Though her label was just
a start up it had a solid platinum 16 year old in young Taylor Swift. She probably does not remember but I
exchanged several emails with her before she had the record deal and was famous,
and interestingly enough we discussed what she would have to give up to sign
with a major label.
At the time she insisted
she would never sign with a major label because she intended to write and
perform her own songs and they would never let her at her young age. She was far wiser than her years.
Today, six years later,
she has sold over 26 million albums and over 75 million digital downloads
worldwide and Forbes magazine says the 23 year old is now worth over $220
million. So far in 2013 her income this
year exceeds $55 million.
She has a penthouse in midtown
Nashville , Tennessee ,
a cottage in Beverly Hills , California
and an eight bedroom vacation home in coastal Watch Hill , Rhode Island .
She recently made several
hundred thousand dollars profit selling a million dollar mansion she bought in Hyannis Port , Massachusetts
next door to the most famous political royalty in America , the Kennedy family. She bought it to be close to one of the
Kennedy boys she was dating.
And that brings us to the
subject of this story. Taylor Swift
sells millions of records to teens telling the tragic stories of her lost loves
of life, what she acknowledges is the source of her often heartbreaking
compositions.
Since becoming a super
star her romances read like a celebrity whose who and have made extremely good
material for the tearful tales she tells in song. Just look at this partial list from
Swiftipedia of the more public mates she has dated.
The song Tim McGraw was inspired by an
ex-boyfriend named Brandon Borello. Their relationship ended because he had to
go to college. She told USA
today, "He bought the album and said he really loved it, which is sweet.
His current girlfriend isn't too pleased with it, though." It was named
after a musician whose songs she liked. He was going away to college so she
wanted to write him something to remember her by.
Picture to Burn was written about an ex-boyfriend, whom she calls
a redneck, and says he never let her drive his pick-up truck.
Teardrops on My
Guitar was written
about a boy she liked, whom she never actually dated. "Drew was a real
person!" she tells. Drew was surprised when he heard his name in the song.
"I never knew she liked me" Drew says. Taylor stated that two years after the song
came out Drew showed up at her house and asked her on a date. She declined.
"It was the perfect fairytale ending but a little too late."
Should've Said No was about an ex-boyfriend that cheated on her. The
boyfriend's name was Sam Armstrong, and, in the CD booklet, every S, A, and M
was capitalized if it was in the correct order.
Joe Jonas broke up with
her over the phone, which is something she has complained about on Ellen
Degeneres' show and elsewhere. She got her record company to let her
record a song about it, to add at the last minute to her album. Forever
& Always is the name of that song. She also wrote 'Last
Kiss' about him and 'Better than Revenge' is about his
ex-girlfriend, Camila Belle.
Taylor Lautner became her boyfriend after
they met on set for the film Valentine's
Day. Their relationship was popularly known as Taylor Squared. They broke
up in early 2010. She mentioned going to a hockey game with him during her
October 29th 2009 appearance on the Ellen Show.
According to MTV he was more
into her than she was into him, he going everywhere he could to see her, but it
was not working out. They have apparently decided to just be friends. The song, Back to December
is suspected to be about Taylor Lautner. The song is an apology to him.
Some of the lyrics go..." Your guard is up and I know why.
Because the last time you saw me is still burned in the back of your mind
...you gave me roses and I left them there to die. So this is me swallowing my
pride, standing in front of you saying I'm sorry for that night. And I go back
to December all the time. You gave me all your love and all I gave you was
goodbye."
At the end of the song she
asks for his forgiveness and hints to the fact she wants to be with him again.
The couple hasn't reunited and at the recent American Music Awards Swift
performed the song and at the end added "and he said it's too late to
'pologize" from popular song "Apologize" by the band One Republic .
She is alluding to the parody video Taylor Lautner made for
"Apologize". Time magazine
listed this is one of the top apologies of 2010.
Jake Gyllenhaal reported
spent $160,000 to have her flown over on a private jet for a date. He later broke
up with her through text. We
Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, State of Grace, All Too Well, Girl at Home and The Moment I Knew
are rumored to be about him.
The songs Dear John and I Knew You Were
Trouble are rumored to be about her ex-boyfriend John Mayer,
whom she had a fling with at one time.
The song Enchanted is about Adam Young of Owl City
but she never dated him, although he did state his interest in her.
So, if Taylor were to fall in love, get married and
live happily ever after would that signal the end of her songwriting and
recording career? What is a country
queen, or should we say princess, to do with no new material for songs?
How could the hundreds of
millions of teenagers around the world in love with Taylor
and her music handle a happy married Taylor ? Feeling good, sharing happiness and being
content are very un-teen like in this day and age.
How in the world will the
big pharmaceutical companies keep making their insane profits if kids aren't
depressed like their parents? Nearly 50%
of all Americans are now on prescription drugs for depression.
At the same time, can Taylor make the
transition and actually write happy songs that teens will buy? It would be yet another first in the bonnet
of this young woman who shattered all kinds of glass ceilings in the country
music and record industries doing things her way.
Let us hope teens today
will not hold candle light vigils pleading with Taylor to "dump the chumps" so she
can keep on writing country hits.
I say Taylor has given us an incredible slice of
her life to share the intimacy of her relationships through her music. She deserves to be happy too.
What do you say?
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