Let’s say you don’t think she sings country, why do you care? Popular opinion inarguably puts her in your camp. I say embrace it! How often does a “country” singer nab not only the top lists of country but of ALL genres. Let us imagine a techno artist were to put out an album that flew off the shelves. Oh wait, that did happen, and it revived the genre. Not that I am saying that Country needs a revival (though a concise definition might be handy so all y’all can stop bickering about it). Country music has an opportunity here, an opportunity to garner new fans, inspire new musicians. Love her or hate her, Taylor Swift is here (hopefully to stay). She crafts songs that appeal to a huge demographic, and even if they are pop tinged with country or country with pop sensibilities, give them a listen, chances are you’ll like them.

The discussion of the applicablity of the symbolism in the song, inspired by Romeo & Juliet as well as (briefly) the Scarlet Letter has carried on and it appears that those who criticize it will not let anyone refer to a literary work without writing a quick thesis in the lyrics. It “misses” some themes of Romeo and Juliet.

…

Duh

I have personally spent an entire semester at college discussing and writing on the themes of Romeo and Juliet. I wrote 3 pages about lines 1205-1210. Should I set my essays to song? Will you listen to that?

So long as I’m “country enough” I imagine. No worries, I’ve got my twangy guitar, my southern drawl, my cowboy hat and I have been listening to Gospel R&B for years.

I suppose I should further explain that paragraph: I was being facetious for most of it. I’d explain my reference to Country’s roots if I felt it would do any good for those who didn’t know, or if I felt like I had enough time to ensure I hit upon every theme.

On a final note, I hope Taylor Swift never has to read what some of you say about her. While attacking her focus on teenager themes, you forget she still is one. She’s young, she’ll have a weird enough time growing up without people insulting her singing, her lyrics, her intelligence (as all who say she hasn’t understood R&J are doing), and even (at one low point I saw above) her looks.

For shame.

Up until this moment, I have been an unwavering believer that all musicians should listen to what their fans and critics have to say. Now I see that what most of them have to say is unnecessarily hurtful, poorly thought through, and often grammatically incorrect.