2.1 | Fearless

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 I wonder if you know I'm trying so hard not to get caught up now...

Fearless is one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs, and not just on this album. I love songs that make you feel something deeply, and often connect with the ones that lead me gently to emotions like sadness or pain. But I appreciate that this song unapologetically leads me to joy, fun, and hope. If I want to feel energized, happier, lighter, or just move into those spaces, I can put this song on and I'll be there within four minutes.

This song paints a picture for us of the setting and the emotions. It is a story to fall into. I don't know where our main characters are coming from but they are walking in a parking lot to the car. I'm not sure if the glow off the pavement comes from the sun or the street lights but either way it's freshly rained. There is something about the moment with this person where what they want is to extend an invitation to dance, right there. I can feel it while I listen. The anticipation, the excitement, the nervousness, the desire. We are 30 seconds into a song and I am catapulted back into high school where the feelings of wanting wash over you so easily. 

As she moves through the song she gives us line after line that reinforces that same feeling and the ease with which it can come over you. It's not really something you are trying for or creating, rather it's this magical experience that comes to you and that you get to experience if you are brave enough to lean into it. The most brave thing you can do at this moment is to be so present in it. To give into those feelings where even if your hands are shaking you let the fear move out of you so you can experience the joy. 

I'm not always brave enough in real life. Too often I have been too scared to proceed, but occasionally I have been fearless and those moments always lead to something quite extraordinary. There are moments I would love to return to, to be more brave and daring. While those times are gone, there are still plenty of opportunities to be fearless in the present and future, so for now every once in a while I'll put this song on and practice.

And I don't know how it gets better than this!

I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights. 

Mallory Hazel
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Taylor Swift Fearless Album Overview

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Fearless was released in the fall of my senior year of high school. Upon revisiting this album it was incredibly familiar to me (besides the from the vault tracks of course.) It's hard to remember how I knew all the songs. I didn't have the CD, or the album downloaded to my iPod. I have come to the conclusion that Taylor Swift must have been so popular back in the day that I heard all the songs on the radio enough times that 15 years later I can still easily recall them. 

For me Fearless really leans into the fairy tales and the fantasy. It's about being young and believing in whatever world you want to believe in. It is the space before the heartbreak. It's finding your footing and being curious and living in the moments. It's wanting to experience love for the first time. It's full of hope and optimism. And I love leaning into that space. 

It is the space before the heartbreak...

I'm going to jump back into these songs one by one over the course of the next two weeks and talk about what they all mean to me. I invite you to share your insights and what these songs mean to you. At the end of the album we will reconvene and discuss favorite songs, favorite lyrics, how this album ranks and any fun other fun facts we come across. Thanks for joining me and for sharing your voice.

Mallory Hazel
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Taylor Swift's Debut Album Wrap Up

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So I just finished listening to the whole album, taking notes, doing a write up for each song individually, and here are a few of my takeaways from this album as a whole.

First I want to address that I went into this album thinking it would just be fun silly vibes, remind me of my high school years, and generally that it would take me back but not mean much to my present self. I was incredibly wrong and very surprised how many of the songs spoke to me 15+ years later. They were empowering and vulnerable and I really really enjoyed diving deep into each song and realizing that themes like being brave and vulnerable and heartbreak and love really stand the test of time. I'm glad I went back here with an open heart because there were some real gems among these 15 songs. I am even more excited for the re-release to see what changes are made and what she adds to this collection.

5 Star Songs - Song that for me are just practically perfect no notes.
1. Tim McGraw
2. A Place in this World
3. I'm Only Me When I'm With You

The Song That Surprised Me the Most
Picture to Burn- This song was just so empowering I absolutely loved it.

Favorite Lyrics
"There's no time for tears I'm just sitting here planning my revenge... so watch me strike a match on all my wasted time."
"I don't know what I want, so don't ask me."
"Love was all you wanted."
"Take me back when our world was one block wide."

Places She Referenced
Georgia

People She Referenced
Tim McGraw, Drew, Cory, Mary

Album Ranking
1. Debut - It's the only album so for now it will hold the number one space :)
Mallory Hazel
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1.15 | Teardrops on My Guitar (Pop Version)

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Drew talks to me. I laugh cause it's just so funny.

I've already done a write up about the song Teardrops on My Guitar and since the pop version has the same lyrics I don't have too much else to add about this song. So instead of talking about what this song means to me I am going to highlight one of my favorite lines in this song. 

Let's set the stage. Taylor is singing along about this boy she loves and she says "Drew talks to me, I laugh cause it's just so funny." The way she says so funny in this song is unironically my favorite part of the song. I absolutely love it and think it is perfect in every way. It's feels right to me and I am thankful she dug deep to give us this treasure. I am very interested to see if she keeps the vibes of that line around for the rerecording. 

Feel free to share below if you agree with me on this hot take or if I'm simply way off and it's too ridiculous.

Mallory Hazel
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1.14 | A Perfectly Good Heart

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Why would you want to make the very first scar?
The first broken heart, the very first scar, it's just a part of being alive in this world. This song was an interesting listen for me. While I would say that I have felt broken-hearted before it's always been a mild case because I really struggle giving myself fully into any relationship. I'm too afraid of being hurt, and if you can keep a little bit of a separation, maybe you can avoid the pain of heartbreak. But I'll be the first to admit when you live life this way you also miss out on the joy of love. The best relationships of my life are the ones that I have been the most vulnerable in. I guess this is all to say that if you have been through real pain from a broken heart, it's likely because you have shown up in this world fully.

Although your heart "is not unbroken anymore," it was also allowed to experience a deep and fearless love. It's kind of the worst that the more you risk for the love the more love you can experience, and on the opposite side the more you risk for love the greater the pain if it doesn't work out. I think when I was younger I was more afraid of the pain, of loving something too much and losing it. I think I have carried that with me even into my adult years, it's so scary to love something so much. It is a practice for me to open myself up to love. To believe it, to seek it, to allow it into me in a real way. 

I know this song is more about someone feeling sad that they are going through heartbreak, but for me, right now, it's a reminder to risk more for love. The love of people and the love of life. While these lyrics said one thing, my listening to them communicated the message I needed. I love this about music. I love that what it means to you personally can change and transform depending on where you are in life and what you need. Even a song written by a teenager 15 years ago can still teach me something about myself years later. What a gift.
It's not unbroken anymore. How do I get it back the way it was before?
I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights.
Mallory Hazel
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1.13 | Invisible

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 Baby let me love you, let me want you.

It's March 2025 and Taylor Swift is an international pop star, global sensation, 11 albums deep into her career, generally about as far from being invisible as you could possibly be. But I think she got to this place by being incredibly vulnerable in her song writing. She has given us the gift of sharing all parts of her and allowed us as listeners to be able to relate.

When I think back to the teen years I think that everyone experienced the feelings of being invisible on some level. There is this idea that if people could just see who you really are that everything would just work out perfectly. In some ways I still hold this thought, that if the people around me could really see me then everything would be okay. Maybe everything would be more than okay, maybe my relationships could be a "beautiful, miracle, unbelievable." It just feels like by now I should have made it to a place where I no longer feel invisible. 

Cultivating meaningful relationships can be tough though. I guess in some ways it's nice to know that even the Taylor Swift knows what that feels like. Like we've really all been through it haven't we. The loneliness of feeling invisible is maybe the hardest part. But in Taylor's very first album she wrote a song that communicates that you are not alone. She said I've been here, and look where she is now. It might feel like a lot but she is a testament that you can get through it and there is more on the other side.

And you just see right through me but if you only knew me, we could be a beautiful miracle, unbelievable, instead of just invisible.

I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights.
Mallory Hazel
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1.12 | I'm Only Me When I'm With You

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And I know everything about you, I don't wanna live without you...
Often I relate to parts of a song, a line that really cuts me to my core, a phrase that captures a part of me. This song hits different though. For the first time I feel like the whole song reflects me. I don’t know what it means to be “paintin’ pictures in the sky" with someone, but also… I do. An abstract concept but I get the vision of what it would be to me and it sounds perfect. Sitting with someone and not having to say anything but still being comfortable together is absolutely the love I dream about. Knowing each other and still choosing each other is all I ever wanted. 

Being that open with somebody else take real vulnerability, and I’ve always wanted to find myself with someone who could hold that vulnerable part of me. I also always wanted to be able to hold the vulnerable parts of someone else. 

When I listened to this song I wrote my husbands name at the top. So many of Taylor’s songs don’t really make me think of my husband, because the relationship ends or is really confusing. Even some of the love songs that end well just don’t feel like they represent our story. Listening to this song was the first time I could see us in a song. I’m interested to see as I continue on through her discography where I see the love story that unfolded for me comes up. Until then I’m thankful that the love I have allows me to be 100% me.
...and you know everything about me, you say that you can't live without me.
I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights.
Mallory Hazel
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1.11 | Our Song

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He's got a one-hand feel on the steering wheel, the other on my heart.
This song is just pure joy for me. I heard it in high school and I feel like it captures a lot of the fun of being a teenager. The excitement of having a crush and flirting. Feeling a new sense of freedom but without having too much in the way of responsibility. It reminds me of all the Friday nights hanging out with friends. Doing whatever, being kind of dumb, but having so much fun. It’s just such good vibes all around. 

In a lot of ways I wish I could take my current maturity back to high school to relive some of the more dramatic moments with a more developed brain, but I know that maturity would also make me too logical, less willing to take risks, and I would have missed out on the moments that made me laugh the most. The memories that have stuck around and become the most important to me are the ones when I was just living in the moment, not taking anything to seriously, and just having fun. 

While I’m technically an adult (I guess), I still feel all the emotions of this song when I’m driving the car by myself singing along. I love when it comes on while I’m going to pick up groceries and I feel no different than I did singing along as I was driving to high school. I love that music can transport us back to a feeling. I might not be able to time travel, but singing along to music like Our Song really does feel like for a moment I can transcend time, like the past and the present have merged into one moment for the duration of this simple song. 
Our song is the way you laugh, the first date "man I didn't kiss her and I should have.
I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights.
Mallory Hazel
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1.10 | Mary's Song (Oh My My My)

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Take me back when our world was one block wide I dared you to kiss me and ran when you tried, just two kids you and I.
A quintessential love story captured in a song. Growing up neighbors, two kids find love and grow old together. There is such a sweetness to this song that captures these two people in love and the phases of life they share. Childhood innocence when your whole world is just one block wide. Seeing something more than just friendship in someone, the realization that you want to build a life with them. And the accomplishment of that goal when you are 87 and 89, still in love and living in the life you have built. It’s got all the pieces of this idyllic life story.

It makes me feel so happy and kind of sad at the same time. It’s just a bird eye view of a relationship, a love that lasts told in 3 minutes and 33 seconds. It’s something people hope for and pray for, but we live in the zoomed in reality of a daily life with intimate challenges to face, and if we compare our story too closely to this story we might feel like we fell short in some way. 

I was raised in these stories, bird-eye views of ancestors that were happily married 58 years, with 7 beautiful children all successful in their own marriages and families. Showing the perfect family photos felt important, and they also felt real to me. I truly thought I would grow up and find this perfect marriage and have this perfect family and it would just happen because it is what has always happened. And I grew up and found my husband who is pretty perfect, but we struggled for years with infertility trying to get these perfect children to us. And while I did have these pretty perfect children I found myself with chronic illness as they toddled around. How was I suppose to take care of a baby who needed me for everything when I was in so much pain on a daily basis. But I showed up in the world showing a perfect family, because that’s what we were suppose to do. In my adulthood I have learned that this perfect facade is simply a facade, and while I felt like I should have known this much sooner, how and when should I have come to this conclusion on my own? 

Turns out everyone had miscarriages, or postpartum depression, or infertility, or loss, or illness. All of these perfect worlds are built on real lives with a vast array of experiences, and sometimes I wish we would be more open to sharing all of life, not just the perfect versions.

That being said I love this song. Sometimes in life you just need to be allowed to go to a dreamland of simple love, a lifetime love. A cute beautiful story that shows us that two kids can make a beautiful world.
Take me home where we met so many years before, we'll rock our babies on that very front porch.
I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights.
Mallory Hazel
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1.9 | Should've Said No

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But do you honestly expect me to believe we could ever be the same?
I’m quite far removed from the dating and relationships game, and to be frank when I was in the dating game it was under the influence of strict religious beliefs. I don’t feel like I ever really got to experience dating in a normal way, for better or for worse. Now as an adult with kids who will be entering a completely new world of dating with far less rules than I was given, I often wonder what is my role, what is the advice I need to impart, and how do I teach them what is normal and natural when my experience was not. Enter my media training where I listen to music or watch modern television shows as a form of research in addition to the entertainment I seek. I’m observing with an intent to learn how to be in this world when you have true agency to make choices. Sure my strict childhood guardrails kept me from experiencing anything really bad, but they also kept me from experiencing much at all. 

Revisiting Taylor’s Swifts music from her teens years has been fun, but also educational to me. This song in particular makes me feel really proud of her strength and the general message is one that I feel is important to impart. In this song a very dumb guy cheats on his girlfriend, comes crawling back to her with all the right words, and she responds with a resolute “it’s over.” In the beginning when she finds out about this guy cheating she responds by stating that after learning this information even just looking at him feels wrong. I was so impressed by this verbal admission of her feelings. I struggle with wanting to make everyone feel comfortable, and often don’t speak the truth of how I feel so I can keep the peace. I see a real world situation where she holds her discomfort in as he grovels, then it is allowed to be twisted into an idea that maybe what he did wasn’t so bad. But by stating her intuitive feelings out loud, they hold more truth and make it easier for her to stand her ground.

And she does stand her ground, she doesn’t make it about her in any way, simply states that this guy shouldn’t have been doing what he did and that it affected her negatively. The most poignant question she raises is “do you honestly expect me to believe we could ever be the same?” That is the power of being true to yourself and what you deserve. In the end she knows she shouldn’t have been cheated on and she stands on business now that line was crossed. And maybe that’s something I do want to impart to my kids. I’ve watched too many television shows where the women excuse mens bad behavior just for it to repeat itself again and again. If you're looking for love, these people are simply not providing it.
I can't resist before you go tell me this, was it worth it?
I love Taylor Swift’s music and have a deep curiosity about who it is so meaningful to so many people. If you have any thoughts about this song in particular please share it in the comments below so that me and the Swiftie community that finds this space can enjoy your insights.

Mallory Hazel
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