Today I am going into this blog post with a million things to say and my fingers feel like are on fire typing. My challenge is to funnel all the thoughts in my head and write about one thing today, another tomorrow, or when time allows. So today I just want to write a bit about something I just read.
I don't like to admit to a lot of people that I enjoy the writing and songs of Taylor Swift. Why? I really don't know, probably because some people mock me, but hey, she's a great song writer and I respect her words more than anything else about her. I don't care if she's a country singer (I used to live for country music, but now it's not really my thing), or that she's looked at as a teenie-bopper favorite or has been so hyped up and medialized. (is that even a word?)
So anyway, what I read today was her note, her prologue, in the booklet in her new CD. I just bought it today. Taylor has a lot to say and her outlet is music, which she writes herself. I think she does a great job at expressing herself this way and if she hadn't chose music as her outlet, she surely would have had some sort of career, perhaps in writing. I'm not going to write here what she wrote (that would be plagiarism anyway), but her note is explaining why she wrote the album, who it's for, what the songs are about - although her songs tell story's anyway, which is another reason I like them - they speak to me. Her album is called Speak Now and she first starts out talking about how that is one of the last things spoken during a wedding ceremony, and how that fascinates her and if I read her words and took the meaning right, I can totally understand what she means. Has anyone ever done that at a wedding? How many people have wanted to, but held their tongues? I happen to know of one such wedding - someone wanted to speak up, but didn't.
Taylor's note to us listeners is to speak up when we need to speak up. Don't hold anything in unless, of course, it's to intentionally to hurt someone; use discretion. She wishes for us to use our words for good; good for you, or good for someone else. She says, "...I think the words you stop yourself from saying are the ones that will haunt you the longest." She's right, she's also right when she says that when you say the words you want to say, they may come out all funny, awkward, and the person may not like what you're saying, but if they need to be said than it's better to say it then not.
How many of us have wanted to speak up, either for ourselves or someone close to us, but fear got the better of us? I for one have been there a time or a dozen. You can sort of feel Taylor's heartbreak when you not only listen to her words, but read them and this note she wrote. Each song is written with a person in mind, she tells us. If I regret anything about my own life, I would have to say that words un-said that needed to be said is right up there. More so than words said that I shouldn't have said. There are many people I knew in my life that I still to this day wished I'd said how I felt at that moment, and in my life now things go unsaid for sheer fear of the reaction from what I said.
For me reading Taylor's words and listening to her songs is like reading a book. Knowing that she uses her own life makes you feel like you get to know a little about who she is. Many of us can understand her feelings and have felt them ourselves. Music is best when it speaks to you. I hope this doesn't make me sound like I some kind of freak fan of Taylor Swift..it's just that what she wrote spoke to me. I hope that from this moment on I can think on that and not be afraid to speak now.
You can find Taylor's new album, Speak Now on Amazon.com for $9.99 or MP3 for 3.99 or at Target for 13.99 and no shipping costs.
I don't like to admit to a lot of people that I enjoy the writing and songs of Taylor Swift. Why? I really don't know, probably because some people mock me, but hey, she's a great song writer and I respect her words more than anything else about her. I don't care if she's a country singer (I used to live for country music, but now it's not really my thing), or that she's looked at as a teenie-bopper favorite or has been so hyped up and medialized. (is that even a word?)
So anyway, what I read today was her note, her prologue, in the booklet in her new CD. I just bought it today. Taylor has a lot to say and her outlet is music, which she writes herself. I think she does a great job at expressing herself this way and if she hadn't chose music as her outlet, she surely would have had some sort of career, perhaps in writing. I'm not going to write here what she wrote (that would be plagiarism anyway), but her note is explaining why she wrote the album, who it's for, what the songs are about - although her songs tell story's anyway, which is another reason I like them - they speak to me. Her album is called Speak Now and she first starts out talking about how that is one of the last things spoken during a wedding ceremony, and how that fascinates her and if I read her words and took the meaning right, I can totally understand what she means. Has anyone ever done that at a wedding? How many people have wanted to, but held their tongues? I happen to know of one such wedding - someone wanted to speak up, but didn't.
Taylor's note to us listeners is to speak up when we need to speak up. Don't hold anything in unless, of course, it's to intentionally to hurt someone; use discretion. She wishes for us to use our words for good; good for you, or good for someone else. She says, "...I think the words you stop yourself from saying are the ones that will haunt you the longest." She's right, she's also right when she says that when you say the words you want to say, they may come out all funny, awkward, and the person may not like what you're saying, but if they need to be said than it's better to say it then not.
How many of us have wanted to speak up, either for ourselves or someone close to us, but fear got the better of us? I for one have been there a time or a dozen. You can sort of feel Taylor's heartbreak when you not only listen to her words, but read them and this note she wrote. Each song is written with a person in mind, she tells us. If I regret anything about my own life, I would have to say that words un-said that needed to be said is right up there. More so than words said that I shouldn't have said. There are many people I knew in my life that I still to this day wished I'd said how I felt at that moment, and in my life now things go unsaid for sheer fear of the reaction from what I said.
For me reading Taylor's words and listening to her songs is like reading a book. Knowing that she uses her own life makes you feel like you get to know a little about who she is. Many of us can understand her feelings and have felt them ourselves. Music is best when it speaks to you. I hope this doesn't make me sound like I some kind of freak fan of Taylor Swift..it's just that what she wrote spoke to me. I hope that from this moment on I can think on that and not be afraid to speak now.
You can find Taylor's new album, Speak Now on Amazon.com for $9.99 or MP3 for 3.99 or at Target for 13.99 and no shipping costs.
With the exception of you not being that into country music anymore I 100% agree! I love her music and her stories. You are right they make you feel like you know her and a couple of her songs really hit home with me.
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