Love Story — the song permanently stuck on my iPod and in my heart
- Donnut Moonyap
- Jun 11, 2023
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 14
There’s a reason "Love Story" permanently altered the brain chemistry of an entire generation of girls like me. It took the intensity of first love, mixed it with this fairytale dream ending, and showed us that underneath all the princess imagery and grand declarations, it’s really about believing in a love that even though it doesn’t feel easy or convenient, it still feels real enough to hold onto anyway.
And that was exactly Taylor Swift’s intention too! she once explained in The Morning Call “I wrote it about a guy that I was talking to. He wasn’t the popular choice, but I believed in it. I thought, “This love is different, but it’s real.” And I knew I needed to put that line in somewhere. I think that this song is really more about a love that’s not convenient and not as comfortable as something else, but it’s something you have to fight for. I added the ending [a proposal] cause I want that ending. I want someone to say, “I love you and that’s all I really know.” That’s the girly girl in me. ”
I think that’s why my little hopeless romantic self fell so deeply in love with this song in the first place..
Love Story
Artist: Taylor Swift Artist: Taylor Swift
Album: Fearless Album: Fearless (Taylor's Version)
Year: 2008 Year: 2021
Of course I’m starting with a Taylor Swift song.. are we surprised?
I actually fell in love with Taylor’s music because of my cousins, Ate Nicole and Ate Nica, who introduced me to her when I was little. I still remember my mom being supportive of my new obsession and downloading the entire Fearless album onto my iPod, and for the longest time, those were basically the only songs I had on there. So naturally, I listened to them over and over again until they became permanently embedded into my brain!
I think it’s canon for little girls like me that era to sing this song and You Belong With Me again and again.
And yes, I’ll be using the Taylor’s Version because.. fuck Scooter Braun!
Verse 1
We were both young when I first saw you
I close my eyes and the flashback starts
I'm standing there
On a balcony in summer air
See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns
See you make your way through the crowd
And say, "Hello"
Little did I know
Taylor has always been really good at painting pictures through her writing, which is why I think she’s one of the best songwriter in our generation (just my humble opinion!). Even from the opening lines alone, you can already sense the atmosphere she’s creating–the setting, the emotions, the whole fairytale feeling of it all .
I remember listening to this as a little girl and daydreaming about having this grand, fairytale kind of love with a happy ending.. that I’ll find my prince! Every time this played on my iPod, I’d instantly start acting like a princess–running around dramatically in an imaginary ball gown and fully committing to the fantasy lol. Just goes to show that me being a hopeless romantic started out really young!
I am in a relationship now.. We nailed the “we were both young when I first saw you” lol! So hopefully little Donnut, spinning around her bedroom and dreaming of this kind of love, is happy with where we are now..
Pre-Chorus 1
That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you, "Please don't go," and I said
Pre-Chorus 2 (excerpt)
'Cause you were Romeo, I was a scarlet letter
I think a lot of us have experienced having our parents disapprove of someone we’re dating. I certainly did, and just like Taylor talked about in a VH1.com interview, I remember running up to my room and crying about it too–except instead of turning it into a hit song like Love Story, I just sat there being dramatic haha!
But when you're young, that kind of problem feels overwhelming to solve. I was around 15 when I went through it, so forgive the theatrics lol. Looking back now, it’s funny because we’re about to be 20 now, and what once felt like the biggest problem in the world.. seems so small now!
I also think the “scarlet letter” is such a smart line. It references the 1850 novel of the same name–which some of you might know through Easy A–where the letter becomes a public mark of shame, but Taylor uses that differently here. Rather than just referencing the shame or judgment, she captures the feeling of being hidden away, like a relationship that has to be kept secret. And honestly, that’s a terrible feeling in its own right, because being someone's secret can feel just as painful as being openly rejected (ask me how I know haha jk!).
Verse 2
So I sneak out to the garden to see you
We keep quiet 'cause we're dead if they knew
So close your eyes
Escape this town for a little while, oh, oh
Again, I think it’s almost a canon event for girls like me, or for anyone actually, to have that phase of sneaking around to see someone they like for whatever reason because “we’re dead if they knew” lol.
But what I really love here is the last line.. There’s something so endearing about the idea that being with someone can feel like “escaping this town”.. an escape from reality and the noise around you. For a moment, it just feels like the two of you exist in your own little world, separate from everything else.
Chorus
Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone
I'll be waiting, all there's left to do is run
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"
Romeo, save me, they're trying to tell me how to feel
This love is difficult, but it's real
Don't be afraid, we'll make it out of this mess
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"
Very iconic.
How I wish I could listen to this for the first time all over again.
Favorite !
Bridge
But I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around
My faith in you was fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town and I said
Chorus
"Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone
I keep waiting for you, but you never come
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think"
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring, and said
"Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone
I love you and that's all I really know
I talked to your dad, go pick out a white dress
It's a love story, baby, just say 'Yes'"
Oh, this is the part I would sing with my heart out as a kid. I really felt like a pop star performing on stage and really going through it haha! The joy of daydreaming as a kid!
But as an overthinker girly now, I loved this even more. When your mind spirals into “I keep waiting for you, but you never come. Is this in my head? I don't know what to think”.. constantly questioning yourself and wondering if you’ve imagined the whole thing.. amid all that doubt and overthinking, there’s someone who never gets tired of reassuring you: “I love you and that’s all I really know.” No grand explanation, no complicated reasoning.. just certainty.
Looking back, I miss that innocent feeling of thinking this is what love is–a fairytale! Real love, as I’ve learned, is so much more layered than that. It takes patience, communication, and constantly learning and re-learning yourself and the person you choose over and over again.
But I think that’s also the beauty of "Love Story"! Sentimental or not, they give life a little softness again–something to escape into when reality feels too heavy. A place you can run into for a few minutes, where you get to dream, be dramatic, and reconnect with that little version of you who didn’t worry about anything yet. And maybe that’s enough sometimes.. to let yourself feel, to hope a little, and to keep believing in love even as it changes shape as you grow.
D.
Stream it here (OG): SPOTIFY I APPLE MUSIC I YOUTUBE
Stream it here (TV): SPOTIFY I APPLE MUSIC I YOUTUBE
Comments