can do about it. You can’t fix it, you can’t change it. I told the fans last night that sometimes on my bad days, I feel like my life is a pile of crap accumulated of only the bad headlines or the bad things that have happened, or the mistakes I’ve made or clichés or rumors or things that people think about me or have thought for the last 15 years. And that was part of the “Look What You Made Me Do” music video, where I had a pile of literal old selves fighting each other. But, yeah, that line is indicative of my anxiety about how in life you can’t get everything right. A lot of times you make the wrong call, make the wrong decision. Say the wrong thing. Hurt people, even if you didn’t mean to. You don’t really know how to fix all of that. When it’s, like, 29 years’ worth. To be Mr. “Rolling Stone” for a second, there’s a Springsteen lyric, “Ain’t no one leaving this world, buddy/Without their shirttail dirty or hands a little bloody.” That’s really good! No one gets through it unscathed. No one gets through in one piece. I think that’s a hard thing for a lot of people to grasp. I know it was hard for me, because I kind of grew up thinking, “If I’m nice, and if I try to do the right thing, you know, maybe I can just, like, ace this whole thing.” And it turns out I can’t. It’s interesting to look at “I Did Something Bad” in this context. You pointing that out is really interesting because it’s something I’ve had to reconcile within myself in the last couple of years — that sort of “good” complex. Because from the time I was a kid I’d try to be kind, be a good person. Try really hard. But you get walked all over sometimes. And how do you respond to being walked all over? You can’t just sit there and eat your salad and let it happen. “I Did Something Bad” was about doing something that was so against what I would usually do. Katy and I were talking about our signs. . . .  Of course we were. That’s the greatest sentence ever. I hate you. We were talking about our signs because we had this really, really long talk when we were reconnecting and stuff. And I remember in the long talk, she was like, “If we had one glass of white wine right now, we’d both be crying.” Because we were drinking tea. We’ve had some really good conversations. We were talking about how we’ve had miscommunications with people in the past, not even specifically with each other. She’s like, “I’m a Scorpio. Scorpios just strike when they feel threatened.” And I was like, “Well, I’m an archer. We literally stand back, assess the situation, process how we feel about it, raise a bow, pull it back, and fire.” So it’s completely different ways of processing pain, confusion, misconception. And oftentimes I’ve had this delay in feeling something that hurts me and then saying that it hurts me. Do you know what I mean? And so I can understand how people in my life would have been like, “Whoa, I didn’t know that was how you felt.” Because it takes me a second. If you watch the video of the 2009 VMAs, I literally freeze. I literally stand there. And that is how I handle any discomfort, any pain. I stand there, I freeze. And then five minutes later, I know how I feel. But in the moment, I’m probably overreacting and I should be nice. Then I process it, and in five minutes, if it’s gone, it’s past, and I’m like, “I was overreacting, everything’s fine. I can get through this. I’m glad I didn’t say anything harsh in the moment.” But when it’s actually something bad that happened, and I feel really, really hurt or upset about it, I only know after the fact. Because I’ve tried so hard to squash it: “This probably isn’t what you think.” That’s something I had to work on. You could end up gaslighting yourself. Yeah, for sure. ’Cause so many situations where if I would have said the first thing that came to my mind, people would have been like, “Whoa!” And maybe I would have been wrong or combative. So a couple of years ago I started working on actually just responding to my emotions in a quicker fashion. And it’s really helped with stuff. It’s helped so much because sometimes you get in arguments. But conflict in the moment is so much better than combat after the fact. Well, thanks. I do feel like I just did a therapy session. As someone who’s never been to therapy, I can safely say that was the best therapy session.

There I was again tonight Forcing laughter, faking smiles Same old tired, lonely place Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy Vanished when I saw your face All I can say is, it was enchanting to meet you Your eyes whispered, Have we met? Across the room your silhouette Starts to make it’s way to me The playful conversation starts Counter all your quick remarks Like passing notes in secrecy And it was enchanting to meet you All I can say is, I was enchanted to meet you This night is sparkling Dont you let it go Im wonderstruck Blushing all the way home Ill spend forever Wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you The lingering question kept me up 2AM, who do you love? I wonder til Im wide awake And now Im pacing back and forth Wishing you were at my door Id open up and you would say, Hey It was enchanting to meet you All I know is I was enchanted to meet you This night is sparkling Dont you let it go Im wonderstruck Blushing all the way home Ill spend forever Wondering if you knew This night is flawless Dont you let it go Im wonderstruck Dancing around all alone Ill spend forever Wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you This is me praying that This was the very first page Not where the storyline ends My thoughts will echo your name Until I see you again These are the words I held back As I was leaving too soon I was enchanted to meet you Please dont be in love With someone else Please dont have somebody waiting on you Please dont be in love with someone else Please dont have somebody waiting on you Please don’t be in love with someone else Please don’t have somebody waiting on you Please don’t be in love with someone else This night is sparkling Dont you let it go Im wonderstruck Blushing all the way home Ill spend forever Wondering if you knew This night is flawless Dont you let it go Im wonderstruck Dancing around all alone Ill spend forever Wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you Please dont be in love with someone else Please dont have somebody Waiting on you

I promise that youll never find another like me I know that Im a handful, baby, uh I know I never think before I jump And youre the kind of guy the ladies want I know that I went psycho on the phone I never leave well enough alone And troubles gonna follow where I go But one of these things is not like the others Like a rainbow with all of the colors Baby doll, when it comes to a lover I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Im the only one of me Baby, thats the fun of me Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you Baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e I know I tend to make it about me I know you never get just what you see But I will never bore you, baby And when we had that fight out in the rain You ran after me and called my name I never wanna see you walk away Cause one of these things is not like the others Livin in winter, I am your summer Baby doll, when it comes to a lover I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Im the only one of me Let me keep you company Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you Baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e Yeah, there aint no I in team But you know there is a me Strike the band up, 1, 2, 3 I promise that youll never find another like me No, there aint no I in team But you know there is a me And you cant spell awesome without me I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Im the only one of me Baby, thats the fun of me Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you Baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e Yeah, there aint no I in team But you know there is a me Im the only one of me Baby, thats the fun of me Strike the band up, 1, 2, 3 You cant spell awesome without me Youre the only one of you Baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e

Baby, this is what you came for Lightning strikes every time she moves And everybodys watching her But shes looking at you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, oh, oh Baby, this is what you came for Lightning strikes every time she moves And everybodys watching her But shes looking at you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, oh, oh But shes looking at You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh We go fast with the game we play Who knows why its gotta be this way? We say nothing more than we need I say your place when we leave Baby, this is what you came for Lightning strikes every time she moves And everybodys watching her But shes looking at you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, oh This is what you came for This is what, this is what, this is, this is what you came for This is what, this is what, this is, this is what you came for This is what, this is what, this is, this is what you came for This is what, this is what, this is, this is what you came for This is what, this is what, this is, this is what you came for This is what, this is what, this is, this is what you came for This is what, this is what, this is, this is what you came for This is what, this is what, this is, this is what you came for

Tonight You come and pick me up the headlights Long drive Could end in broken hearts or paradise Fade into view, oh Its been a while since I have even heard from you I should just tell you to leave cause I Know exactly where it leads but I Watch it go round and round each time You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye And I got that red dress, classic thing that you like And when we go crashing down, we come back every time We never go out of style, we never go out of style Youve got that long hair slicked back, white T-shirt And I got that good girl faith and my favourite shirt And when we go crashing down, we come back every time We never go out of style, we never go out of style You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye And I got that red dress, classic thing that you like And when we go crashing down, we come back every time We never go out of style, we never go out of style Youve got that long hair slicked back, white T-shirt And I got that good girl faith and my favourite shirt And when we go crashing down, we come back every time We never go out of style, we never go out of style Take me home Just take me home Yeah, just take me home, oh Out of style You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye And I got that red dress, classic thing that you like And when we go crashing down, we come back every time We never go out of style, we never go out of style

It feels like a perfect night To dress up like hipsters And make fun of our exes, uh-uh, uh-uh It feels like a perfect night For breakfast at midnight To fall in love with strangers, uh-uh, uh-uh Yeah Were happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time Its miserable and magical, oh, yeah Tonights the night when we forget about the deadlines Its time, oh-oh I dont know about you, but Im feeling 22 Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you You dont know about me, but Ill bet you want to Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like were 22, 22 It seems like one of those nights This place is too crowded Too many cool kids, uh-uh, uh-uh It seems like one of those nights We ditch the whole scene And end up dreaming Instead of sleeping Yeah Were happy, free, confused, and lonely in the best way Its miserable and magical, oh, yeah Tonights the night when we forget about the heartbreaks Its time, oh-oh I dont know about you, but Im feeling 22 Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you You dont know about me, but Ill bet you want to Everything will be alright if We just keep dancing like were 22 22 22, 22 It feels like one of those nights We ditch the whole scene It feels like one of those nights We wont be sleeping It feels like one of those nights You look like bad news I gotta have you I gotta have you Ooh, ooh, yeah I dont know about you But Im feeling 22 Everything will be alright if you keep me next to you You dont know about me But Ill bet you want to Everything will be alright if we just keep dancing like were 22 22 22 , 22, It feels like one of those nights We ditch the whole scene It feels like one of those nights We wont be sleeping It feels like one of those nights You look like bad news I gotta have you I gotta have you

You, with your words like knives And swords and weapons that you use against me You have knocked me off my feet again Got me feeling like Im nothing You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard Calling me out when Im wounded You picking on the weaker man You can take me down with just one single blow But you dont know, what you dont know... Someday Ill be living in a big ol city And all youre ever gonna be is mean Someday Ill be big enough so you cant hit me And all youre ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so mean? You, with your switching sides And your wildfire lies and your humiliation You have pointed out my flaws again As if I dont already see them I walk with my head down Trying to block you out cause Ill never impress you I just wanna feel okay again I bet you got pushed around Somebody made you cold But the cycle ends right now Cause you cant lead me down that road And you dont know, what you dont know... Someday Ill be living in a big ol city And all youre ever gonna be is mean Someday Ill be big enough so you cant hit me And all youre ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so mean? And I can see you years from now in a bar Talking over a football game With that same big loud opinion But nobodys listening Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things Drunk and grumbling on about how I cant sing But all you are is mean All you are is mean And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life And mean, and mean, and mean, and mean But someday Ill be living in a big ol city And all youre ever gonna be is mean, yeah Someday Ill be big enough so you cant hit me And all youre ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so?.. Someday Ill be living in a big ol city And all youre ever gonna be is mean Someday Ill be big enough so you cant hit me And all youre ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so mean? ---

Baby, Im sorry Payback is a bad chick And baby, Im the baddest You messin with a savage Cant have this, cant have this And itd be nice of me to take it easy on ya, but no This is the part when I say I dont want ya Im stronger than Ive been before This is the part when I break free Cause I cant resist it no more Is it just our bodies? Are we both losing our minds? Is the only reason youre holding me tonight Cause were scared to be lonely? Do we need somebody just to feel like were alright? Is the only rеason youre holding me tonight Cause wеre scared to be lonely? Scared to be lonely Nice to meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things Magic, madness, heaven, sin Saw you there and I thought Oh my God, look at that face You look like my next mistake Loves a game, wanna play? So its gonna be forever Or its gonna go down in flames You can tell me when its over If the high was worth the pain Got a long list of ex-lovers Theyll tell you Im insane But Ive got a blank space, baby And Ill write your name So you wanna play with magic? Boy, you should know what youre fallin for Baby, do you dare to do this? Cause Im coming at you like a dark horse Are you ready for, ready for A perfect storm, perfect storm? Cause once youre mine, once youre mine Theres no going back We found love in a hopeless place We found love in a hopeless place We found love in a hopeless place We found love in a hopeless place You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing You say I am strong when I think I am weak You say I am held when I am falling short When I don’t belong, You say I am Yours And I believe Oh I believe What You say of me I believe I can see your halo Everywhere Im looking now Im surrounded by your embrace Baby, I can see your halo You know youre my saving grace I can feel your halo halo I can see your halo halo I can feel your halo halo Halo halo

We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes, and the flashback starts Im standing there On a balcony in summer air See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns See you make your way through the crowd And say, hello Little did I know That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles And my daddy said, stay away from Juliet And I was crying on the staircase Begging you, please dont go, and I said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres left to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill be the princess Its a love story baby just say yes So I sneak out to the garden to see you We keep quiet, cause were dead if they knew So close your eyes Escape this town for a little while Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter And my daddy said, Stay away from Juliet But you were everything to me I was begging you please dont go and I said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres left to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill be the princess Its a love story baby just say yes Romeo, save me, theyre trying to tell me how to feel This love is difficult, but its real Dont be afraid, well make it out of this mess Its a love story baby just say yes Oh, oh I got tired of waiting Wondering if you were ever coming around My faith in you was fading When I met you on the outskirts of town, and I said Romeo save me Ive been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you but you never come Is this in my head? I dont know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring And said: Marry me Juliet Youll never have to be alone I love you and thats all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress Its a love story baby just say yes Oh, oh Oh, oh Cause we were both young when I first saw you

You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables Left a small town and never looked back I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts I say, Can you believe it? As were lying on the couch The moment, I could see it Yes, yes, I can see it now Do you remember, we were sitting there, by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time You made a rebel of a careless mans careful daughter You are the best thing thats ever been mine Flash forward, and were taking on the world together And theres a drawer of my things at your place You learn my secrets and you figure out why Im guarded You say well never make my parents mistakes But we got bills to pay We got nothing figured out When it was hard to take Yes, yes This is what I thought about: Do you remember, we were sitting there, by the water? You put your arm around me for the first time You made a rebel of a careless mans careful daughter You are the best thing thats ever been mine Do you remember all the city lights on the water? You saw me start to believe for the first time You made a rebel of a careless mans careful daughter You are the best thing thats ever been mine oh-woah And I remember that fight, 2:30 AM As everything was slipping right out of our hands I ran out, crying, and you followed me out into the street Braced myself for the goodbye Cause thats all Ive ever known Then, you took me by surprise You said, Ill never leave you alone. You said, I remember how we felt, sitting by the water And every time I look at you, its like the first time I fell in love with a careless mans careful daughter She is the best thing thats ever been mine Hold on, make it last Hold on, never turn back You made a rebel of a careless mans careful daughter You are the best thing thats ever been mine Do you believe it? Were gonna make it now And I can see it Yeah, yeah I can see it now

You and I walk a fragile line I have known it all this time But I never thought Id live to see it break Its getting dark and its all too quiet And I cant trust anything now Its coming over you like its all a big mistake Oh-Whoa, holding my breath Wont lose you again Somethings made your eyes go cold Come on, come on, dont leave me like this I thought I had you figured out Somethings gone terribly wrong Youre all I wanted Come on, come on, dont leave me like this I thought I had you figured out Cant breathe whenever youre gone Cant turn back now, Im haunted Stood there and watched you walk away From everything we had But I still mean every word I said to you He will try to take away my pain And he just might make me smile But the whole time, Im wishing it was you instead Oh-whoa, holding my breath Whoa Wont see you again Something keeps me holding onto nothing Come on, come on, dont leave me like this I thought I had you figured out Somethings gone terribly wrong You are all I wanted Come on, come on, dont leave me like this I thought I had you figured out Cant breathe whenever youre gone Cant turn back now, Im haunted I know I know I just know Youre not gone, you cant be gone, no Come on, come on, dont leave me like this I thought I had you figured out Somethings gone terribly wrong Wont finish what you started Come on, come on, dont leave me like this I thought I had you figured out Cant breathe whenever youre gone I Cant go back, Im haunted You and I walk a fragile line I have known it all this time Never ever thought Id see it break Never thought Id see it

2007 Live from SoHo Rhapsody Originals 2008 Live from Clear Channel Stripped 2008 2009 Stripped: Raw & Real 2011 Speak Now: World Tour Live 2020 Live from Paris

She said, I was seven and you were nine I looked at you like the stars that shined In the sky‚ the pretty lights And our daddies used to joke about the two of us Growing up and falling in love and our mamas smiled And rolled their eyes and said oh my my my Take me back to the house in the backyard tree Said youd beat me up‚ you were bigger than me You never did‚ you never did Take me back when our world was one block wide I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried Just two kids, you and I Oh my my my my Well, I was sixteen when suddenly I wasnt that little girl you used to see But your eyes still shined like pretty lights And our daddies used to joke about the two of us They never believed wed really fall in love And our mamas smiled and rolled their eyes And said oh my my my Take me back to the creek beds we turned up Two A.M. riding in your truck and all I need is you next to me Take me back to the time we had our very first fight The slamming of doors instead of kissing goodnight You stayed outside till the morning light Oh my my my my A few years had gone and come around We were sitting at our favorite spot in town And you looked at me‚ got down on one knee Take me back to the time when we walked down the aisle Our whole town came and our mamas cried You said I do and I did too Take me home where we met so many years before Well rock our babies on that very front porch After all this time, you and I And Ill be eighty-seven; youll be eighty-nine Ill still look at you like the stars that shine In the sky, oh my my my Thank you so much!

We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes, and the flashback starts Im standing there On a balcony in summer air See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns See you make your way through the crowd And say, hello Little did I know That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles And my daddy said, stay away from Juliet And I was crying on the staircase Begging you, please dont go, and I said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres left to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill be the princess Its a love story, baby, just say yes So I sneak out to the garden to see you We keep quiet, cause were dead if they knew So close your eyes Escape this town for a little while Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter And my daddy said, Stay away from Juliet But you were everything to me I was begging you please dont go, and I said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres left to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill be the princess Its a love story baby just say yes Romeo, save me, theyre trying to tell me how to feel This love is difficult, but its real Dont be afraid, well make it out of this mess Its a love story, baby, just say yes Oh, oh I got tired of waiting Wondering if you were ever coming around My faith in you was fading When I met you on the outskirts of town And I said: Romeo, save me, Ive been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you but you never come Is this in my head? I dont know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring And said: Marry me Juliet Youll never have to be alone I love you and thats all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress Its a love story, baby, just say yes Oh, oh Oh, oh Cause we were both young when I first saw you

You, with your words like knives And swords and weapons that you use against me You have knocked me off my feet again Got me feeling like Im nothing You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard Calling me out when Im wounded You, picking on the weaker man You can take me down With just one single blow But you dont know what you dont know Someday, Ill be living in a big old city And all youre ever gonna be is mean Someday, Ill be big enough so you cant hit me And all youre ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so mean? You, with your switching sides And your wildfire lies and your humiliation You have pointed out my flaws again As if I dont already see them I walk with my head down, trying to block you out Cause Ill never impress you I just wanna feel okay again I bet you got pushed around Somebody made you cold But the cycle ends right now Cause you cant lead me down that road And you dont know what you dont know Someday, Ill be living in a big old city And all youre ever gonna be is mean Someday, Ill be big enough so you cant hit me And all youre ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so mean? And I can see you years from now in a bar Talking over a football game With that same big loud opinion But nobodys listening Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things Drunk and grumbling on about how I cant sing All you are is mean All you are is mean And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life
And mean, and mean, and mean, and mean But someday, Ill be living in a big old city
And all youre ever gonna be is mean, yeah Someday, Ill be big enough so you cant hit me And all youre ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so-? Someday, Ill be living in a big old city And all youre ever gonna be is mean Someday, Ill be big enough so you cant hit me And all youre ever gonna be is mean
Why you gotta be so mean?

We were crazy to think Crazy to think that this could work Remember how I said Id die for you? We were stupid to jump Into the ocean separating us Remember how Id fly to you? And I cant talk to you when youre like this Staring out the window like Im not your favorite town Im New York City I still do it for you, babe They all warned us about times like this They say the road gets hard and you get lost When youre led by blind faith, blind faith But we might just get away with it Religions in your lips Even if its a false god We might just get away with it The altar is my hips Even if its a false god Wed still worship this love Wed still worship this love Wed still worship this love I know heavens a thing I go there when you touch me, honey Hell is when I fight with you But we can patch it up good Make confessions and were begging for forgiveness Got the wine for you And you cant talk to me when Im like this Daring you to leave me just so I can try and scare you Youre the West Village You still do it for me, babe They all warned us about times like this They say the road gets hard and you get lost When youre led by blind faith, blind faith But we might just get away with it Religions in your lips Even if its a false god We might just get away with it The altar is my hips Even if its a false god Wed still worship this love Wed still worship this love Wed still worship this love

We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes, and the flashback starts Im standing there On a balcony in summer air See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns See you make your way through the crowd And say, Hello Little did I know That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles And my daddy said, Stay away from Julian I was crying on the staircase Begging you, Please dont go, and I said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres lеft to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill bе the prince too Its a love story, baby, just say— So I sneak out to the garden to see you We keep quiet, cause were dead if they knew So close your eyes Escape this town for a little while, oh Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter And my daddy said, Stay away from Julian But you were everything to me I was begging you, Please dont go, and I said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres left to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill be the prince too Its a love story, baby, just say Yes Romeo, save me, theyre trying to tell me how to feel This love is difficult, but its real Dont be afraid, well make it out of this mess Its a love story, baby, just say Yes Oh baby, baby, just say Yes I got tired of waiting Wondering if you were ever coming around My faith in you was fading When I met you on the outskirts of town I said, Romeo, save me, Ive been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you but you never come Is this in my head? I dont know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring, and said Marry me, Julian, youll never have to be alone I love you, and thats all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress Its a love story, baby, just say Yes Oh, say Yes

Its strange to think the songs we used to sing The smiles, the flowers, everything is gone Well, yesterday I found out about you Even now just looking at you: feels wrong You say that youd take it all back, given one chance It was a moment of weakness and you said, Yes You shouldve said, No You shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve known that word, bout what you did with her’d Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me You can see that Ive been crying Baby, you know all the right things to say But do you honestly expect me to believe We could ever be the same? You say that the past is the past, you need one chance It was a moment of weakness and you said, Yes You shouldve said, No You shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve known that word, bout what you did with her’d Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me Oh, whoa I cant resist Before you go tell me this Was it worth it? Was she worth this? No no, no, no You shouldve said, No You shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve known that word, bout what you did with her’d Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me Ladies and gentleman, Taylor Swift! Thank you very much

Jon Bellion - 80s Films Ariana Grande - Everyday NEIKED & Dyo - Sexual Chris Stapleton - Fire Away James Blunt - Love Me Better Good Old War - Part of Me The National - Dark Side of the Gym HAIM - Ready For You The xx - I Dare You Niall Horan - Too Much To Ask SYML - Better Lana Del Rey - Tomorrow Never Came Dum Dum Girls - Coming Down Ed Sheeran - Perfect Danny Padilla - Too Bad Rihanna - Close To You Kehlani - Advice Halsey - Is There Somewhere Arcade Fire - We Don’t Deserve Love Marc E. Bassy - Subway Car Iron & Wine - Call It Dreaming Dierks Bentley - Black Joel Baker - No One In Heaven The Chainsmokers & Coldplay - Something Just Like This James Cherry - Hold On Selena Gomez - Nobody Liam Gallagher - For What Its Worth Betty Who - Blue Heaven Midnight Crush Lady Gaga - The Cure Lana Del Rey - Love Volcano Choir - Comrade Miley Cyrus - Malibu Aaron Espe - Making All Things New Midland - Drinkin Problem Kesha - Learn To Let Go The-Dream - Code Blue Brett Young - Like I Loved You Shawn Mendes - Bad Reputation The Pierces - We Are Stars Wrabel - Bloodstain Haux - Youth Banks - Crowded Places Rihanna - Kiss It Better Kings of Leon - Reverend Maren Morris - Sugar Bon Iver - 8 Kendrick Lamar - LOVE. Cole Swindell - Middle of a Memory Sleeping at Last - Atlas: Body The National - Carin at the Liquor Store Ryan Hurd - Love in a Bar Aquilo - You Won’t Know Where You Stand J Hus - Did You See Charli XCX - Boys Vindata, Skrillex, & NSTASIA - Favor Khalid - Shot Down Daniel Caesar - Japanese Denim Keaton Henson - Alright Bleachers - Lets Get Married

You booked the night train for a reason So you could sit there in this hurt Bustling crowds or silent sleepers Youre not sure which is worse Cause I dropped your hand while dancing Left you out there standing Crestfallen on the landing Champagne problems Your moms ring in your pocket My picture in your wallet Your heart was glass, I dropped it Champagne problems You told your family for a reason You couldnt keep it in Your sister splashed out on the bottle Now no ones celebrating, no Dom Pérignon, you brought it No crowd of friends applauded Your hometown skeptics called it Champagne problems You had a speech, youre speechless Love slipped beyond your reaches And I couldnt give a reason Champagne problems Your Midas touch on the Chevy door November flush and your flannel cure This dorm was once a madhouse Made a joke, Its made for me How evergreen, our group of friends Dont think well say that word again And soon theyll have the nerve to deck the halls That we once walked through One for the money, two for the show I never was ready so I watch you go Sometimes you just dont know the answer Til someones on their knees and asks you She wouldve made such a lovely bride What a shame shes sick in the head But youll find the real thing instead Shell patch up your tapestry that I shred And hold your hand while dancing Never leave you standing Crestfallen on the landing With champagne problems Your moms ring in your pocket Her picture in your wallet You wont remember all my Champagne problems You wont remember all my Champagne problems If Taylor Swift heard this, I would cry so hard that I would call my mom. Ello mum, Taylor Swift heard me version of her song. I dont know why I was British

Elevator buttons and morning air Stranger silence makes me wanna take the stairs If you were here wed laugh about their vacant stares But right now, my time is theirs... Seems like theres always someone who disapproves Theyll judge it like they know about me and you And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do The jury is out, but my choice is you... So dont you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine And life makes love look hard The stakes are high The water is rough But this love is ours... You never know what people have up their sleeves The ghosts from your past are gonna jump out at me Lurking in the shadows with their lip gloss smiles But i dont care, cause right now youre mine And youll say... Dont you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine And life makes love look hard The stakes are high The water is rough But this love is ours... And its not theirs to speculate if its wrong and Your hands are tough, but they are aware, my belonging Ill fight their doubt and give you faith With this song for you... cause i love the gap between your teeth And i love the riddles that you speak And and any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos Will be ignored, cause my heart is yours... So dont you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine And life makes love look hard And dont you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine But they cant take whats ours They cant take whats ours The stakes are high The water is rough But this love is ours...

I know that Im a handful, baby, uh I know I never think before I jump And youre the kind of guy the ladies want And theres a lot of cool chicks out there I know that I went psycho on the phone I never leave well enough alone And troubles gonna follow where I go And theres a lot of cool chicks out there One of these things is not like the others Like a rainbow with all of the colors Baby doll, when it comes to a lover I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Im the only one of me Baby, thats the fun of me Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you Baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e I know I tend to make it about me I know you never get just what you see But I will never bore you, baby And theres a lot of lame guys out there And when we had that fight out in the rain You ran after me and called my name I never wanna see you walk away And theres a lot of lame guys out there One of these things is not like the others Livin in winter, I am your summer Baby doll, when it comes to a lover I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Im the only one of me Let me keep you company Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you And baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e No, there aint no I in team But you know there is a me Strike the band up, 1, 2, 3 I promise that youll never find another like me No, there aint no I in team But you know there is a me And you cant spell awesome without me I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Cause Im the only one of me Baby, thats the fun of me Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you And baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e No, there aint no I in team But you know there is a me Im the only one of me Baby, thats the fun of me Strike the band up, 1, 2, 3 You cant spell awesome without me Youre the only one of you Baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e

I still remember the look on your face Lit through the darkness at 1:58 The words that you whispered For just us to know You told me you loved me So why did you go away? Away I do recall now the smell of the rain Fresh on the pavement I ran off the plane That July 9th The beat of your heart It jumps through your shirt I can still feel your arms But now Ill go sit on the floor Wearing your clothes All that I know is I dont know how to be something you miss I never thought wed have a last kiss I Never imagined wed end like this Your name, forever the name on my lips I still remember the swing of your step The life of the party, youre showing off again And I roll my eyes and then You pull me in Im not much for dancing But for you I did Because I love your handshake, meeting my father I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets How you kissed me when I was in the middle of saying something Theres not a day I dont miss those rude interruptions And Ill go sit on the floor Wearing your clothes All that I know is I dont know how to be something you miss I never thought wed have a last kiss I never imagined wed end like this Your name, forever the name on my lips, ooh So Ill watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe And I keep up with our old friends just to ask them how you are Hope its nice where you are And I hope the sun shines And its a beautiful day And something reminds you You wish you had stayed You can plan for a change in weather and time But I never planned on you changing your mind And Ill go sit on the floor Wearing your clothes All that I know is I dont know how to be something you miss I never thought wed have a last kiss I never imagined wed end like this Your name, forever the name on my lips, ooh Just like our last kiss Forever the name on my lips Just like our last

: I promise that youll never find another like me : I know that I’m a handful, baby, uh I know I never think before I jump And youre the kind of guy the ladies want I know that I went psycho on the phone I never leave well enough alone And trouble’s gonna follow where I go But one of these things is not like the others Like a rainbow with all of the colors Baby doll, when it comes to a lover I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Im the only one of me Baby, thats the fun of me Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you Baby, thats the fun of you Me-e-e Me-e-e Me-e-e Me-e-e Me-e-e Me-e-e And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e ’Cause one of these things is not like the others Livin’ in winter, I am your summer Baby doll, when it comes to a lover I promise that youll never find another like : Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh I’m the only one of me Let me keep you company Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you Baby, thats the fun of you And I promise that nobodys gonna love you like me-e-e Me-e-e Me-e-e Me-e-e Me-e-e Me-e-e And I promise that nobody’s gonna love you like me-e-e

Elevator buttons and morning air Strangers silence makes me want to take the stairs If you were here, wed laugh about their vacant stares But right now, my time is theirs Seems like theres always someone who disapproves Theyll judge it like they know about me and you And the verdict comes from those with nothing else to do The jurys out, but my choice is you So dont you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine And life makes love look hard The stakes are high, the waters rough But this love is ours You never know what people have up their sleeves Ghosts from your past gonna jump out at me Lurking in the shadows with their lip gloss smiles But I dont care, cause right now, youre mine And youll say Dont you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine And life makes love look hard The stakes are high, the waters rough But this love is ours And its not theirs to speculate if its wrong And your hands are tough, but they are where mine belong And Ill fight their doubt and give you faith With this song for you Cause I love the gap between your teeth And I love the riddles that you speak And any snide remarks from my father about your tattoos Will be ignored Cause my heart is yours So dont you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine And life makes love look hard So Dont you worry your pretty little mind People throw rocks at things that shine But they cant take whats ours They cant take whats ours The stakes are high, the waters rough But this love is ours

This aint for the best My reputations never been worse So, he must like me for me Im here on the east side Where you at? Phone lights up my nightstand in the black Come here you can meet me in the back Cause I like you Dark jeans in your Nikes, look at you Oh dang, never seen that color blue Just think of the fun things we could do Cause I like you This aint for the best My reputations never been worse You must like me for me Yeah, I want you We cant make any promises Now, can we, babe But you can me think Im so, Im so happy youre alive Swear that Im down if youre down Ill be right there by your side Boy, anything that I can do just to keep you in my life, oh I just had to let you know youre Fine Runnin circles round my mind Even when its rainy, all you ever do is shine Youre a fire, youre a star just like Mariah Man, this feel incredible Its never been so right Youre Mine Nobody better, I dont wanna waste no time Feels like forever, even if forevers tonight Just stay with me Waste this night away with me youre mine I cant look away, I just gotta say Sometimes, I wonder when you sleep Are you ever dreaming of me? Sometimes, when I look into your eyes I pretend youre mine all of the time Is it cool that I said all that? Is it true that youre in my head? Cause I know that its delicate Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? Cause you know that Im delicate Delicate

This aint for the best My reputations never been worse, so You must like me for me… We cant make Any promises now, can we, babe? But you can make me a drink Dive bar on the East Side, where you at? Phone lights up my nightstand in the black Come here, you can meet me in the back Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you Oh damn, never seen that color blue Just think of the fun things we could do Cause I like you This aint for the best My reputations never been worse, so You must like me for me… Yeah, I want you We cant make Any promises now, can we, babe? But you can make me a drink Is it cool that I said all that? Is it chill that youre in my head? Cause I know that its delicate Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? Cause I know that its delicate Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it... delicate? Third floor on the West Side, me and you Handsome, youre a mansion with a view Do the girls back home touch you like I do? Long night, with your hands up in my hair Echoes of your footsteps on the stairs Stay here, honey, I dont wanna share Cause I like you This aint for the best My reputations never been worse, so You must like me for me… Yeah, I want you... We cant make Any promises now, can we, babe? But you can make me a drink Is it cool that I said all that? Is it chill that youre in my head? Cause I know that its delicate Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? Cause I know that its delicate Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it delicate? Sometimes I wonder when you sleep Are you ever dreaming of me? Sometimes when I look into your eyes I pretend youre mine, all the damn time Cause I like you Is it cool that I said all that? Is it chill that youre in my head? Cause I know that its delicate Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? Cause I know that its delicate Cause I like you Is it cool that I said all that? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Is it chill that youre in my head? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Cause I know that its delicate Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Is it cool that I said all that? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Is it too soon to do this yet? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Cause I know that its delicate Isnt it delicate?

One, two Well, I was riding shotgun with my hair undone In the front seat of his car Hes got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel The other on my heart I look around, turn the radio down He says, Baby, is something wrong? I say, Nothing, I was just thinking How we dont have a song And he says Our song is the slamming screen door Sneakin out late, tapping on your window When were on the phone and you talk real slow Cause its late and your mama dont know Our song is the way you laugh The first date: Man, I didnt kiss her, and I should have And when I got home fore I said amen Asking God if he could play it again I was walking up the front porch steps After everything that day Had gone all wrong and been trampled on And lost and thrown away Got to the hallway, well on my way To my lovin bed I almost didnt notice all the roses And the note that said Our song is the slamming screen door Sneakin out late, tapping on your window When were on the phone and you talk real slow Cause its late and your mama dont know Our song is the way you laugh The first date: Man, I didnt kiss her, and I should have And when I got home fore I said amen Asking God if he could play it again Da da da da Well, Ive heard every album, listened to the radio Waited for something to come along That was as good as our song Cause our song is the slamming screen door Sneakin out late, tapping on his window When were on the phone and he talks real slow Cause its late and his mama dont know Our song is the way he laughs The first date: Man, I didnt kiss him, and I should have And when I got home fore I said amen Asking God if he could play it again Play it again Oh yeah Oh oh yeah I was riding shotgun with my hair undone In the front seat of his car I grabbed a pen and an old napkin And I wrote down our song Thank you so much!

Before the Harvey Weinstein allegations broke, and before #MeToo swept the Internet, Taylor Swift testified in court on Aug. 10 about being assaulted in a room full of people. Swift, who TIME recognized as one of the Silence Breakers who inspired women to speak out about harassment in this year’s Person of the Year issue, granted TIME her first interview since the trial. In 2013, the singer-songwriter took a photo with a Colorado radio DJ after an interview. During that photo, Swift says, DJ David Mueller reached under her skirt and grabbed her rear end. Swift privately reported the incident to the station at which Mueller worked, and he was fired. Mueller then sued Swift for defamation; she countersued for a symbolic $1—and won. Swift refused to be bullied on the stand. Her straightforward testimony was lauded by many for its fierceness. When asked why the pictures taken during the assault didn’t show the front of her skirt wrinkled as evidence of any wrongdoing, she said simply, “Because my ass is located at the back of my body.” When asked if she felt guilty about Mueller losing his job, she said, “I’m not going to let you or your client make me feel in any way that this is my fault. Here we are years later, and I’m being blamed for the unfortunate events of his life that are the product of his decisions—not mine.” Like many of the women interviewed for the 2017 Person of the Year issue, Swift would not accept blame for the abuse she experienced. Her clear-eyed testimony marked one of several major milestones in the conversation around sexual harassment this year. Swift responded to questions about her experience from TIME in writing. Why was it important for you to come forward about what happened to you? In 2013, I met a DJ from a prominent country radio station in one of my pre-show meet and greets. When we were posing for the photo, he stuck his hand up my dress and grabbed onto my ass cheek. I squirmed and lurched sideways to get away from him, but he wouldn’t let go. At the time, I was headlining a major arena tour and there were a number of people in the room that saw this plus a photo of it happening. I figured that if he would be brazen enough to assault me under these risky circumstances and high stakes, imagine what he might do to a vulnerable, young artist if given the chance. It was important to report the incident to his radio station because I felt like they needed to know. The radio station conducted its own investigation and fired him. Two years later, he sued me. How did you feel when you testified? When I testified, I had already been in court all week and had to watch this man’s attorney bully, badger and harass my team including my mother over inane details and ridiculous minutiae, accusing them, and me, of lying. My mom was so upset after her cross-examination, she was physically too ill to come to court the day I was on the stand. I was angry. In that moment, I decided to forego any courtroom formalities and just answer the questions the way it happened. This man hadn’t considered any formalities when he assaulted me, and his lawyer didn’t hold back on my mom—why should I be polite? I’m told it was the most amount of times the word “ass” has ever been said in Colorado Federal Court. How have people responded to your story? People have been largely very supportive of my story since the trial began in August, but before that, I spent two years reading headlines referring to it as “The Taylor Swift Butt Grab Case” with internet trolls making a joke about what happened to me. The details were all skewed, as they often are. Most people thought I was suing him. There was an audible gasp in the courtroom when I was named as the defendant. Once it hit the news that I was in Denver dealing with this, there was an outpouring of support on social media and I have never appreciated it more. I spoke to Kesha on the phone and it really helped to talk to someone who had been through the demoralizing court process. After this experience, what advice would you give to your fans? I would tell people who find themselves in this situation that there is a great deal of blame placed on the victims in cases of sexual harassment and assault. You could be blamed for the fact that it happened, for reporting it and blamed for how you reacted. You might be made to feel like you’re overreacting, because society has made this stuff seem so casual. My advice is that you not blame yourself and do not accept the blame others will try to place on you. You should not be blamed for waiting 15 minutes or 15 days or 15 years to report sexual assault or harassment, or for the outcome of what happens to a person after he or she makes the choice to sexually harass or assault you. Is this a watershed moment for the way we think about sexual assault and harassment in culture? I think that this moment is important for awareness, for how parents are talking to their children, and how victims are processing their trauma, whether it be new or old. The brave women and men who have come forward this year have all moved the needle in terms of letting people know that this abuse of power shouldn’t be tolerated. Going to court to confront this type of behavior is a lonely and draining experience, even when you win, even when you have the financial ability to defend yourself. Even though awareness is higher than ever about workplace sexual harassment, there are still so many people who feel victimized, afraid and silenced by their abusers and circumstances. When the jury found in my favor, the man who sexually assaulted me was court-ordered to give me a symbolic $1. To this day he has not paid me that dollar, and I think that act of defiance is symbolic in itself.

Thank you, thank you. Oh, thank you so much. Its great to be here hosting Saturday Night Live. I have wanted to host this show ever since I was a little kid. I stayed up past my bedtime to watch Bill Hader, Andy Samberg Being here is incredible. Im excited and Im nervous and yknow, whenever Im feeling strong emotions about something like this, I usually write a song about it. So this is what I came up with. Its called Monologue Song. In parentheses, La La La. I like glitter and sparkly dresses But Im not gonna talk about that in my monologue I like baking and things that smell like winter But Im not gonna talk about that in my monologue La la la La la la I like writing songs about douchebags who cheat on me But Im not gonna say that in my monologue I like writing their names into songs so theyre ashamed to go in public But Im not gonna say that in my monologue La la la la la la la This is my musical monologue You might think Id bring up Joe, the guy that broke up with me on the phone But Im not gonna mention him in my monologue Hey Joe, Im doin real well. Tonight Im hosting SNL But Im not gonna write about that in my monologue La la la Ha ha ha Ha ha ha la la la And if youre wondering if I might be dating the werewolf from Twilight Im not gonna comment on that in my monologue La la la la la la la This is my musical monologue You might be expecting me to say something bad about Kanye And how he ran up stage and ruined my VMA monologue But theres nothing to more to say, cause everythings okay Ive got security lining the stage At my SNL monologue La la la la la la la This is my SNL monologue La la la la la la la That was my SNL monologue We have a great show. Kanye West is not here, so stick around, well be right back

Baby, this is what you came for Lightning strikes every time she moves And everybodys watching her But shes looking at you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, oh But shes looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at But shes looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at But shes looking at We go fast with the game we play Who knows why its gotta be this way? We say nothing more than we need I say your place when we leave You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, oh But shes looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at But shes looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at But shes looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at Looking at But shes looking at

I used to think one day wed tell the story of us How we met and the sparks flew instantly And people would say theyre the lucky ones I used to know my place was the spot next to you Now Im searching the room for an empty seat Cause lately I dont even know what page youre on Oh, a simple complication, miscommunications lead to fall out So many things that I wish you knew So many walls up I cant break through Now Im standing alone in a crowded room And were not speaking And Im dying to know is it killing you like its killing me, yeah I dont know what to say since the twist of fate when it all broke down And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now Next chapter Howd we end up this way See me nervously pulling at my clothes and trying to look busy And youre doing your best to avoid me Im starting to think one day Ill tell the story of us How I was losing my mind when I saw you here But you held your pride like you shouldve held me Oh, Im scared to see the ending, why are we pretending this is nothing Id tell you I miss you, but I dont know how Ive never heard silence quite this loud Now Im standing alone in a crowded room And were not speaking And Im dying to know is it killing you like its killing me, yeah I dont know what to say since the twist of fate when it all broke down And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now This is looking like a contest of who can act like they care less But I liked it better when you were on my side The battles in your hands now But I would lay my armor down if you said youd rather love than fight So many things that you wish I knew But the story of us might be ending soon Now Im standing alone in a crowded room And were not speaking And Im dying to know is it killing you like its killing me, yeah I dont know what to say since the twist of fate when it all broke down The story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now Now, now And were not speaking And Im dying to know is it killing you like its killing me, yeah I dont know what to say since the twist of fate cause were goin down And the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now The end

I wanna be your end game I wanna be your first string I wanna be your A-Team I wanna be your end game, end game Big reputation, big reputation Ooh, you and me, we got big reputations, ah And you heard about me, ooh I got some big enemies Big reputation, big reputation Ooh, you and me would be a big conversation, ah And I heard about you, ooh You like the bad ones too You so dope, dont lt me go Im so stoked, I need a toast We do the most, Im in the Ghost like Im whippin a boat, boat I got a reputation, girl that dont precede me Im one call away whenever you need me Im in a G5 , come to the A-Side I got a good girl persona, thats what they like You love it, I love it too cause you my type You hold me down, and I protect you with my life I dont wanna touch you, I dont wanna be Just another ex-love you dont wanna see I dont wanna miss you Like the other girls do I dont wanna hurt you, I just wanna be Chillin on a beach with you right next to me I know what they all say But I aint tryna play I wanna be your end game I wanna be your first string I wanna be your A-Team I wanna be your end game, end game Knew her when I was young, reconnected when we were little bit older Both sprung, I got issues and chips on both of my shoulders Reputation precedes me, in rumors, Im knee-deep The truth is, its easier to ignore it, believe me Even when wed argue, wed not do it for long And you understand the good and bad end up in the song For all your beautiful traits, and the way you do it with ease For all my flaws, paranoia, and insecurities Ive made mistakes and made some choices, thats hard to deny After the storm, something was born on the 4th of July Ive passed days without fun, this end game is the one With four words on the tip of my tongue, Ill never say it I dont wanna touch you, I dont wanna be Just another ex-love you dont wanna see I dont wanna miss you Like the other girls do I dont wanna hurt you, I just wanna be Chillin on a beach with you right next to me I know what they all say But I aint tryna play I wanna be your end game I wanna be your first string I wanna be your A-Team I wanna be your end game, end game I hit you like bang, we tried to forget it, but we just couldnt And I bury hatchets, but I keep maps of where I put em Reputation precedes me, they told you Im crazy I swear I dont love the drama, it loves me And I cant let you go, your hand prints on my soul Its like your eyes are glitter, its like your smile is gold Youve been calling my bluff on all my usual tricks So heres the truth from my red lips I wanna be your end game I wanna be your first string I wanna be your A-Team I wanna be your end game, end game I wanna be your end game I wanna be your first string I wanna be your A-Team I wanna be your end game, end game

I’ve been a Taylor Swift fan for as long as I can remember. But it wasn’t until I met and got to know her that I understood how wonderful a person she truly is. Taylor makes the job of creating music for millions of people look easy. It all comes from her—her belief in magic and love, and her ability to be as honest and raw as possible. She’s the master of putting the perfect amount of thought into not overthinking, and that’s why her music connects so well. I was so lucky to be able to open for a handful of her stadium shows on the 1989 World Tour. And I quickly learned that the magic of Taylor Swift doesn’t come from the lights, dancers or fireworks but from the electrifying connection that she has with the people who are there to see her. There’s an overwhelming feeling in the air. The feeling of your heart racing in your chest with ­excitement—so much so that by the time you get to “Love Story,” all you want to do is pick up your phone and text every person you know to say how much you love them. The feeling is so thick, you feel like you could reach out and grab it to keep forever. Taylor makes anyone older feel young again and anyone young feel they can do anything. It’s so rare and so special. If there is one thing I want to achieve in my career and life, it’s that.

My love was as cruel as the cities I lived in Everyone looked worse in the light There are so many lines that Ive crossed unforgiven Ill tell you truth, but never goodbye I dont wanna look at anything else now that I saw you I dont wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you Ive been sleepin so long in a 20 year dark night And now I see daylight, I only see daylight Luck of the draw only draws the unlucky And so I became the butt of the joke I wounded the good and I trusted the wicked Clearin the air, I breathed in the smoke Maybe you ran with the wolves and refused to settle down Maybe Ive stormed out of every single room in this town Threw out our cloaks and our daggers because its morning now Its brighter now, now I dont wanna look at anything else now that I saw you I dont wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you Ive been sleepin so long in a 20 year dark night And now I see daylight I only see daylight I only see daylight, daylight, daylight, daylight I only see daylight, daylight, daylight, daylight And I can still see it all All of you, all of me I once believed love would be But its golden And I can still see it all Back and forth from New York I once believed love would be But its golden Like daylight Like daylight Like daylight Daylight I dont wanna look at anything else now that I saw you I dont wanna think of anything else now that I thought of you Ive been sleepin so long in a 20 year dark night And now I see daylight I only see daylight I only see daylight, daylight, daylight, daylight I only see daylight, daylight, daylight, daylight I only see daylight, daylight, daylight, daylight I only see daylight, daylight, daylight, daylight Like daylight Its golden Like daylight You gotta step into the daylight and let it go Just let it go Let it go

Taylor Swift arrived early to Paul McCartney’s London office in October, “mask on, brimming with excitement.” “I mostly work from home these days,” she writes about that day, “and today feels like a rare school field trip that you actually want to go on.” Swift showed up without a team, doing her own hair and makeup. In addition to being two of the most famous pop songwriters in the world, Swift and McCartney have spent the past year on similar journeys. McCartney, isolated at home in the U.K., recorded McCartney III. Like his first solo album, in 1970, he played nearly all of the instruments himself, resulting in some of his most wildly ambitious songs in a long time. Swift also took some new chances, writing over email with the National’s Aaron Dessner and recording the raw folklore, which abandons arena pop entirely in favor of rich character songs. It’s the bestselling album of 2020. Swift listened to McCartney III as she prepared for today’s conversation; McCartney delved into folkore. Before the photo shoot, Swift caught up with his daughters Mary and Stella . “I’ve met Paul a few times, mostly onstage at parties, but we’ll get to that later,” Swift writes. “Soon he walks in with his wife, Nancy. They’re a sunny and playful pair, and I immediately feel like this will be a good day. During the shoot, Paul dances and takes almost none of it too seriously and sings along to Motown songs playing from the speakers. A few times Mary scolds, ‘Daaad, try to stand still!’ And it feels like a window into a pretty awesome family dynamic. We walk into his office for a chat, and after I make a nervous request, Paul is kind enough to handwrite my favorite lyric of his and sign it. He makes a joke about me selling it, and I laugh because it’s something I know I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. That’s around the time when we start talking about music.” Taylor Swift: I think it’s important to note that if this year had gone the way that we thought it was going to go, you and I would have played Glastonbury this year, and instead, you and I both made albums in isolation. Paul McCartney: Yeah! Swift: And I remember thinking it would have been so much fun because the times that I’ve run into you, I correlate with being some of the most fun nights of my life. I was at a party with you, when everybody just started playing music. And it was Dave Grohl playing, and you… McCartney: You were playing one of his songs, weren’t you? Swift: Yes, I was playing his song called “Best of You,” but I was playing it on piano, and he didn’t recognize it until about halfway through. I just remember thinking, “Are you the catalyst for the most fun times ever?” Is it your willingness to get up and play music that makes everyone feel like this is a thing that can happen tonight? McCartney: I mean, I think it’s a bit of everything, isn’t it? I’ll tell you who was very … Reese Witherspoon was like, “Are you going to sing?” I said “Oh, I don’t know.” She said, “You’ve got to, yeah!” She’s bossing me around. So I said, “Whoa,” so it’s a bit of that. Swift: I love that person, because the party does not turn musical without that person. McCartney: Yeah, that’s true. Swift: If nobody says, “Can you guys play music?” we’re not going to invite ourselves up onstage at whatever living-room party it is. McCartney: I seem to remember Woody Harrelson got on the piano, and he starts playing “Let It Be,” and I’m thinking, “I can do that better.” So I said, “Come on, move over, Woody.” So we’re both playing it. It was really nice.… I love people like Dan Aykroyd, who’s just full of energy and he loves his music so much, but he’s not necessarily a musician, but he just wanders around the room, just saying, “You got to get up, got to get up, do some stuff.” Swift: I listened to your new record. And I loved a lot of things about it, but it really did feel like kind of a flex to write, produce, and play every instrument on every track. To me, that’s like flexing a muscle and saying, “I can do all this on my own if I have to.” McCartney: Well, I don’t think like that, I must admit. I just picked up some of these instruments over the years. We had a piano at home that my dad played, so I picked around on that. I wrote the melody to “When I’m 64” when I was, you know, a teenager. Swift: Wow. McCartney: When the Beatles went to Hamburg, there were always drum kits knocking around, so when there was a quiet moment, I’d say, “Do you mind if I have a knock around?” So I was able to practice, you know, without practicing. That’s why I play right-handed. Guitar was just the first instrument I got. Guitar turned to bass; it also turned into ukulele, mandolin. Suddenly, it’s like, “Wow,” but it’s really only two or three instruments. Swift: Well, I think that’s downplaying it a little bit. In my mind, it came with a visual of you being in the country, kind of absorbing the sort of do-it-yourself that has had to come with the quarantine and this pandemic. I found that I’ve adapted a do-it-yourself mentality to a lot of things in my career that I used to outsource. I’m just wondering what a day of recording in the pandemic looked like for you. McCartney: Well, I’m very lucky because I have a studio that’s, like, 20 minutes away from where I live. We were in lockdown on a farm, a sheep farm with my daughter Mary and her four kids and her husband. So I had four of my grandkids, I had Mary, who’s a great cook, so I would just drive myself to the studio. And there were two other guys that could come in and we’d be very careful and distanced and everything: my engineer Steve, and then my equipment guy Keith. So the three of us made the record, and I just started off. I had to do a little bit of film music — I had to do an instrumental for a film thing — so I did that. And I just kept going, and that turned into the opening track on the album. I would just come in, say, “Oh, yeah, what are we gonna do?” have some sort of idea, and start doing it. Normally, I’d start with the instrument I wrote it on, either piano or guitar, and then probably add some drums and then a bit of bass till it started to sound like a record, and then just gradually layer it all up. It was fun. What about yours? You’re playing guitar and piano on yours. Swift: Yeah, on some of it, but a lot of it was made with Aaron Dessner, who’s in a band called the National that I really love. And I had met him at a concert a year before, and I had a conversation with him, asking him how he writes. It’s my favorite thing to ask people who I’m a fan of. And he had an interesting answer. He said, “All the band members live in different parts of the world. So I make tracks. And I send them to our lead singer, Matt, and he writes the top line.” I just remember thinking, “That is really efficient.” And I kind of stored it in my brain as a future idea for a project. You know, how you have these ideas… “Maybe one day I’ll do this.” I always had in my head: “Maybe one day I’ll work with Aaron Dessner.” So when lockdown happened, I was in L.A., and we kind of got stuck there. It’s not a terrible place to be stuck. We were there for four months maybe, and during that time, I sent an email to Aaron Dessner and I said, “Do you think you would want to work during this time? Because my brain is all scrambled, and I need to make something, even if we’re just kind of making songs that we don’t know what will happen…” McCartney: Yeah, that was the thing. You could do stuff — you didn’t really worry it was going to turn into anything. Swift: Yeah, and it turned out he had been writing instrumental tracks to keep from absolutely going crazy during the pandemic as well, so he sends me this file of probably 30 instrumentals, and the first one I opened ended up being a song called “Cardigan,” and it really happened rapid-fire like that. He’d send me a track; he’d make new tracks, add to the folder; I would write the entire top line for a song, and he wouldn’t know what the song would be about, what it was going to be called, where I was going to put the chorus. I had originally thought, “Maybe I’ll make an album in the next year, and put it out in January or something,” but it ended up being done and we put it out in July. And I just thought there are no rules anymore, because I used to put all these parameters on myself, like, “How will this song sound in a stadium? How will this song sound on radio?” If you take away all the parameters, what do you make? And I guess the answer is folklore. McCartney: And it’s more music for yourself than music that’s got to go do a job. My thing was similar to that: After having done this little bit of film music, I had a lot of stuff that I had been working on, but I’d said, “I’m just going home now,” and it’d be left half-finished. So I just started saying, “Well, what about that? I never finished that.” So we’d pull it out, and we said, “Oh, well, this could be good.” And because it didn’t have to amount to anything, I would say, “Ah, I really want to do tape loops. I don’t care if they fit on this song, I just want to do some.” So I go and make some tape loops, and put them in the song, just really trying to do stuff that I fancy. I had no idea it would end up as an album; I may have been a bit less indulgent, but if a track was eight minutes long, to tell you the truth, what I thought was, “I’ll be taking it home tonight, Mary will be cooking, the grandkids will all be there running around, and someone, maybe Simon, Mary’s husband, is going to say, ‘What did you do today?’ And I’m going to go, ‘Oh,’ and then get my phone and play it for them.” So this became the ritual. Swift: That’s the coziest thing I’ve ever heard. McCartney: Well, it’s like eight minutes long, and I said, “I hate it when I’m playing someone something and it finishes after three minutes.” I kind of like that it just on. Swift: You want to stay in the zone. McCartney: It just keeps going on. I would just come home, “Well, what did you do today?” “Oh, well, I did this. I’m halfway through this,” or, “We finished this.” Swift: I was wondering about the numerology element to McCartney III. McCartney I, II, and III have all come out on years with zeroes. McCartney: Ends of decades. Swift: Was that important? McCartney: Yeah, well, this was being done in 2020, and I didn’t really think about it. I think everyone expected great things of 2020. “It’s gonna be great! Look at that number! 2020! Auspicious!” Then suddenly Covid hit, and it was like, “That’s gonna be auspicious all right, but maybe for the wrong reasons.” Someone said to me, “Well, you put out McCartney right after the Beatles broke up, and that was 1970, and then you did McCartney II in 1980.” And I said, “Oh, I’m going to release this in 2020 just for whatever you call it, the numerology.…” Swift: The numerology, the kind of look, the symbolism. I love numbers. Numbers kind of rule my whole world. The numbers 13  … 89 is a big one. I have a few others that I find… McCartney: Thirteen is lucky for some. Swift: Yeah, it’s lucky for me. It’s my birthday. It’s all these weird coincidences of good things that have happened. Now, when I see it places, I look at it as a sign that things are going the way they’re supposed to. They may not be good now, they could be painful now, but things are on a track. I don’t know, I love the numerology. McCartney: It’s spooky, Taylor. It’s very spooky. Now wait a minute: Where’d you get 89? Swift: That’s when I was born, in 1989, and so I see it in different places and I just think it’s… McCartney: No, it’s good. I like that, where certain things you attach yourself to, and you get a good feeling off them. I think that’s great. Swift: Yeah, one of my favorite artists, Bon Iver, he has this thing with the number 22. But I was also wondering: You have always kind of seeked out a band or a communal atmosphere with like, you know, the Beatles and Wings, and then Egypt Station. I thought it was interesting when I realized you had made a record with no one else. I just wondered, did that feel natural? McCartney: It’s one of the things I’ve done. Like with McCartney, because the Beatles had broken up, there was no alternative but to get a drum kit at home, get a guitar, get an amp, get a bass, and just make something for myself. So on that album, which I didn’t really expect to do very well, I don’t think it did. But people sort of say, “I like that. It was a very casual album.” It didn’t really have to mean anything. So I’ve done that, the play-everything-myself thing. And then I discovered synths and stuff, and sequencers, so I had a few of those at home. I just thought I’m going to play around with this and record it, so that became McCartney II. But it’s a thing I do. Certain people can do it. Stevie Wonder can do it. Stevie Winwood, I believe, has done it. So there are certain people quite like that. When you’re working with someone else, you have to worry about their variances. Whereas your own variance, you kind of know it. It’s just something I’ve grown to like. Once you can do it, it becomes a little bit addictive. I actually made some records under the name the Fireman. Swift: Love a pseudonym. McCartney: Yeah, for the fun! But, you know, let’s face it, you crave fame and attention when you’re young. And I just remembered the other day, I was the guy in the Beatles that would write to journalists and say : “We are a semiprofessional rock combo, and I’d think you’d like .… We’ve written over 100 songs , my friend John and I. If you mention us in your newspaper…” You know, I was always, like, craving the attention. Swift: The hustle! That’s so great, though. McCartney: Well, yeah, you need that. Swift: Yeah, I think, when a pseudonym comes in is when you still have a love for making the work and you don’t want the work to become overshadowed by this thing that’s been built around you, based on what people know about you. And that’s when it’s really fun to create fake names and write under them. McCartney: Do you ever do that? Swift: Oh, yeah. McCartney: Oh, yeah? Oh, well, we didn’t know that! Is that a widely known fact? Swift: I think it is now, but it wasn’t. I wrote under the name Nils Sjöberg because those are two of the most popular names of Swedish males. I wrote this song called “This Is What You Came For” that Rihanna ended up singing. And nobody knew for a while. I remembered always hearing that when Prince wrote “Manic Monday,” they didn’t reveal it for a couple of months. McCartney: Yeah, it also proves you can do something without the fame tag. I did something for Peter and Gordon; my girlfriend’s brother and his mate were in a band called Peter and Gordon. And I used to write under the name Bernard Webb. Swift: That’s a good one! I love it. McCartney: As Americans call it, Ber-nard Webb. I did the Fireman thing. I worked with a producer, a guy called Youth, who’s this real cool dude. We got along great. He did a mix for me early on, and we got friendly. I would just go into the studio, and he would say, “Hey, what about this groove?” and he’d just made me have a little groove going. He’d say, “You ought to put some bass on it. Put some drums on it.” I’d just spend the whole day putting stuff on it. And we’d make these tracks, and nobody knew who Fireman was for a while. We must have sold all of 15 copies. Swift: Thrilling, absolutely thrilling. McCartney: And we didn’t mind, you know? Swift: I think it’s so cool that you do projects that are just for you. Because I went with my family to see you in concert in 2010 or 2011, and the thing I took away from the show most was that it was the most selfless set list I had ever seen. It was completely geared toward what it would thrill us to hear. It had new stuff, but it had every hit we wanted to hear, every song we’d ever cried to, every song people had gotten married to, or been brokenhearted to. And I just remembered thinking, “I’ve got to remember that,” that you do that set list for your fans. McCartney: You do that, do you? Swift: I do now. I think that learning that lesson from you taught me at a really important stage in my career that if people want to hear “Love Story” and “Shake It Off,” and I’ve played them 300 million times, play them the 300-millionth-and-first time. I think there are times to be selfish in your career, and times to be selfless, and sometimes they line up. McCartney: I always remembered going to concerts as a kid, completely before the Beatles, and I really hoped they would play the ones I loved. And if they didn’t, it was kind of disappointing. I had no money, and the family wasn’t wealthy. So this would be a big deal for me, to save up for months to afford the concert ticket. Swift: Yeah, it feels like a bond. It feels like that person on the stage has given something, and it makes you as a crowd want to give even more back, in terms of applause, in terms of dedication. And I just remembered feeling that bond in the crowd, and thinking, “He’s up there playing these Beatles songs, my dad is crying, my mom is trying to figure out how to work her phone because her hands are shaking so much.” Because seeing the excitement course through not only me, but my family and the entire crowd in Nashville, it just was really special. I love learning lessons and not having to learn them the hard way. Like learning nice lessons I really value. McCartney: Well, that’s great, and I’m glad that set you on that path. I understand people who don’t want to do that, and if you do, they’ll say, “Oh, it’s a jukebox show.” I hear what they’re saying. But I think it’s a bit of a cheat, because the people who come to our shows have spent a lot of money. We can afford to go to a couple of shows and it doesn’t make much difference. But a lot of ordinary working folks … it’s a big event in their life, and so I try and deliver. I also, like you say, try and put in a few weirdos. Swift: That’s the best. I want to hear current things, too, to update me on where the artist is. I was wondering about lyrics, and where you were lyrically when you were making this record. Because when I was making folklore, I went lyrically in a total direction of escapism and romanticism. And I wrote songs imagining I was, like, a pioneer woman in a forbidden love affair . I was completely … McCartney: Was this “I want to give you a child”? Is that one of the lines? Swift: Oh, that’s a song called “Peace.” McCartney: “Peace,” I like that one. Swift: “Peace” is actually more rooted in my personal life. I know you have done a really excellent job of this in your personal life: carving out a human life within a public life, and how scary that can be when you do fall in love and you meet someone, especially if you’ve met someone who has a very grounded, normal way of living. I, oftentimes, in my anxieties, can control how I am as a person and how normal I act and rationalize things, but I cannot control if there are 20 photographers outside in the bushes and what they do and if they follow our car and if they interrupt our lives. I can’t control if there’s going to be a fake weird headline about us in the news tomorrow. McCartney: So how does that go? Does your partner sympathize with that and understand? Swift: Oh, absolutely. McCartney: They have to, don’t they? Swift: But I think that in knowing him and being in the relationship I am in now, I have definitely made decisions that have made my life feel more like a real life and less like just a storyline to be commented on in tabloids. Whether that’s deciding where to live, who to hang out with, when to not take a picture — the idea of privacy feels so strange to try to explain, but it’s really just trying to find bits of normalcy. That’s what that song “Peace” is talking about. Like, would it be enough if I could never fully achieve the normalcy that we both crave? Stella always tells me that she had as normal a childhood as she could ever hope for under the circumstances. McCartney: Yeah, it was very important to us to try and keep their feet on the ground amongst the craziness. Swift: She went to a regular school .… McCartney: Yeah, she did. Swift: And you would go trick-or-treating with them, wearing masks. McCartney: All of them did, yeah. It was important, but it worked pretty well, because when they kind of reached adulthood, they would meet other kids who might have gone to private schools, who were a little less grounded. And they could be the budding mothers to . I remember Mary had a friend, Orlando. Not Bloom. She used to really counsel him. And it’s ’cause she’d gone through that. Obviously, they got made fun of, my kids. They’d come in the classroom and somebody would sing, “Na na na na,” you know, one of the songs. And they’d have to handle that. They’d have to front it out. Swift: Did that give you a lot of anxiety when you had kids, when you felt like all this pressure that’s been put on me is spilling over onto them, that they didn’t sign up for it? Was that hard for you? McCartney: Yeah, a little bit, but it wasn’t like it is now. You know, we were just living a kind of semi-hippie life, where we withdrew from a lot of stuff. The kids would be doing all the ordinary things, and their school friends would be coming up to the house and having parties, and it was just great. I remember one lovely evening when it was Stella’s birthday, and she brought a bunch of school kids up. And, you know, they’d all ignore me. It happens very quickly. At first they’re like, “Oh, yeah, he’s like a famous guy,” and then it’s like . I like that. I go in the other room and suddenly I hear this music going on. And one of the kids, his name was Luke, and he’s doing break dancing. Swift: Ohhh! McCartney: He was a really good break dancer, so all the kids are hanging out. That allowed them to be kind of normal with those kids. The other thing is, I don’t live fancy. I really don’t. Sometimes it’s a little bit of an embarrassment, if I’ve got someone coming to visit me, or who I know… Swift: Cares about that stuff? McCartney: Who’s got a nice big house, you know. Quincy Jones came to see me and I’m, like, making him a veggie burger or something. I’m doing some cooking. This was after I’d lost Linda, in between there. But the point I’m making is that I’m very consciously thinking, “Oh, God, Quincy’s got to be thinking, ‘What is this guy on? He hasn’t got big things going on. It’s not a fancy house at all. And we’re eating in the kitchen! He’s not even got the dining room going,’” you know? Swift: I think that sounds like a perfect day. McCartney: But that’s me. I’m awkward like that. That’s my kind of thing. Maybe I should have, like, a big stately home. Maybe I should get a staff. But I think I couldn’t do that. I’d be so embarrassed. I’d want to walk around dressed as I want to walk around, or naked, if I wanted to. Swift: That can’t happen in Downton Abbey. McCartney: Exactly. Swift: I remember what I wanted to know about, which is lyrics. Like, when you’re in this kind of strange, unparalleled time, and you’re making this record, are lyrics first? Or is it when you get a little melodic idea? McCartney: It was a bit of both. As it kind of always is with me. There’s no fixed way. People used to ask me and John, “Well, who does the words, who does the music?” I used to say, “We both do both.” We used to say we don’t have a formula, and we don’t want one. Because the minute we get a formula, we should rip it up. I will sometimes, as I did with a couple of songs on this album, sit down at the piano and just start noodling around, and I’ll get a little idea and start to fill that out. So the lyrics — for me, it’s following a trail. I’ll start : “I can find my way. I know my left from right, da da da.” And I’ll just sort of fill it in. Like, we know this song, and I’m trying to remember the lyrics. Sometimes I’ll just be inspired by something. I had a little book which was all about the constellations and the stars and the orbits of Venus and.… Swift: Oh, I know that song — “The Kiss of Venus”? McCartney: Yeah, “The Kiss of Venus.” And I just thought, “That’s a nice phrase.” So I was actually just taking phrases out of the book, harmonic sounds. And the book is talking about the maths of the universe, and how when things orbit around each other, and if you trace all the patterns, it becomes like a lotus flower. Swift: Wow. McCartney: It’s very magical. Swift: That is magical. I definitely relate to needing to find magical things in this very not-magical time, needing to read more books and learn to sew, and watch movies that take place hundreds of years ago. In a time where, if you look at the news, you just want to have a panic attack — I really relate to the idea that you are thinking about stars and constellations. McCartney: Did you do that on folklore? Swift: Yes. I was reading so much more than I ever did, and watching so many more films. McCartney: What stuff were you reading? Swift: I was reading, you know, books like Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier, which I highly recommend, and books that dealt with times past, a world that doesn’t exist anymore. I was also using words I always wanted to use — kind of bigger, flowerier, prettier words, like “epiphany,” in songs. I always thought, “Well, that’ll never track on pop radio,” but when I was making this record, I thought, “What tracks? Nothing makes sense anymore. If there’s chaos everywhere, why don’t I just use the damn word I want to use in the song?” McCartney: Exactly. So you’d see the word in a book and think, “I love that word”? Swift: Yeah, I have favorite words, like “elegies” and “epiphany” and “divorcée,” and just words that I think sound beautiful, and I have lists and lists of them. McCartney: How about “marzipan”? Swift: Love marzipan. McCartney: The other day, I was remembering when we wrote “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds”: “kaleidoscope.” Swift: “Kaleidoscope” is one of mine! I have a song on 1989, a song called “Welcome to New York,” that I put the word “kaleidoscope” in just because I’m obsessed with the word. McCartney: I think a love of words is a great thing, particularly if you’re going to try to write a lyric, and for me, it’s like, “What is this going to say to that person?” I often feel like I’m writing to someone who is not doing so well. So I’m trying to write songs that might help. Not in a goody-goody, crusading kind of way, but just thinking there have been so many times in my life when I’ve heard a song and felt so much better. I think that’s the angle I want, that inspirational thing. I remember once, a friend of mine from Liverpool, we were teenagers and we were going to a fairground. He was a schoolmate, and we had these jackets that had a little fleck in the material, which was the cool thing at the time. Swift: We should have done matching jackets for this photo shoot. McCartney: Find me a fleck, I’m in. But we went to the fair, and I just remember — this is what happens with songs — there was this girl at the fair. This is just a little Liverpool fair — it was in a place called Sefton Park — and there was this girl, who was so beautiful. She wasn’t a star. She was so beautiful. Everyone was following her, and it’s like, “Wow.” It’s like a magical scene, you know? But all this gave me a headache, so I ended up going back to his house — I didn’t normally get headaches. And we thought, “What can we do?” So we put on the Elvis song “All Shook Up.” By the end of that song, my headache had gone. I thought, you know, “That’s powerful.” Swift: That really is powerful. McCartney: I love that, when people stop me in the street and say, “Oh, I was going through an illness and I listened to a lot of your stuff, and I’m better now and it got me through,” or kids will say, “It got me through exams.” You know, they’re studying, they’re going crazy, but they put your music on. I’m sure it happens with a lot of your fans. It inspires them, you know? Swift: Yeah, I definitely think about that as a goal. There’s so much stress everywhere you turn that I kind of wanted to make an album that felt sort of like a hug, or like your favorite sweater that makes you feel like you want to put it on. McCartney: What, a “cardigan”? Swift: Like a good cardigan, a good, worn-in cardigan. Or something that makes you reminisce on your childhood. I think sadness can be cozy. It can obviously be traumatic and stressful, too, but I kind of was trying to lean into sadness that feels like somehow enveloping in not such a scary way — like nostalgia and whimsy incorporated into a feeling like you’re not all right. Because I don’t think anybody was really feeling like they were in their prime this year. Isolation can mean escaping into your imagination in a way that’s kind of nice. McCartney: I think a lot of people have found that. I would say to people, “I feel a bit guilty about saying I’m actually enjoying this quarantine thing,” and people go, “Yeah, I know, don’t say it to anyone.” A lot of people are really suffering. Swift: Because there’s a lot in life that’s arbitrary. Completely and totally arbitrary. And is really shining a light on that, and also a lot of things we have that we outsource that you can actually do yourself. McCartney: I love that. This is why I said I live simply. That’s, like, at the core of it. With so many things, something goes wrong and you go, “Oh, I’ll get somebody to fix that.” And then it’s like, “No, let me have a look at it.…” Swift: Get a hammer and a nail. McCartney: “Maybe I can put that picture up.” It’s not rocket science. The period after the Beatles, when we went to live in Scotland on a really — talk about dumpy — little farm. I mean, I see pictures of it now and I’m not ashamed, but I’m almost ashamed. Because it’s like, “God, nobody’s cleaned up around here.” But it was really a relief. Because when I was with the Beatles, we’d formed Apple Records, and if I wanted a Christmas tree, someone would just buy it. And I thought, after a while, “No, you know what? I really would like to go and buy our Christmas tree. Because that’s what everyone does.” So you go down — “I’ll have that one” — and you carried it back. I mean, it’s little, but it’s huge at the same time. I needed a table in Scotland and I was looking through a catalog and I thought, “I could make one. I did woodwork in school, so I know what a dovetail joint is.” So I just figured it out. I’m just sitting in the kitchen, and I’m whittling away at this wood and I made this little joint. There was no nail technology — it was glue. And I was scared to put it together. I said, “It’s not going to fit,” but one day, I got my woodwork glue and thought, “There’s no going back.” But it turned out to be a real nice little table I was very proud of. It was that sense of achievement. The weird thing was, Stella went up to Scotland recently and I said, “Isn’t it there?” and she said, “No.” Anyway, I searched for it. Nobody remembered it. Somebody said, “Well, there’s a pile of wood in the corner of one of the barns, maybe that’s it. Maybe they used it for firewood.” I said, “No, it’s not firewood.” Anyway, we found it, and do you know how joyous that was for me? I was like, “You found my table?!” Somebody might say that’s a bit boring. Swift: No, it’s cool! McCartney: But it was a real sort of great thing for me to be able to do stuff for yourself. You were talking about sewing. I mean normally, in your position, you’ve got any amount of tailors. Swift: Well, there’s been a bit of a baby boom recently; several of my friends have gotten pregnant. McCartney: Oh, yeah, you’re at the age. Swift: And I was just thinking, “I really want to spend time with my hands, making something for their children.” So I made this really cool flying-squirrel stuffed animal that I sent to one of my friends. I sent a teddy bear to another one, and I started making these little silk baby blankets with embroidery. It’s gotten pretty fancy. And I’ve been painting a lot. McCartney: What do you paint? Watercolors? Swift: Acrylic or oil. Whenever I do watercolor, all I paint is flowers. When I have oil, I really like to do landscapes. I always kind of return to painting a lonely little cottage on a hill. McCartney: It’s a bit of a romantic dream. I agree with you, though, I think you’ve got to have dreams, particularly this year. You’ve got to have something to escape to. When you say “escapism,” it sounds like a dirty word, but this year, it definitely wasn’t. And in the books you’re reading, you’ve gone into that world. That’s, I think, a great thing. Then you come back out. I normally will read a lot before I go to bed. So I’ll come back out, then I’ll go to sleep, so I think it really is nice to have those dreams that can be fantasies or stuff you want to achieve. Swift: You’re creating characters. This was the first album where I ever created characters, or wrote about the life of a real-life person. There’s a song called “the last great american dynasty” that’s about this real-life heiress who lived just an absolutely chaotic, hectic… McCartney: She’s a fantasy character? Swift: She’s a real person. Who lived in the house that I live in. McCartney: She’s a real person? I listened to that and I thought, “Who is this?” Swift: Her name was Rebekah Harkness. And she lived in the house that I ended up buying in Rhode Island. That’s how I learned about her. But she was a woman who was very, very talked about, and everything she did was scandalous. I found a connection in that. But I also was thinking about how you write “Eleanor Rigby” and go into that whole story about what all these people in this town are doing and how their lives intersect, and I hadn’t really done that in a very long time with my music. It had always been so microscope personal. McCartney: Yeah, ’cause you were writing breakup songs like they were going out of style. Swift: I was, before my luck changed . I still write breakup songs. I love a good breakup song. Because somewhere in the world, I always have a friend going through a breakup, and that will make me write one. McCartney: Yeah, this goes back to this thing of me and John: When you’ve got a formula, break it. I don’t have a formula. It’s the mood I’m in. So I love the idea of writing a character. And, you know, trying to think, “What am I basing this on?” So “Eleanor Rigby” was based on old ladies I knew as a kid. For some reason or other, I got great relationships with a couple of local old ladies. I was thinking the other day, I don’t know how I met them, it wasn’t like they were family. I’d just run into them, and I’d do their shopping for them. Swift: That’s amazing. McCartney: It just felt good to me. I would sit and talk, and they’d have amazing stories. That’s what I liked. They would have stories from the wartime — because I was born actually in the war — and so these old ladies, they were participating in the war. This one lady I used to sort of just hang out with, she had a crystal radio that I found very magical. In the war, a lot of people made their own radios — you’d make them out of crystals . Swift: How did I not know this? That sounds like something I would have tried to learn about. McCartney: It’s interesting, because there is a lot of parallels with the virus and lockdowns and wartime. It happened to everyone. Like, this isn’t HIV, or SARS, or Avian flu, which happened to others, generally. This has happened to everyone, all around the world. That’s the defining thing about this particular virus. And, you know, my parents … it happened to everyone in Britain, including the queen and Churchill. War happened. So they were all part of this thing, and they all had to figure out a way through it. So you figured out folklore. I figured out McCartney III. Swift: And a lot of people have been baking sourdough bread. Whatever gets you through! McCartney: Some people used to make radios. And they’d take a crystal — we should look it up, but it actually is a crystal. I thought, “Oh, no, they just called it a crystal radio,” but it’s actually crystals like we know and love. Swift: Wow. McCartney: And somehow they get the radio waves — this crystal attracts them — they tune it in, and that’s how they used to get their news. Back to “Eleanor Rigby,” so I would think of her and think of what she’s doing and then just try to get lyrical, just try to bring poetry into it, words you love, just try to get images like “picks up the rice in the church where a wedding has been,” and Father McKenzie “is darning his socks in the night.” You know, he’s a religious man, so I could’ve said, you know, “preparing his Bible,” which would have been more obvious. But “darning his socks” kind of says more about him. So you get into this lovely fantasy. And that’s the magic of songs, you know. It’s a black hole, and then you start doing this process, and then there’s this beautiful little flower that you’ve just made. So it is very like embroidery, making something. Swift: Making a table. McCartney: Making a table. Swift: Wow, it would’ve been so fun to play Glastonbury for the 50th anniversary together. McCartney: It would’ve been great, wouldn’t it? And I was going to be asking you to play with me. Swift: Were you going to invite me? I was hoping that you would. I was going to ask you. McCartney: I would’ve done “Shake It Off.” Swift: Oh, my God, that would have been amazing. McCartney: I know it, it’s in C! Swift: One thing I just find so cool about you is that you really do seem to have the joy of it, still, just no matter what. You seem to have the purest sense of joy of playing an instrument and making music, and that’s just the best, I think. McCartney: Well, we’re just so lucky, aren’t we? Swift: We’re really lucky. McCartney: I don’t know if it ever happens to you, but with me, it’s like, “Oh, my god, I’ve ended up as a musician.” Swift: Yeah, I can’t believe it’s my job. McCartney: I must tell you a story I told Mary the other day, which is just one of my favorite little sort of Beatles stories. We were in a terrible, big blizzard, going from London to Liverpool, which we always did. We’d be working in London and then drive back in the van, just the four of us with our roadie, who would be driving. And this was a blizzard. You couldn’t see the road. At one point, it slid off and it went down an embankment. So it was “Ahhh,” a bunch of yelling. We ended up at the bottom. It didn’t flip, luckily, but so there we are, and then it’s like, “Oh, how are we going to get back up? We’re in a van. It’s snowing, and there’s no way.” We’re all standing around in a little circle, and thinking, “What are we going to do?” And one of us said, “Well, something will happen.” And I thought that was just the greatest. I love that, that’s a philosophy. Swift: “Something will happen.” McCartney: And it did. We sort of went up the bank, we thumbed a lift, we got the lorry driver to take us, and Mal, our roadie, sorted the van and everything. So that was kind of our career. And I suppose that’s like how I ended up being a musician and a songwriter: “Something will happen.” Swift: That’s the best. McCartney: It’s so stupid it’s brilliant. It’s great if you’re ever in that sort of panic attack: “Oh, my God,” or, “Ahhh, what am I going to do?” Swift: “Something will happen.” McCartney: All right then, thanks for doing this, and this was, you know, a lot of fun. Swift: You’re the best. This was so awesome. Those were some quality stories!

We were in the backseat Drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar I rent a place on Cornelia Street I say casually in the car We were a fresh page on the desk Filling in the blanks as we go As if the street lights pointed in an arrow head Leading us home And I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends Id never walk Cornelia Street again Thats the kinda heartbreak time could never mend Id never walk Cornelia Street again And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name And baby, Im so terrified of if you ever walk away Id never walk Cornelia Street again Id never walk Cornelia Street again Windows flung right open, autumn air Jacket round my shoulders is yours We bless the rains on Cornelia Street Memorize the creaks in the floor Back when we were card sharks, playing games I thought you were leading me on I packed my bags, left Cornelia Street Before you even knew I was gone But then you called, showed your hand I turned around before I hit the tunnel Sat on the roof, you and I I hope I never lose you, hope it never ends Id never walk Cornelia Street again Thats the kinda heartbreak time could never mend Id never walk Cornelia Street again And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name And baby, Im so terrified of if you ever walk away Id never walk Cornelia Street again Id never walk Cornelia Street again You hold my hand on the street Walk me back to that apartment Years ago, we were just inside Barefoot in the kitchen Sacred new beginnings That became my religion, listen I hope I never lose you Id never walk Cornelia Street again Oh, never again And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your name And baby, Im so terrified of if you ever walk away Id never walk Cornelia Street again Id never walk Cornelia Street again I dont wanna lose you Id never walk Cornelia Street again I dont wanna lose you I rent a place on Cornelia Street I say casually in the car

Baby, this is what you came for Lightning strikes every time she moves And everybodys watching her But shes looking at you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, oh, oh Lightning, this is what you came for Lightning strikes every time she moves And everybodys watching her But shes looking at you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh We go fast til they cant replay Who knows why its gotta be this way We say nothing more than we need I see your face when we leave Lightning, this is what you came for Lightning strikes every time she moves And everybodys watching her But shes looking at you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh oh, oh

Its jingleball, there’s Santa hats everywhere, youre never too far away from one and you know I was wondering if maybe you wanted me to sing a song that I wrote? My winter nights are taken up by static Stress and holiday shopping traffic But I close my eyes and Im somewhere else Just like magic In my heart is a Christmas tree farm Where the people would come To dance under sparkling lights Bundled up in their mittens and coats And the cider would flow And I just wanna be there tonight Sweet dreams of holly and ribbon Mistakes are forgiven And everythin’ is icy and blue And you would be there too Under the mistletoe Watchin the fire glow And tellin me, I love you Just bein in your arms Takes me back to that little farm Where every wish comes true In my heart is a Christmas tree farm Theres a light in the barn We run inside out from the cold In the town, kids are dreamin of sleighs And theyre warm and theyre safe They wake to see a blanket of snow Sweet dreams of holly and ribbon Mistakes are forgiven And everythin’ is icy and blue And you would be there too Under the mistletoe Watchin’ the fire glow And tellin me, I love you Just bein’ in your arms Takes me back to that little farm Where every wish comes true Baby, yeah And when Im feelin alone You remind me of home Oh, baby, baby, Merry Christmas And when the world isnt fair I pretend that we’re there Baby, baby, Merry Christmas Under the mistletoe Watching the fire glow And tellin me, I love you Oh, baby, baby, Merry Christmas Oh, baby, baby, Merry Christmas Oh, baby, baby, Merry Christmas I love you Oh, baby, baby, Merry Christmas Oh, baby, baby, Merry Christmas Oh, baby, baby, Merry Christmas Where every wish comes true I love you

SnakeScreaming and FightingCool Chicks Out ThereHead in the CloudsIn The BagAll Dressed in PastelUp on the RoofCat LadyKaleidoscope of Loud HeartbeatsDancing Without Our Hands TiedSpelling Bee ChampionsIn Screaming Color

I remember when we broke up the first time Saying this is it, ive had enough, cause like We hadnt seen each other in a month When you said you needed space Then you come around again and say Baby, i miss you and i swear im gonna change, trust me Remember how that lasted for a day I say i hate you, we break up, you call me, i love you We called it off again last night But this time, im telling you im telling you We are never ever ever getting back together We are never ever ever getting back together You go talk to your friends Talk to my friends Talk to me But we are never ever ever ever getting back together Im really gonna miss you picking fights And me falling for it screaming that im right And you would hide away and find your peace of mind With some indie record thats much cooler than mine You called me up again tonight But this time, im telling you im telling you We are never ever ever getting back together We are never ever ever getting back together You go talk to your friends Talk to my friends Talk to me But we are never ever ever ever getting back together I used to think that we were forever ever And i used to say never say never We are never ever ever getting back together We are never ever ever getting back together You go talk to your friends Talk to my friends Talk to me But we are never ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever getting back together

My, my, my, my My, my, my, my My, my, my, my My, my, my, my My, my, my, my My, my, my, my My, my, my, my My, my, my, my Saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts Flashbacks waking me up I get drunk, but its not enough Cause the morning comes and youre not my baby I look through the windows of this love Even though we boarded them up Chandeliers still flickering here Cause I cant pretend its okay when its not Its death by a thousand cuts I dress to kill my time, I take the long way home I ask the traffic lights if itll be alright They say, I dont know And what once was ours is no ones now I see you everywhere, the only thing we share Is this small town You said it was a great love, one for the ages But if the storys over, why am I still writing pages? Cause saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts Flashbacks waking me up I get drunk, but its not enough Cause the morning comes and youre not my baby I look through the windows of this love Even though we boarded them up Chandeliers still flickering here Cause I cant pretend its okay when its not Its death by a thousand cuts My heart, my hips, my body, my love Tryna find a part of me that you didnt touch Gave up on me like I was a bad drug Now Im searching for signs in a haunted club Our songs, our films, united we stand Our country, guess it was a lawless land Quiet my fears with the touch of your hand Paper cut stings from our paper-thin plans My time, my wine, my spirit, my trust Tryna find a part of me you didnt take up Gave you so much, but it wasnt enough But Ill be alright, its just a thousand cuts I get drunk, but its not enough Cause youre not my baby I look through the windows of this love Even though we boarded them up Chandeliers still flickering here Cause I cant pretend its okay when its not No, its not Its death by a thousand cuts Tryna find a part of me that you didnt touch My body, my love, my trust But it wasnt enough, it wasnt enough, no, no I take the long way home I ask the traffic lights if itll be alright They say, I dont know

In the 1960s and ’70s, Pattie Boyd stood at the intersection of fashion, rock ’n’ roll, art, and fame. Widely considered one of the greatest muses of all time, Boyd, who was married first to George Harrison and later to Eric Clapton, inspired the hits “Something” by the Beatles, and “Layla” and “Wonderful Tonight” by Clapton. Recently I devoured this intriguing woman’s memoir, Wonderful Tonight. A few weeks later, I had the pleasure of sitting down with her in the kitchen of her beautiful Kensington flat. As the sunlight poured through the windows, her blue eyes lit up as she spoke. There is a playful quality about her and, surprisingly—considering how much she has experienced in her life—a lightness. TAYLOR SWIFT: I have been so excited to talk to you because we’re both women whose lives have been deeply influenced by songs and songwriting. I stand on one side of it, and you on the other. Does the concept of being called a muse feel like a correct fit? PATTIE BOYD: I find the concept of being a muse understandable when you think of all the great painters, poets, and photographers who usually have had one or two. The artist absorbs an element from their muse that has nothing to do with words, just the purity of their essence. TS: What do you feel might be a factor that artists want to communicate with you through song? PB: I think in my case both George and Eric had an inability to communicate their feelings through normal conversation. I became a reflection for them. TS: I wondered who and what situation “Wonderful Tonight” was written about, and now I know it’s about you getting ready for a party, changing clothes, and saying, “I don’t like this, I don’t like that.” PB: I came downstairs with trepidation thinking was going to be so angry that I’d taken far too long, and instead he said, “Listen, I’ve just written this song.” TS: That is so incredible to me. PB: But you must do that too. You must be inspired by a few moments or something, the way your boyfriend turns or says something to you or a little bit of a smile or “Is he thinking this or that?,” and that would inspire you. Can you write it the moment it’s happening? TS: There are definitely moments when it’s like this cloud of an idea comes and just lands in front of your face, and you reach up and grab it. A lot of songwriting is things you learn, structure, and cultivating that skill, and knowing how to craft a song. But there are mystical, magical moments, inexplicable moments when an idea that is fully formed just pops into your head. And that’s the purest part of my job. It can get complicated on every other level, but the songwriting is still the same uncomplicated process it was when I was 12 years old writing songs in my room. PB: Right, right… TS: I don’t know what it is that makes some people really creatively inspiring. There have been people I’ve spent a lot of time with who I just couldn’t write about. PB: Yes, now what is that? TS: I don’t know. It’s just that some people come into your life and they have this effect on you. It’s really interesting because in your case you inspired that creative output from two iconic musicians. That just blows my mind. It’s very rare! PB: Well, the more you say it to me, the more it’s blowing my mind. TS: You met George Harrison at 19 on the set of A Hard Day’s Night. All of a sudden your life was changed forever because you fell in love with someone who the world was obsessed with. There was no band as big as the Beatles. Did anyone prepare you for the attention? PB: No. Nobody took on that role. Nobody thought that role would be significant for a start. I remember a journalist coming to our house one day and saying to George, “In all seriousness, when do you think the bubble is going to burst? When are the Beatles going to be finished?” TS: Wow. PB: If they thought that, there’s no reason anyone would think, “Ah, I’ll look after Pattie and guide her through what is going to be a tremendously difficult situation for a young girl to cope with.” The only thing Brian Epstein, their manager, told me and the other wives and girlfriends was, “Don’t talk to the press.” TS: Were the fans the reason you decided to live in the country? PB: Living in London with George, there were so many fans every day, it became impossible to leave the flat. Brian Epstein thought there might be an idea that John, Ringo, and George move to the country, have little houses about an hour out of London. We would decorate the outside of our house with spray-paint cans. The whole house was like a psychedelic monster. TS: I remember seeing a picture of the house, and Mick Jagger and Marianne Faithfull had spray-painted their names on the wall with the words mick and marianne were here. I read a book about Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor recently, and how there was this crazy frenzy surrounding them. In the book, Elizabeth is quoted as saying, “It could be worse, we could be the Beatles.” You are one of the only people who can say they experienced what Beatlemania was like from the inside. How did that feel for you? PB: In my first experience, I found it absolutely terrifying. I got to see the Beatles play at a theater in London, and George told me that I should leave with my friends before the last number. So before the last song, we got up from our seats and walked toward the nearest exit door, and there were these girls behind me. They followed us out, and they were kicking me and pulling my hair and pushing us all the way down this long passageway. TS: What were they saying? PB: “We hate you.” TS: That is my worst nightmare. You probably felt like, “If you knew me and I knew you, you would not be pulling my hair in an alleyway and saying, ‘I hate you.’” PB: Exactly. TS: Has the dynamic changed with Beatles fans now that you put on these incredible exhibitions of your photographs? PB: George is no longer with us, or John. It was such a long time ago, and the fans haven’t held on to the same antagonistic feelings toward me. Actually they seem happy that I’m sharing the photographs I took. One time I was having an exhibition, and these girls turned up dressed like me in A Hard Day’s Night. TS: It’s so cute when people do that. I love that. PB: It is adorable. TS: That is amazing that you could go from a place of feeling incredibly frightened by the idea of this attention from people who loved the Beatles, and now there is just a huge amount of gratitude from them. For me, one of the most heartbreaking moments in the book is when, years later, you and Eric get married, and George and his new wife, Olivia, come to the wedding party, Paul comes, Ringo comes, but John couldn’t go. He said later that he would have loved to come. That night there was a huge jam session, and had he been there it would have been the last time the Beatles played together. PB: Can you imagine? I was heartbroken. TS: My heart was pierced by that. PB: John felt he couldn’t come because he thought if he left America they wouldn’t let him back in, and it was important for him to be in America. TS: I found it staggeringly beautiful in the book how you had been through many ups and downs, and told these stunning truths about your relationships, but everyone seems to be on really good terms. I mean, Eric even gave you permission to publish his love letters. What did it take for you to arrive at such a place of goodwill with people you’ve been through so much with? Is that just time passing? PB: I think time must play a big part. Because it all broke up for whatever reason, there is no need to carry on some sort of hate or dislike for this person. And then with time I thought, “I’ll just call on Eric and see if he’ll let me use these wonderful letters that he wrote, and if he needs anything from me, he just needs to call me, same thing, and I would say ‘yes’ to him.” I think this is all based on my memories of how it was when we were first married and what fun we had, the love that we’d enjoyed together as well. TS: It sounds like you take ownership of the past, and not just the good parts. PB: I do. Absolutely. TS: Lastly, what advice would you give a 28-year-old who’s deeply inspired by your outlook? I would love to look back on my life with the same clarity, wisdom, and peace that you seem to have. PB: You have to remember that nothing remains the same. It’s always going to change. The whole world keeps changing, we keep changing, things in our lives keep changing. Nothing remains the same. If you’re happy or you’re sad, it’s not going to last forever. You just have to keep remembering that.

This is the song that got it all started for me Its called Tim McGraw He said the way my blue eyes shined Put those Georgia stars to shame that night I said, Thats a lie Just a boy in a Chevy truck That had a tendency of gettin stuck On backroads at night And I was right there beside him all summer long And then the time we woke up to find that summer gone But when you think Tim McGraw I hope you think my favorite song The one we danced to all night long The moon like a spotlight on the lake When you think happiness I hope you think that little black dress Think of my head on your chest And my old faded blue jeans When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me September saw a month of tears And thankin God that you werent here To see me like that But in a box beneath my bed Is a letter that you never read From three summers back Its hard not to find it all a little bittersweet And lookin back on all of that, its nice to believe When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think my favorite song The one we danced to all night long The moon like a spotlight on the lake When you think happiness I hope you think that little black dress Think of my head on your chest And my old faded blue jeans When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me And Im back for the first time since then Im standin on your street And theres a letter left on your doorstep And the first thing that youll read is: Is when you think Tim McGraw I hope you think my favorite song Someday youll turn your radio on I hope it takes you back to that place When you think happiness I hope you think that little black dress Think of my head on your chest And my old faded blue jeans When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me Ooh, think of me Mmmm He said the way my blue eyes shine Put those Georgia stars to shame that night I said, Thats a lie Thank you so much

I hope you come to find you were all I had in mind You were everything I loved about Nashville

Hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground, oh oh Only sound, only sound that you hear is no You never saw it coming Slipped when you started running And now youve come undone and I, I, I, I Seen you fall, seen you crawl on your knees, eh eh Seen you lost in a crowd, seen your colors fade Wish I could make it better Some day you wont remember This pain you thought would last forever and ever There youll stand, ten feet tall I will say, I knew it all along You eyes wider than distance This life is sweeter than fiction Just a shot, just a shot in the dark, oh oh All you got, all you got are your shattered hopes They never saw it coming You hit the ground running And now youre onto something, I, I, I say What a sight, what a sight when the light came on Proved me right, proved me right when you proved them wrong And in this perfect weather Its like we dont remember The rain we thought would last forever and ever There youll stand, ten feet tall I will say, I knew it all along You eyes wider than distance This life is sweeter than fiction There youll stand, next to me All at once, the rest is history You eyes wider than distance This life is sweeter than fiction Ill be one of the many saying Look at you now, look at you now, now Ill be one of the many saying You made us proud, you made us proud, proud Ill be one of the many saying Look at you now, look at you now, now Ill be one of the many saying You made us proud, you made us proud, proud And then they call your name and we Put your picture in a frame You now that Ill be there time and again Cause I loved you when, when you Hit the ground, hit the ground, hit the ground, oh oh Only sound, only sound that you heard was no Now in this perfect weather Its like we dont remember The rain we thought would last forever and ever There youll stand, ten feet tall I will say, I knew it all along You eyes wider than distance This life is sweeter than fiction There youll stand, next to me All at once, the rest is history You eyes wider than distance This life is sweeter than fiction Is sweeter than fiction Is sweeter, yeah Is sweeter, is sweeter Sweeter than fiction

Vintage tee, brand new phone High heels on cobblestones When you are young, they assume you know nothing Sequin smile, black lipstick Sensual politics When you are young, they assume you know nothing But I knew you Dancin in your Levis Drunk under a streetlight, I I knew you Hand under my sweatshirt Baby, kiss it better, I And when I felt like I was an old cardigan Under someones bed You put me on and said I was your favorite A friend to all is a friend to none Chase two girls, lose the one When you are young, thеy assume you know nothing But I knew you Playing hide-and-seek and Giving mе your weekends, I I knew you Your heartbeat on the High Line Once in twenty lifetimes, I And when I felt like I was an old cardigan Under someones bed You put me on and said I was your favorite To kiss in cars and downtown bars Was all we needed You drew stars around my scars But now Im bleedin Cause I knew you Steppin on the last train Marked me like a bloodstain, I I knew you Tried to change the ending Peter losing Wendy, I I knew you Leavin like a father Running like water, I And when you are young, they assume you know nothing But I knew youd linger like a tattoo kiss I knew youd haunt all of my what-ifs The smell of smoke would hang around this long Cause I knew everything when I was young I knew Id curse you for the longest time Chasin shadows in the grocery line I knew youd miss me once the thrill expired And youd be standin in my front porch light And I knew youd come back to me Youd come back to me And youd come back to me And youd come back And when I felt like I was an old cardigan Under someones bed You put me on and said I was your favorite

Now go stand in the corner and think about what you did Ha, time for a little revenge The story starts when it was hot and it was summer and I had it all, I had him right there, where I wanted him She came along, got him alone, and lets hear the applause She took him faster than you can say sabotage I never saw it coming, wouldnt have suspected it I underestimated just who I was dealing with She had to know the pain was beating on me like a drum She underestimated just who she was stealing from Shes not a saint and shes not what you think Shes an actress, whoa Shes better known for the things that she does On the mattress, whoa Soon shes gonna find stealing other peoples toys On the playground wont make you many friends She should keep in mind, she should keep in mind There is nothing I do better than revenge, ha! She looks at life like its a party and shes on the list She looks at me like Im a trend and shes so over it I think her ever-present frown is a little troubling And she thinks Im psycho cause I like to rhyme her name with things But sophistication isnt what you wear or who you know Or pushing people down to get you where you wanna go Oh, they didnt teach you that in prep school, so its up to me But no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity Shes not a saint and shes not what you think Shes an actress, whoa Shes better known for the things that she does On the mattress, whoa Soon shes gonna find stealing other peoples toys On the playground wont make you many friends She should keep in mind, she should keep in mind There is nothing I do better than revenge, HA! Im just another thing for you to roll your eyes at, honey You might have him, but havent you heard? Im just another thing for you to roll your eyes at, honey You might have him, but I always get the last word Whoa, whoa-ah-oh Shes not a saint and shes not what you think Shes an actress, whoa Shes better known for the things that she does On the mattress, whoa Soon shes gonna find stealing other peoples toys On the playground wont make you many friends She should keep in mind, she should keep in mind There is nothing I do better than revenge, HA! Do you still feel like you know what youre doing? Cause I dont think you do, oh Do you still feel like you know what youre doing? I dont think you do, I dont think you do Lets hear the applause Come on, show me how much better you are See you deserve some applause Cause youre so much better She took him faster than you could say sabotage

You shouldve said, No You  shouldve gone home You  shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve know that word, bout what you did with her Get back to me Its  strange to think the songs we used to sing The  smiles, the flowers, everything is gone Yesterday I found out about you Even  now just looking at you: feels wrong And Yyu say that youd take it all back, given one chance It was a moment of weakness and you said, Yes You shouldve said, No You  shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve know that word, bout what you did with her Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me You can see that Ive been crying Baby, you know all the right things to say But do you honestly expect me to believe We could ever be the same? And you say that the past is the past, you need one chance It was a moment of weakness and you said, Yes You shouldve said, No You shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve know that word, bout what you did with her Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me Well, I cant resist Before you go tell me this Was it worth it? Was she worth this? No no, no, no, no, no You shouldve said, No You shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve know that word, bout what you did with her Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me Thank you

Cause baby now we got bad blood You know it used to be mad love So take a look at what youve done Cause baby now we got bad blood Now weve got problems And I dont think we can solve em You made a really deep cut And, baby, now weve got bad blood Did you have to do this? I was thinking you could be the trusted Did you have to ruin What was shining? Now its all rusted Did you have to hit me Where Im weak? Baby, I couldnt breathe And rub it in so deep Salt in the wound like youre laughing right at me Oh, its so sad to Think about the good times You and I Cause baby now we got bad blood You know it used to be mad love So take a look at what youve done Cause baby now we got bad blood Now weve got problems And I dont think we can solve em You made a really deep cut And, baby, now weve got bad blood Did you think wed be fine? Still got scars on my back from your knife So dont think its in the past These kinda wounds they last and they last now Did you think it all through? All these things will catch up to you And time can heal but this wont So if you come in my way just dont Oh, its so sad to Think about the good times You and I Cause baby now we got bad blood You know it used to be mad love So take a look at what youve done Cause baby now we got bad blood Now weve got problems And I dont think we can solve em You made a really deep cut And, baby, now weve got bad blood Band aids dont fix bullet holes You say sorry just for show You live like that You live with ghosts Band aids dont 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 Cause baby now we got bad blood You know it used to be mad love So take a look at what youve done Cause baby now we got bad blood Now weve got problems And I dont think we can solve em You made a really deep cut And, baby, now weve got bad blood

Ive been following your ghost Running circles round this house Tripping over memories Trying to figure things out Its been a few years and I miss you still Got your picture on the window sill Been thinking of ways, I got days to fill I dont think I ever will Hold on to things you cant explain Hold on to dancing in the rain Hold on to kisses on the lips Savor every sweet moment, cause baby this is it And hold on Hold on Ive been cleaning up this mess Found a metal box with some black and white photographs A little faded but baby you sure do look good in that old dress, oh yes Didnt we wish we were superstars? Sign our names in the dust on your family car Wed be waving to the crowd You be the diva And Ill play guitar Hold on to things you wanna be Hold on to friends and family Hold on to burning summer sun It makes a difference, every one Hold on Hold on Thinking that wed say the same But we didnt know that the world would change Yeah it just keeps on spinning And we just keep on holding on Hold on to things you cant explain Hold on to dancing in the rain Hold on to kisses on the lips Savor every sweet moment, cause baby this is it And hold on to things you wanna be Hold on to friends and family Hold on to burning summer sun It makes a difference, every one Hold on Hold on Hold on Hold on Hold on

Drew looks at me I fake a smile so he wont see That I want and Im needing Everything that we should be Ill bet shes beautiful, that girl he talks about And shes got everything that I have to live without Drew talks to me I laugh cause its just so funny That I cant even see Anyone when hes with me He says hes so in love, hes finally got it right I wonder if he knows hes all I think about at night Hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... Drew walks by me Cant he tell that I cant breathe? And there he goes, so perfectly The kind of flawless I wish I could be Shed better hold him tight, give him all her love Look in those beautiful eyes and know shes lucky cause Hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... Hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... So I drive home alone, as I turn off the light Ill put his picture down and maybe get some sleep tonight Hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only one who’s got enough of me to break my heart Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... Hes the time taken up, but theres never enough And hes all that I need to fall into Drew looks at me I fake a smile so he wont see

Theres something bout the way the street looks when its just rained Theres a glow off the pavement, you walk me to the car And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there In the middle of the parking lot, yeah Oh, yeah Were driving down the road, I wonder if you know Im trying so hard not to get caught up now But youre just so cool, run your hands through your hair Absentmindedly making me want you And I dont know how it gets better than this You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless And I dont know why but with you Id dance In a storm in my best dress, fearless So, baby, drive slow til we run out of road in this one horse town I wanna stay right here, in this passengers seat You put your eyes on me In this moment now, capture it, remember it Cause I dont know how it gets better than this You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless And I dont know why but with you Id dance In a storm in my best dress, fearless Well, you stood there with me in the doorway My hands shake, Im not usually this way but You pull me in and Im a little more brave Its the first kiss, its flawless, really something Its fearless Oh, yeah Cause I dont know how it gets better than this You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless And I dont know why but with you Id dance In a storm in my best dress, fearless Cause I dont know how it gets better than this You take my hand and drag me head first, fearless And I dont know why but with you Id dance In a storm in my best dress, fearless Oh, oh Oh, yeah

This aint for the best My reputations never been worse, so You must like me for me… We cant make Any promises now, can we, babe? But you can make me think Dive bar on the East Side, where you at? Phone lights up my nightstand in the black Come here, you can meet me in the back ‘Cause I want you Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you Boy I never seen that color blue Think of the fun things we could do Cause I like you This aint for the best My reputations never been worse, so You must like me for me… We cant make Any promises now, can we, babe? But you can make me think Is it cool that I said all that? Is it chill that youre in my head? Cause I know that its delicate Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? Cause I know that its delicate Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? Isn’t it? It’s delicate Third floor on the West Side, me and you Handsome, youre a mansion with a view Do the girls back home get you like I do? Long drives, with your hands up in my hair Echoes of your footsteps on the stairs Stay here, honey, I dont wanna share Cause I like you This aint for the best My reputations never been worse, so You must like me for me ‘Cause I want you We cant make Any promises now, can we, babe? But you can make me think Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? Cause I know that its delicate Isnt it? Isnt it? Isnt it? (This aint for the best My reputations never been worse, so You must like me for me) Sometimes I wonder when you sleep Are you ever dreaming of me? Sometimes when I look into your eyes I pretend youre mine, all the time All the time Is it cool that I said all that? Is it chill that youre in my head? Cause I know that its delicate Is it cool that I said all that? Is it too soon to do this yet? Cause I know that its delicate Sometimes when I look into you’re eyes I pretend you’re mine ‘Cause I know that it’s delicate

Your beautiful eyes Stare right into mine And sometimes I think of you late at night I dont know why, I I wanna be somewhere where you are I wanna be where Youre here, your eyes are looking into mine So baby, make me fly My heart has never felt this way before Im looking through your Im looking through your eyes I wake up, Im alive In only a little while Ill cry Cause youre my lullaby So baby, come hold me tight cause I-I I wanna be everything you need I wanna be where Youre here, your eyes are looking into mine So baby, make me fly My heart has never felt this way before Im looking through your Im looking through your eyes Just as long as youre mine Ill be your everything tonight Let me love you, kiss you Oh, baby, let me miss you Let me see your Dream about, dream about Dream about your eyes Eyes, eyes Beautiful eyes

He said the way my blue eyes shined Put those Georgia stars to shame that night I said Thats a lie Just a boy in a Chevy truck That had a tendency of gettin stuck On backroads at night And I was right there beside him All summer long And then the time we woke up to find that summer gone But when you think Tim McGraw I hope you think my favorite song The one we danced to all night long The moon like a spotlight on the lake When you think happiness I hope you think that little black dress Think of my head on your chest And my old faded blue jeans When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me September saw a month of tears And thankin God that you werent here to see me like that But in a box beneath my bed Is a letter that you never read from three summers back Its hard not to find it all a little bittersweet And lookin back on all of that Its nice to believe But when you think Tim McGraw I hope you think my favorite song The one we danced to all night long The moon like a spotlight on the lake When you think happiness I hope you think that little black dress Think of my head on your chest And my old faded blue jeans When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me And Im back for the first time since then Im standing on your street And theres a letter left on your doorstep And the first thing that youll read is But when you think Tim McGraw I hope you think my favorite song The one we danced to all night long The moon like a spotlight on the lake When you think happiness I hope you think that little black dress Think of my head on your chest And my old faded blue jeans When you think Tim McGraw I hope you think of me Ah, think of me Mmmm He said the way my blue eyes shined Put those Georgia stars to shame that night I said Thats a lie

And its a sad picture, the final blow hits you Somebody else gets what you wanted again and You know its all the same, another time and place Repeating history and youre getting sick of it But I believe in whatever you do And Ill do anything to see it through Because these things will change Can you feel it now? These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down This revolution, the time will come For us to finally win And well sing hallelujah, well sing hallelujah Oh, oh So weve been outnumbered, raided, and now cornered Its hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair Were getting stronger now, finding things they never found They might be bigger but were faster and never scared You can walk away, say we dont need this But theres something in your eyes says we can beat this Cause these things will change Can you feel it now? These walls that they put up to hold us back will fall down This revolution, the time will come For us to finally win And well sing hallelujah, well sing hallelujah Oh, oh Tonight we stand, get off our knees Fight for what weve worked for all these years And the battle was long, its the fight of our lives But well stand up champions tonight It was the night things changed Can you see it now? These walls that they put up to hold us back fell down Its a revolution, throw your hands up Cause we never gave in And well sing hallelujah, we sang hallelujah Hallelujah

To put it plainly, we just couldn’t stop writing songs. To try and put it more poetically, it feels like we were standing on the edge of the folklorian woods and had a choice: to turn and go back or to travel further into the forest of this music. We chose to wander deeper in. I’ve never done this before. In the past I’ve always treated albums as one-off eras and moved onto planning the next one after an album was released. There was something different with folklore. In making it, I felt less like I was departing and more like I was returning. I loved the escapism I found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales. I loved the ways you welcomed the dreamscapes and tragedies and epic tales of love lost and found into your lives. So I just kept writing them.

We could leave the Christmas lights up til January This is our place, we make the rules And theres a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years? Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close forever and ever? And ah, take me out, and take me home Youre my, my, my, my lover We could let our friends crash in the living room This is our place, we make the call And Im highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you Ive loved you three summers now, honey, but I want em all Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close forever and ever? And ah, take me out, and take me home Youre my, my, my, my lover Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand? With every guitar string scar on my hand I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover My hearts been borrowed and yours has been blue Alls well that ends well to end up with you Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover And youll save all your dirtiest jokes for me And at every table, Ill save you a seat, lover Can I go where you go? Can we always be this close forever and ever? And ah, take me out, and take me home Youre my, my, my, my Oh, youre my, my, my, my Darling, youre my, my, my, my lover

Ah-ah Ah-ah Ah-ah Ah-ah-ah-ah We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes, and the flashback starts Im standing there On a balcony in summer air See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns See you make your way through the crowd And say, hello Little did I know That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles And my daddy said, stay away from Juliet And I was crying on the staircase Begging you, please dont go, and I said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres left to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill be the princess Its a love story baby just say yes So I sneak out to the garden to see you We keep quiet, cause were dead if they knew So close your eyes Escape this town for a little while Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter And my daddy said, Stay away from Juliet But you were everything to me I was begging you please dont go and I said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres left to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill be the princess Its a love story baby just say yes Romeo, save me, theyre trying to tell me how to feel This love is difficult, but its real Dont be afraid, well make it out of this mess Its a love story baby just say yes Oh, oh I got tired of waiting Wondering if you were ever coming around My faith in you was fading When I met you on the outskirts of town And I said: Romeo, save me, Ive been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you but you never come Is this in my head? I dont know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring And said, said, said, said Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone Ill be waiting, all theres left to do is run Youll be the prince and Ill be the princess Its a love story baby just say yes Romeo, save me, theyre trying to tell me how to feel This love is difficult, but its real Dont be afraid, well make it out of this mess Its a love story baby just say yes

There I was again tonight Forcing laughter, faking smiles Same old tired, lonely place Walls of insincerity Shifting eyes and vacancy Vanished when I saw your face All I can say is it was enchanting to meet you Your eyes whispered Have we met? Across the room, your silhouette Starts to make its way to me The playful conversation starts Counter all your quick remarks Like passing notes in secrecy And it was enchanting to meet you All I can say is I was enchanted to meet you This night is sparkling, dont you let it go Im wonder struck, blushing all the way home Ill spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you The lingering question kept me up 2 AM, who do you love? I wonder till Im wide awake Now Im pacing back and forth Wishing you were at my door Id open up and you would say It was enchanting to meet you All I know is I was enchanted to meet you This night is sparkling, dont you let it go Im wonder struck, blushing all the way home Ill spend forever wondering if you knew This night is flawless, dont you let it go Im wonder struck, dancing around all alone Ill spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you This is me praying that This was the very first page Not where the story line ends My thoughts will echo your name Until I see you again These are the words I held back As I was leaving too soon I was enchanted to meet you Please dont be in love with someone else Please dont have somebody waiting on you Please dont be in love with someone else Please dont have somebody waiting on you This night is sparkling, dont you let it go Im wonder struck, blushing all the way home Ill spend forever wondering if you knew This night is flawless, dont you let it go Im wonder struck, dancing around all alone Ill spend forever wondering if you knew I was enchanted to meet you Please dont be in love with someone else Please dont have somebody waiting on you

State the obvious, I didnt get my perfect fantasy I realize you love yourself more than you could ever love me So go and tell your friends that Im obsessive and crazy Thats fine, you wont mind if I say By the way I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive Youre a redneck heartbreak whos really bad at lying So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time As far as Im concerned, youre just another picture to burn Theres no time for tears Im just sitting here planning my revenge Theres nothing stopping me From going out with all of your best friends And if you come around saying sorry to me My daddys gonna show you how sorry youll be Cause I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive Youre a redneck heartbreak whos really bad at lying So watch me strike a match an all my wasted time As far as Im concerned, youre just another picture to burn And if youre missing me, youd better keep it to yourself Cause coming back around here would be bad for your health Cause I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive Youre a redneck heartbreak whos really bad at lying So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time In case you havent heard I really really hate that Stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive Youre a redneck heartbreak, whos really bad at lying So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time As far as Im concerned, youre just another picture to burn Burn, burn, burn, baby, burn Youre just another picture to burn Baby, burn

Untouchable like a distant diamond sky Im reaching out and I just can’t tell you why Im caught up in you, Im caught up in you Untouchable, burning brighter than the sun And when you’re close, I feel like coming undone In the middle of the night when Im in this dream Its like a million little stars spelling out your name You got to come on, come on, say that well be together Come on, come on, little taste of heaven Its half full and I wont wait here all day I know youre saying that youd be here anyway But you’re untouchable, burning brighter than the sun Now that you’re close, I feel like coming undone In the middle of the night when Im in this dream It’s like a million little stars spelling out your name You got to come on, come on, say that well be together Come on, come on, oh In the middle of the night waking from this dream I want to feel you by my side, standing next to me You got to come on, come on, say that well be together Come on, come on, little taste of heaven Im caught up in you Oh, oh, oh But you’re untouchable, burning brighter than the sun Now that youre close, I feel like coming undone In the middle of the night when Im in this dream Its like a million little stars spelling out your name You got to come on, come on, say that well be together Come on, come on, oh In the middle of the night when Im in this dream Its like a million little stars spelling out your name You got to come on, come on, say that well be together Come on, come on, oh In the middle of the night waking from this dream I want to feel you by my side, standing next to me You got to come on, come on, say that well be together Come on, come on, little taste of heaven And in the middle of the night when Im in this dream Its like a million little stars spelling out your name You got to come on, come on, come on, come on Come on, come on, oh, oh, oh Like a million little stars spelling out your name Theyre spelling out your name, oh

Follow me home if you dare to I wouldnt know where to lead you Should I take chances when no one took chances on me? So I watch from the dark, wait for my life to start With no beauty in my memory All that I wanted was to be wanted Too young to wander London streets, alone and haunted Born into nothing At least you have something, something to cling to Visions of dazzling rooms Ill never get let into And the memories were lost long ago But at least you have beautiful ghosts Perilous night, their voices calling A flicker of light before the dawning Out here, the wild ones are taming the fear within me Scared to call them my friends and be broken again Is this hope just a mystical dream? All that I wanted was to be wanted Too young to wander London streets, alone and haunted Born into nothing At least you have something, something to cling to Visions of dazzling rooms Ill never get let into And the memories were lost long ago But at least you have beautiful ghosts And so maybe my home isnt what I had known What I thought it would be But I feel so alive with these phantoms of night And I know that this life isnt safe, but its wild and its free All that I wanted was to be wanted Ill never wander London streets, alone and haunted Born into nothing With them, I have something, something to cling to I never knew Id love this world theyve let me into And the memories were lost long ago So Ill dance with these beautiful ghosts And the memories were lost long ago So Ill dance with these beautiful ghosts

Im like the water when your ship rolled in that night Rough on the surface, but you cut through like a knife And if it was an open-shut case I never wouldve known from that look on your face Lost in your current like a priceless wine The more that you say, the less I know Wherever you stray, I follow Im begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans, thats my man I said, No one has to know what we do His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room And his voice is a familiar sound Nothing lasts forever But this is gettin good now Hes so tall and handsome as hell Hes so bad, but he does it so well And when weve had our very last kiss My last request, it is Say youll remember me Standing in a nice dress Staring at the sunset, babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say youll see me again Even if its just in your Wildest dreams, oh, ah Wildest dreams, oh, ah Youll see me in hindsight, tangled up with you all night Burnin it down Someday when you leave me, Id bet these memories Follow you around Youll see me in hindsight, tangled up with you all night Burning it down Someday when you leave me, Ill bet these memories Follow you around The more that you say, the less I know Wherever you stray, I follow Im begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans, thats my man

Sleeping BeautyRich ManSay It In a TweetSnakes and StonesPicture Trailer to BurnPool TimeTaydrickThe ArcherTea for TanT-PartySunshine in the StreetWedding BellsDont Step on His GownCombo Meal

I promise that youll never find another like me I know that I spend my money, uh I spill the tea before Ive thought And the color pink is all I want I know that Ive had work done on my face People say I wanna change my race But Im happy with myself anyway My princess vibe is not like the others Cant be more different than my twin sista Im a troll when it comеs to my viewers I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Im the only one of me Not another Ari Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you My twin sisters hair is blue And I promise that youll never find another like me-e-e I know I tend to be a control freak And that I never ever stop talking But Im the Niki to the Gabi My twin is a literal Barbie doll Couldnt be more different than her at all If youre gonna compare Im gonna punch a wall Cause I got my own vibe, Im not like the others Pizza is my shit, and blue is my color Coffee and sweatpants are my only uppers I promise that youll never find another like Me-e-e, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Im the only one of me Not another Billie Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Youre the only one of you Im the twin whos hair is blue And I promise that youll never find another Ni-i-ki Hey kids! Hating is fun! Dont need to see your luxury! You block my number on days were filming You blow up my phone, its annoying Cuz you know that youll never find another like me We upload inconsistently You fight me when Im only trying These YouTube fights are unhealthy Our viewers only want us to be one thing, and thats Happy, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Were the only one of me Were sisters first and family Eeh-eeh-eeh, ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Were a channel of two The OGs and the pink and blue And I promise that youll never find another Niki and Gabi!

Drew looks at me I  fake a smile so he wont see That  I want and Im needing Everything that we should be Ill bet shes beautiful, that girl he talks about And  shes got everything that I have to live without Drew  talks to me I laugh cause its just so funny That  I cant even see Anyone when hes with me He says hes so in love, hes finally got it right I wonder if he knows hes all I think about at night Hes  the reasons for the teardrops on my guitar The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... Drew walks by me Cant he tell that I cant breathe? And there he goes, so perfectly The kind of flawless I wish I could be Shed better hold him tight, give him all her love Look in those beautiful eyes and know shes lucky cause Hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... So I drive home alone, as I turn out the light Ill put his picture down and maybe get some sleep tonight Cause hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only one who’s got enough of me to break my heart Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... Hes the time taken up, but theres never enough And hes all that I need to fall into Drew looks at me I fake a smile so he wont see Thank you

Taylor Swift recently moved out of her parents home into her own condo here. Now shes declaring her musical independence, too. The country singer wrote every song by herself on her new album Speak Now, the first that shes completed without co-writers. The lyrics deal with real people—including rapper Kanye West, who famously interrupted her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. I write songs that are like diary entries, Ms. Swift says, adding: I have to do it in order to feel sane. Ms. Swift released her self-titled debut in 2006 at age 16. Her follow-up, Fearless, was the best-selling album in the U.S. in 2009, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and this January it won the Grammy for album of the year. On her new album, due out Monday, the 20-year-old Ms. Swift is looking to appeal to a more mature audience, even if it means leaving some of the Disney/Nickelodeon set behind. Speak Now features a TMZ-style attack on an unnamed starlet. Shes an actress / shes better known for the things that she does on the mattress, Ms. Swift sings on the track Better Than Revenge. In the song Never Grow Up, she writes about moving into a new apartment. Its so much colder than I thought it would be, she sings. Ms. Swift came for an interview to Café Coco, a spot she frequents with her girlfriends. Accompanied by a security man complete with earpiece, she armed herself with a Rice Krispie treat and talked about her fans, her critics and her album. The Wall Street Journal: Your voice has sometimes been criticized for not being all that strong, especially in live performances. How do you feel about that? Ms. Swift: I dont really have a standard criticism policy for how I handle it. Because it seems like its always something different thats being said in a different way by a different person…There are some times when I can just brush it off and be fine after I hear something negative. But there are times when it absolutely levels me. Tell me about the song Mean on your new album. Mean is about this—Im used to criticism because thats part of what I do, taking criticism. When its constructive I have an appreciation for it, but when it crosses a line, and becomes mean, I write songs like that about it. With a young audience following you, is it hard to grow up and write honestly about adult experiences? Factoring in millions of people when Im writing a song is not a good idea. I dont ever do it. What about in your day-to-day life? When I was 8 years old, it mattered what my favorite singer said and wore and expressed opinions about. And if I have a chance to matter to the growth and hopes and wishes of little girls, thats something I cant take lightly. So I do factor them in when Im thinking about what to wear, and what to say, and whether or not to go out to bars even though Im not 21. Why did you go without co-writers on Speak Now? It originally was inspired by circumstance. I would get inspired to write a song at 3:30 in the morning. Theres no co-writer around. Were you trying to prove something to the world as an artist by writing everything yourself? I just felt like all these crazy things were happening in my life. Can you give me an example? Different relationships. Realizations you come to based on the beginning and ending of those relationships and everything you learn in between. You have people come into your life shockingly and surprisingly. You have losses that you never thought youd experience. You have rejection and you have learn how to deal with that and how to get up the next day and go on with it. Are you going to scare boyfriends away because they might end up in one of your songs if things dont go so well? The only thing I can say about that is that this is not a surprise that I do this. Everyone has had fair warning. This is my third album. Ive never been shy or secretive with the fact that if you walk into my life, you may be walking onto a record. The title song on the album is about a woman who dreams about interrupting the wedding of a guy she likes. Is that based on anything in your real life? Well, Ive never interrupted a wedding. But if I did, thats how I would do it. A few of my friends had ex-boyfriends who were getting married. And I went through that with them in venting sessions…And of course I started having dreams about what if my ex-boyfriend got married to someone else? So a lot of the songs on this record are pulled straight from my life. Then there are songs like Speak Now that are an extension of my feelings and hypothetically what I would do. Do you feel that your early fame has cut you off from experiences that might have fed into your songwriting? Any regrets that you became so successful so young? I heard a quote from Dolly Parton one time and she said that regrets arent fair to you because you couldnt possibly have known then what you know now. And a lot of times I wish I could live life more like her. Just this clarity about how to process regret. But on this particular subject about the path that I chose in life I do not regret anything. Im very aware and very conscious of the path I chose in life, and very aware of the path I didnt choose. So what was the path you didnt choose? My parents were in finance. They thought I was going to be a stockbroker and go to business school and college—and my brothers at Notre Dame. All my friends are at college. I keep one eye on the path I didnt choose every day. Thats why I go and attend journalism classes at my friend Abigails college. Because I just want to sit there and see what its like for a day. Thats why I go to Notre Dame and visit my brother and sit in his dorm room. The life I chose is very different from theirs.

Im writing this post about the upcoming midterm elections on November 6th, in which Ill be voting in the state of Tennessee. In the past Ive been reluctant to publicly voice my political opinions, but due to several events in my life and in the world in the past two years, I feel very differently about that now. I always have and always will cast my vote based on which candidate will protect and fight for the human rights I believe we all deserve in this country. I believe in the fight for LGBTQ rights, and that any form of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender is WRONG. I believe that the systemic racism we still see in this country towards people of color is terrifying, sickening and prevalent. I cannot vote for someone who will not be willing to fight for dignity for ALL Americans, no matter their skin color, gender or who they love. Running for Senate in the state of Tennessee is a woman named Marsha Blackburn. As much as I have in the past and would like to continue voting for women in office, I cannot support Marsha Blackburn. Her voting record in Congress appalls and terrifies me. She voted against equal pay for women. She voted against the Reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, which attempts to protect women from domestic violence, stalking, and date rape. She believes businesses have a right to refuse service to gay couples. She also believes they should not have the right to marry. These are not MY Tennessee values. I will be voting for Phil Bredesen for Senate and Jim Cooper for House of Representatives. Please, please educate yourself on the candidates running in your state and vote based on who most closely represents your values. For a lot of us, we may never find a candidate or party with whom we agree 100% on every issue, but we have to vote anyway. So many intelligent, thoughtful, self-possessed people have turned 18 in the past two years and now have the right and privilege to make their vote count. But first you need to register, which is quick and easy to do. October 9th is the LAST DAY to register to vote in the state of TN. Go to vote.org and you can find all the info. Happy Voting! 🗳😃🌈

I stay out too late Got nothing in my brain Thats what people say, mmm, mmm Thats what people say, mmm, mmm I go on too many dates But I cant make them stay At least thats what people say, mmm, mmm Thats what people say, mmm, mmm But I keep cruisin Cant stop, wont stop movin Its like I got this music in my mind Sayin its gonna be alright Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate Baby, Im just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake I shake it off, I shake it off Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake Baby, Im just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake I shake it off, I shake it off I never miss a beat Im lightning on my feet And thats what they don’t see, mmm, mmm Thats what they don’t see, mmm, mmm Im dancin on my own I make the moves up as I go And thats what they dont know, mmm, mmm That’s what they don’t know, mmm, mmm I, I shake it off, shake it off I, I shake it off, shake it off I, I shake it off, shake it off I, I shake it off, shake it off

Dont blame me, love made me crazy If it doesnt, you aint doin it right Lord, save me, my drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life Ive been breakin hearts a long time And toyin with them older guys Just playthings for me to use Something happened for the first time In the darkest little paradise Shakin, pacin, I just need you For you, I would cross the line I would waste my time I would lose my mind They say, Hes gone too far this time Dont blame me, love made me crazy If it doesnt, you aint doin it right Lord, save me, my drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life Dont blame me, love made me crazy If it doesnt, you aint doin it right Oh, Lord, save me, my drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life My name is whatever you decide And Im just gonna call you mine Im insane, but Im your baby Echoes of your name inside my mind Halo hiding my obsession I once was poison ivy, but now Im your daisy And baby, for you, I would fall from grace Just to touch your face If you walk away, Id beg you on my knees to stay Dont blame me, love made me crazy If it doesnt, you aint doin it right Lord, save me, my drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life Dont blame me, love made me crazy If it doesnt, you aint doin it right Oh, Lord, save me, my drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life I get so high, oh! Every time youre, every time youre lovin me Youre lovin me Trip of my life, oh! Every time youre, every time youre touchin me Youre touchin me Every time youre, every time youre lovin me Oh, Lord, save me My drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life Dont blame me, love made me crazy If it doesnt, you aint doin it right Lord, save me, my drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life, oh-oh Dont blame me, love made me crazy If it doesnt, you aint doin it right Oh, Lord, save me, my drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life I get so high, oh! Every time youre, every time youre lovin me Youre lovin me Oh, Lord, save me, my drug is my baby Ill be usin for the rest of my life

Nice to meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things Magic, madness, heaven, sin Saw you there, and I thought Oh my God, look at that face You look like my next mistake Loves a game, wanna play? Ayy New money, suit and tie I can read you like a magazine Aint it funny? Rumors fly And I know you heard about me So hey, lets be friends Im dyin to see how this one ends Grab your passport and my hand I can make the bad guys good for a weekend So its gonna be forever Or its gonna go down in flames You can tell me when its over, mm If the high was worth the pain Got a long list of ex-lovers Theyll tell you Im insane Cause you know I love the players And you love the game Cause were young and were reckless Well take this way too far Itll leave you breathless, hmm Or with a nasty scar Got a long list of ex-lovers Theyll tell you Im insane But Ive got a blank space, baby And Ill write your name Cherry lips, crystal skies I could show you incredible things Stolen kisses, pretty lies Youre the King, baby, Im your Queen Find out what you want Be that girl for a month Wait, the worst is yet to come Oh, no Screaming, crying, perfect storms I can make all the tables turn Rose garden filled with thorns Keep you second guessin like Oh my God, who is she? I get drunk on jealousy But youll come back each time you leave Cause, darling, Im a nightmare dressed like a daydream So its gonna be forever Or its gonna go down in flames You can tell me when its over, mm If the high was worth the pain Got a long list of ex-lovers Theyll tell you Im insane Cause you know I love the players And you love the game Cause were young and were reckless Well take this way too far Itll leave you breathless, hmm Or with a nasty scar Got a long list of ex-lovers Theyll tell you Im insane But Ive got a blank space, baby And Ill write your name Boys only want love if its torture Dont say I didnt, say I didnt warn ya Boys only want love if its torture Dont say I didnt, say I didnt warn ya So its gonna be forever Or its gonna go down in flames You can tell me when its over, mm If the high was worth the pain Got a long list of ex-lovers Theyll tell you Im insane Cause you know I love the players And you love the game Cause were young and were reckless Well take this way too far Itll leave you breathless Or with a nasty scar Got a long list of ex-lovers Theyll tell you Im insane But Ive got a blank space, baby And Ill just write your name that right here Ill write your name

I remember when we broke up Saying, This is it, Ive had enough We hadnt seen each other in a month When you said you needed space Then you come around again and say I miss you and I swear Im gonna change Remember how that lasted for a day? I say, I hate you, we break up, you call me, I love you Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Called it off again last night Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh This time, Im telling you, Im telling you We are never, ever, ever getting back together We are never, ever, ever getting back together You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together Like, ever Im really gonna miss you picking fights And falling for it, screaming that Im right You hide away and find your peace of mind With some indie record cooler than mine Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh You called me up again tonight Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh This time, Im telling you, Im telling you We are never, ever, ever getting back together We are never, ever, ever getting back together You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together We are never, ever, ever getting back together We are never, ever, ever getting back together You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price You know that I bought it  Killing me slow, out the window Im always waiting for you to be waiting below Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes What doesnt kill me makes me want you more And its new, the shape of your body Its blue, the feeling Ive got And its ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer Its cool, thats what I tell em No rules in breakable heaven But ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer With you Hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine Im not dying We say that well just screw it up in these trying times Were not trying So cut the headlights, summers a knife Im always waiting for you just to cut to the bone Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes And if I bleed, youll be the last to know Oh, its new, the shape of your body Its blue, the feeling Ive got And its ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer Its cool, thats what I tell em No rules in breakable heaven But ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer With you Im drunk in the back of the car And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar Said, Im fine, but it wasnt true I dont wanna keep secrets just to keep you And I snuck in through the garden gate Every night that summer just to seal my fate And I scream, For whatever its worth I love you, aint that the worst thing you ever heard? He looks up, grinning like a devil Its new, the shape of your body Its blue, the feeling Ive got And its ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer Its cool, thats what I tell em No rules in breakable heaven But ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer With you Im drunk in the back of the car And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar Said, Im fine, but it wasnt true I dont wanna keep secrets just to keep you And I snuck in through the garden gate Every night that summer just to seal my fate And I scream, For whatever its worth I love you, aint that the worst thing you ever heard?

I bet this time of night, you’re still up I bet you’re tired from a long hard week I bet you’re sitting in your chair by the window Looking out at the city And I bet sometimes you wonder about me And I just want to tell you It takes everything in me not to call you And I wish I could run to you And I hope you know that Every time I don’t I almost do, I almost do I bet you think I either moved on or hate you ‘Cause each time you reach out, there’s no reply I bet it never, ever occurred to you That I can’t say hello to you And risk another goodbye And I just want to tell you It takes everything in me not to call you And I wish I could run to you And I hope you know that Every time I don’t I almost do, I almost do Oh, we made quite a mess, babe It’s probably better off this way And I confess, babe In my dreams, you’re touching my face And asking me if I want to try again with you And I almost do And I just want to tell you It takes everything in me not to call you And I wish I could run to you And I hope you know that Every time I don’t I almost do, I almost do I bet this time of night, you’re still up I bet you’re tired from a long hard week I bet you’re sitting in your chair by the window Looking out at the city And I hope sometimes you wonder about me

He said lets get out of this town Drive out of the city Away from the crowd I thought nothing can help me now Nothing lasts forever This is gonna take me down You were sorta punk rock, I grew up on hip hop You fit me better than my favorite sweater, and I know That love is mean, and love hurts I still remember that day we met in December Say youll remember me Standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say youll see me again even if its just in your Wildest dreams Ah-aah, haa Wildest dreams Ah-aah, haa He said, No one else knows me like you And I cant help but fall, theres nothing I can do And his voice is a familiar sound Nothing lasts forever But this is gettin good now But he home out on Sunday, said hed come on Monday I stayed up waitin, anticipatin and pacin but he was Chasing paper Caught up in the game, it was the last I heard Say youll remember me Standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say youll see me again even if its just in your Wildest dreams Ah-aah, haa Wildest dreams Ah-aah, haa Youll see me in hindsight, thinkin bout you all night Burnin it down Someday when you leave me, Id bet these memories Follow you around Youll see me in hindsight, thinking about you all night Burnin’ it down Someday when you leave me, Ill bet these memories Follow you around Say youll remember me Standing in a nice dress, staring at the sunset babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say youll see me again even if its just pretend Say youll remember me Standing in a nice dress, looking at the sunset babe Red lips and rosy cheeks Say youll see me again even if its just in your I will love you till the end of time I would wait a million years Promise youll remember that youre mine Baby can you see through the tears? I love you more than ever before Say you’ll remember, say you’ll remember, oh baby, ooh I will love you till the end of time

You, with your words like knives And swords and weapons that you use against me You, have knocked me off my feet again Got me feeling like I’m nothing You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard Calling me out when I’m wounded You, pickin’ on the weaker man Well you can take me down With just one single blow But you don’t know, what you don’t know Someday, I’ll be living in a big old city And all you’re ever gonna be is mean Someday, I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me And all you’re ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so mean? You, with your switching sides And your walk by lies and your humiliation You, have pointed out my flaws again As if I don’t already see them I walk with my head down Trying to block you out cause I’ll never impress you I just wanna feel okay again I bet you got pushed around Somebody made you cold But the cycle ends right now Cause you can’t lead me down that road And you don’t know, what you don’t know Someday, I’ll be, living in a big old city And all you’re ever gonna be is mean Someday, I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me And all you’re ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so mean? And I can see you years from now in a bar Talking over a football game With that same big loud opinion but Nobody’s listening Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things Drunk and grumbling on about how I can’t sing But all you are is mean All you are is mean And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life And mean, and mean, and mean, and mean But someday, I’ll be, living in a big old city And all you’re ever gonna be is mean. Yeah Someday, I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me And all you’re ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so ? Someday, I’ll be, living in a big old city And all you’re ever gonna be is mean. Yeah Someday, I’ll be big enough so you can’t hit me And all you’re ever gonna be is mean Why you gotta be so mean?

“That’s a pap,” she says as we leave the restaurant, pointing toward an anonymous gray car that looks like the floor model in an auto dealership specializing in anonymous gray cars. Her security detail suggests that it’s probably not a paparazzo because there’s no way a paparazzo could find us at such an unglamorous, unassuming establishment. But as with seemingly every other inference she has ever made, Taylor Swift is ultimately proven right. The guy in the gray car is taking her picture. This annoys her, but just barely. It’s August in Southern California. We crawl into the back of a massive Toyota and start driving to Swift’s West Coast residence, located in a rural enclave of Beverly Hills. The gray car trails us through Franklin Canyon. Swift whips out her phone and starts showing me images from the video shoot for “Wildest Dreams,” including a clip of a giraffe licking her face. She has more photos on her phone than any person I’ve ever met. “I wanted this video to be about the making of a 1950s movie being filmed on location in Africa,” she explains. Swift came up with the concept after reading a book by Ava Gardner and Peter Evans, The Secret Conversations. Her premise for the video is that—since social media did not exist in the ’50s—it would be impossible for actors not to fall in love if they were isolated together in Africa, since there would be no one else to talk to. We chat a little about Ryan Adams and a little about books. Swift mentions that she wrote a non-autobiographical novel when she was 14, titled A Girl Named Girl, and that her parents still have it. I ask her what it was about, assuming she will laugh. But her memory of the plot is remarkably detailed. If she released it today, it would immediately be the best-selling YA novel in the nation. When she was about that same age, Swift’s family moved from Pennsylvania to Nashville, to jump-start her music career. I ask what she imagines might have happened if they’d never moved and if she’d never become an artist. “I would still be involved with music in my spare time,” she says. “But I would have gone to college, and I would probably be involved with a form of business where words and ideas are at the forefront. Such as marketing.” She returns to her phone and starts scrolling for an old voice memo she sent to Jack Antonoff of the band Bleachers while they were co-writing songs for 1989. Antonoff’s nickname for Swift is Dead Tooth, a reference to a minor dental mishap. Just as she tells me this, her cell phone rings. The display panel says the incoming call is from J TIMB. “Oh, my God. Justin Timberlake?” Her surprise does not seem artificial. “Can I take this?” She takes the call. The volume on her phone is loud enough for me to intermittently hear both sides of the conversation. Swift explains that she’s driving to her house, but that she can’t actually stay there because contractors are renovating almost every room. “Have you ever seen the movie The Money Pit?” asks Timberlake. She has not, so Timberlake provides a capsule review. He has a 4-month-old baby at home and is constantly tired, yet he can’t fall sleep. He asks Swift for advice on sleeping. Swift tells the driver to pull over to the shoulder of the road, since she keeps losing reception as we drive through the canyon. The paparazzo in the gray car casually passes, having not-so-casually followed us for at least five miles. The conversation lasts almost 15 minutes . “You’re never going to get old,” Swift assures Timberlake. “That’s scientific fact. That’s medical.” Even her sarcasm is aspirational. Eventually JT tells her the reason he’s calling is because he wants to perform the song “Mirrors” with her on the last night of her upcoming five-date stand at Staples Center. She reacts to this news the way a teenage girl in Nebraska would react if suddenly informed that a paternity test had revealed Taylor Swift was her biological sister. When she ends the call, Swift looks at me and says, “This is so crazy. This is so crazy.” She repeats that phrase four times, each time with ascending volume. Now, inside my skull, I am thinking one thought: This is not remotely crazy. It actually seems like the opposite of crazy. Why wouldn’t Justin Timberlake want to perform with the biggest entertainer in America, to an audience of 15,000 people who will lose their collective mind the moment he appears? I’d have been much more surprised if he’d called to turn her down. But then I remember that Swift is 25 years old, and that her entire ethos is based on experiencing how her insane life would feel if she were exactly like the type of person who’d buy a ticket to this particular concert. She has more perspective than I do. Every extension of who she is and how she works is “so crazy,” and what’s even crazier is my inability to recognize just how crazy it is. So Taylor Swift is right again.If you don’t take Swift seriously, you don’t take contemporary music seriously. With the exceptions of Kanye West and Beyoncé Knowles, she is the most significant pop artist of the modern age. The scale of her commercial supremacy defies parallel—she’s sold 1 million albums in a week three times, during an era when most major artists are thrilled to move 500,000 albums in a year. If a record as comparatively dominant as 1989 had actually existed in the year 1989, it would have surpassed the sales of Thriller. There is no demographic she does not tap into, which is obviously rare. But what’s even more atypical is how that ubiquity is critically received. Swift gets excellent reviews, particularly from the most significant arbiters of taste. She has never gratuitously sexualized her image and seems pathologically averse to controversy. There’s simply no antecedent for this kind of career: a cross-genre, youth-oriented, critically acclaimed colossus based entirely on the intuitive songwriting merits of a single female artist. It’s as if mid-period Garth Brooks was also early Liz Phair, minus the hat and the swearing. As a phenomenon, it’s absolutely new. And this, somewhat predictably, creates a new set of problems. Even within the most high-minded considerations of Swift’s music, there is inevitably some analysis about her personal life. She’s an utterly credible musician who is consumed as a tabloid personality. Very often , that binary is attributed to ingrained biases against female performers. But it’s more complicated than that. Swift writes about her life so directly that the listener is forced to think about her persona in order to fully appreciate what she’s doing creatively. This is her greatest power: an ability to combine her art and her life so profoundly that both spheres become more interesting to everyone, regardless of their emotional investment in either. Swift clearly knows this is happening. But she can’t directly admit it, because it’s the kind of thing that only works when it seems accidental. She’s careful how she describes the process, because you don’t become who she is by describing things carelessly. Even the most serious critics inevitably discuss the more tabloid aspects of your life. Is this valid? Does the fact that you write about yourself in such a confessional style require intelligent people to look at your music through that lens? I don’t feel there is any injustice when people expand beyond my music and speculate on who certain songs might be about. I’ve never named names, so I feel like I still have a sense of power over what people say—even if that isn’t true, and even if I don’t have any power over what people say about me. The fact that I’ve never confirmed who those songs are about makes me feel like there is still one card I’m holding. So if you’re going to look at your life and say, “I get to play sold-out football stadiums all over the world. I get to call up my favorite artists and ask them to perform with me, and most of the time they say yes. I get to be on the cover of this magazine”—this is all because I write songs about my own life. So I would feel a little strange complaining about how it’s covered. But I’m not asking if it’s fair or unfair, or if the downside is worth the upside. I’m asking from an aesthetic perspective: Is thinking about your real life an essential part of appreciating your music? Could your music be enjoyed the same way in a vacuum, even if no one knew anything else about you? “Shake It Off” is one of my most successful songs, and that has nothing directly, intricately, pointedly personal in it. No one really says I stay out too late. I just thought it sounded good. Have you ever stopped yourself from writing a fictional lyric because you feared it would be incorrectly applied to your nonfictional life? No. Some of the things I write about on a song like “Blank Space” are satire. You take your creative license and create things that are larger than life. You can write things like I get drunk on jealousy but you’ll come back each time you leave, ’cause darling I’m a nightmare dressed like a daydream. That is not my approach to relationships. But is it cool to write the narrative of a girl who’s crazy but seductive but glamorous but nuts but manipulative? That was the character I felt the media had written for me, and for a long time I felt hurt by it. I took it personally. But as time went by, I realized it was kind of hilarious. It’s impossible for an artist to control how she is perceived. But an artist can anticipate those perceptions, which is almost as good. “A nuanced sense of humor does not translate on a general scale,” Swift says, “and I knew that going in. I knew some people would hear ‘Blank Space’ and say, See, we were right about her. And at that point, I just figure if you don’t get the joke, you don’t deserve to get the joke.”There’s a long tradition of musicians expressing a degree of disinterest in how they are metabolized by the culture. They claim to ignore their own reviews while feigning a lack of discernment about what their audience wants or expects, since these are things that cannot be manipulated. Swift is not like this. She has an extrinsic focus that informs her creative process. From her perspective, not tracking how people view your work feels stranger than the alternative. “I went through a few years where I just never went online and never looked at blogs,” she recalls. “This was around 2013, when the only thing anyone wanted to write about me was about me and some guy. It was really damaging. You’re thinking, ‘Everybody goes on dates when they’re 22. It’s fine, right?’ Nope. Not when you’re in this situation, and everything you do is blown out of proportion and expanded upon. And all of a sudden, there’s an overriding opinion that doesn’t accurately reflect how you actually live your life. So I didn’t go online for a year and a half. I actually forgot my Instagram password. But now I check in and see what’s happening. In 2015, that stuff does matter. Because if enough people say the same thing about me, it becomes fact in the general public’s mind. So I monitor what people say about me, and if I see a theme, I know what that means. I’ve had it happen twice before. In 2010, it was She’s too young to get all these awards. Look how annoying she is when she wins. Is she even good? And then in 2013, it was She just writes songs about guys to get revenge. She’s boy-crazy. She’s a problematic person. It will probably be something else again this year.” How you view this level of consciousness is proportional to how you feel about Swift as a public figure. There is a perpetual sense that nothing about her career is accidental and that nothing about her life is unmediated. These are not unusual thoughts to have about young mainstream stars. But what’s different with Swift is her autonomy. There is no Svengali directing her career; there is no stage mother pushing her toward the spotlight. She is in total control of her own constructed reality. If there was a machine that built humans out of positive millennial stereotypes, Swift would be its utopian creation. “I used to watch Behind the Music every day,” she says. “When other kids were watching normal shows, I’d watch Behind the Music. And I would see these bands that were doing so well, and I’d wonder what went wrong. I thought about this a lot. And what I established in my brain was that a lack of self-awareness was always the downfall. That was always the catalyst for the loss of relevance and the loss of ambition and the loss of great art. So self-awareness has been such a huge part of what I try to achieve on a daily basis. It’s less about reputation management and strategy and vanity than it is about trying to desperately preserve self-awareness, since that seems to be the first thing to go out the door when people find success.” The advantage of this self-focused fixation is clear. Swift is allowed to make whatever record she wants, based on the reasonable argument that she understands her specific space in the culture more deeply than anyone around her. The making of 1989 is a prime example: She claims everyone at her label tried to persuade her not to make a straightforward pop album. She recounts a litany of arguments with various label executives over every possible detail, from how much of her face would appear on the cover to how co-writer Max Martin would be credited in the liner notes. As far as I can tell, Swift won every one of these debates. “Even calling this record 1989 was a risk,” she says. “I had so many intense conversations where my label really tried to step in. I could tell they’d all gotten together and decided, ‘We gotta talk some sense into her. She’s had an established, astronomically successful career in country music. To shake that up would be the biggest mistake she ever makes.’ But to me, the safest thing I could do was take the biggest risk. I know how to write a song. I’m not confident about a lot of other aspects of my life, but I know how to write a song. I’d read a review of Red that said it wasn’t sonically cohesive. So that was what I wanted on 1989: an umbrella that would go over all of these songs, so that they all belonged on the same album. But then I’d go into the label office, and they were like, ‘Can we talk about putting a fiddle and a steel-guitar solo on ‘Shake It Off’ to service country radio?’ I was trying to make the most honest record I could possibly make, and they were kind of asking me to be a little disingenuous about it: ‘Let’s capitalize on both markets.’ No, let’s not. Let’s choose a lane.”Like almost all famous people, Swift has two ways of speaking. The first is the way she talks when she’s actively shaping the interview—optimistic, animated, and seemingly rehearsed . The second is the way she talks when she cares less about the way the words are presented and more about the message itself . The first way is how she talks when she’s on television; the second is unequivocal and less animatronic. But she oscillates between the two styles fluidly, because either this dissonance is less intentional than it appears or she can tell I’m considerably more interested in anything delivered in the second style. ate in our lunch, I mention something that happened several years ago: By chance, I’d found myself having dinner with a former acquaintance of Swift’s who offhandedly described her as “calculating.” This is the only moment during our interview when Swift appears remotely flustered. She really, really hates the word calculating. She despises how it has become tethered to her iconography and believes the person I met has been the singular voice regurgitating this categorization. As she explains these things, her speech does not oscillate from the second mode. “Am I shooting from the hip?” she asks rhetorically. “Would any of this have happened if I was? In that sense, I do think about things before they happen. But here was someone taking a positive thing—the fact that I think about things and that I care about my work—and trying to make that into an insinuation about my personal life. Highly offensive. You can be accidentally successful for three or four years. Accidents happen. But careers take hard work.” Here we see Swift’s circuitous dilemma: Any attempt to appear less calculating scans as even more calculated. Because Swift’s professional career has unspooled with such precision, it’s assumed that her social life is no less premeditated. This even applies to casual, non-romantic relationships. Over the past three years, Swift has built a volunteer army of high-profile friends, many of whom appear in her videos and serve as special guests at her concerts. In almost any other circumstance, this would be seen as a likable trait; Leonardo DiCaprio behaved similarly in the ’90s, and everyone thought it was awesome. But it’s somehow different when the hub of the wheel is Swift. People get skeptical. Her famous friends are marginalized as acquisitions, selected to occupy specific roles, almost like members of the Justice League . Such perceptions perplex Swift, who is genuinely obsessed with these attachments. “I honestly think my lack of female friendships in high school and middle school is why my female friendships are so important now,” she says. “Because I always wanted them. It was just hard for me to have friends.” Popular people often claim they were once unpopular, so I ask Swift for a specific example. She tells a story about middle school, when she called several of her peers on the phone and asked if they wanted to go shopping. Every girl had a different excuse for why she couldn’t go. Eventually, Swift’s mother agreed to take her to the local mall. When they arrived, Swift saw all of the girls she had called on the phone, goofing around in Victoria’s Secret. “I just remember my mom looking at me and saying, We’re going to King of Prussia Mall. Which is the big, big mall in Pennsylvania, 45 minutes away. So we left and went to the better mall. My mom let me escape from certain things that were too painful to deal with. And we talked about it the whole ride there, and we had a good time shopping.” This incident appears to be the genesis for a verse in her 2008 song “The Best Day,” a connection she doesn’t note when she tells me the story. A cynical person could read something into this anecdote and turn it into a metaphor about capitalism or parenting or creativity or Pennsylvania. But in the framework of our conversation, it did not seem metaphoric of anything. It just seemed like a memory that might be more internally motivating than any simplistic desire for money or power. So is it unfair to categorize Swift as calculating? Maybe, and particularly if you view that term as exclusively pejorative. But calling her guileless would be even crazier. Swift views her lyrics as the most important part of her art , so we spend some time parsing specific passages from specific songs. Here is how she dissects the conjecture over “Bad Blood,” a single universally assumed to be about Katy Perry. You never say who your songs are about, but you concede that if enough people believe something, it essentially becomes fact. So by not saying who you’re writing about, aren’t you allowing public consensus to dictate the meaning of your work? If everyone assumes that “Bad Blood” is about a specific person, aren’t you allowing the culture to create a fact about your life? You’re in a Rolling Stone interview, and the writer says, “Who is that song about? That sounds like a really intense moment from your life.” And you sit there, and you know you’re on good terms with your ex-boyfriend, and you don’t want him—or his family—to think you’re firing shots at him. So you say, “That was about losing a friend.” And that’s basically all you say. But then people cryptically tweet about what you meant. I never said anything that would point a finger in the specific direction of one specific person, and I can sleep at night knowing that. I knew the song would be assigned to a person, and the easiest mark was someone who I didn’t want to be labeled with this song. It was not a song about heartbreak. It was about the loss of friendship. But nobody thinks that song is about a guy. But they would have. So I don’t necessarily care who people think it’s about. I just needed to divert them away from the easiest target. Listen to the song. It doesn’t point to any one person or any one situation. But if you’d listened to my previous four albums, you would think this was about a guy who broke my heart. And nothing could be further from the truth. It was important to show that losing friendships can be just as damaging to a person as losing a romantic relationship.Now, there are more than a few molecules of bullshit in this response. When Swift says, “And that’s basically all you say,” she’s neglecting to mention that she also told the reporter that the disharmony stemmed from a business conflict, and that the individual in question tried to sabotage an arena tour by hiring away some of her employees. These details dramatically reduce the pool of potential candidates. Yet consider the strategy’s larger brilliance: In order to abort the possibility of a rumor she did not want, she propagated the existence of a different rumor that offered the added value of making the song more interesting. Swift can manufacture the kind of mythology that used to happen to Carly Simon by accident.Speaking of accidents, here’s some breaking news: They happen to Taylor Swift, too. She believes the most consequential accident of her professional life was when Kanye West famously stormed the stage during her acceptance speech at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. I’m surprised when she brings this up unprompted, because she has barely addressed the incident in five years, aside from the song “Innocent.” But fences have been mended and feelings have been felt. At this summer’s VMAs, Swift warmly presented West with the Video Vanguard trophy. She’ll probably serve as Secretary of the Interior when he becomes president. Swift was lauded for handling West’s ’09 intrusion with grace and composure, but her personal memories of the event dwell on the bewilderment. When West first jumped onstage, Swift halfway assumed he was about to make a special presentation, honoring her for being the first country artist to ever win a VMA. She truly had no idea what was transpiring. “When the crowd started booing, I thought they were booing because they also believed I didn’t deserve the award. That’s where the hurt came from. I went backstage and cried, and then I had to stop crying and perform five minutes later. I just told myself I had to perform, and I tried to convince myself that maybe this wasn’t that big of a deal. But that was the most happenstance thing to ever happen in my career. And to now be in a place where Kanye and I respect each other—that’s one of my favorite things that has happened in my career.” Swift analyzes her friendships so often that I eventually ask what seems like an obvious question: Does she ever feel lonely? She responds by literally talking about Friends. “I’m around people so much,” she says. “Massive amounts of people. I do a meet-and-greet every night on the tour, and it’s 150 people. Before that, it’s a radio meet-and-greet with 40 people. After the show, it’s 30 or 40 more people. So then when I go home and turn on the TV, and I’ve got Monica and Chandler and Ross and Rachel and Phoebe and Joey on a Friends marathon, I don’t feel lonely. I’ve just been onstage for two hours, talking to 60,000 people about my feelings. That’s so much social stimulation. When I get home, there is not one part of me that wishes I was around other people.” This is understandable. Still, I note something any musician obsessed with self-awareness would undoubtedly recognize: In the retrospective context of a hypothetical Behind the Music episode, this anecdote would be framed as depressing. It would paint the portrait of a super-famous entertainer spending her day emoting to thousands of strangers, only to return home to an empty house and the one-way company of two-dimensional characters. Does she not see the irony? Oh, she sees it. But that doesn’t mean it’s real. “There is such a thing as having enough,” she says in her non-TV voice. “You might think a meet-and-greet with 150 people sounds sad, because maybe you think I’m forced to do it. But you would be surprised. A meaningful conversation doesn’t mean that conversation has to last an hour. A meet-and-greet might sound weird to someone who’s never done one, but after ten years, you learn to appreciate happiness when it happens, and that happiness is rare and fleeting, and that you’re not entitled to it. You know, during the first few years of your career, the only thing anyone says to you is ‘Enjoy this. Just enjoy this.’ That’s all they ever tell you. And I finally know how to do that.” Taylor Swift is 25. But she’s older than you.

Fever dream high in the quiet of the night You know that I caught it Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price You know that I bought it Killing me slow, out the window Im always waiting for you to be waiting below Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes What doesn’t kill me makes me want you more Its new, the shape of your body Its blue, the feeling I’ve got And its ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer Its cool, thats what I tell em No rules in breakable heaven But ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer With you Hang your head low in the glow of the vending machine Im not dying We say that we’ll just screw it up in these trying times We’re not trying So cut the headlights, summers a knife I’m always waiting for you just to cut to the bone Devils roll the dice, angels roll their eyes And if I bleed, youll be the last to know Oh, its new, the shape of your body Its blue, the feeling I’ve got And its ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer Its cool, thats what I tell em No rules in breakable heaven But ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer With you Im drunk in the back of the car And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar Said, Im fine, but it wasnt true I dont wanna keep secrets just to keep you And I snuck in through the garden gate Every night that summer just to seal my fate And I scream, For whatever its worth I love you, aint that the worst thing you ever heard? He looks up, grinning like a devil Its new, the shape of your body Its blue, the feeling Ive got And its ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer Its cool, thats what I tell em No rules in breakable heaven But ooh, whoa oh Its a cruel summer With you Im drunk in the back of the car And I cried like a baby coming home from the bar Said, Im fine, but it wasnt true I dont wanna keep secrets just to keep you And I snuck in through the garden gate Every night that summer just to seal my fate And I scream, For whatever its worth I love you, aint that the worst thing you ever heard?

I remember when we broke up the first time Saying, This is it, Ive had enough, cause like We hadnt seen each other in a month When you said you needed space Then you come around again and say Baby, I miss you and I swear Im gonna change, trust me Remember how that lasted for a day? I say, I hate you, we break up, you call me, I love you Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh We called it off again last night, but Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh This time, Im telling you, Im telling you We are never, ever, ever getting back together We are never, ever, ever getting back together You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together Like, ever Im really gonna miss you picking fights And me, falling for it, screaming that Im right And you would hide away and find your peace of mind With some indie record thats much cooler than mine Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh You called me up again tonight, but Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh This time, Im telling you, Im telling you We are never, ever, ever getting back together We are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh Oh-oh-oh I used to think that we were forever, ever And I used to say, Never say never Wow-ooooh Ugh, so he calls me up and hes like, I still love you And Im like, (I just- I mean, this is exhausting, you know? Like,) we are never getting back together, like, ever Yeah! We are never, ever, ever getting back together We are never, ever, ever getting back together You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together Getting back together We are never, ever, ever Getting back together You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never, ever, ever, ever getting back together

Im pretty sure we almost broke up last night I threw my phone across the room I was expecting some dramatic turn away But you stayed This morning, I said we should talk about it Cause I read you should never leave a fight unresolved When you walked in wearing a football helmet And said, Okay, lets talk And I said Stay, cause Ive been loving you for quite some time And you think that its funny when Im mad But I think that its best if we both stay Before you, Id only dated self-indulgent takers Who took all their problems out on me But you carry my groceries and now Im always laughing And I love you cause you have given me No choice but to Stay, cause Ive been loving you for quite some time And you think that its funny when Im mad But I think that its best if we both stay You took the time to memorize me My fears, my hopes, and dreams I just like hanging out with you, all the time All those times that you didnt leave, its been occurring to me Id like to hang out with you, for my whole life Stay, Ill be loving you for quite some time No one else will love me when I get mad So I think that its best if we both stay, stay, stay Stay, Ive been loving you for quite some time You think that its funny when Im mad But I think that its best if we both stay I think that its best if we both stay I think that its best if we both stay I think that its best if we both stay

I remember tears streaming down your face When I said, Ill never let you go When all those shadows almost killed your light I remember you said, dont leave me here alone But all thats dead and gone and passed tonight Just close your eyes The sun is going down Youll be alright No one can hurt you now Come morning light You and Ill be safe and sound Dont you dare look out your window darling Everythings on fire The war outside our door keeps raging on Hold on to this lullaby Even when the musics gonе Just close your eyes Thе sun is going down Youll be alright No one can hurt you now Come morning light You and Ill be safe and sound Just close your eyes The sun is going down Youll be alright No one can hurt you now Come morning light You and Ill be safe and sound

when i think bAck on the fearless album and all that you turned it into, a completely involuntary smile creeps across my face. this was the musical era in which so many inside jokes were created between us, so many hugs exchanged and hands touched, so many unbreakable bonds formed. so before i say anything else, let me just say that it was a real honor to get to be a teenager alongside you. and for those of you ive come to know more recently than 2008, i am ecstatic that ill get to exPerience a bit of that feeling with you in the very near future. now that i can fully appreciate it in its whimsical, effervescent, chaotic entirety. fearless was an album full of magic and curiosity, the bliss and devastation of youth. it was the diaRy of the adventures and explorations of a teenage girl who was learning tiny lessons with every new crack in the facade of the faIrytale ending shed been shown in the movies. im thrilled to tell you that my new version of fearless is done and will be with you soon its called fearless and it includes 26 songs. ive spoken a lot about why im remaking my first six albums, but the way ive chosen to do this will hopefuLy help illuminate where im coming from. artists should own their own work for so many reasons, but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really knows that body of work. for example, only i know which songs i wrote that almost made the fearless album. songs i absolutely adored, but were held back for different reasons . those reasons seem unnecessary now. ive decIded i want you to have the whole story, see the entire vivid picture and let you into the entire dreamscape that is my fearless album. thats why ive chosen to include 6 never before released songs on my version of this album. written when i was betweeN the ages 16 and 18, these were the ones it killed me to leave behind. this process has been more fulfilling and emoTional than i couldve imagined and has made me even more determined to re-recorded all of my music. i Hope youll like this first outing as much as i liked traveling back in time to recreate it. love story will be out tonight. sincerely and fearlessly, taylor

What a shame Didnt wanna be the one that got away, yeah Big mistake, broke the sweetest promise That you never should have made Im here on the kitchen floor You call, but I wont hear it You said no one else, how could you do this, babe? You really blew this, babe We aint gettin through this one, babe This is the last time Ill ever call you, babe This is the last time, this is the last time This is the last time, Ill ever call you babe What a waste Takin down the pictures and the plans we made, yeah And its strange how your face doesnt look so innocent Your secret has its consequence and thats on you, babe I break down every time you call Were a wreck, youre the wreckin ball We said, No one else, how could you do this, babe? You really blew this, babe We aint gettin through this one, babe This is the last time Ill ever call you, babe This is the last time, this is the last time This is the last time Since you admitted it, I keep picturin Her lips on your neck, I cant unsee it I hate that because of you, I cant love you Babe What a shame, didnt want to be the one that got away How could you do this, babe? You really blew this, babe We aint gettin through this one, babe How could you do this, babe? This is the last time, this is the last time This is the last time, Ill ever call you babe How could you do this, babe? Im here on the kitchen floor, you call but I wont hear it You said Im no one else, we aint gettin through this one, babe I break down every time you call, this is the last time Were a wreck, youre the wreckin ball This is the last time, this is the last time You said no one else, this is the last time Ill never call you babe

Its strange to think the songs we used to sing The smiles, the flowers, everything is gone Yesterday I found out about you Even now just looking at you: feels wrong You say that youd take it all back, given one chance It was a moment of weakness and you said, Yes You shouldve said, No You shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve known that word, bout what you did with her’d Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me You can see that Ive been crying Baby, you know all the right things to say But do you honestly expect me to believe We could ever be the same? You say that the past is the past, you need one chance It was a moment of weakness and you said, Yes You shouldve said, No You shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve known that word, bout what you did with her’d Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me I cant resist Before you go tell me this Was it worth it? Was she worth this? No no, no, no You shouldve said, No You shouldve gone home You shouldve thought twice fore you let it all go You shouldve known that word, bout what you did with her’d Get back to me And I shouldve been there, in the back of your mind I shouldnt be asking myself, Why? You shouldnt be begging for forgiveness at my feet You shouldve said no, baby, and you might still have me

Drew looks at me I fake a smile so he wont see That I want and Im needing Everything that we should be Ill bet shes beautiful, that girl he talks about And shes got everything that I have to live without Drew talks to me I laugh cause its so damn funny That I cant even see Anyone when hes with me He says hes so in love, hes finally got it right I wonder if he knows hes all I think about at night Hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... Drew walks by me Cant he tell that I cant breathe? And there he goes, so perfectly The kind of flawless I wish I could be Shed better hold him tight, give him all her love Look in those beautiful eyes and know shes lucky cause Hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only thing that keeps me wishing on a wishing star Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... So I drive home alone, as I turn off the light Ill put his picture down and maybe get some sleep tonight Hes the reason for the teardrops on my guitar The only one who’s got enough of me to break my heart Hes the song in the car I keep singing, dont know why I do... Hes the time taken up, but theres never enough And hes all that I need to fall into Drew looks at me I fake a smile so he wont see

You are somebody that I dont know But youre takin shots at me like its Patrón And Im just like, damn, its 7 AM Say it in the street, thats a knock-out But you say it in a Tweet, thats a cop-out And Im just like, Hey, are you okay? And I aint tryna mess with your self-expression But Ive learned a lesson that stressin and obsessin bout somebody else is no fun And snakes and stones never broke my bones So oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh You need to calm down, youre being too loud And Im just like oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh You need to just stop, like can you just not step on my gown? You need to calm down You are somebody that we dont know But youre comin at my friends like a missile Why are you mad when you could be GLAAD? Sunshine on the street at the parade But you would rather be in the dark ages Makin that sign mustve taken all night You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace And control your urges to scream about all the people you hate Cause shade never made anybody less gay So oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh You need to calm down, youre being too loud And Im just like oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh You need to just stop, like can you just not step on his gown? You need to calm down And we see you over there on the internet Comparing all the girls who are killing it But we figured you out We all know now we all got crowns You need to calm down Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh You need to calm down Youre being too loud And Im just like oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh You need to just stop Like can you just not step on our gowns? You need to calm down

Im curled up in my mothers bed, staring intently at my laptop. Im watching a video of a familiar-looking man wearing a black tuxedo. The video seems to be of a televised award show. The tape is grainy, but the man steps up to the mic and his words are clear: Now Im gonna deal you a queen from the winning hand. Her voice is full like solid gold, with some platinum blended in. Sometimes youll hear silver when she twists and twirls her notes... but gold is Brendas metal in this song I wish Id wrote. Ladies and gentlemen... Brenda Lee. The camera then focuses on a woman in her late thirties. The music starts, and shes looking down at a framed picture. Shes at ease. She is theatrical. And she is beautiful, in a sparkling gown that matches the twinkle in her eye. Lights, camera, action. She starts to sing. Thats when you hear the gold, and you watch her as she holds the crowd in the palm of her hand. The performance ends, and the crowd goes wild. The lovely lady graciously takes a bow. She smiles out into the vast darkness, taking it all in with grace and composure. The video ends, and I reflect back on what I just saw. It was a timeless performance, but here are the facts: The year is 1983. The song is Someone Loves You Honey. The man in the tuxedo is Johnny Cash. And the woman in the beautiful dress with the honey-like voice is none other than Brenda Lee. Brenda Lee, who was born in 1944 near Atlanta and used her prodigious singing talent to support her family after the tragic death of her father. Brenda Lee, the little girl who took over the music world with chart-topping hits when she was still a child. Brenda Lee, the woman who ushered in a new style of rock & roll and was one of the early musical artists to find her fame through television. Brenda Lee, the artist who later went back to her country roots, proving that she could create classics and break down barriers no matter what genre or category her music fell under. Brenda Lee, the singer who mastered the sound of heartbreak so flawlessly that she made audiences not only identify with her but believe her. I watch the look on her face as she ends her song and first hears that applause. Theres a reason shes been able to move people to their feet for almost sixty years. Brenda Lee is grace. Brenda Lee is class and composure. And when she hears the roar of a crowd, Brenda Lee smiles like shes five years old and receiving her first standing ovation. Brenda Lee is someone I will always look up to because of the way she shines. As Johnny Cash said in 1983, its almost like shes golden.

I stay out too late Got nothing in my brain Thats what people say Mmm mmm Thats what people say Mmm mmm I go on too many dates But I dont make em stay At least thats what people say Mmm mmm Thats what people say Mmm mmm But I keep cruising Cant stop, wont stop moving Its like I got this music In my mind Saying, Its gonna be alright Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play And the haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate Baby, Im just gonna shake shake shake shake shake Shake it off Shake it off Heart breakers gonna break break break break break And the fakers gonna fake fake fake fake fake Baby, Im just gonna shake shake shake shake shake Shake it off Shake it off I never miss a beat Im lightning on my feet, yeah And thats what they dont see Mmm mmm Yeah, thats what they dont see Mmm mmm Im dancing on my own, dancing on my own I make the moves up as I go, moves up as I go And thats what they dont know Mmm mmm Thats what they dont know Mmm mmm But I keep crusing Cant stop, wont stop grooving Its like I got this music In my mind Saying, Its gonna be alright Cause the players gonna play play play play play And the haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate Baby, Im just gonna shake shake shake shake shake Shake it off Shake it off Heart breakers gonna break break break break break And the fakers gonna fake fake fake fake fake Baby, Im just gonna shake shake shake shake shake Shake it off Shake it off Shake it off Shake it off I, I, I shake it off Shake it off I, I, I shake it off Shake it off I,I,I shake it off Shake it off Hey, hey, hey Just think while you been getting down And out about the liars And the dirty dirty cheats of the world You could be getting down to this sick beat My ex man brought his new girlfriend Shes like Oh my gosh! But Im just gonna shake And to the fella over there With the heck good hair Wont you come on over, baby? Shake shake shake Woaaah Cause the players gonna play play play play play And the haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate Baby, Im just gonna shake shake shake shake shake Shake it off Shake it off Heart breakers gonna break break break break break And the fakers gonna fake fake fake fake fake Baby, Im just gonna shake shake shake shake shake Shake it off Shake it off Shake it off Shake it off I, I, I, shake it off Shake it off I, I, I shake it off Shake it off I, I, I shake it off Shake it off Shake it off Shake it off I, I, I shake it off Shake it off I, I, I shake it off Shake it off I,I,I shake it off Shake it off

Combat, Im ready for combat I say I dont want that, but what if I do? Cause cruelty wins in the movies Ive got a hundred thrown-out speeches I almost said to you Easy they come, easy they go I jump from the train, I ride off alone I never grew up, its getting so old Help me hold on to you Ive been the archer, Ive been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling But who could stay? Dark side, I search for your dark side But what if Im alright, right, right, right here? And I cut off my nose just to spite my face Then I hate my reflection for years and years I wake in the night, I pace like a ghost The room is on fire, invisible smoke And all of my heroes die all alone Help me hold on to you Ive been the archer, Ive been the prey Screaming, who could ever leave me, darling But who could stay? Cause they see right through me They see right through me They see right through Can you see right through me? They see right through They see right through me I see right through me I see right through me All the kings horses, all the kings men Couldnt put me together again Cause all of my enemies started out friends Help me hold on to you Ive been the archer, Ive been the prey Who could ever leave me, darling But who could stay? Who could stay? Who could stay? Who could stay? You could stay You could stay Combat, Im ready for combat

PENNYWISE I dont like your little games Dont like your tilted stage The role you made me play Of the fool, no, I dont like you I dont like your perfect crime How you laugh when you lie You said the gun was mine Isnt true, no, I dont like you But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time Ive got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined I check it once, then I check it twice, oh! Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do ADRIAN Hey, Pennywise, Bette Midler called. She wants her look back PENNYWISE The world moves on, another day, another drama, drama But not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma And then the world moves on, but one things for sure Maybe I got mine, but youll all get yours But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time Honey, I rose up from the dead, I do it all the time Ive got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined I check it once, then I check it twice, oh! I dont trust nobody and nobody trusts me Ill be the actress starring in your bad dreams I dont trust nobody and nobody trusts me Ill be the actress starring in your bad dreams Im sorry, the old Penny cant come to the phone right now Why? Oh, cause shes dead! PENNYWISE AND COMPANY Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me do ADRIAN Oh my God! I can’t believe we’re getting killed during a Taylor Swift song PENNYWISE AND COMPANY Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do Look what you just made me DON It’s so basic you guys. Over it! PENNYWISE AND COMPANY Ooh, look what you made me do Look what you made me do Look what you just made me do PENNYWISE Look what you just made me do

We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes and the flashback starts We were both young when I first saw you I close my eyes and the flashback starts I was getting it in the mail through UPS Im telling u I aint gon stay away from juliet Baby youre so bad for me youre like a cigarette And I see you in the shadows like a silhouette Baby this aint a love story cuz I dont know like how to feel This love so difficult, I dont think its real But do you remember white sheets, bloodstained kisses I dont wanna miss this, you could be my mistress You could bе my lady Juliet save me I just want my baby Plеase juliet save me Cuz we were both young when I first saw you Romeo, save me, Ive been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you, but you never come Is this in my head? I dont know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring And said I could tell you what you wanna hear cuz I dont wanna be alone But love is not a fairy tale, I waited but you never come And I got tired of waiting, wondered if youd ever come around I need you bae, I need you baby baby when Im coming down And I just need my lady Juliet save me Im so tired of waiting Juliet save me Cuz we were both young when I first saw you Romeo, save me, Ive been feeling so alone I keep waiting for you, but you never come Is this in my head? I dont know what to think He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring And said Marry me, Juliet, youll never have to be alone I love you, and thats all I really know I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress Its a love story, baby, just say yes Oh, oh Oh, oh Cause we were both young when I first saw you

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati Down a dead-end street Faster than the wind, passionate as sin Ending so suddenly Loving him is like trying to change your mind Once youre already flying through the free fall Like the colors in autumn, so bright Just before they lose it all Losing him was blue like Id never known Missing him was dark grey, all alone Forgetting him was like Trying to know somebody you never met But loving him was red Oh, oh, I will never let you down Loving him was red Oh, oh, I will never let you down Theres a million ways to go Dont be embarrassed if you lose control On the rooftop, now you know Your bodys frozen and youve lost your soul Cause Ive been sick and working all week And Ive been doing just fine Youve been tired of watching me Forgot to have a good time, boy You cant take it, all these faces Never keeping it real I know exactly how you feel Losing him was blue like Id never known Missing him was dark grey, all alone Forgetting him was like Trying to know somebody you never met But loving him was red Oh, red Oh, oh, I will never let you down Burning red Oh, oh, I will never let you down Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes Tell myself its time now, gotta let go But moving on from him is impossible When I still see it all in my head In burning red Loving him was red Oh, losing him was blue like Id never known Missing him was dark grey, all alone Forgetting him was like Trying to know somebody you never met Cause loving him was red Yeah, yeah, red Were burning red When you say youve had enough And you might just give it up Oh, oh, I will never let you down When youre feeling low on love Ill be what youre dreaming of Oh, oh, I will never let you down When you say youve had enough And you might just give it up Oh, oh, I will never let you down When youre feeling low on love Ill be what youre dreaming of I will never let you down