Taylor Swift 2012 Album Likely Inspired by Recent Heartbreak
A recent article in the New Yorker touches upon Taylor Swift's 2012 album and fuels a conversation that followers of the Taylor Swift Arm Lyrics list have been having since late May: Did someone break the singer's heart over the summer, and if so, who was he?
The New Yorker trailed along with Swift at various events for their profile on her, one being a show in Detroit, Mich. "Once in a while, I had the feeling that she was on the verge of bursting into tears," writer Lizzie Widdicombe reports. "She said that she had recently decided that life is 'about achieving contentment … You're not always going to be ridiculously happy.'"
"She had written about 10 songs so far for her next album," the New Yorker writer added. "Asked to characterize them, she said, 'They're sad? If I'm being honest.' The most recent one, she said, 'is about moving on.'"
The lyrics Swift chooses to tattoo her left arm with before each show have offered a glimpse into the singer's personality, if not her personal life (and perhaps where her head is at as a songwriter for her own new album). Since May 28, when she chose a line from Alanis Morissette's 'You Learn' ("I recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone"), the 'Sparks Fly' singer has mostly chosen songs about heartbreak or moving past a broken relationship. One could even create an bewitching narrative from her skin posts.
The Detroit show was on June 11. Swift chose a line from Eminem's 'Lose Yourself' for her arm on that night. That hardly fits the theme, but paying tribute to local heroes is the second most popular way she decorates her arm (Eminem is from Detroit). The lyrics on her arm from the shows leading up to that date include "I slept in castles and fell in love because I was taught to dream" (Faith Hill's 'Fireflies), "I guess we're all one phone call from our knees" (Mat Kearney's 'Closer to Love') and "Cinderella said to Snow White, 'How does love get so off course?" (Hill's 'This Kiss').
The New Yorker piece all but eliminates any doubt about Swift's heartbreak and the direction of the her new album, reportedly due out in 2012. In it, Widdicombe describes how Swift falls into a Lori McKenna song during a pre-show routine. "She fixed me with an intense look before cuing up another song, and asked, 'Have you ever had your heart broken?'"
It seems likely we'll have to wait until fall 2012 for new album from Swift, when we'll get more insight about the one who's broken her heart. According to a comprehensive Taylor Swift fan blog, one fan reports that at a recent concert in Atlanta, Ga., Swift's father said hello by the sound booth. "He handed us guitar picks and told us that Taylor's new album is the best yet and will be out in 2012," she says.