The Man From Nantucket Has a Song

Taylor Swift has got to be one of the biggest music stars of the 21^st century. She is famous beyond famous and is not bad on the eyes. Musically not all of her chart toppers are for me, but it is mostly because of the way she makes the songs. She says that you can make music by writing a poem and pairing it with an instrumental. I vehemently disagree. While there is no denying that some of her songs do work lyrically and make for a great time to sing along to, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Truthfully, most of her songs do have a heartfelt and meaningful message, but I can only hear them as the slam poetry they are. It is also true that metaphors and similes in songs are needed. If the artist was to just say words without a little play on those words, it would be no different than if I were to only spell out directly what I mean. Those figures of speech making comparisons of one thing to another are what allows listeners to make connections with their own lives about what Miss Swift is saying in the song. There was an old saying in the country music genre that three chords and the truth made a great song and while I do believe that the Man in Black and other Highwaymen made it work, if they had tried to push the rhyme scheme to fit the stanzas of a 30 line poem, it would have sounded like some college bro with shoulder length hair sitting on the quad with his dented guitar singing about how much he was against the man. When it is all said and done, I guess it is each person’s own preference as to what music they like, but if new artists follow the roadmap of the previous generations, then those that follow Taylor are in for a bad time. Taylor has made it work for her, and she is good at what she does, but the majority of songwriters take a different direction because they know it is poetic to string words together only for them to fall flat on the chord. To all the music makers out there, don’t write poetry. Write music. Make a good beat that is easy to dance to, fun to sing along with, and touching on someone’s heart. Otherwise, whistle along with a previously existing tune and leave the rhymes to the professionals. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.