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.
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 12 Grammy Awards (including three Album of the Year wins), 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 and Artist of the Decade (2010s) by the American Music Awards.
Nothing New
Taylor Swift Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
"Girls, go out and have your fun"
Then they hunt and slay the ones
Who actually do it
Criticize the way you fly
When you're soarin' through the sky
Shoot you down and then they sigh
And say, "She looks like she's been through it"
Lord, what will become of me
Once I lost my novelty?
I've had too much to drink tonight
And I know it's sad, but this is what I think about
And I wake up in the middle of the night
It's like I can feel time moving
How can a person know everything at eighteen
But nothin' at twenty-two?
And will you still want me when I'm nothin' new?
How long will it be cute
All this cryin' in my room?
When you can't blame it on my youth
And roll your eyes with affection
And my cheeks are growin' tired
From turnin' red and fakin' smiles
Are we only biding time
'Til I lose your attention?
And someone else lights up the room
People love an ingénue
I've had (I've had) too much to drink tonight
How did I go from growin' up to breakin' down
And I wake up (wake up) in the middle of the night
It's like I can feel time moving
How can a person know everything at eighteen
But nothing at twenty-two?
And will you still want me when I'm nothin' new?
I know someday I'm gonna meet her, it's a fever dream
The kind of radiance you only have at seventeen
She'll know the way and then she'll say she got the map from me
I'll say I'm happy for her, then I'll cry myself to sleep
Oh, whoa (oh)
Oh, whoa (oh)
I've had (I've had) too much to drink tonight
But I wonder if they'll miss me once they drive me out
I wake up (wake up) in the middle of the night
And I can feel time moving
How can a person know everything at eighteen
But nothing at twenty-two?
And will you still want me?
Will you still want me?
Will you still want me when I'm nothin' new?
The lyrics of Taylor Swift's song Nothing New featuring Phoebe Bridgers reflect the pressures and double standards that women face as they navigate the highs and lows of growing up in the public eye. The first verse portrays the hypocrisy of society, which encourages women to live life to the fullest and explore their freedom while simultaneously criticizing and shaming those who actually do. Swift's vulnerability and self-doubt are captured in the chorus, where she laments the fleeting nature of fame and wonders if people will still care about her once she loses her novelty.
The second verse focuses on the struggles of feeling both childlike and experienced simultaneously, and the desperation to hold onto the attention of those around her. She questions the longevity of her appeal and whether people will still care about her when she's 'nothing new' or if someone else supplants her.
The bridge brings a sense of nostalgia and yearning, as Swift dreams of meeting her seventeen-year-old self, someone confident in themselves and their path. However, even with this, she is still haunted by the fear that she will be forgotten and pushed out of the spotlight, ultimately fading into nothingness.
Overall, Nothing New is as much about the effects of fame and expectations on women as it is about Swift's changing perspective on herself and how much society's opinions can matter.
Line by Line Meaning
They tell you while you're young
From a young age, girls are told to go and have fun.
"Girls, go out and have your fun"
Girls are encouraged to enjoy themselves and live their lives.
Then they hunt and slay the ones
But those who actually take that advice and live freely are criticized and attacked.
Who actually do it
Those who live their lives to the fullest are punished for it.
Criticize the way you fly
People will judge you no matter what you do.
When you're soarin' through the sky
Even when you're doing your best and succeeding, people will still try to bring you down.
Shoot you down and then they sigh
People will attack you, then act like they feel bad for you.
And say, "She looks like she's been through it"
After they tear you down, they'll pity you and act like they didn't contribute to your pain.
Lord, what will become of me
The singer wonders what her future holds.
Once I lost my novelty?
She worries that once she's no longer new and exciting, people will lose interest in her.
I've had too much to drink tonight
The singer is drunk and thinking deeply about her life.
And I know it's sad, but this is what I think about
She acknowledges that her thoughts may not be happy, but they're what's on her mind.
And I wake up in the middle of the night
The singer is plagued with thoughts that keep her up at night.
It's like I can feel time moving
She's acutely aware of the passage of time and its effect on her life.
How can a person know everything at eighteen
The singer wonders how it's possible to feel so sure of everything when you're young.
But nothin' at twenty-two?
But as you get older, you realize that you don't know as much as you thought you did when you were young.
And will you still want me when I'm nothin' new?
The singer worries that people will only be interested in her when she's new and exciting, and won't care about her when she's no longer fresh and shiny.
How long will it be cute
The singer wonders how long people will find her sadness and struggles charming.
All this cryin' in my room?
She questions how long it will be acceptable for her to cry alone in her room.
When you can't blame it on my youth
She fears that people will stop excusing her behavior because of her age.
And roll your eyes with affection
Even as people grow tired of her struggles, they'll still act like they care.
And my cheeks are growin' tired
The singer is tired of pretending that everything is okay, and it's starting to show on her face.
From turnin' red and fakin' smiles
She's tired of pretending to be happy when she's not.
Are we only biding time
The singer questions if her relationships are only temporary and if everyone is just waiting for her to lose their attention.
'Til I lose your attention?
She fears that people will stop caring about her once she's no longer new and exciting.
And someone else lights up the room
She worries that someone else will come along and steal the spotlight from her.
People love an ingénue
Everyone loves a young, innocent woman.
I know someday I'm gonna meet her, it's a fever dream
The singer dreams of meeting her younger, more naive self.
The kind of radiance you only have at seventeen
She remembers the confidence and beauty she had at a younger age.
She'll know the way and then she'll say she got the map from me
She hopes that she can impart some wisdom to her younger self.
I'll say I'm happy for her, then I'll cry myself to sleep
But she knows that she'll be sad when she realizes she can't go back to that time in her life.
But I wonder if they'll miss me once they drive me out
The singer wonders if people will care about her once she's no longer new and exciting.
Will you still want me?
She questions if people will still care about her once she's no longer fresh and new.
Will you still want me?
She repeats the question, emphasizing her fear of being left behind.
Will you still want me when I'm nothin' new?
The singer worries that she'll be forgotten once she's no longer exciting or fresh.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Taylor Alison Swift
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Anne Vaughn
This song is heartbreakingly beautiful, I want to come back to this song once I'm 22. To see just how true this is.
"How did I go from growing up to breaking down" is a sentence that I understand so well right now, and something that I'll understand even better once I'm 22.
So many people in the comments have confirmed that this is exactly how they feel now that their older, and that is terrifying knowing that the same could happen to me. To go from knowing everything, to feeling lost.
I'd be proud to meet myself at 22, it must be such a terrifying time in life. Where you transition from a teenager to an adult.
I hope they see this comment in the future and know that the farther they go, the prouder I'll be.
the caremel
“how long will it be cute, all this crying in my room when you can’t blame it on my youth and roll your eyes with affection” is brutal when you’re growing older while your depression grows with it.
Victoria Lloyd
Absolutely! Also, it's this idea that when women are upset it's because they're naive or childlike, not that they're actually going through something. All the times Taylor's been accused of "playing the victim" or being "over emotional" when she's sung about her experiences and feelings. Im sure many women can relate to that!
Isabelle C
YES, i always think about it. Ok, up until now, it was okay to be unwell, but now people expect me to just "grow up" and suddenly stop having mental health issues,
the caremel
@Victoria Lloyd oh my goodness, now that you say that, i totally get that. the amount of nuance in taylor’s writing is astounding.
the caremel
@Isabelle C alot of problems really are just chalked up to being young :((. i hope you know it’s totally valid to feel the way you do, and you’ve got a community of swifties to back you up on itt <33
Hanna Sofiya
This album is rollcoaster of emotion.....one time I was happy now sad and crying
claudia
"How can a person know everything at 18 but nothing at 22?" the fact that she's singing this as she sang "when you are young they assume you know nothing" and then "cause I knew everything when I was young" yes, that hurts. This song is lyrically speaking so well written 🥺👏🏻
starrysky
"i'm only 17 i don't know anything but i know i miss you"
claudia
@starrysky exactly
audrey m
fav line of the whole song 💗💗