How and why I became a Swiftie

by Rehna

It was said of Debbie Harry of Blondie that she sang for all the waitresses and shopgirls of New York City. Madonna was said to be the poster girl for the wannabes – the young women who had dreams of wanting to be more than they were. 

Taylor Swift, then, is the patron saint of girlhood and young womanhood, girls and women who have loved and lost and anyone who has ever had feelings.

Recently I tweeted that, after seeing my second eras show at Wembley Stadium, I had no doubt Swift has joined the pantheon of pop music greats. 
I stand by that conclusion. 

It was her pandemic albums, Folklore and Evermore, which made me truly listen to Taylor Swift. Before that, I had been like many people I know; I knew the name, had heard Shake it off and a few other hits, knew of the tabloid romances but otherwise was slightly baffled by the utter devotion she inspired in fans. Even a trip to Wembley Stadium to see the Reputation tour with my OG Swiftie niece, Sabrina didn’t fully convert me, though it was impressive.

After Folklore and Evermore, I checked out her, already, hefty back catalogue. (She is certainly prolific).

It showed a young woman who has developed her songwriting, her thinking and her reflections on life as she has matured. Interestingly, although her fans are still predominantly young girls, her music has grown with her own years and doesn’t seek to pretend she’s still a teen. Nevertheless the young girls love the new songs and past fans, now young women in their 20s and 30s, who grew up with her are still enthralled. That’s a pretty impressive feat because many popstars, even some of the greatest, lose fans along the way as their music changes.  Or, in some cases, doesn’t change as they age and they are seen as desperately chasing a young audience that sees them as dinosaurs. 

Much has been written about Taylor Swift and much will be written in the decades to come. But one aspect which, I think, explains her popularity, especially with the female audience is that she embraces girlhood/womanhood in all its complexity, messiness, sadness, insecurity, inferiority complex, pettiness, vengeance, joy and confusion. 

Girls and women are complex. They are many contradictory things rolled into one. And Taylor Swift both understands and reflects that in her songs. 

So, she is all for the sisterhood but that doesn’t stop her coveting another girl’s man. 

If you could see that I’m the one who understands you.
Been here all along,

so why can’t you see?

You belong with me

(You belong with me)

She is all about empowerment, but she knows the insecurities that lurk underneath the confidence 

I’ve never been a natural
All I do is try, try, try
I’m still on that trapeze
I’m still trying everything
To keep you looking at me

(Mirrorball)

She knows what it’s like to put on a game face when in pain because that’s what women are expected to do.

I was grinning like I’m winning,

I was hitting my marks

‘Cause I can do it with a broken heart 

(I can do it with a broken heart)

She knows about self-respect, but she can’t help the petty jealousies.

Don’t treat me like some situation that needs to be handled.
I’m fine with my spite.

And my tears,

And my beers and my candles

(Closure)

She knows the realities of life but believes in something greater and more magical

And isn’t it just so pretty to think

All along there was some

Invisible string

Tying you to me?

(Invisible string)

She knows the princess dreams that lie in the hearts of little girls. 

Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone

I’ll be waiting, all there’s left to do is run

You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess

(Love story)

She’s literary (Ivy, Wordsworth, Scott Fitzgerald ) but also gossipy.

Let the players play

I’d be just like Leo

In Saint-Tropez

(The Man)

There are few aspects of romantic relationships Taylor Swift hasn’t explored.
From the gold diggers :

And the old men that I’ve swindled

Really did believe I was the one

(Cowboy like me)

To the woman suffering in a marriage where she is undervalued 

I wait by the door like I’m just a kid

Use my best colors for your portrait

Lay the table with the fancy shit

And watch you tolerate it

(Tolerate it)

To the woman who can’t be the bigger person when her husband leaves her for another woman 

Sorry, I can’t see facts through all of my fury

(Happiness)

To the ‘other woman’ in an affair

Leave the perfume on the shelf

That you picked out just for him

So you leave no trace behind

Like you don’t even exist

(Illicit Affairs)

As a songwriter, she may not quite be Joni Mitchell or Kate Bush (who is) but she is a sassy, smart lyricist and one who captures the intense feelings, the fleeting moments of emotion and the private thoughts that we are often too embarrassed to express.

In the live shows she delivers heartfelt performances of the self written material which chronicles her own experiences and which she acknowledges clearly resonates with the fans.

Her costumes reflect the many moods of girl and womanhood. They run the gamut of the tomboy, the free spirit, the Bohemian, the femme fatale, the ball breaker, the Princess. And it wonderful to see how the fans respond by dressing up too.

She looks genuinely moved and grateful, midway through the show, when during a simple piano rendition of the beautiful and brilliant Champagne Problems her audience give her one of the biggest and longest ovations I’ve seen any singer receive during a concert.

From Royalty (Prince William, Princess Charlotte and Prince George) to Hollywood A listers (Tom Cruise, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig) anyone who is anyone has come to Wembley to pay homage to her and Taylor Swift delivers like a pro. 

And that’s why she will be around, still selling out  stadiums and sizeable arenas long after many of her contemporaries are botching the samba on Dancing with the Stars.