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.
Shake It Off itemprop=offers
Taylor Swift Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That's what people say mmm, that's what people say mm
I go on too many dates, but I can't make 'em stay
At least that's what people say mmm, that's what people say mmm
But I keep cruising, can't stop, won't stop moving
It's like I got this music in my body and it's gonna be alright
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
I'll never miss a beat, I'm lightning on my feet
And that's what they don't see mmm, that's what they don't see mmm
I'm dancing on my own (dancing on my own), I'll make the moves up as I go (moves up as I go)
And that's what they don't know mmm, that's what they don't know mmm
But I keep cruising, can't stop, won't stop grooving
It's like I got this music in my body saying it's gonna be alright
'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
Hey, hey, hey, just think while you've been getting down and out about the liars and dirty, dirty cheats in the world you could have been getting down to this sick beat
My ex-man brought his new girlfriend
She's like "oh my God", but I'm just gonna shake it
And to the fella over there with the hella good hair
Won't you come on over, baby, we can shake, shake, shake
'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
In this song, Taylor Swift is addressing the criticism and negativity she has faced throughout her career. The first verse talks about how people may consider her to be a bit careless and not very intelligent, and that she cannot keep a relationship going. However, she doesn't let this discourage her and she keeps going. The chorus is about her decision to ignore the haters and shake off all the negativity that comes her way. The second verse touches on how she may be seen as foolish or different for the way she dances and lives her life. However, she once again does not let this affect her confidence and continues to live her life the way she wants to, without caring what anyone else thinks.
The bridge touches on how someone she used to know has moved on to a new girlfriend, but she's okay with it and she's not going to let the situation bring her down. She then invites someone with "hella good hair" to come dance with her.
Overall, "Shake It Off" is an upbeat and empowering song about not caring what anyone else thinks and living your life the way you want to.
Line by Line Meaning
I stay up too late, got nothing in my brain
Some people say I'm up too late with no thoughts in my mind, but I don't mind. I'm still going to keep on moving forward.
That's what people say mmm, that's what people say mm
I know that's what some people say about me, but I don't care. I'm going to do me and live my best life regardless of what others think or say.
I go on too many dates, but I can't make 'em stay
I've dated a lot of people, but it hasn't worked out with any of them. But that's okay, because I'm not going to let that stop me from living my life.
At least that's what people say mmm, that's what people say mmm
Again, people like to talk about me and my dating life, but they don't know the whole story. I'm going to keep on living and having fun regardless.
But I keep cruising, can't stop, won't stop moving
I'm not going to let anything or anyone hold me back. I'm going to keep moving forward and reaching for my dreams.
It's like I got this music in my body and it's gonna be alright
No matter what happens, I always have music inside of me that keeps me going and helps me through anything.
'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
People are going to do what they're going to do, but I'm not going to let that stop me or get me down.
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
There will always be people who don't like me for whatever reason, but that's okay, because I love myself and know my worth.
Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I'm going to shake off all the negative energy and keep living my life to the fullest.
I shake it off, I shake it off
I'm not going to let anyone or anything get me down. I'm going to shake off all the negativity and live my best life.
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
Some people are going to break hearts, but I'm not going to let that stop me from living my best life and being open to love.
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
There will always be people who aren't genuine or true to themselves, but I'm going to be real and stay true to myself.
I'll never miss a beat, I'm lightning on my feet
I'm always ready for whatever comes my way and can handle anything with ease and grace.
And that's what they don't see mmm, that's what they don't see mmm
People only see a small part of me and don't know everything that I'm capable of or all that I am.
I'm dancing on my own (dancing on my own), I'll make the moves up as I go (moves up as I go)
I'm going to dance to the beat of my own drum and make my own way in life. I don't need anyone else to tell me what to do or how to live my life.
And that's what they don't know mmm, that's what they don't know mmm
People don't know the real me and all that I'm capable of. They only see a small part of me.
My ex-man brought his new girlfriend
My old boyfriend has moved on and is with someone new.
She's like "oh my God", but I'm just gonna shake it
His new girlfriend is surprised to see me, but I'm not going to let it get me down. I'm going to shake off the negativity and keep on living my best life.
And to the fella over there with the hella good hair
There's a guy over there with really nice hair.
Won't you come on over, baby, we can shake, shake, shake
Come on over and dance with me, let's have some fun and enjoy life together.
I shake it off, I shake it off
No matter what life throws my way, I'm going to shake it off and keep moving forward.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TAYLOR SWIFT, MAX MARTIN, KARL JOHAN SCHUSTER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
jgbfhgbfhjgf
That Donjon name generator is amazing! Thanks for highlighting that. And I love that the Sly Flourish name generator includes last names. Very handy.
Tom Young
As per having a face for important NPCs, I’ve recently started using a google slide show shared with my party. After they meet someone and learn their name, I post the NPCs' portrait and name on a slide, which everyone in the group can add notes to. Always there, easy to use!
G VanBooven
Thanks for the advice and clarification on "Secrets and Clues." I've struggled to add those into the game but this makes it more clear. Kudos to you, sir!
RIVERS RPG Channel
Yes I need to have names for NPCs I always forget this and my go to is “Bob”.
Lots of good ideas as always
Jonathan Garrison
Great advice, as ever, Mike! I've been DMing for about 40 years, and I've learned that improvisation is the DM's most important skill. Your suggestions and focus on this are most helpful!
TheIMYsawQBA
i realy love your work mr. flourish! thanks a lot for all you do! and also i wanna thank you for your always positive attitude. it makes listening to you such an enjoyment!
love, TheIM[YsawQ]BA
mooxim
I love my list of names. Such a good recommendation from Mike. I have 5 male and 5 female for each culture/race in my setting.
Deano Lerks
Great advice, if there's one thing my DMing is missing the most it's probably improv tools. Thanks Mike!
Shannon Ferguson
Fantastic suggestions! Just watching this video makes me want to run a game. Thanks, Mike.
Richard Anderson
Great info Mike!! Love your ideas, and I use your books regularly in my games. Keep up the great work!!