TAYLOR SWIFT
VOLUME II
Pop Press, an imprint of Ebury Publishing 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road London SW 1V 2SA
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Illustrations by Leah Jacobs-Gordon
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Text by Susan Clark
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First published by Pop Press in 2024 www.penguin.co.uk
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN : 9781529945645
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Songwriter. Philosopher. People-watcher. Lover. Daughter. Film maker. Friend.
Taylor Swift, who released her first album at the age of 16 and shot to international stardom, is now the single most successful woman in the global music business and here’s why; she’s a great storyteller, she’s stayed true to herself, and those stories are the stories of not only her life but also ours.
Since 2006, we’ve seen Taylor grow from a tousled-haired, eager-to-please Nashville teen to a polished entrepreneur and entertainer who is still strumming her 12-string country guitar and telling it like it is; and whose recent Eras tour has finally made her a billionaire.
There are now 10 different college courses devoted to the ‘study’ of Taylor Swift with one professor even likening the songstress and her storytelling talent to the poet William Wordsworth.
We’ve laughed with her, cried with her, loved with her, and lost with her; and with each new chapter of her life, we’ve been inspired – like her – to reinvent ourselves for the adventures ahead and, most of all, to just keep going whatever life throws our way.
Taylor learned early on to master and relish the art of reinvention. She started out in country but soon crossed to pop stardom and in later albums, she’s rocking the folk vibe. So, as well as teaching fans that they too can reinvent themselves whenever and however they want, we’ve all come to love the fact that whenever there’s a new TS album, there’s also a new life lesson. And in this book, we look backwards and forwards at what Taylor has learned – and shared – along the way.
THE ALBUMS AND THEIR LIFE LESSONS
Album: Taylor Swift
Release: 2006
An album that captures the giddy heights and crashing lows of early teenage love and romance.
Life lesson: Be Romantic
What Taylor said: ‘When I was a teenager and writing about my troubles in High School all the drama, and the pining away . . . that was all so valid to me at that time in my life.’
Album: Fearless
Release: 2008
An album that captures all the emotions, from the highest highs to the lowest of lows.
Life lesson: Be Emotional
What Taylor said: ‘It’s fearless to have faith that someday things will change.’
Album: Speak Now
Release: 2010
An album that captures the rollercoaster of a songwriter starting to find her voice at the end of her teens.
Life lesson: Be Mature
What Taylor said: ‘It was an album that was the most precious to me because of its vast extremes. It was unfiltered and potent.’
Album: Red
Release: 2012
An album that captures the last time the songstress is still naïve enough to be taken by surprise when a major but tumultuous love affair dies.
Life lesson: Be Passionate
What Taylor said: ‘I was 22 when this album was first released and some of it is really sad because that’s the stuff I had been going through. It was nice when we rerecorded it not to have to take breaks between interviews to cry.’
Album: 1989
Release: 2014
An album that captures the spirit of optimism and the world as your oyster.
Life lesson: Be Empowered
What Taylor said: ‘The connection I feel to fans and the connection I feel to all the people I write songs about is what makes me feel like my life has a purpose.’
Album: Reputation
Release: 2017
An album that captures the frustrations of being a female breaking out of ‘the good little girl programmes’ to find her voice.
Life lesson: Be Rebellious
What Taylor said: ‘[Reputation is] a gothpunk moment of female rage at being gaslit by an entire social structure.’
Album: Lover
Release: 2019
An album that captures the joy of two people being the last on the dancefloor at 3am.
Life lesson: Be Joyful
What Taylor said: ‘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.’