and Words
You’re on the phone with your girlfriend, she’s upset
She’s going off about something that you said
‘Cause she doesn’t get your humor like I do
I’m in my room, it’s a typical Tuesday night
I’m listening to the kind of music she doesn’t like
And she’ll never know your story like I do
Lyric excerpts from Musixmatch.
On a weekend afternoon, we finish our shopping at the local Trader Joe’s. The modestly sized market sits a few minutes from our home. Some employees recognize us and greet us. They often play 80’s music, which consistently brightens my mood. While we don’t spend a whole lot of time in the store, I’ll spend the short time, anticipating the next track, and furiously trying to recognize the song as quickly as possible, much like my own personal game of Name That Tune.
Today, their music threw me a curve. They played a song that I didn’t immediately recognize, though it certainly sounded familiar. A woman’s voice sung clearly and optimistically. I no longer cared that I had lost this little mental contest, I needed to know. I had an educated guess, but the response from Shazam confirmed my suspicion. This was Taylor Swift.
It seems impossible that I keep a blog on music and have yet to write about Swift, but here we are nearly three years later.
It’s not that I actively avoided Taylor Swift. It’s simply that I’m particular about how I listen to music. This very site is dedicated to my memories and their association with music. I listen to music to relive moments in my life and celebrate those dear people. As such, music is mostly about nostalgia. It is the figurative old familiar sweatshirt that we refuse to let go.
There are exceptions to that rule of course. I also recently discovered Billie Eilish as well, who equally impressed me. I found Skylar Grey in a similar way, who sings angelically though I didn’t expect it when I first saw her. They all impressed me in their own right. Though generally, these songs are flashback to snapshots in time.
Though in one single song, she convinced me. Her music was upbeat and optimistic. Furthermore, she speaks with confidence. Meanwhile, she sings unapologetically and fills you with hope. Her voice is melodic and flows easily from word to word. It’s contagious. And though it’s only a song, I found myself cheering for her.
Simply calling Swift popular is like calling Hurricane Sandy ‘precipitation’. I’m not perplexed that she’s popular, I’m more perplexed by the degree of her popularity. For instance, Swifties sobbed in despair after failing to get tickets to her concert. Furthermore, Taylor Swift affects national economies when she holds concerts; let’s wrap our heads around that. She’s become more than a person; she’s a culture.
Let’s take a little detour and reflect on how we conduct our lives. Imagine that you witness something that doesn’t sit well with you. Maybe it’s someone bullying a friend. Perhaps it’s a restaurant who asks a gay couple to leave, saying something like, “We reserve the right to refuse service.” Your empathy for them overwhelms you and brings you to tears. Your moral compass screams in your head, “Enough!” You vow to speak up.
The sheer force of your conviction petrifies your mom. Though she fears for your safety, she understands. Your father disagrees with you. He envisions death threats; he insists that it’ll affect your livelihood. You are undeterred. Your career may be derailed, but you stand your ground. You speak assertively and clearly, “Dad, I need you to forgive me for doing this because I’m doing it.”
Then suppose that you developed this moral compass and determination in your youth... Specifically, in your late 20’s or early 30’s.
Yes, Taylor Swift did that. Brené Brown defines ‘Integrity’ as “doing what is right over what is fun, fast or easy”. I don’t presume to know everything that Swift stands for or has endorsed. I’m sure that we don’t agree on every issue. However, I do know that she was moved to tears and spoke with conviction. She challenged her father. She risked her safety and her livelihood. Seriously, she’s earned over 1.1 billion on this tour, so to assert that she risked hundreds of millions of dollars to stand by her principles is not an exaggeration. She did what she believed to be right, over what was fun, fast, or easy.
Most rationalize that we could do all those things. You’re absolutely right, we could do a great many things, but we generally don’t. She did.
This didn’t happen overnight. She stands on the shoulders of many that came before her who dared to speak up when they see injustice. She is both empowered by them and empowers others. When I was bullied in school, no one came to my defense. Today, high school students stage a walk out in protest for a classmate using a racist slur during a basketball game. The culture is changing. Our youth will no longer acquiesce to the inherited ‘values’ of generations. They have a voice, and a vote. For some that is truly horrifying.
In the most recent news, many have targeted Taylor Swift with hate and vitriol after the Kansas City Chiefs qualified for the Super Bowl, when all she did was to celebrate with her boyfriend. The truly tragic part in all this is that she anticipated it. Every once in a while, we hope that humanity can surprise us and rise above all that, only to witness that it doesn’t.
You could confront your friend who writes that hateful post about her, but you don’t. You elect to choose what is easy over what is right. We bite our tongue as we hear loved ones utter truly horrific and hateful things. And that’s precisely why she’s different. Furthermore, she inspires others to do the same. I’ve challenged loved ones who dared to use the phrase ‘China virus’ in my presence. I challenged the notion that my sister’s career is not ‘as important’ because she’s a woman.
The name of this album is ‘Fearless’, and she is absolutely that. Taylor Swift embodies integrity, allyship, and hope. For that she gets my respect and admiration. Her wonderful music? That’s just a bonus. 😉