Taylor Swift Explains Why She Embraces Both ‘Simplistic and Silly’ and ‘Detailed and Deep’ Lyrics as a Songwriter
Taylor Swift Explains Why She Embraces Both ‘Simplistic and Silly’ and ‘Detailed and Deep’ Lyrics as a Songwriter
Ilana KaplanTue, August 25, 2026 at 4:47 PM UTC
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Taylor Swift in August 2026Credit: GRAMMYS/YouTube -
Taylor Swift discussed transitioning from country to pop songwriting during a recent Grammy Museum Icon Sessions conversation
The 14-time Grammy winner spoke about how she likes to play with the “human contradiction” in her music
Swift also performed a piano mash-up of three of her hits
Taylor Swift has some tricks up her sleeve when it comes to songwriting.
During a recent discussion with Recording Academy CEO Harvey Mason Jr. for the Grammy Museum’s Icon Sessions, presented by the Recording Academy’s Songwriters & Composers Wing, the 14-time Grammy winner opened up about the challenges of making the transition from an extremely skilled country songwriter to an adept pop songwriter.
Swift, 36, noted that the “main change” in her songwriting over the years has been the “vernacular” she’s used.
“When it comes to writing just sort of different shades of my music like you can say the same thing many different ways,” she said.
Swift then explained how the lyrics of “Champagne Problems” and “Style” both “mean exactly the same thing.”
“You can say ‘I’m into you’ by saying ‘Your Midas touch on the Chevy door / November flush and your flannel cure’ [in ‘Champagne Problems.’] Or, you can say, ‘You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye’ [in ‘Style,’]” she added.
She further elaborated that both mean that “everything that you touch glows. You are the most important thing in my world and I just saw you for the first time, and I can’t believe it, and I don’t know what to do with these feelings.”
Swift then added that how she’s chosen to express herself as a lyricist has changed over the years.
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“There are times when those contradictions will come up where fans will be like, ‘I can’t believe the same person who wrote this wrote this because one will be very simplistic and silly and one will be very, like, detailed and deep and we’re doing tons of allegory and we’re just like in a whole other world of atmospheric speech,” she said.
Added Swift, “But I think that that human contradiction is fun. I think that it’s fun to make playful songs. I think it’s fun to make songs that are desolate and lonely and bedraggled lyrically, as well. And it’s that human contradiction that I find interesting.”
Following the discussion, the “Elizabeth Taylor” musician sat down at a wooden piano decorated with colorful flowers, which she played every night during the surprise song portion of her Eras Tour shows.
Swift played a mash-up of “I Knew It, I Knew You” from the Toy Story 5soundtrack, her folklore era hit “August” and the 2021 extended version of her song “All Too Well,” which first appeared on her 2012 album Red.
Taylor Swift in July 2024 in MilanCredit: Vittorio Zunino Celotto/TAS24/Getty
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During the event, Swift appeared in a sage green dress with crimson red floral detailing, and styled her hair in an updo reminiscent of the album artwork for 2020’s folklore. She also wore her signature red lip for the performance.
Swift married Travis Kelce on July 3 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
In 2023, the couple went public with their relationship after Swift attended one of Kelce’s home games with the Kansas City Chiefs. The NFL tight end, 36, was later spotted in the crowd supporting the pop star at several stops on the Eras Tour.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
