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| Taylor Swift laments lost love in "Back to December" |
Yet, one of my biggest criticisms of her work is those catchy lyrics of her. For a 21-year old, she sounds like she lives a pretty idyllic life, even when her heart is broken. A good amount of her hits involve her being some form of princess, dreaming about some form of prince. It would be charming, if she was 13 or something. Heck, even 10-year old Willow is too preoccupied with whipping her hair to worry about fairytales. It kind of makes Taylor seem pretty lame in comparison.
In a refreshing change of pace (sort of) is "Back to December", the second single from her massive third album Speak Now. The song is centered around Taylor's regrets about a relationship (reportedly with Twilight star Taylor Lautner) that she was mostly responsible for ruining. She's singing from a completely different perspective then we're used to, and it is certainly interesting to hear. Listening to the lyrics, with all the specific memories she recalls and her laments about them, you really do believe that she is taking a huge step in apologizing, and that she is really sorry about hurting her lover. Speaking of the lyrics, "Back to December" may be the most real, human song she's ever released. Instead of hiding behind metaphors of ponies and rainbows, she lays all of the cards on the table from the beginning, like when she has that first awkward conversation after the breakup. The song takes on an admirably mature approach towards relationships, which results in her most affecting single yet.
With first-week sales of 1 million-plus, Taylor Swift is officially playing with the heavy-hitters. This means that she will have to abandon the little girl routine and take her musical and image output into a more adult level. "Back to December" is an excellent step towards this.
Rating: 9.5 out of 10
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