{"id":4362,"date":"2015-04-15T09:59:27","date_gmt":"2015-04-15T14:59:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/?page_id=4362"},"modified":"2015-04-20T09:49:34","modified_gmt":"2015-04-20T14:49:34","slug":"tim-mcgraw-by-taylor-swift","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/music\/taylor-swift-2006\/tim-mcgraw-by-taylor-swift\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Tim McGraw&#8221; by Taylor Swift"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>by Julianne Staine<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Taylor Swift - Tim McGraw\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/GkD20ajVxnY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Taylor Swift\u2019s debut album <em>Taylor Swift <\/em>contains many chart topping hits, but few epitomize that album and its success like her track \u201cTim McGraw.\u201d The song, while no more successful than other teen country jams like \u201cOur Song\u201d and \u201cPicture to Burn,\u201d is the most significant because it serves as our first introduction to quintessential Taylor, as the opening track on her debut album and her first single.\u00a0She\u2019s sweet, and the simplicity of her story telling style allows her fans to feel like they are listening to a friend on a talent show stage rather than a country singer they don\u2019t even know. The key to Taylor\u2019s perceived openness? References. Taylor Swift\u2019s song \u201cTim McGraw\u201d references the famous country singer as the singer to the soundtrack of her and her ex-boyfriend\u2019s memories.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cBut when you think Tim McGraw,<\/p>\n<p>I hope you think my favorite song.<\/p>\n<p>The one we danced to all night long<\/p>\n<p>The moon like a spotlight on the lake.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/03\/taylor-swift-2006-billboard-650x430.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-medium wp-image-3943 alignright\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/03\/taylor-swift-2006-billboard-650x430-300x198.jpg\" alt=\"taylor-swift-2006-billboard-650x430\" width=\"300\" height=\"198\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/03\/taylor-swift-2006-billboard-650x430-300x198.jpg 300w, https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/03\/taylor-swift-2006-billboard-650x430.jpg 650w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Like a special edition of <em>Us Weekly\u2019s<\/em> page, \u201cStars: They\u2019re Just Like Us,\u201d Taylor\u2019s ability to connect with her fans through her lyrics is based on her ability to invoke familiarity with non-famous people\u2019s actions. The calculated decision of using artist Tim McGraw as her song title and musical reference demonstrates to the country music scene in Nashville that she\u2019s just like them. She admires and listens McGraw, who coincidentally happens to be a country singer with one foot planted in Nashville and another planted in Hollywood as he pursues his acting career. \u201cWhen I originally wrote &#8216;Tim McGraw&#8217; and first played it for the label, I didn&#8217;t think it would become a single,\u201d Swift said in an interview with Songwriter Universe in 2007. \u201cBut the label said it was a single, and they were right.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Taylor\u2019s intention with the song in my opinion is certainly to demonstrate that she is just a regular girl. Just like every other girl in high school she has dated boys, and broke up with boys. You could argue that most of Swift\u2019s songs fall into one of two categories: the wistful and the vengeful. Just like a regular girl, Swift gains a lot of her lyrical inspiration from her relationships- with boys mostly, but also with friends, family and as her career evolved even the music industry. \u201cTim McGraw\u201d is the establishing song for the sound and motivation of Swift\u2019s lyrical prowess. She has a true knack for knowing when to rely on simplicity and letting the music speak for itself.<\/p>\n<p>The issue with Swift\u2019s intended audience is that it might not be as wide as she wishes. While her lyrics certainly hit home with fellow blondes and doe-eyed teens and tweens, her music does not appeal to the male audience. (Unless of course they are tuning in for their love of blondes.) And not every girl in high school grew up driving around in a pickup truck, and living a quintessential high school experience. But while artists intend to reach as many listeners as possible, it is impossible to appeal to every type of audience. Just like the decision to write about Tim McGraw and consequently appeal to the country music industry, Swift\u2019s decision to chronicle the trials and tribulations of her high school love life consequently appeals to a very specific predominantly white and female audience.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/03\/Taylor_Swift.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-medium wp-image-3942 alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/03\/Taylor_Swift-300x300.png\" alt=\"Taylor_Swift\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/03\/Taylor_Swift.png 300w, https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2015\/03\/Taylor_Swift-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>In 2006 when \u201cTim McGraw\u201d was released, some of the country chart topping singles were \u201cJesus Take the Wheel\u201d by Carrie Underwood, \u201cWhat Hurts the Most\u201d by Rascal Flatts, and \u201cWould You Go With Me\u201d by Josh Turner. I don\u2019t think that the similarities in song structure and the tone in \u201cTim McGraw\u201d compared to these songs is a coincidence. In fact, I think Swift probably listened to a great deal of successful country artists at the time and let the fads of current country inspire her music. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?<\/p>\n<p>Swift\u2019s song is composed in a verse-chorus-bridge structure. When writing \u201cTim McGraw\u201d it was a pretty simple process according to Swift. \u201cIn my head it all came at once as a phrase with the melody and words,\u201d said Swift in an interview with <em>Unrated Magazine<\/em> in 2007. The song doesn\u2019t deviate from the current country formula very much and most of the country music at the time was also verse-bridge-chorus. She references \u201cold faded blue jeans\u201d and a \u201clittle black dress\u201d in the chorus smartly. Not only are both associated with the \u201cgirl next door\u201d image, but they are also familiar. The listener can\u2019t help but picture their own LBD and worn in jeans as they hit repeat on \u201cTim McGraw\u201d in their car. They also can\u2019t help but picture their old high school boyfriend and wistfully hope that he still thinks of them when he hears their song.<\/p>\n<p>The simplicity of Swift\u2019s lyrics also leave a lot up to the imagination of the listener which I don\u2019t think was an accident on Swift\u2019s part. The lyrics of \u201cTim McGraw\u201d succeed at being both intimate and vague, leaving out just enough details about the described relationship that it is easy to imagine the song is about you and not Swift, assuming the listener is a fan of Swift of course.<\/p>\n<p>Nostalgia is a powerful emotion to evoke and the concept is closely tied to the ritual of listening to music. As listeners, we often associate certain songs with the moments in our life that were occurring when we listened to them. The more emotional or important the moment, the more emotions the song can trigger. Most artists probably attempt to write songs that evoke these types of emotions, but Swift writes directly about this concept in \u201cTim McGraw\u201d. It is honestly pretty meta. And based on the success of the song and its staying power in my own memory, it works.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Bibliography:<\/p>\n<p>Kawashima, Dale. \u201cSpecial Interview (2007): Taylor Swift Discusses Her Debut Album, Early Hits, And How She Got Started.\u201d\u00a0<em>Taylor Swift Interview 2007<\/em>. Song Writer Universe, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.<\/p>\n<p>King, Jackie Lee. \u201cTaylor Swift \u2013 A Place In This World.\u201d\u00a0<em>UnRated Entertainment Magazine<\/em>. N.p., July 2007. Web. 7 Mar. 2015.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTaylor Swift Discography.\u201d <em>Wikipedia. <\/em>Web. 23 March 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Julianne Staine Taylor Swift\u2019s debut album Taylor Swift contains many chart topping hits, but few epitomize that album and its success like her track \u201cTim McGraw.\u201d The song, while no more successful than other teen country jams like \u201cOur &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/music\/taylor-swift-2006\/tim-mcgraw-by-taylor-swift\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":0,"parent":4031,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4362","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4362"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4501,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4362\/revisions\/4501"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.dwrl.utexas.edu\/countrymusic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}