Love Story Taylor Swift new Song Music and Lyrics
"Love Story" is a midtempo country pop song[22][23] that is driven by acoustic instruments including banjo, fiddle, mandolin, and guitar.[24] Critic Jon Bream from the Star Tribune described the single as "pure pop with a minimalist vibe" that suits both country and pop radio.[22] According to The New York Times, despite the banjo and fiddle, the song could "easily be an emo rocker".[25] Swift's vocals have a slight twang.[26] The mix and master, according to Billboard's Kristen He, are loud and "dynamically flat ... [and are] designed to burst out of FM radio speakers".[24]
The lyrics of "Love Story" narrate a troubled romance between two characters, drawing from the lead characters in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.[27] According to psychologist Katie Barclay, the song explores feelings of love in the contexts of pain and joy.[28] "Love Story", save for the final refrain, is narrated from Juliet's perspective.[1][29] In the verses, Juliet tells the story of hers and Romeo's challenged courtship, of which her father disapproves.[30] The first verse introduces Juliet in a scene, "We were both young when I first saw you / I close my eyes and the flashback starts, I'm standing there / On a balcony in summer air", which references the balcony scene in Act II, scene ii of Shakespeare's play.[1] In the refrains, which alter slightly as the song progresses to accompany the narrative, Juliet pleads for her love interest to appear, "Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone / I'll be waiting / All there's left to do is run."[28][29]
In the second verse, Juliet meets Romeo again in a garden and learns he must leave town because of her father's disapproval.[10] Their relationship encounters difficulties, "'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter", referencing Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter (1850).[31][32] According to media-and-film scholar Iris H. Tuan, Hawthrone's "scarlet letter" imagery represents the female protagonist Hester Prynne's sin and adultery, whereas Swift's use symbolizes the forbidden love between Romeo and Juliet.[31] Juliet pleads, "This love is difficult, but it's real", which Swift said was her favorite lyric in the song.[33]
After the bridge, with accelerated drums and the harmonization of melody and vocals, the final refrain incorporates a key change up a whole step.[34] The final refrain is narrated from Romeo's perspective and tells of his marriage proposal to Juliet after he has sought her father's approval, "I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress."[35] Whereas Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet are secretly married without their parents' approval and both commit suicide, the characters in "Love Story" depart from that ending.[36] According to Tuan, by projecting her feelings and fantasy on a Romeo and Juliet-inspired narrative, Swift created a song that strongly resonates with an audience of teenage girls and young women.[37] Journalist Deborah Evans Price of Billboard agreed but also said "one doesn't have to be a lovestruck teen" to enjoy the song's emotional engagement.[38]
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