Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans… Read Full Bio ↴Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her narrative songwriting, which is often inspired by her personal life, has received widespread media coverage and critical praise.

Born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 to pursue a career in country music. She broke into the country music scene with her eponymous self-titled debut studio album, Taylor Swift in 2006, which included the singles "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Our Song". Swift also released the holiday album, Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, later titled as The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection in October 2007.

Swift rose to mainstream prominence with her sophomore studio album, Fearless (2008), a country pop record with crossover appeal. Aided by the top-five singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Swift's third studio album, Speak Now (2010), blended country pop with elements of rock and featured the top-ten singles "Mine" and "Back to December".

Drawing inspiration from various pop, rock, and electronic genres, Swift's fourth studio album Red (2012) saw her transcending her country roots. She completely moved to pop with her synth-pop fifth studio album, 1989 (2014), and expanded the electropop sound on her next two studio albums, reputation (2017) and Lover (2019), which respectively embraced urban and retro styles. The four albums spawned a string of international top-five singles, including "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "I Knew You Were Trouble", "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", "Bad Blood", "Look What You Made Me Do", "ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco)", "You Need to Calm Down", and "Lover".

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift experimented with folk and alternative rock on her eighth and ninth studio albums, folklore and evermore (both 2020), whose lead singles "cardigan" and "willow" topped charts around the world. She also released the critically acclaimed documentaries Miss Americana and Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions that year. Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights (2022), marked her triumphant return to pop after two folk albums. The album set the record for biggest first day and first week ever on Spotify, spawned the hits Anti-Hero and Lavender Haze, and sold over 1.5 million copies in its first week becoming not only the biggest debut of the decade but also Swift's biggest debut ever. She would make history by becoming the first artist to occupy the entire top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 with tracks from Midnights. Following Midnights, Taylor Swift announced her upcoming eleventh studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department” (2024) which is set to be released on April 19, 2024. She announced this record at 66th Annual Grammy Award Show accepting the award for Best Pop Vocal Album for her previous album, Midnights (2022) in honour of receiving her 13th Grammy.

Additionally, Swift began re-recording her back catalog in November 2020 as a result of a publicized dispute with talent manager Scooter Braun and her former label Big Machine, regarding the acquisition of the masters of her back catalog. In April 2021, Swift released a re-recorded issue of her 2008 album Fearless, titled Fearless (Taylor's Version). It debuted at number one in the US. Swift continued releasing re-recorded versions of her back catalog in November, 2021 with the release of Red (Taylor's Version), a 30 track re-issue of her 2012 critical smash. The album debuted at #1 in the US, spawned the #1 hit All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault), and broke the record at the time for biggest first day for a female album on Spotify. Red (Taylor's Version) was a critical and commercial hit, and proved that Swift's ambitious plan to re-record her first 6 albums was well worth it.

Along with the release of Red (Taylor's Version) came All Too Well: The Short Film (2021), Swift's filmmaking debut. The 15 minute romantic drama was based on the lyrical content from Swift's 2012 fan favorite "All Too Well" starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien. It had a limited theatrical release in major cities, and Swift held special screenings of the film throughout 2022 at various film festivals. In December, 2022 Taylor announced that she would be making her feature directorial debut with Oscar-winning studio Searchlight Pictures.

Following the release of Midnights, Swift would embark on her first tour in five years, The Eras Tour.

Swift has released several songs for film soundtracks. She co-wrote two songs for the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack— "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" and "Crazier", and contributed two songs to the Valentine's Day soundtrack, including the single "Today Was a Fairytale", which was her first number one on the Canadian Hot 100, and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. She also contributed two original songs to The Hunger Games soundtrack album: "Safe & Sound - from The Hunger Games Soundtrack", co-written and recorded with The Civil Wars and T-Bone Burnett, and "Eyes Open". "Safe & Sound" won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. In 2013, Swift recorded "Sweeter than Fiction", a song she wrote and produced with Jack Antonoff for the One Chance film soundtrack, which received a Best Original Song nomination at the 71st Golden Globe Awards. Swift and English singer Zayn Malik, mononymously known as Zayn, released a single together, "I Don't Wanna Live Forever", for the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades Darker (2017). She also recorded an original song called "Beautiful Ghosts", which she wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the Cats's soundtrack (2019). In 2020, Swift's documentary Miss Americana featured the song "Only the Young" which was written after the 2018 United States elections. In 2022, she released an original song titled "Carolina" for Where The Crawdads Sing (2022) inspired by the novel written by Delia Owens.

With sales of over 200 million records worldwide, Swift is a best-selling music artist. Her accolades include 14 Grammy Awards, including four Album of the Year wins, which makes
Swift the artist with the most awards for that category in history, two Brit Awards (including a Global Icon award), an Emmy Award, 28 [https://guinnessworldrecords.com/]Guinness World Records, 32 American Music Awards (the most wins by an artist), and 23 Billboard Music Awards (the most wins by a woman). She ranked eighth on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Artists Chart (2019) and was listed on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time (2015). Swift has been included in various power rankings, such as Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world (2010, 2015 and 2019) and Forbes Celebrity 100 (placing first in 2016 and 2019). She was named Woman of the Decade (2010s) by Billboard, Artist of the Decade (2010s) by the American Music Awards, and Person of the Year (2023) by Time Magazine.

Bette Davis Eyes
Taylor Swift Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Her hair is Harlowe gold
Her lips sweet surprise
Her hands are never cold
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll turn her music on you
You won't have to think twice
She's pure as New York snow
She got Bette Davis eyes

And she'll tease you
She'll unease you
All the better just to please you
She's precocious and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
She got Greta Garbo stand off sighs
She's got Bette Davis eyes

She'll let you take her home
It whets her appetite
She'll lay you on her throne
She got Bette Davis eyes
She'll take a tumble on you
Roll you like you were dice
Until you come out blue
She's got Bette Davis eyes

She'll expose you, when she snows you
Off your feet with the crumbs she throws you
She's ferocious and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy
She's got Bette Davis eyes

And she'll tease you
She'll unease you
All the better just to please ya
She's precocious, and she knows just
What it takes to make a pro blush
All the boys think she's a spy
She's got Bette Davis eyes

She'll tease you
She'll unease you
Just to please ya
She's got Bette Davis eyes
She'll expose you, when she snows you

She knows ya
She's got Bette Davis eyes

Overall Meaning

The song "Bette Davis Eyes" by Taylor Swift is a cover of the original song by Kim Carnes. The lyrics describe a woman who is a true enigma, with striking features and a captivating personality. The opening lines paint a picture of a woman with blonde hair and lips that are a "sweet surprise," but also suggest that there is more to her than just her physical appearance. The line "she's got Bette Davis eyes" refers to the iconic actress Bette Davis, known for her sharp and intense gaze. This suggests that the woman is also captivating and intense.

As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the woman is not just beautiful, but also cunning and manipulative. She knows how to use her charm to get what she wants from men, and is not afraid to "tease" and "unease" them in order to get her way. The line "all the boys think she's a spy" further reinforces this idea that she is not to be trusted. Despite this, the singer is clearly drawn to her, even going so far as to suggest that she "whets her appetite" by letting men take her home.

Overall, the lyrics of "Bette Davis Eyes" suggest that beauty and charisma can be a powerful combination, but also come with a certain danger. The woman described in the song is both alluring and unsettling, and the singer is clearly drawn in despite (or perhaps because of) her contradictions.

Line by Line Meaning

Her hair is Harlowe gold
Her hair is a beautiful, bright blonde akin to the iconic platinum blonde hair worn by actress Jean Harlow

Her lips sweet surprise
Her lips are so luscious and tempting that they are a sweet surprise

Her hands are never cold
Her hands are always warm, perhaps indicating that she has a warm and inviting personality

She's got Bette Davis eyes
She possesses the same captivating and alluring gaze as legendary actress Bette Davis

She'll turn her music on you
She will introduce you to new music that you will surely love

You won't have to think twice
You will immediately be charmed by her taste in music and will not hesitate to listen to it

She's pure as New York snow
Her innocence is as pure as freshly fallen snow in New York City

She got Bette Davis eyes
Her captivating gaze is so powerful that it is reminiscent of Bette Davis

And she'll tease you
She will playfully entice you

She'll unease you
She will make you feel slightly uncomfortable in a way that keeps you on your toes

All the better just to please you
She will do these things to make you happy and excited

She's precocious and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush
She is clever and knows exactly what to do to make the experienced boys blush

She got Greta Garbo stand off sighs
Her mannerisms are reminiscent of classic Hollywood actress Greta Garbo, who was known for her intriguing and aloof demeanor

She'll let you take her home
She is so charming that she will make you feel comfortable enough to invite her home with you

It whets her appetite
This only makes her more interested in spending time with you

She'll lay you on her throne
She will make you feel special and treat you like royalty

She'll take a tumble on you
She will be passionate and adventurous in bed

Roll you like you were dice
She will take control of the situation and make it feel exhilarating

Until you come out blue
She will push you to the edge until you are completely overwhelmed

She'll expose you, when she snows you
She will reveal your deepest desires and secrets when she has completely captivated you

Off your feet with the crumbs she throws you
She will give you small tastes of her affection, just enough to keep you wanting more

She's ferocious and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush
She is fierce and knows exactly what to do to make even the most experienced guys blush

All the boys think she's a spy
Her charm and seductive nature make the boys feel like she is hiding something from them, like a secret agent

She'll tease you
She will playfully entice you

She'll unease you
She will make you feel slightly uncomfortable in a way that keeps you on your toes

All the better just to please ya
She will do these things to make you happy and excited

She's precocious, and she knows just what it takes to make a pro blush
She is clever and knows exactly what to do to make the experienced boys blush

All the boys think she's a spy
Her charm and seductive nature make the boys feel like she is hiding something from them, like a secret agent

She's got Bette Davis eyes
Her captivating gaze is so powerful that it is reminiscent of Bette Davis

She'll tease you
She will playfully entice you

She'll unease you
She will make you feel slightly uncomfortable in a way that keeps you on your toes

Just to please ya
She will do these things to make you happy and excited

She's got Bette Davis eyes
Her captivating gaze is so powerful that it is reminiscent of Bette Davis

She'll expose you, when she snows you
She will reveal your deepest desires and secrets when she has completely captivated you

She knows ya
She understands you completely, even your secrets and desires

She's got Bette Davis eyes
Her captivating gaze is so powerful that it is reminiscent of Bette Davis

Lyrics © KAREN SCHAUBEN PUBLISHING ADMINISTRATION, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Donna Weiss, Jackie De Shannon

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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