Taylor Swift

Album Notes

The album is called Taylor Swift not because Taylor Swift is the singer and the songwriter, but because the album is introducing you to the character "Taylor Swift." The "Taylor Swift" who is described in the songs, is not the singer or the songwriter but an aspirational figure. This character is a role model not only for Taylor Swift the singer-songwriter, but also for her imagined listeners. 

Tim McGraw

Lyrics (Here)


Someday you'll turn your radio on 

I hope it takes you back to that place


Related Readings:

    Hopkins, Robert. "Imagining the past." Perceptual imagination and perceptual memory (2018): 46-71. (link) 


Commentary: 

 


Picture to Burn

Lyrics (Here)

I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive 

You're a redneck heartbreak who's really bad at lying


Related Readings:

Falbo, Arianna. "Slurs, neutral counterparts, and what you could have said." Analytic Philosophy 62, no. 4 (2021): 359-375." (link)


Commentary: 

here



Teardrops on My Guitar

Lyrics (Here)

Drew looks at me I fake a smile so he won't see


Related Readings:

Gheaus, Anca (2021). Unrequited Love, Self-victimisation and the Target of Appropriate Resentment. The Journal of Ethics 25 (4):487-499." (link)


Commentary: 

here



A Place in This World 

Lyrics (Here)

I'm alone, on my own, and that's all I know 

I'll be strong, I'll be wrong, oh, but life goes on


Related Readings:


Commentary: 

here



Cold as You

Lyrics (Here)

Every smile you fake is so condescending 

Counting all the scars you made 

And now that I'm sitting here thinking it through 

I've never been anywhere cold as you 


Related Readings:

here" (link)


Commentary: 

here



The Outside 

Lyrics (Here)

I didn't know what I would find 

When I went looking for a reason, 

I know I didn't read between the lines 

And, baby, I've got nowhere to go


Related Readings:

Slank, Shanna (2019). Rethinking the Imposter Phenomenon. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 22 (1):205-218. (link)


Commentary: 

here



Tied Together with a Smile

Lyrics (Here)

That you cry but you don't tell anyone 

That you might not be the golden one


Related Readings:

Gadsby, Stephen (2021). Imposter Syndrome and Self-Deception. Australasian Journal of Philosophy:1-12. (link)


Commentary: 

here



Stay Beautiful

Lyrics (Here)

Don't you know you're really gonna be someone? 

Ask anyone 

And when you find everything you looked for 

I hope your life leads you back to my door


Related Readings:

here" (link)


Commentary: 

here



Should’ve Said No

Lyrics (Here)

And I should've been there, in the back of your mind 

I shouldn't be asking myself why 

You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet 


Related Readings:

Khoury, Andrew C. "Forgiveness, Repentance, and Diachronic Blameworthiness." Journal of the American Philosophical Association 8, no. 4 (2022): 700-720. (link)


Commentary: 

For Scanlon, blame involves downgrading a relationship. Is "Should've Said No" a problem for Scanlon, or just a paradigm case?



Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) 

Lyrics (Here)

Take me home where we met so many years before 

We'll rock our babies on that very front porch 

After all this time, you and I


Related Readings:

Dorsey, Dale (2015). The Significance of a Life’s Shape. Ethics 125 (2):303-330. (link) 


Commentary: 

"Given the substantial intuitive significance of a life’s shape, I’m tempted to claim that the most significant element of the quality of a life is its narrative structure"



Our Song 

Lyrics (Here)

Our song is the slamming screen door 

Sneakin' out late, tapping on your window 

When we're on the phone and you talk real slow 

'Cause it's late and your mama don't know


Related Readings:

here" (link)


Commentary: 

Why is it "slow" and not "low" ?! makes no sense. 



I’m Only Me When I’m with You 

Lyrics (Here)

And I'm only me 

Who I wanna be 

Well, I'm only me when I'm with you


Related Readings:

here" (link)


Commentary: 

here



Invisible

Lyrics (Here)

And all I think about is how to make you think of me 


Related Readings:

here" (link)


Commentary: 

here



A Perfectly Good Heart

Lyrics (Here)

It's not unbroken anymore 

How do I get it back the way it was before?


Related Readings:

here" (link)


Commentary: 

here



I’d Lie 

Lyrics (Here)

He'd never tell you, but he can play guitar 

I think he can see through everything but my heart 

First thought when I wake up Is, "My God, he’s beautiful" 

So I put on my makeup And pray for a miracle


Related Readings:

here" (link)


Commentary: 

here



Discussion Questions