I debated whether or not to write this post because part 1 took FOREVER to complete. As in, I worked on it for about three weeks at every spare moment I got. I've spent my last few morning commutes, lunch breaks and afternoon commutes typing this up. Unfortunately, when I set out to do something, I always get it done. I’m a methodical planner who sticks to her schedule and if that requires me to write another one of these posts within a short time frame, so be it. Maybe it’s because I’m a Libra? Or perhaps I just need a life.
Anyway - here is part 2 of me Recommending you a book based on your favourite song on ‘Red’ by Taylor Swift, this time including the bonus and vault tracks. Also featuring my rambles about how much I adore each song on this album. Be warned of spoilers, though they will be minor.
The Moment I Knew
The fact that 10 years have gone by and Taylor has yet to sing this live tells me that we’ll never hear it live, ever. We have that video of her explaining the song at some convention and bopping along to the track but not a trace of her singing along.
To me, this is one of Taylor’s best-ever tracks. Instrumentally, the production is stunning and visually, Taylor paints such a profound and heartbreaking picture. The bridge in particular when she sings ‘what do you say when tears are streaming down your face in front of everyone you know?’ always hits deep.
For context, the song takes place during the events of ‘'All Too Well’ (Ten Minute Version)' and is a pivotal moment in Taylor’s relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. After promising her he’d make an appearance at her 21st birthday party, he fails to show up entirely, leading Taylor to write this song the next day. There are paparazzi photos of her somberly entering the studio alongside her then-backup singer Liz Huett that very morning.
I’ve been stood up at my own birthday parties (so much so that I’ve stopped throwing them out of the fear of feeling abandoned), although never by a boyfriend. But I can imagine the stomach plunge and twist and subsequent sick feeling.
In The Golden Bowl Henry James tells the story of Prince Amerigo, an Italian nobleman, and Maggie Verver, the daughter of an American financer. They share a mutual connection to Charlotte Stant; she is childhood friends with Maggie and a former mistress of Amerigo’s, though neither of the pair know of these relationships.
After Maggie and Amerigo are married, Maggie suggests her father propose to Charlotte. She worries he will become lonely after her own marriage, and after this takes place, the families are bought together, leading to the resurgence of Charlotte and Amerigo’s relationship.
Robert McCrum writes in The 100 Best Novels, in which he ranks The Golden Bowl at 36, that the focus on four characters creates a claustrophobic environment throughout the prose. ‘The Moment I Knew’ has a similar impact, you feel so deeply for Taylor and emphasise with the abandonment she is experiencing. The novel also has a pivotal scene very similar to ‘The Moment I Knew’, too.
Come Back…Be Here
During the ‘Reputation Tour’, which I heartbreakingly couldn’t attend because I had my A Levels at the time, I would check the day after every show on Twitter as to what Taylor’s surprise song was. I couldn’t believe Taylor had sung this. I still can’t believe we have a live performance of it!
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak is a beautiful tale about Kostas and Defne, the former being a Greek Cypriot and the latter a Turkish Cypriot. They meet in a tavern on their island, the only location their separate populations can mingle, and embark on a forbidden romance. Years later we encounter Ada, a teenager who lives in North London and who has never visited Cyprus, her only connection to the island being a tree that grows in her garden.
It’s the wishful thinking and unavoidable differences within the romance that makes me pair the book with this track. It’s an emotional read, perfect if you’re seeking a great escape.
Ronan
For obvious reasons, I can’t listen to this song without crying. The beginning of the second verse, in which Taylor sings ‘flowers pile up in the worst way’ always shatters me. It’s a stunning lyric but a heartbreaking image.
I touched on my love for Hans Christian Anderson in my blog post on witches. He was the first storyteller in my life and I remember researching him and his stories after watching them on DVD. A story in particular that I’ve always remembered is called ‘The Angel’, which was published in 1844.
I interpreted Anderson’s figurative writing as factual when I was young. I still like to believe that ‘when a good child dies, an angel of God comes down from heaven, takes the dead child in his arms, spreads out his great white wings, and flies with him over all the places which the child had loved during his life. Then he gathers a large handful of flowers, which he carries up to the Almighty, that they may bloom more brightly in heaven than they do on earth. And the Almighty presses the flowers to His heart, but He kisses the flower that pleases Him best, and it receives a voice, and is able to join the song of the chorus of bliss.’
It's a stunning piece of work, just like the song. Rest in peace, Ronan Thompson. You’ll never be forgotten.
Better Man
I listened to Taylor’s performance of this track in the Bluebird Cafe repeatedly and I was thrilled when I discovered she was adding it to Red. Taylor if you’re reading this, please release ‘Dark Blue Tennessee’, ‘I’d Lie’ and ‘Didn’t They’ when you rerecord your debut album.
As mentioned when I wrote part 1, I think Taylor cut this from the original album in favour of ‘I Almost Do’. The trope of wondering what could have been and feeling guilty over mistakes you didn’t make is apparent in both tracks. I don’t have a preference, though I believe this song is the better listen if you’re a fan of Taylor's country music.
I read If I Stay when I was 14 and since then I’ve read nearly every book Gayle Forman has released, including Where She Went. Unlike the original novel, the book is told from Adam’s point of view. As predicted, the man has become a successful singer and even has a rockstar girlfriend to prove it. Mia, who survived the If I Stay car accident, broke up with him three years prior to the novel’s setting. I say break up - she went to Julliard, and in Adam’s words, ‘never came back’. And this was after he dropped her off at the airport and she kissed him and told him she loved him.
I’d like to think a music lover like Mia would listen to songs like this whilst experiencing heartache during her time at Julliard.
Nothing New
This song couldn’t more accurately describe my life right now. Especially this year. I think I listened to it too much because I’m living it now.
For any child who grew up being the ‘smart’ and or the ‘talented’ one, there comes a moment when we unceremoniously crash and burn because you come to the gut-wrenching realisation that, when against the real world, you’re average. There’s nothing wrong with being average; there’s nothing wrong with being ordinary. Except for the fact you’ve spent twenty-odd years being told that you’re extraordinary.
This won’t be a surprise to anyone who knows me but The Bell Jar is the book I’m picking for this song. I’ve discussed my feelings for the novel in The Rory Gilmore Book Challenge post; Esther suffers greatly from dysphoria and anxiety and can’t bring herself to enjoy an internship she has worked so hard for. She tries every solution to remedy herself, yet nothing seems to work.
The book has a relatively happy ending for a Sylvia Plath piece, for those put off reading it.
Babe
The line ‘we ain’t getting through this one, babe’ reminds me of The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider. I read the novel almost exactly a year ago - Ezra, who once had the whole school at his feet and a prosperous future to look forward to, is forced to give up his dreams of being a professional tennis player after a car crash permanently damages his knee. Upon his return to school, he meets and falls in love with the gutsy and confident Cassidy.
It’s a pretty simple read - I finished it in two commutes. I appreciated that the ending wasn’t as cliche as most young adult novels go; the more Cassidy and Ezra find out about each other, the more they seem to drift apart. It’s one of those loves that is reliant on mystery and once all the secrets have been shared, there is too much to wrestle through. Cassidy and Ezra discover that they’re very much each other’s wrecking ball.
Message in a Bottle
In Brigid Mendler’s Letters to the Lost, which might just be my favourite YA novel of all time, characters Dec and Juliet start off their newfound bond by exchanging letters at Juliet’s mother’s grave. Juliet leaves letters for her mother at her final resting place and Dec, her classmate, just so happens to find one whilst completing his community service there. The pair eventually swap email addresses, still not knowing who the person is.
Brigid’s prose is so heartwarming and the novel feels like a warm hug; I wish I’d had this to read when I was a teenager. It’s impossible to not fall in love with every single character.
I Bet You Think About Me
For some reason, I didn’t listen to this much last year. Now it’s one of my favourites. I love that you can tell that Taylor recorded this with a giant smile on her face, it’s such a nice contrast to how agonising 'All Too Well' must have been for her to write back in 2011. I'm thrilled it has been nominated for Best Country Song at the Grammy's!
In similar taste. I read A Room With A View when I was seventeen and absolutely hated it. Whether it was because I had to read it for my A Levels I don’t know but I couldn’t for the life of me work out the characters and what exactly they stood for. Looking back, I now admire Forster’s prose, however, I doubt the book would be regarded as a must-read classic if it weren’t for the 1985 adaption.
Lucy Honeychurch meets George Emerson whilst touring Italy with her chaperone, Charlotte Bartlett. Unlike other characters, Lucy takes a liking to George and his father’s social deviance. Despite later becoming engaged to Cecil Vyse, a pompous and wealthy Englishman who bares many similarities to the man Taylor describes in the song, Lucy’s love for George remains. Her family, especially her brother, take frustration with Cecil though don’t approve of her relationship with George either. For those who are forced to bear generational expectations when trying to find a life partner, this novel is for you.
Forever Winter
I adore this track and the narrative it provides. It’s the perfect listen for the people out there who have stayed up late at night to talk to and reassure their friends that they’re not alone (you are seen and loved, by the way). And for those who needed the consoling, this song is for you too!
Within the song’s storyline, Taylor attempts to remind someone of their importance and how much they have left to offer the people they love. She confesses her fear that the said individual will give up entirely. I’m matching the song with my favourite book that I’ve read this year, You’d Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow. In Glasgow’s novel, Emmy finds herself watching her brother Joey like a hawk after he spends the summer in a rehabilitation centre. Joey’s drug and alcohol addiction resulted in himself, a classmate and Emmy being involved in a car accident at the start of the story, so severe that Emmy is hospitalised for weeks.
Emmy is the typical good girl who finds herself pulled in every direction and lacks a confidant she can confide in. With her older sister Maddie at University, she finds herself trusting the wrong individual whilst caring for her brother and praying for his balance.
It’s a gutting read, especially for someone who has seen addiction take hold of a loved one. Glasgow’s prose is piercing yet simultaneously feels like a warm hug. If you’re looking for a good sob, this book is the one!
Run
This song was so obviously written in Ed Sheeran’s ‘+’ era. Listening to it for the first time was like jumping into a time machine. I’m in the rarity that loves all of Ed and Taylor’s collaborations, I think their voices blend together so well.
A book that I believe somewhat matches the song is Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland. In the first verse, Taylor mentions bringing a car back around and how people don’t know how she’d ‘drive away before (she) let you go’. In Our Chemical Hearts, Grace and Henry’s relationship picks up with Grace constantly insisting that Henry drive her car. This is down to Grace’s trauma over a car accident, in which her boyfriend was killed, that takes place prior to the novel. Whilst the song’s content is nowhere near as dark, the concept of finding new love and running away from ‘so-called friends’ who unintentionally spoil things is the running theme in both materials.
The Very First Night
This song would have fit snugly on 1989, though I’m glad we’ve got it.
It reminds me so much of ‘Starlight’ in terms of its melody and message; both songs encapsulate the thrill and rush that pair alongside the beginnings of a relationship.
In the first of Alice Oseman’s Heartstopper novels, Charlie and Nick meet at school. They both attend an all-boys school which in itself had me pulled in - having gone to a mixed comprehensive, same-sex schools have always fascinated me. I don’t think I'd have fared well if I’d attended an all-girls school, though I also don’t think attending a school with boys helped in my communication with them in any way.
Regardless, Oseman’s prose carries the same magic Taylor weaves into her lyrics; the tale of two individuals who begin as nothing more than acquaintances and their discovery of how well they click is always a comfort to read.
All Too Well (Ten-Minute Version)
Here we are!
After loving the original song for nine years, Taylor rewarded us with the 10-minute version.
Whilst the lyrics are brilliant, I’ve always believed ‘All Too Well’ gathered the mantle of being Taylor’s magnum opus because the track tells a story so well. It’s easy to emphasise with Taylor; she describes the hope and undying pressure to impress one experiences at the beginning of a relationship so well.
The Paper Palace pulled me in by its alliterative title; Miranda Cowley Heller definitely knows how to entice the vulnerable. The ‘place’ is a holiday home that is visited every summer. Elle Bishop is a married mother of three who, one summer, cheats on her spouse with her childhood friend Jonas. To add to the scandal, the pair engage in this affair whilst their respective spouses are in the house.
The novel is a really, really gutting read. And it’s pretty triggering. I know of another reader who found themselves skipping over the descriptive paragraphs to get to the action because of how gripping she found the characters. It will certainly leave you wanting more and has a very open ending - readers are left to interpret what becomes of the characters, similarly to how listeners question whether Taylor and Jake ever saw each other again.
Thank you so much for reading!
Between me and you, I've had a really, really bleak few weeks. Christmas is around the corner and I've never been less excited. I usually look forward to this time of year all year round.
Something I'd really love some help with is a fundraiser my sister and I are doing. We're doing a Macmillan Coffee Morning and here is the donation link. Please give us some support if you can.
Sending lots and lots of love to you,
Karisma