Taylor Story

 

Have you ever heard a song for the first time and felt like it moved you? That's how I felt when I heard “Enchanted” by Taylor Swift for the first time in 2024.

To say I was enchanted would be an understatement. I became obsessed with every song and every lyric of hers. Although I don't think I consider myself a Swiftie because all I revered was her writing style, not the other Easter eggs in her music that Swifties are searching for. Still here I am writing out my journey fueled by her lyrics.

Before Taylor Swift, I listened to Bollywood music. I found her song "Enchanted" by mistake, and well, I was enchanted to meet her. Soon, I was enchanted by the entire Speak Now album, and I realised that bringing up Taylor's name sparked a range of reactions from people. I was studying back in India, and most of my friends' discographies consisted of Bollywood songs. And it's not like they disliked her; rather, it was just another singer rattling off in the language they didn't relate to.

A few people who knew her helped me find her other album, Fearless, which featured her evergreen track “Love Story”. Listening to that song, I finally understood why I related to her songwriting so much, even though I never listened to English music with this much zeal. Taylor Swift seemed so similar to all the novels I have ever read. She was narrating to me the stories I loved in beautiful verses.

It was as if I had finally found my book companion, the one who liked to sing out and talk about stories. I can picture and daydream with her lyrics all day long. After Fearless, I turned to YouTube and found out that her most-streamed and first pop album was “1989”. It's called 1989 because that's her birth year, and since it marked her transition from country to pop culture, she found it fitting to be called 1989.

And let's say it has one of the best music videos. They are hilarious and satirical in a way. “Blank Space”, “Shake It Off”, and “Are We Out of the Woods” all became my go-to numbers to play during workouts or whenever I needed an adrenaline rush.

As I was still a baby Taylor Swift fan wrapping my mind around all this newfound lyrical genius, I heard her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD)”, was dropping. My entire Instagram feed became filled with Swifties. They were all discussing and analysing her clothes and the current fashion she exhibited during her ongoing Eras Tour. That's when I realised this woman was a mastermind at mapping out Easter eggs. And her mega fans, the Swifties, were crazy enough to decipher her clues and find out what she is hinting at. I found this treasure hunt thing totally exciting. Being a great mystery lover, I was on top of every theory and thread.

When TTPD was finally released, I was confused.

It was so sad. Why is this woman sad? It felt as if I had missed a few integral chapters of my bestie's life, and she went through not one but heartbreaks during her tour. Listening to the entire TTPD discography (31 songs), I found out how pain can be used to build something beautiful. When I heard the song “Peter” I was so moved by how she expressed the nature of Peter Pan never growing up. I admired Peter Pan’s childish and boyish charm, but this song helped me realise the paain and anguish of Wendy who wanted him to grow up to be with her in the real world. 

I use TTPD whenever I am studying and feel alone. Yes, her lyrics help me relate to my relationship with my studies. But even TTPD has the song “So High School”, which Taylor used to hard-launch her relationship  to Travis Kelce. It made me really happy to find that the person who made me believe in fairytales got her fairytale moment.

During this time, I also realised that Taylor Swift had other things that I find similar. She is the oldest sibling, has a younger brother, and is close to her mom and dad. Her mom is practically her bestie, and she is obsessed with cats like me. Her youngest cat, Benjamin Button, was adopted by her on the set of her music video for the song “Me”.

After watching this song, I started grooving to her Lover album. It was a drastic change from TTPD's macabre aesthetic of black and white to Lover's bright pink one, but my summer vacation had started, and I was just in the mood for flowers and sunshine and making paper rings.

Lover made me realise how she ingeniously linked “London Boy”, a full-on love song, to “So Long, London” later in TTPD. Clearly, Taylor Swift remembers it all too well.

Continuing my happy streak, I switched to her debut album, Taylor Swift. Listening to her voice as a teenager was funny at first. But then I was vibing to her teenage shenanigans and sort of vibing with my new bangs, which may have been influenced by her, in a way.

After her Eras Tour ended in December of 2024, I realised that we even had our birthdays so close together, 11th and 13th December. I declared her my long-distance bestie now.

Watching the Eras Tour was so fun for me. I didn't feel bad about not getting tickets for the show. Being more of an introvert, I aimed to watch it from the comfort of my home, clutching my pillow and giggling as I saw all the eras unfold.

The Eras Tour helped me find the 10-minute version of “All Too Well.” The amount of time I invested in that song, for 10 minutes a day, was huge. Sometimes I used this song to manage my time and complete tasks using an allocated counter. All Too Well obviously made me obsessed with the entire “Red” album. Red was the album that represented change and growing up, which resonated a lot with my university life.

Finally, when it was time for me to move to Australia, I listened to “You’re on Your Own, Kid” and became a “Midnights” fan. Taylor’s album Midnights was about fears and uncertainties that one faces in life.

I then stumbled on Folklore in August with the song “August,” and this album was all about the storytelling of beautiful characters. I listened to Evermore to finish the set of all her albums by October 2025, when she finally released her 12th album, “The Life of a Showgirl”.

I remained in the loop with this album from the very beginning, following its creation and all trends. It was just a bundle of happiness. A shot of espresso. Taylor really did say, “It’s all right, and you were dancing through the lightning strikes.”

This year, Taylor won loads of awards at the iHeartRadio Awards, and with her upcoming wedding plans, she has remained in the news. She managed to treat her fans yet again by dropping a new single on 5th June, “I Knew it, I Knew You”. A  country song that would be featured in Toy Story 5.

Taylor Swift and Toy Story finally got their collab after having the same initials since the very beginning. We will finally get Taylor Story. This latest song sets the base for Taylor Swift’s debut album re-release. This song brings back her springy country music era. It makes you grab your cowboy boots and wear a big cowboy hat as you harness your inner country-ness.

Whether you are a Swiftie, a country music enthusiast, a lyric lover, or just someone looking for a new jam to vibe to, stream this song to feel the buzz in your feet.

For me, Taylor Swift’s music will always be special. Maybe because the first beat enchanted me, or because I stayed to listen to her 10-minute track each time. Her lyrics will always be my musical storybook adventure.