"Those things are not things that I stop myself and don't write songs about, those are things that take a while to figure out how to write. I write about everything that intensely affects me. The more intense, the more painful, the more of a shudder it is to think about, the more I know I need to write a song about it to get past it. It's been like this since I was a little kid, and I would go to school, and I would think to myself, 'Man, I'm really lonely, and I don't know who to talk to today, but it's OK 'cause I can write a song about it later.' It's the same process; I'm just 20 now."
-Pop sensation Taylor Swift, discussing how the songs on her new album Speak Now reflect what she is actually thinking and feeling — even if those things are painful. The new album (which just hit stores this past Monday, October 25) is full of naked confessions and deeply personal stories, with each song containing a narrative about a particular person in Swift's life. Those subjects include a handful of other famous people she has had run-ins with, including John Mayer ("Dear John") and Taylor Lautner ("Back to December").
Most critics agree that Swift's raw approach has resulted in a better, more mature album, and it could mean big things for her at the cash register, as there is speculation that should could come close to selling one million copies of Speak Now in a single week.
