Tag Archives: Taylor Swift

Begin Again (Lyrics) – Taylor Swift

As part of the promotion leading up to the release of her new album RED, Taylor Swift will be releasing a new song weekly to iTunes. This is the first of them and it’s called “Begin Again.”

It’s about the first date you go to after a messy break up.

Took a deep breath in the mirror
He didn’t like it when I wore high heels, but I do
Turned the lock and put my headphones on
He always said he didn’t get this song but I do, I do

Walked in expecting you’d be late
But you got here early
And you stand and wave
And I walk to you
You pulled my chair out and helped me
And you don’t know how nice that is
But I do

And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid
I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny ‘cause he never did
I’ve been spending the last 8 months thinking all love ever does
Is break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again

You said you never met one girl
Who has as many James Taylor records as you
But I do
We tell stories and you don’t know why I’m coming off a little shy
But I do

But you throw your head back laughing like a little kid
I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny ‘cause he never did
I’ve been spending the last 8 months thinking all love ever does
Is break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again

And we walk down the block to my car
And I almost brought him up
But you start to talk about the movies
That your family watches every single Christmas
And I wanna talk about that
For the first time, what’s past is past

‘Cause you throw your head back laughing like a little kid
I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny ‘cause he never did
I’ve been spending the last 8 months thinking all love ever does
Is break and burn and end
Then on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again
Then on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again

Ronan (Lyrics) – Taylor Swift

Ronan is the new Taylor Swift song that was debuted at the “Stand Up For Cancer” event. It is inspired by a blogpost that Maya Thompson, the mother of 4 year old Ronan Thompson, wrote after her son passed away last year after struggling with neuroblastoma.

This is her blog (click here). All proceeds from the sales of this single will go to cancer research so you can get the single off iTunes here.

I remember your barefeet down the hallway,
I remember your little laugh
Race cars on the kitchen floor
plastic dinosaurs
I love you to the moon and back

I remember your blue eyes
looking into mine
like we had our own secret club
I remember you dancing before bedtime
then jumping on me waking me up
I can still feel you hold my hand
little man, and even the moment I knew
you fought it hard like an army guy

Remember I leaned in and whispered to you
come on baby with me, we’re gonna fly away from here
you were my best four years

I remember the drive home when the blind hope turned to crying and screaming why
flowers pile up in the worst way
no one knows what to say about a beautiful boy who died
and it’s about to be Halloween you could be anything you wanted if you were still here
I remember the last day when I kissed your face and whispered in your ear

Come on baby with me, we’re gonna fly away from here
out of this curtained room and this hospital gray will just disappear
come on baby with me, we’re gonna fly away from here
you were my best four years

What if I’m standing in your closet trying to talk to you
What if I kept the hand-me-downs you won’t grow into
And what if I really thought some miracle would see us through
What if the miracle was even getting one moment with you

Come on baby with me, we’re gonna fly away from here
Come on baby with me, we’re gonna fly away from here
You were my best four years

I remember your barefeet down the hallway
I love you to the moon and back.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together – Taylor Swift (Lyrics)

My review of the song can be found here.

[Verse 1:]

I remember when we broke up the first time,

Saying this is it, I’ve had enough

Cause like we hadn’t seen each other in a month

when you said you needed space, what?

Then you come around again and say baby

I miss you and I swear i’m 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

[Chorus:] 

Oh Woo-Oh

We called it off again last night

But oh woo-oh, this time I’m telling you, I’m 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.

[Verse 2:] 

I’m really gonna miss you picking fights

And me falling for it, screaming that I’m right

And you would hide away and find your peace of mind

with some indie record that’s much cooler than mine

[Chorus:] 

Oh, oh, you called me up again tonight

But oh woo-oh-oh, this time I’m telling you, I’m 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.

[Bridge:] 

I used to think that we were forever ever

And I used to say never say never

Then he calls me up and he’s like

“I still love you,” and I’m like

this is exhausting, you know, we are never getting back together – like ever.

 [Chorus:]

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.

[Outro:] 

Oh Woo-oh oh

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 Getting Back Together – Taylor Swift [Single Review]

Welcome back the mega-successful Taylor Swift and her catchy tunes and lyrics.

That Taylor Swift was also 18.

If you expect some more maturity with Taylor Swift’s newest offering, you are vastly mistaken. If you expect a darker tone, such as her Hunger Games offerings (Safe & Sound, Eyes Open), you are immensely mistaken as well.

If you expect some country too, then you’re way off the mark. If you’re expecting some deep lyrics, you’re in the wrong place. Taylor Swift’s new single is about yet another relationship gone sour and it’s custom-made for the leagues of teenagers who will swallow the song up with its catchy chorus and radio-friendly status.

Simply put, there’s no way the song won’t get stuck in people’s heads, à la Call Me Maybe.

Going straight to the point with an overly long title, there’s no room for second-guessing and analysis on the song. Taylor is telling one of the many, many guys she has dated that they are, well, never – ever – getting back together. I have to ask though – why would anyone date her if they know they’d end up in song? Or is it because they know they’ll be immortalized in song that they date her?

But I digress.

“We are never ever ever getting back together,” she sings on the chorus. As if the title wasn’t evident enough. To the backdrop of “Woo-oh-oh,” she sings “You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me. But we are never ever ever ever getting back together.”

Yes, those “ever”s are very numerous.

At the song’s bridge, she goes into typical teenage girl phone talk: “Then he calls me up and he’s like “I still love you,” and I’m like this is exhausting, we are never getting back together – like ever.”

No, I’m not making this up.

As I said, the song is insanely catchy – her catchiest offering so far in fact. As I type this and after hearing it only a couple of times, I have the melody stuck in my head. And that’s what Taylor Swift is really good at: making a very catchy hook that does what a hook is supposed to do: hook you.

However, what’s demanded of an artist like Taylor Swift is less “OMG, it’s like OMG” in her songs and more seriousness. What’s demanded of her is less teenager-ish attitude and more soon-to-be 23 year old who shouldn’t be going all gaga over someone on the phone.

Moreover, the least that can be expected from one of country music’s leading artists is to have a country element in the lead single. Some artists keep the twang if they decide to drop the country elements of the music. Others choose to tell a story even if the melody isn’t country. With “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Taylor does neither.

Even the fact that pop hit-maker Max Martin produced the song isn’t an excuse because he has dipped his toes in country music before. The result was Carrie Underwood’s Quitter. How will country radio react to this? It will eat up the song. The fans will rush to buy this – watch it break sales records. But I, for one, really hope this isn’t indicative of the material quality on Red, her fourth album which she will release on October 22nd. Because after songs such as Enchanted and Back To December, this is definitely a let-down. Even Love Story was more mature than this. Go figure.

5/10 – just for managing to get stuck in my head after one listen.

Eyes Open (Single Review & Lyrics) – Taylor Swift [The Hunger Games Soundtrack]

Taylor Swift’s second submission to The Hunger Games‘ soundtrack album has just been released, ahead of the movie’s release in theaters next week.

Where Safe & Sound was a reassuring song in the face of distress and fear, Eyes Open is the opposite in theme. Where the former tells a story of safety, the latter, with its prominent guitar, is almost the total opposite. And for a movie & book like The Hunger Games (my review of the book), Eyes Open is way more fitting. It has the energy, thrill and rush of the story all wrapped up in 4 minutes.

The song starts with Taylor reminiscing about the days when things were safe, when the characters were children, playing with wooden swords. But their carefree days have now been replaced with a cruel world – one where they have to keep their eyes open in order to survive: “Playing soldiers, just pretending… In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords. But now we’ve stepped into a cruel world...”

Meanwhile, everyone’s waiting for them to fail, to breakdown and watch the fallout. So she urges them to keep their eyes open even when they’re asleep: “Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown. Everybody’s watching to see the fallout. Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping, keep your eyes open”

I can imagine the song being played in the movie just before the tributes are taken into the arena because every single lyric uttered by Taylor fits that moment perfectly. “But turn around, they’ve surrounded you. It’s a showdown, and nobody comes to save you now.” According to Taylor, the song is a symbolization of Katniss’ rebellion against the Capitol. The song shows that as well.

The lyrics are so on point, in fact, that you can’t but think of Katniss and the other tributes preparing to run as the countdown to The Hunger Games dies down when you hear Taylor sing: “Keep your feet ready, heartbeat steady. Keep your eyes open. Keep your aim locked. The night goes dark, keep your eyes open.”

The melody is very catchy. It builds up, all to the backdrop of a strong guitar sound, before the song culminates in repetitions of “keep your eyes open” for further emphasis and eventually stops, as it should, right on top. There’s no outro cue. The song stops the way it starts, suddenly, because when the character’s lives are at stake, the only way a song describing the situation would work is by it being sudden and urgent.

When it comes to Taylor Swift’s songs, she might be the only person able to sing them convincingly. Her vocal performance is always not perfect but the little flaws help to add to the song’s overall feel. When it comes to Eyes Open, the cracks here and there in Taylor’s voice contribute to the song’s overall mood of absolute urgency.

Overall, Eyes Open is a great addition to Taylor’s repertoire. She shows her great songwriting abilities by the way she turns phrases and creates scenes in simple words, making it seem effortless in the process. I can’t wait to hear it in the movie.

8/10

The Lyrics:

Everybody’s waiting
Everybody’s watching
Even when you’re sleeping
So keep your eyes open

The tricky thing is yesterday we were just children
Playing soldiers, just pretending
Dreaming dreams with happy endings
In backyards, winning battles with our wooden swords
But now we’ve stepped into a cruel world
Where everybody stands to keep score

Keep your eyes open

Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open

So here you are, two steps ahead and staying on guard
Every lesson forms a new scar
They never thought you’d make it this far
But turn around, they’ve surrounded you
It’s a showdown, and nobody comes to save you now
But you’ve got something they don’t
Yeah you’ve got something they don’t
You’ve just gotta keep your eyes open

Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open

Keep your feet ready
Heartbeat steady
Keep your eyes open
Keep your aim locked
The night goes dark
Keep your eyes open

Everybody’s waiting for you to breakdown
Everybody’s watching to see the fallout
Even when you’re sleeping, sleeping

Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open
Keep your eyes open

You can listen to Eyes Open here. I’ll post a YouTube link the moment Taylor’s label tones down the video-removing frenzy.