Taylor Swift - Lover

Everybody in music has their own sort of… niche specialty thing that they do… That, you know. set them apart from everybody else.

And… my storytelling is what it is for me. I… I know that, without me writing my own songs, I wouldn’t… be here.

• We can… We can leave the Christmas.. uh

• We can leave the Christmas Lights up till January…

There is an element to my fan base where we feel like we grew up together.

I’ll… I’ll be going through something, write the album about it, and then it’ll come out, and… Sometimes it’ll just coincide with what they’re going through.

Kind of… Kind of like they’re reading my diary.

• … Close forever and ever? And, ah, take me out

• And take me home

• You’re my, my, my, my… Lover.

Everybody in music has their own sort of… niche specialty thing that they do… That, you know. set them apart from everybody else.

NICHE is a word used to refer a position particularly well suited to the person or group that occupies it.

• Are you ready for your meeting?

• Yep.

• Don’t forget to smile. All right? Your movies is a little bit heavy, so keep the room light.

• Do you not think I’m a good filmmaker?

• That’s not what I said. I think you’re great. I think you’re a great children’s book illustrator, a traffic jewelry designer. I love the homemade ice cream business.

• I am familiar with my eclectic resume, thank you very much. But honey, with this film, you know it, I found my niche. I can fly. I believe I can fly.

So, the term niche is mostly used to refer to some kind of professional specialty. That is a subject that someone knows a lot about and does better than anybody else.

So, Taylor is saying that in music everybody had something that distinguishes them from rest.

• And… my storytelling is what it is for me. I… I know that, without me writing my own songs, I wouldn’t… be here.

STORYTELLING is the act of telling stories. As you might know, most of Taylor’s lyrics tell stories, and from her point of view, that is what makes her different from the other singers in the music industry.

• Romeo save me I’ve been feeling so alone

• I keep waiting for you but you never come

• Is this in my head? I don’t know what to think

• He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said.

• I’m in my room it’s a typical Tuesday night, I’m listening to the kind of music she doesn’t like, And she’ll never know your story like I do

• We can… We can leave the Christmas.. uh

• We can leave the Christmas Lights up till January…

TILL is a very common contraction of the word until.

• But you’ll never be alone

• I’ll be with you from dusk till dawn

• Baby, I’m right here

She is saying that they can leave the Christmas lights up until whenever they want, even if Christmas decorations are usually removed by the end of December (or beginning of January).

• There is an element to my fan base where we feel like we grew up together.

The term element can refer to a part of something.

Example, This book has all the elements of a good story.

The fan base of someone such a pop star out a pop group is their fans, considered as a whole.

Some examples of fan bases are the Beliebers (fans of Justin Bieber) or the Directioners(fans of One Direction).

Let’s listen again to the way that Taylor says this phrase.

• There is an element to my fan base where we feel like we grew up together.

Here we have a good example of connected speech. This is the way that natives link their words together.

Up is a proposition, which is an example of a function word. These words reduce and connected to content words, like grow or grew.

So, instead of saying GREW UP, Taylor says: [groo-wap] Native do this all the time. Let’s look at some more examples of this type of sound morphing:

• Don’t you want your child to [grow up] in a world where there are penguins?

• We can’t quit now, The holidays are [coming up]. It’s our best season.

• What the hell do you do on a real date?

• [Shut up] and put my table back.

• I’ll… I’ll be going through something, write the album about it, and then it’ll come out, and… Sometimes it’ll just coincide with what they’re going through.

If you face a difficult period or experience you’d say that you’re Going through it.

• Hi, anyone hear from Phoebe yet?

• No, nothing.

• I hope she’s okay.

• Yeah, I know exactly what she’s going through.

• How do you know exactly what she’s going through?
• She told us.

Which of these words could you use as a synonym of go through?

• A: Undertake. B: Undergo. C: Overgo.

Taylor’s saying that after going through a certain situation that is difficult for her (like a breakup, for example), She writes many song about it, creating an album.

If something comes out it means that becomes known or it’s reveled.

For example, Taylor’s new album released on August 23rd, and before that date her new songs were unknown.

“Coincide” is a word used to refer to two or more thing happening at the same time. Example: I timed my holidays to coincide with the children’s.

Taylor is highlighting that her fans and she tend to go through similar experiences at the same time.

• Kind of… Kind of like they’re trading my diary.

A diary is a daily written record of experience and observations, it is usually personal, so people don’t share it with anybody else.

Taylor’s saying that sometimes she feels so close to her fans when it comes to her life’s experiences that it is like they were reading her diary.

• … Close forever and ever? And, ah, take me out

• And take me home

• You’re my, my, my, my… Lover.

If someone is your LOVER, that person is your partner in a romantic relationship, without necessarily being married.

• So if you need it, I got it, I got it everyday

• Be your lover, your friend, you’ll find it all in me.

We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘till January

This is our place, we make the rules

And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear

Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

Can I go where you go?

Can we always be this close forever and ever?

And ah, take me out, and take me home

You’re my, my, my, my…. lover.

Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

With every guitar string scar on my hand

I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue

All’s well that ends well to end up with you

Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

And you’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

And at every table, I’ll save you a seat, lover

• We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘till January

• This is our place, we make the rules.

This is a very common and informal way to refer to your house.

• On my mind, up past my bedtime, no rest at the kingdom

• Alone in my place, my heart is away, all that I can think of is

• We should get married, We should get married.

• let’s stop holding back on this and let’s get carried away

Taylor’s saying that in her and her partner’s house they make the rules together.

• And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear

Something dazzling is very impressive or beautiful; and if you say that there’s haze, the atmosphere looks like this.

Taylor’s using adjectives usually found in fantasy to express how her relation feels like a dream or fairytale.

She’s also saying that she feels intrigued by him, and she finds him mysterious.

Did you notice how Taylor said “ about you”?

• And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear.

Here is another common example of connected speech.

When we have a T and Y sound together, even in different words, it often morph into c CH sound.

So instead of “ about you,” she said: [abou-chu] dear.

Let’s practice this with some more examples:

• Big reputation, big reputation

• Ooh, you and me would be a big conversation, ah

• And I heard [abou-chu], ooh

• You like the bad ones, too

• Have you no idea that you’re in deep?

• l’ve dream [abou-chu] nearly every night this week.

• How many secrets can you keep?

• Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

By saying, “Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years,” she implies that it feels like they’ve spent a lifetime together, even though it probably hasn’t been that long.

Let’s also look at how she said these numbers:

• Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?

So did you notice that she didn’t say it like “Twenty”? How did she actually say it? Twe-nee

Often when we have an N + a T together, we drop the T sound. So instead of saying “twenty” natives usually say “twe-nee”. Let’s hear some other examples:

• And baby, my heart; could still fall as hard at [Twe-nee]there

• Day you gotta leave, but I know you wanna stay; you just waitin’ on the traffic jam to finish girl.

• The things that we could do in twenty minutes girl. Say my name, say my name.

• Can I go where you go?
• Can we always be this close forever and ever?

Forever and ever is a phrase used to emphasize the idea that something will happen for now and all time in the future.

It is commonly used by children or in children’s stories. Example: He promised to be her friend forever and ever.

• And ah, take me out, and take me home

• You’re my, my, my, my…. lover.

• Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

Here Taylor’s using imagery and language of a wedding to highlight how serious her relationship with her boyfriend is.

You may also hear this in other formal contexts like a show or play.

• Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to introduce you to our master of gadgetry: Garry!
• I’ve never been to a wedding before!
• Oh, okay, who’s getting married again?

• Oh, Terence, this is like our wedding but expensive. Hahaha.

• Flowers for you, flowers for you.

• Ladies and gentlemen, birds and pigs, we are gathered here today because of these two characters.

• Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?
• With every guitar string scar on my hand

A scar is a mark left on the skin where a wound has not healed completely.

The”guitars string scar” refer to the years she spent writing songs about love and heartbreaks.

I’m a recent interview she gave during her NPR trying deck appearance she talked about it:

• I took that as a metaphor for like, you know, the times when i was learning to play guitar and I’d like, play until my fingers bled when I was a kid, and I still have those marks from that and, you know all those times I’d be changing a string and it’d pop, and I still have those scars from that.

• But it’s also a bigger metaphor for in life, you accumulate scars. you accumulate scars, you accumulate moments of you know, learning and disappointment and struggle and all that and, if someone’s gonna take your hand, they better take your hand, scars and all.

• I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

magnetic force is the physical force of attraction. It literally happens between magnetic things, but in a metaphorical way it can be used to refer that you feel very attracted to someone.

• My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue.

If you borrow something you get something from someone with the intentional of giving it back after a certain period of time.

For example, you would borrow a book in a library or find clothes from a friend.

Do you know which word you’d use to say that you’re the one borrowing something? Taylor’s referring in a very poetic way to the wedding tradition where in every ceremony there should be something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

In a figurative sense, if you say that you are blue or you feel blue, you mean that you’re sad.

We could also say you “get the blues,” meaning you become sad.

• Look at you, kids, you know you’re the coolest

• The world is yours and you can’t refuse it

• Seen so much, you couldget the blues, but

• That don’t mean that you should abuse it

So Taylor probably means in these verses that they both have been through sadness and heartaches.

• All’s well, that ends well, to end up, with you.

End up is a phrasal verb used to say that you’re finally in a particular place or situation.

“All’s well that ends well” is an expression meaning that problems that occur doing matter, as long as there’s a positive outcome.

In addition, “All’s well that ends well” is a play written by Shakespeare in which Helena must overcome many obstacles to win the heart of the man she loved, so as you can see, the theme of this play is highly related to Taylor’s story.

• Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

If you Swear something you make a promise about it. Example: I Swear I’ll never say word.

Overdramatic is an adjective used to say that someone is excessively dramatic, that is, that they tend to exaggerate things.

• And you’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

Even though you probably know the word dirty, you may not know that this word can also be used when referring to things connected with sex, in a way that many people might consider offensive.

Example: you have such a dirty mind! So, the dirtiest jokes are the most inappropriate ones.

• And at every table, I’ll save you a seat, lover

If you save someone a seat, you leave a free space for a person to sit close to the place you’re sitting.

Everybody in music has their own sort of… niche specialty thing that they do… That, you know. set them apart from everybody else.

And… my storytelling is what it is for me. I… I know that, without me writing my own songs, I wouldn’t…. be here.

• We can… We can leave the Christmas.. uh

We can leave the Christmas Lights up till January…

There is an element to my fan base where we feel like we grew up together.

I’ll… I’ll be going through something, write the album about it, and then it’ll come out, and… Sometimes it’ll just coincide with what they’re going through.

• Kind of… Kind of like they’re reading my diary.

-… Close forever and ever? And, ah, take me out

-And take me home

-You’re my, my, my, my… Lover.

• We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘till January

• This is our place, we make the rules.

• And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you, dear

• Have I known you twenty seconds or twenty years?
• Can I go where you go?
• Can we always be this close forever and ever?

• And ah, take me out, and take me home

• You’re my, my, my, my…. lover.

• Ladies and gentlemen, will you please stand?

• With every guitar string scar on my hand

• I take this magnetic force of a man to be my lover

• My heart’s been borrowed and yours has been blue.

• All’s well that ends well to end up with you

• Swear to be overdramatic and true to my lover

• And you’ll save all your dirtiest jokes for me

• And at every table, I’ll save you a seat, lover

@text by VahidK in 11807 characters