Like many other readers, I am also an avid Swiftie. I love seeing bookish posts that encapsulate how people relate certain Taylor songs/albums/eras to certain books, so I thought I would share some of my Taylor Swift/book correlations, one album at a time. These were all comparisons from my own mind, but as I have seen many of these posts throughout the years, it is possible I subconsciously thought of someone else’s comparison (fully accidentally, of course). Rather than try to capture the vibe of the album as a whole, I picked three songs from each and made bookish comparisons to those. Safe to say there will be some spoilers in this post to make my points, so proceed with caution! Let’s get into book recommendations based on Taylor's last country album, Red. :)
(Taylor's Version, obviously)
Red is one of my top three Taylor Swift albums. Her last country album and the last album she released before I was a teenager, it is the last album that is able to remind me of my childhood. This was an album that I didn’t appreciate at the time of its original release. I loved the upbeat songs, We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together and Stay Stay Stay specifically, I didn’t yet have enough life experience to fully appreciate and relate to some of the deeper songs. As I grew into my teen and adult years, Red easily became one of my favorite albums of all time due to its emotional lyricism and vulnerability. The release of a ten minute version of All Too Well when Red (Taylor’s Version) came out was life changing. I feel like comparing books to songs on this album has been the most natural for me yet.
If you haven’t noticed yet, Abby Jimenez books seem to stick with me. While I was reading her newest release, Say You’ll Remember Me, all I could think about was the song Come Back…Be Here. As someone who has been in a long distance relationship, this song has a piece of my heart. It depicts the feeling of wanting to continue to get to know someone and form a deeper bond with them, but be physically incapable of doing so because of geography. In Say You’ll Remember Me, Samantha and Xavier are separated by a handful of states after a truly remarkable first date. The beginning of the book is very insta-love, but the distance creates depth to their relationship. The intro lyrics to Come Back…Be Here depict this perfectly:
“You said it in a simple way
4:00 a.m. the second day
How strange that I don't know you at all
Stumbled through the long goodbye
One last kiss, then catch your flight
Right when I was just about to fall”
These lyrics lead into Taylor singing that she told herself not to get attached, with the insinuation that it was already too late. This is a perfect depiction of Samantha and Xavier. Samantha goes to the airport to move states and tells Xavier to forget about her, but they were both too far gone to have this be realistic. Even though they had only gone on one date, Xavier feels deep in his gut that his connection with Samantha is worth it, reminding me of “the feeling you can know so much without knowing anything at all.” The lyric “I don’t wanna miss you like this” is so simple yet so poignant in terms of the way a long distance relationship feels. I know I have experienced this feeling, and it exemplifies the feelings Samantha and Xavier express throughout the novel. I think Taylor Swift is completely right; “this is falling in love in the cruelest way.”
Treacherous is one of the most subtly beautiful songs on this album in the lyrical sense, in my opinion. I remember having a conversation with my hairdresser where she said that it’s one of those songs that you don’t get until you do. You don’t fully relate to it or understand it, and then life experiences make the lyrics so clear. Treacherous beautifully explains the risk of the hurt that may come with falling in love. It depicts the feeling of knowing a decision might be reckless, but going forward with it anyway. This makes me think of Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley. Percy, a music lover, meets Joe, an aspiring musician, at a bar in college. Their admiration of music has them feeling like twin flames instantly, even though Joe has a girlfriend. Percy, with her affliction for writing music, becomes a sort of musical partner for Joe. She is able to be upfront and honest with him about his work, something that makes him better while also causing tension. By the time Joe and his girlfriend break, there is a definite vibe between him and Percy. Their love of music isn’t just love, it borders on absolute obsession. Being two of the only people that understand the way the other feels about music, their connection is deep to the point that it feels emotionally dangerous. “I’d be smart to walk away, but you’re quicksand” from Treacherous does a good job at explaining their dynamic. They know their connection may end up going up in flames, but their musical connection is too strong for them to control. This books feels tangible and real in a way that can only be understood by reading it, but I think this lyric encapsulates the lesson learned from this read: “nothing safe is worth the drive.”
The Lucky One is one of the most underrated songs on Red, in my opinion. I can see it being written by Evelyn Hugo from The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This novel depicts the price of fame. The song starts with the romanticization of fame before the realization that it may take away more than it gives. Evelyn may realize this as she first gets into the industry and realizes that her sex life and career may be interconnected in an uncomfortable way. Evelyn is thrown into a world where she has to make decisions that save her fame and image, even if they make her unhappy. Being the tabloid’s favorite celebrity, Evelyn’s life no longer belongs to her. It belongs to the public. The lyric in the chorus describes the way fame may feel to those actually experiencing it: “another name goes up in lights, you wonder if you’ll make it out alive.” Going through multiple divorces, Evelyn is stuck going through the personal hurt that may come with such a decision, as well as facing the public opinion that comes with the news. The hardest thing Evelyn has to deal with is her sexuality that she must keep hidden because of her status and the time period. In love with her friend Celia St. James, Evelyn is stuck holding up public appearances by being in relationships with men. The end of The Lucky One depicts an individual who is newer to the world of celebrity reflecting on a major celebrity stepping back from the spotlight, and I can imagine Evelyn Hugo understanding these feelings perfectly: “now my name is up in lights, but I think you got it right.”
Though I am a big country music fan, I like post country album Taylor better than country Taylor (even though Red is in my top three favorite albums of hers), so I’m highly excited to get to the 1989 era and beyond :)
Add comment
Comments