When Taylor Swift released her first single, "Tim McGraw" in 2006 few would have predicted her colossal rise to stardom. She is one of the most recognizable musicians alive. She has released nine studio albums that span several genres. Eight of her songs have reached number one on the Hot 100 charts. Her concerts are massive.
When considering her legacy it is important to remember that she began her career as a country singer/songwriter. That is to say, she is a capo lover. Country artists generally use capos as they use the guitar to support their vocals. Country music is all about story telling. A quick perusal the internet shows she has chosen to play with a Kyser for most of her career. Even as she has moved away from her country roots, she still composes music on guitar, and many songs are played with a capo.
We have complied some of her singles played with a capo.It seems like someone has tried to take down a lot of her tabs and chord charts off the internet. Ultimate-guitar.com is a very standard site for chord, and a lot of hers are blocked on that site. Nonetheless, there are tabs if you look around.
1. Tim McGraw - Taylor Swift
Capo 5
"Tim McGraw" may not be remembered by most Taylor Swift fans, as it is from her self-titled release, from when she was just sixteen. The song is not a love poem written to the famous country artist but about him, in a roundabout way. The song is a love song, written to her high school boy friend and their shared love for Tim McGraw, country music and much more. The "boy in the Chevy truck" is not Tim McGraw himself! It is about the loss of love and the things that remind her of that loss. It reached number 40 on the Hot 100 charts, which is quite a feat for a first release.
The song has a simple four chord progression (G, C, D, Em). The track opens with a strong lead line over the guitar, but if you want to play and sing with Taylor, these chords are great. The song moves with emotion, as all her music does. The rhythm guitar has a little bit of hammer on/off flourish throughout, showing that she has always been a guitarist in her own right.
2. Fearless - Fearless
Capo 3
Taylor Swift released her second album, Fearless, in 2008. A pop-country hit, three songs from the album made the top the. one of them was the title track, "Fearless." This is another passionate love song (a big theme for early Taylor). It is about her lover who is fearless. He understands her and is responsive to her desires.
The sound is structured around another simple four chord progression. There is a lot going on in terms of production, however. It opens with a clean electric guitar lick based on the D chord. We couldn't find a tab on the internet that had this lick! It sounds like the main chords in the verse are actually played on a mandolin. Nonetheless, you can strum the chords on your acoustic guitar for the whole song.
3. You Belong With Me - Fearless
Capo 4
"You Belong With Me" was a big hit for Taylor, reaching number 2 on the Hot 100 charts. The song is super catchy, with a "big country" production style. Remember that during the 2009 MTV video awards Kanye West interrupted Taylor on stage? She was accepting the award for the video of "You Belong With Me." The song is about unrequited love. Taylor (or fictional Taylor) oversees someone she loves in a painful relationship. She longs for him to see that "I'm the one who understands you." The words and music are filled with passion.
As with Fearless, this is a basic four chord song with a lot of country style production over the top. This is a great song for anyone to strum along to. If you're interested you can try and figure out the electric guitar parts throughout.
4. Back to December - Speak Now
Capo 2
When Taylor Swift's third album, Speak Now, was released it went straight to the top of the charts and stayed there for six weeks. This album cemented her as much more than a one hit wonder. The album had a number of successful singles, including "Back to December", which reached number eight spot on the charts.
"Back to December" is a simple song of regret and pain. She owns up to her mistake and asks for forgiveness. The song is another simple progression, based around "C." The chord chart we found is missing the opening chords (C-Am-F) which is for all the lyric breaks.
5. Mean - Speak Now
Capo: 2
Ah, the spite song. In this song, Taylor is angry: "You, with your voice like nails on a chalkboard..." The song was released as a single from Speak Now and reached number 11 on the charts. The song is catchy with Taylor at her sharpest. It won Best Country song of the year, and we can tell why. With a traditional American folk sound there are plenty of country instruments: mandolin, fiddle and even a dobro/guitar hybrid in the video.
6. Red - Red
Capo 4
As Taylor Swift moved into her fourth album, Red, she began to experiment with new sounds. The title track, "Red" has some RnB style production on her vocals, "Re - eh -ed" which was a sign of her musical trajectory. Both mega hits, "22" and "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" move the music style firmly away from country to pop/top 40. This album deserves note as it was her third album to stay at the number one spot for at least six weeks. Taylor Swift is the second artist to ever achieve this feat, putting her in the same camp as the Beatles.
At its core, the song is still a Big country song with a blazing slide guitar solo. The title of the song and album refers to the fiery and stormy feels that love brings. The verse leans hard into simile, "Loving him is like..." and the chord works on the colour imagery: blue, dark grey and red.
Conclusion
We are going to end the list of her capo songs there. If you root around on the Internet you can find tabs for some of her later songs, but don't believe them! After Red, her production style has moved further and further away from her country roots. This is not to say that she is a bad musician; just that her more recent music isn't really suitable for guitar.
Comments