A deeper analysis of her catchy lyrics

By Sophia Chan

Sure, she sold trillions of records. Yes, her age just spills over 20. Granted, she acts as a role model to millions of girls [and boys] around the world. But take a look at what Taylor Swift really sings about.

One of her most popular songs, “Love Story,” went 5x platinum, selling 5.5 million records as a single. This song revolves around the idea of finding a “Romeo” to her “Juliet.” Such a great love story, right? Two teenagers, destined to meet, fall in love and then tragically die. Wait, that last part? Right, they die. I think TSwift forgets this part of the story and just composes her own fake happy ending in her song. “I talked to your dad—go pick out a white dress” never happened. Romeo and Juliet got married, but he never talked to her dad. If he ever asked for Juliet’s hand, .

Not only that, but also “’cause you were Romeo—I was a scarlet letter”  A scarlet letter is from The Scarlet Letter, which focuses on Hester who commits adultery with another man, causing the village to isolate her and her child and force her to wear a scarlet letter “A” to signify her “A”dultery. Boring book, really, but back to the matter at hand. Juliet never committed adultery. The village never isolates her (granted, the Montagues hate her with anguish and disgust), but it just seems like Swift confuses the two works of literature.

In another popular song, “You Belong With Me,” a 4x platinum record, portrays Swift as a shy, unpopular nerd, while the nice guy who she wants dates this incredibly snobbish and underserving cheerleader. “She wears short skirts; I wear t-shirts.” Swift obviously judges a person’s character based on what they wear. So she likes to wear t-shirts. Congratulations. “She’s cheer captain, and I’m on the bleachers.” Again, she makes assumptions about cheerleader captains, portraying them as pretentious, underserving of a boyfriend, and terrible people in general. And finally, “You belong with me.” This lyric forms the wrong mindset, that the nice guy says nothing in the matter. What if he likes girls who dress themselves up with short skirts? What if he likes girls ambitious enough to be cheer captain? Maybe the guy dates the cheerleader in the first place rather than Swift because Swift oozes arrogance and pretentiousness. She fails to get out and do something, choosing to sit on the bleachers. She mopes around about a guy who seems to know what he wants. She, on the other hand, knows only to complain.

But all matters aside, Taylor Swift rules as the “pop princess of the generation,” according to People Magazine, so her views will probably continue to infest little girls’ and boys’ minds that Romeo and Juliet lived happily ever after. That the scarlet letter means parents forbid their daughters from seeing their true loves. And that people openly judge others based on the clothes they wear without any regard to how the other girl must feel. But hey, she sells out tours, owns an international fan base, and recently created a new album. She never needs to worry about the inaccuracy of her songs.