Taylor Swift - songs with lyrics

Taylor Swift Biography

  Swift was welcomed into the world in 1989 on December 13th two years before her younger brother Austin Swift. She was born and bred in Reading, Pennsylvania. Her mother, Andrea, was a full-time mom and her father, Scott Kingsley, worked as a stockbroker. She spent her formative years on a 15-acre Christmas tree farm, which Taylor explains, was one of the most magical and amazing way to grow up. Her parents were Presbyterians and Taylor along with her brother attended Bible school. 

Growing up, Taylor's first love had been horse riding. Her mother put her on a saddle when she was 9 months. Andrea had always wanted her daughter to be a horse rider and so she bought her a small Shetland pony, which was nicknamed Ginger. Taylor would go on to compete in several horse riding events as a child. She enjoyed every bit of it, but she wasn't so crazy about horse riding like she was about music.

Childhood

Taylor attended Wyndcroft Elementary, a co-ed private school. She was the kind of kid who loved poetry. She revered great poets like Shel Silverstein and Dr. Seuss. She would write multiple pages of poems about the men, women, boys, girls and monsters that gave her trouble when kids her age could barely muster a line.

By fourth grade, Taylor had won a national poetry contest for the poem Monster in My closet. Her remarkable poetic prowess honed her language skills and according to Taylor, poetry is what turned her into a songwriter- a remarkable one in this case.

Taylor may have burst onto the scene in her teenage years, but her earlier musical background played a key role on her journey to success. She fell in love with country music and would often listen to Patsy Cline's and Dolly Parton's music. Genetics also played its role as her grandmother Marjorie Finlay was a professional opera singer who made waves during her time. Her grandmother's singing thrilled young Taylor, as such Marjorie was one of her first inspirations. 

Fledgling Musician

Taylor had grown to be a pretty girl with long blonde hair. Her formidable poetry skills were unmatched. She even landed several lead acting roles in school, but Taylor Swift's middle school life wasn't so sweet. She was ostracized by her schoolmates for liking country music in fact, she had no friends.

She took up soccer to salvage her dignity and be more likable among her peers, but sporting was not her forte. She turned a bit inward and began writing songs about her feelings. It was her way of filtering off the world. Taylor got through her awkward phase in middle school knowing she would go back home and work through her pain by writing songs and poems.

By the age of 9, Taylor had taken a deeper interest in music. She travelled regularly to Broadway for voice and acting lessons. She zeroed in on her singing talent by performing in karaokes, contests, fairs, festivals, and coffee houses. At the age of 10, Taylor entered a competition where the winner was to get an opportunity to open for a famous country musician. Week after week Taylor would try out, but she never succeeded.

Her hard work paid off one year later when she got a chance to open for Charlie Daniel after performing LeAnn Rimes' "Big deal." She wasn't doing too bad in Pennsylvania, but Swift's sight was squarely set on Nashville where her favorite songstresses had risen to fame. At the age of 11, Taylor and her mom took a trip to Nashville. Taylor had hoped she would land a record deal by dropping her demos in famous record labels.

She would knock on every producers' door telling them "Hi, I'm Taylor, and you should listen to me sing call me!" but despite all her efforts, no one was willing to give her a shot. She went back to Pennsylvania and through the help of a computer repairman, Taylor learnt how to play three cords on the guitar. At the age of 12, Taylor crafted her first song "lucky you" which is said to have been inspired by her grandmother.