Taylor Swift’s Secret Songwriting Formula? Scientist Finds Recurring Patterns Across 247 Tracks
Taylor Swift may have built her career around reinvention, but a linguistic analysis of her songs suggests there is considerable continuity beneath her changing musical “eras”. Dr Naomi Adam, a researcher in literary linguistics at the University of Liverpool, analysed more than 100,000 words from Swift’s catalogue and identified recurring themes involving colour, counterfactuality, embodiment,…
A linguistic analysis of Taylor Swift's extensive songwriting collection reveals consistent patterns across her 247 tracks, spanning over two decades. Dr. Naomi Adam, a literary linguistics researcher at the University of Liverpool, examined more than 100,000 words from Swift's catalogue and identified several recurring themes. These include references to color, counterfactuality, embodiment, opposition, and time.
Color emerges as a significant theme, with songs like "Maroon," "Lavender Haze," "White Horse," and "Gold Rush" featuring color references, and an album titled "Red." Grey, in particular, appears overrepresented in Swift's work, as seen in songs like "Coney Island" and "Evermore." The analysis also highlights Swift's preoccupation with how others perceive her, evident in songs like "Cleveland!" and others.
Body parts and clothing also carry symbolic meaning in her lyrics, often symbolizing identity and self-expression. For instance, references to arms, elbows, faces, hearts, lips, and shoulders, as well as clothing like cardigans, Eagles T-shirts, skirts, dresses, and jeans, appear frequently. Despite her evolving musical style, the analysis shows that many fundamental characteristics of Swift's songwriting have remained consistent, with her latest Encore tracks showing similar detailed and colorful lyricism.
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