“Welcome to New York” by Taylor Swift, released in 2014
This song is the opening track for Taylor Swift’s album, 1989, which introduced the world to a new and transformed Taylor Swift. After her experimentation with electronic pop elements in her album, “Red,” her sweet, country persona was all but gone with the release of this album. The title is essentially her way of welcoming her fans to her new sound. Analogous to her move from Nashville to New York City, 1989 portrays her new lifestyle in the city all in one album. It shows her transition from her country roots to the big city life.
“Like any great love, it keeps you guessing
Like any real love, it’s ever-changing
Like any true love, it drives you crazy
But you know you wouldn’t change anything, anything, anything”
This part of the song really emphasizes the movement and rhythm of the city. New York City is unpredictable and fast- paced. Sometimes, New York City can get so chaotic and out-of-control that it drives you crazy, metaphorically-speaking. But the natural order of New York City is in fact its disorder.
I like this song because it is meaningful to the artist’s life story. Songs that are meaningful help connect the musician to the audience. Especially since I live in New York City, I can relate to what she says in the song. I also enjoy the beat of the song because you get the feeling of the speed, the rush, and the heartbeat of the city.
December 17, 2017 at 5:27 am
I don’t often listen to mainstream music, so this was the first time I have heard of this song. In terms of musicality, I agree with your post in that it does seem like this is experimenting in electronic music. The effects, multi-layered vocals, the fairly simple back music all seems fairly basic. The lyrics also seem fairly straight to the point, and seems to point more towards her own experimenting with ‘new music’. As if her trying out electronic music is the next step from her country-style songs, it made the impression that “New York is waiting for you” hints at the atmosphere of opportunity that the city has. Of course there seems to be some remnants/ mentions of love and guys in the song, but from what I hear, that is a common occurrence in Taylor Swift songs.
December 18, 2017 at 1:08 am
I haven’t heard this song by Taylor Swift probably more than once, but I enjoyed it. I agree with your comment on how the rhythm and key of the song represent the fast-paced and unpredictable nature of New York City. I‘ve listened to Taylor Swift’s previous albums and I can definitely see the difference between one of her older albums Fifteen and 1989. She went from being a country-pop singer to being mainly pop. I think if you were to listen to every single one of her albums there would be a slow evolution to the sound that she is creating now. To have Welcome to New York as an opening track to her album, 1989, I think was purposely done as a welcome to the album and to her new musical style as well.