Fearless (Taylor Swift Album) - Writing Development and Lyrical Content

Writing Development and Lyrical Content

Swift conceived the title track with Rose and songwriter Hillary Lindsey while touring. It is based on an instrumentation with acoustic guitar, fiddle, and banjo and, lyrically, speaks of taking courage on the romantic circuit by describing a great date. She had previously contemplated the idea of a best first date, something Swift had yet to experience, and, although she was not dating at the time, she was inspired by her desires, rather than her actuality. "Fifteen" was composed about Swift's freshman year of high school at Hendersonville High School, where she met her best friend Abigail Anderson. To write it, Swift first focused on were how she and Anderson fell in love for the first time and were later heartbroken. She commenced with the line in the bridge "And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy/ Who changed his mind", and continued writing everything else in a backwards manner. She then wrote cautionary lyrics for teenage girls facing similar scenarios. After receiving consent from Anderson to use the song on Fearless, Swift recorded it, and, while doing so, cried. "Love Story" came late into the production of Fearless. It was enkindled a love interest who her family and friends were not fond of. Feeling related to William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (1597), one her favorite narratives, she self-penned the entire track on her bedroom floor in approximately twenty minutes. She begun with the line, "This is difficult but it's real", which was ultimately placed in the song's second refrain, and altered its conclusion from that of Romeo and Juliet, giving them a happy ending, a feat she believed her favorite characters deserved. Excluding the fictional conclusion, the song was based on Swift's real life experience and, to Swift, represented much optimism regarding how encountering the right person could surpass skepticism.

Swift self-penned "Hey Stephen" about her hidden feelings for Stephen Barker Liles of Love and Theft, a country band opened several shows for Swift. It is characterized by a playful teen pop melody that is accompanied by a subdued Hammond B-3 organ. While recording the song at a studio owned by John McBride, Martina McBride’s husband, he informed Swift of his children's longing to meet her. She invited them and their friends to watch the recording session, which led them to eventually lay down finger snaps for the track. "White Horse" was written almost a year prior to the release of Fearless. It is a ballad whose sparse production, which was based on acoustic guitar and soft piano with accents of cello, emphasized on Swift's soft and breathy vocals. Swift first solely wrote the first verse. The singer then made a phone call to Rose asking for her aid in continuing the song, which was completed in approximately forty-five minutes. Its conception was triggered by a boyfriend of Swift's who she perceived to be Prince Charming, but, in the downfall of the relationship, realized was not. Once in the midst of writing, "White Horse" drifted in direction. It was not originally intended to be included on Fearless, but on her next album, for Swift believed solemness was already accurately represented on the album. It was added after Betsy Beers and Shonda Rhimes, executive producers of Grey's Anatomy, decided to use it for the series. Swift became inspired to compose "You Belong with Me" after she overheard a male friend of hers speaking to his girlfriend through a phone call. Out of the sympathy she felt towards him, Swift developed a concept for a song, and later developed the story line in which she was in love with him. The song is based upon different twangy, up-and-down vocal hooks and has banjos clucking alongside New Wave electric guitars.

In the ballad "Breathe", the accompaniment consists entirely of string instruments, and Swift singing in regards to love-gone-wrong scenario. The song was a collaboration between Swift and Caillat that surged out of Swift's interest in Caillat's debut Coco (2007). The two arranged a writing session to coincide with Caillat's upcoming concert in Nashville, Tennessee, where they composed "Breathe" about Swift losing a friend very dear to her, and later recorded it with Caillat to singing background vocals loudly enough for audiences to recognize her. "Tell Me Why" was triggered by a love interest she was never in a formal romantic relationship with. Raged by his disparaging and inconsistent behavior towards her, she stormed into Rose's house, and vented about the scenario. She described how grew tired of his attitude and the discrepancies between his sayings and actions, among other concerns. They consequently all her ramblings into "Tell Me Why". Swift composed "You're Not Sorry" at the moment where a relationship came tumbling down because of her lying and secretive partner. It is a power ballad with rock music influences; it commences with piano and progresses to electric guitars mid-song. Swift had developed the fictional plot for "The Way I Loved You" (preferring complicated men for relationships), the title, and sought to write the song with Rich. He was able to relate to the plot, being that he is usually the complicated person in relationships. The two approached the song from two different angles while writing it, which she described to be incredible.

"Forever & Always" was a last minute addition to Fearless, being written shortly before audio mastering was held and CD booklets were printed. Swift self-penned the track about the fallout of her relationship with Joe Jonas of the Jonas Brothers. "Forever & Always" was written in a state where she noticed Jonas' slow shift from her and wondered why. Jonas later ended the relationship with Swift for actress Camilla Belle, whom he met on set his "Lovebug" (2008) music video. Despite the track being written very late on in the album process, Swift decided she wanted to address the breakup via music, for it was a dramatic experience in her life. "The Best Day" was a song Swift dedicated to her mother, Andrea Swift. It is an understated ballad, and the only song on Fearless to be written in simple verse form. She composed it while on tour in summer of 2007, and recorded it without her mother's knowledge. However, she decided to gift the song to her mother as a Christmas present. Assembling footage from home videos, Swift made a music video for it and surprised her mother with the DVD on Christmas Eve. Andrea was at first unaware it was Swift singing the track; once she noticed, she begun bawling. The singer decided to include "The Best Day" on Fearless because she desired to address the fact that her mother was her best friend on an album. "Change" was solely composed by Swift about her hopes and aspirations to succeed, although signed to the smallest record label in Nashville, Tennessee. After reassuring to herself that it would be different in the future, she wrote the beginning of "Change". She left the song unfinished, waiting for a remarkable event to trigger its completion. She then completed the track the day after she won the Horizon Award at the 2007 Country Music Association Awards and saw Scott Borchetta, the president of Big Machine Records, crying.