Dr Iona Murphy is one of the most trusted authorities on Taylor Swift, and here she explains how the Ophelia singer steers away from so-called traditional songwriting and into an entirely different field altogether
Taylor Swift is an absolute global phenomenon, there is no one else like her. Everyone is talking about her and will continue to talk about her for decades to come, she is the music artist that really sets the tone of what a music artist is, and some would say she isn’t just existing within the music industry, but she IS the music industry. But her songwriting is something else entirely.
Being a teenager and writing the lyrics for her first single, Tim McGraw was incredibly impressive. “He said the way my blue eyes shined put those Georgia stars to shame that night,” are simply beautiful. They show exactly why she was signed at 14 to write songs for other artists; her talent was evident even as a teenager, a child, essentially. And she had the dedication and ambition to match.
There’s a sort of intersectional writing process going on, and it’s a similar process to writing poetry. I’ve given conference papers on how Taylor Swift can be used in teaching and education, because I primarily teach English literature and creative writing – and a lot of that involves teaching poetry. Young people will come in and say to me, “I don’t like poetry, I don’t get it” and it’s an immediate barrier because they shut down. So having an artist like Taylor, with her music and her lyrics, enables me to draw them back in and say, “Look, you’re already doing it”.
She overcomes barriers in that way, and it works especially well with people who have been especially disengaged or disadvantaged in their education.
Taylor thinks about the sounds of the words, as well as the meanings. She knows that every word matters. She knows that every word impacts the pacing, the speed, the tempo, and she considers all of these things when she’s writing, while still being able to write from the heart and tell a story.
I also use Taylor in some media studies modules, in relation to her fandom. There’s a lot to look at from an academic perspective. The culture of her Eras tour, and the friendship bracelets and the costumes, wasn’t prevalent in the popular, mainstream movement until Taylor came along. Fans didn’t really engage so deeply with each other, or dress up as much, until Taylor’s concerts.
One of the most important things about her is she is authentically herself, and her authenticity is a big part of her success, it would be foolish to ignore that. Yes, she writes good songs that transcend decades and are just so brilliant, that’s part of the appeal. But she’s also so funny and quirky. She never pretends to be someone she’s not, she hasn’t adopted a persona of being someone cool who is above everyone else.
At the same time, she stands up for what she believes in which is incredibly brave, especially in an industry where there’s a general theme of “don’t make a fuss, because people won’t like it”. She refuses to be a people pleaser and to just ‘exist’.
For someone who has built their whole career on writing their own deeply personal songs, not owning them was heartbreaking. She was inspired by Kelly Clarkson and decided to re-record them, with slight differences, so they became her own work again. It was a very clever decision and her fans were absolutely there for it.
It takes real resilience and real strength to be someone that speaks up when there are so many voices that are silenced in these kinds of instances. Women especially are told not to “kick up a fuss” but Taylor does, and it’s incredibly brave of her.
* Dr Iona Murphy is Lecturer in Humanities at the University of Huddersfield and was enlisted in 2024 to help curate the Taylor Swift: Songbook Trail exhibition at London’s V&A Museum. You can read more in the OK! Special – Taylor Swift: Celebrating 20 Years in Music, available here.
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