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.
Would've Could've Should've
Taylor Swift Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Looked away at the first glance
If you tasted poison, you could've
Spit me out at the first chance
If I was some paint, did it splatter
On a promising grown man?
And if I was a child, did it matter
If you got to wash your hands?
Ooh, oh
All I used to do was pray
Would've, could've, should've
If you'd never looked my way
I would've stayed on my knees
And I damn sure never would've danced with the devil
At nineteen
And the God's honest truth is that the pain was heaven
And now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts
Memories feel like weapons
And now that I know, I wish you'd left me wondering
If you never touched me, I would've
Gone along with the righteous
If I never blushed, then they could've
Never whispered about this
And if you never saved me from boredom
I could've gone on as I was
But, Lord, you made me feel important
And then you tried to erase us
Ooh, oh
You're a crisis of my faith
Would've, could've, should've
If I'd only played it safe
I would've stayed on my knees
And I damn sure never would've danced with the devil
At nineteen
And the God's honest truth is that the pain was heaven
And now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts
Memories feel like weapons
And now that I know, I wish you'd left me wondering
God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be
The tomb won't close, stained glass windows in my mind
I regret you all the time
I can't let this go, I fight with you in my sleep
The wound won't close, I keep on waiting for a sign
I regret you all the time
If clarity's in death, then why won't this die?
Years of tearing down our banners, you and I
Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts
Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first
And I damn sure never would've danced with the devil
At nineteen
And the God's honest truth is that the pain was heaven
And now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts
Memories feel like weapons
And now that I know, I wish you'd left me wondering
God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be
The tomb won't close, stained glass windows in my mind
I regret you all the time
I can't let this go, I fight with you in my sleep
The wound won't close, I keep on waiting for a sign
I regret you all the time
Oh, God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be
The tomb won't close, stained glass windows in my mind
I regret you all the time
I can't let this go, I fight with you in my sleep
The wound won't close, I keep on waiting for a sign
I regret you all the time
In "Would've Could've Should've," Taylor Swift reflects on a past relationship and the feelings of regret that come with it. She questions what might have happened if certain things had gone differently. She wonders if, had she not caught the person's attention, she would have stayed on her knees and never danced with the devil at nineteen. But she also acknowledges that the pain of that relationship was a kind of heaven at the time, even though it now feels like a weapon. She expresses a desire to go back to the time before the relationship, to her girlhood, while still seeming to miss the person she's addressing. The lyrics show a nuanced understanding of how past relationships can be both positive and negative, and how people often feel the tension of wanting to go back while also wishing things had gone differently.
Line by Line Meaning
If you would've blinked then I would've
If you were not interested, I would have never pursued you.
Looked away at the first glance
I would have immediately lost interest.
If you tasted poison, you could've
If you knew our relationship was toxic, you could have left at any time.
Spit me out at the first chance
You could have ended our relationship at the earliest opportunity.
If I was some paint, did it splatter
Did I affect your life negatively, like a paint spill on good clothes?
On a promising grown man?
Someone with potential and a bright future.
And if I was a child, did it matter
Did my innocence and naivety make any difference to you?
If you'd never looked my way
If you had never noticed me or showed interest in me.
All I used to do was pray
All I did was pray that you would notice me and like me back.
Would've, could've, should've
Reflecting on the past and the things that could have been done differently.
I would've stayed on my knees
I would have continued to pray for your attention and affection.
And I damn sure never would've danced with the devil
I would have never taken the risk of entering into a dangerous and harmful relationship.
At nineteen
At a young age when I was naive and vulnerable.
And the God's honest truth is that the pain was heaven
Despite the pain and heartache, I look back fondly on that time of my life.
And now that I'm grown, I'm scared of ghosts
Now that I am older and wiser, I am afraid of the memories that haunt me.
Memories feel like weapons
Reminiscing about the past feels painful and causes emotional harm.
And now that I know, I wish you'd left me wondering
Now that I understand the true nature of our relationship, I wish I had never been involved and could have remained ignorant.
You're a crisis of my faith
Your influence on my life caused me to question my beliefs and values.
If I'd only played it safe
If I had been more cautious and avoided taking risks in our relationship.
God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be
I long for the version of myself before our relationship changed me.
The tomb won't close, stained glass windows in my mind
The memories of our relationship continue to haunt me and affect my mental state.
I regret you all the time
I constantly feel remorse and dissatisfaction about our relationship.
I fight with you in my sleep
Even in my dreams, our relationship still causes conflict and turmoil.
The wound won't close, I keep on waiting for a sign
The pain of our relationship still persists and I wait for any indication that it will heal.
If clarity's in death, then why won't this die?
If the truth and understanding of our relationship comes with time, why does the pain and regret still persist?
Years of tearing down our banners, you and I
Our relationship had a significant impact on both of us and caused us both to change over time.
Living for the thrill of hitting you where it hurts
Our relationship became toxic and we derived pleasure from causing each other harm.
Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first
I wish I could go back in time and reclaim the version of myself before our relationship changed me.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Aaron Brooking Dessner, Taylor Alison Swift
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
leokimvideo
Taylor Swift, master of goose bump causing lyrics 😻
Repent and believe in Jesus Christ
Repent to Jesus Christ “On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.””
John 7:37-38 NIV
I
ManipulationStation Creations
Leo trying to be slick by hiding his Swiftie side
Karthik Balaji
bros doing tricks on it
Rose CC
@Repent and believe in Jesus Christ no.
Milena Diaz-Testa
goose bump inducing lyrics
MARISSA
Something tells me, I want to hear a 10 minute version of this. It would get too heavy, but I really wanna hear.
Jessica Antonucci
10 minutes of every talyor swift song
Haley
@Jessica Antonucci I like the way you think lol
wataru lover
@Jessica Antonucci ME! (10 min ver)