Deep Dive into Debut

Taylor has always been a fan of hiding Easter Eggs, and no I don’t mean the ones for the holiday; ever since her first album was released, Taylor has hidden secret messages in her lyric booklets. She would capitalize letters in each song and they would spell out a secret message. Each song has one, let’s decode them and uncover what they might mean!

Tim McGraw - Can’t Tell Me Nothin’ || This is the title of a Tim McGraw song from his album, Live Like You Were Dying. This could be the song in reference to the song that Taylor sings about in her song with the lyric, “when you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think my favorite song, someday you’ll turn your radio on, I hope it takes you back to that place”.

Picture to Burn - Date Nice Boys || This one is pretty self-explanatory. If you watch the music video for this song, it depicts Taylor’s band, “The Agency,” and Taylor breaking into her (ex) boyfriend’s house, and ruining his belongings and trashing his house after Taylor and her real-life best friend, Abigail, spy him cheating on Taylor.

Teardrops on My Guitar - He Will Never Know || This love ballad is written about Taylor’s real crush in High School, a guy named Drew Hardwick. Taylor used his real name in the song, talking about how he’ll never figure out the feelings Taylor has for him. Though Taylor hopes to have a future with Drew, she still hopes that he has happiness in his life…even if he’s dating another girl.

A Place in This World - I Found It || A song about finding purpose and security in your young and vulnerable teenage years. Taylor beautifully illustrates this time in all our lives through lyrics that capture what we’ve all been through. This was based on a personal entry from Taylor’s diary, as she navigated the pressures of High School and pursued her music career.

Cold As You - Time To Let Go || Praised for being one of the most heartbreaking songs of all of Taylor’s track 5’s, Cold As You is a song that Taylor highlighted as a lyrical “burn”. The song is written about a person who proves that they aren’t who you thought they were, and details the apathy of the narrator.

The Outside - You Are Not Alone || Taylor wrote this song after experiencing loneliness and growing pains as a twelve-year-old. Swift often talks about how she endured bullying in her younger years for being different and wanting to be a singer. She was often left out by her peers and coped by writing songs in her bedroom.

Tied Together With a Smile - You are loved || This song was written for one of Taylor’s friend who was a popular girl in High School, and all the boys wanted to date her, and all the girls wanted to be her. Taylir wrote this song the day she found out that this friend had an eating disorder.

Stay Beautiful - Shake n’ Bake || This song is believed to be about a crush whom Swift had in High School, Corey Robertson. In the song, the name Corey is used; Taylor describes his eyes as a jungle and his smile as the radio. The secret message isn’t clear, but this is speculated to be an inside joke between Taylor and Corey.

Should’ve Said No - Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam || This song is wildley speculated to be about teenage heart throb, Joe Jonas who Taylor Swift dated until he broke up with her over a phone call. But because of this song’s secret message and Taylor dating Joe after this album had already been released, it confirms that it’s not about Joe, but Sam Armstrong. Sam is a boy Taylor dated in High School, who confirmed he had dated Taylor, and he also shared that some of the lines in the song were things Taylor said to him.

Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) - Sometimes Love Is Forever || Like the previous song, this song was inspired by real life from Taylor’s childhood and teenage years. She wrote this song about a couple who lived next door to them, and Taylor was inspired by how they met when they were little kids and had been married for so long. Taylor (via Fanpop) called it, “a perfect example of forever”.

Our Song - Live In Love || Fans who have been with Taylor since early on will remember that Taylor had bracelets on her webstore that said live in love and LOVE LOVE LOVE. Taylor wrote this song strictly for her ninth-grade talent show, and it was inspired by the guy she was dating at the time.

What secret message is your favorite and what album would you like to uncover next?