Day 79: Spahks Flah

Speak Now is one of my favorite Taylor Swift albums, but it's titular song is among my least favorites. I'm sure that, like with Fearless, Taylor ha a good reason for choosing this song to be the emblem of the album but I personally don't see it. I think a much better choice it the second song from the 2010 album, Sparks Fly. It acts both as an excellent transition from her previous album, Fearless, as well as a great example of what the rest of the album has to offer. There's a good reason this was the opening number for her Speak Now tour!

Those guitarists have been going on tour with her for 11 years

If I had to guess, I would say this was one of the earlier songs written for Speak Now. I say that because it's lyrics are very reminiscent of it's predecessors two years earlier, but the rest of the production is a little more modern. Taylor's lighter voice, the wider use of electric guitar, and the slower, more rhythmic melody are all staples from this album, but the highly romantic lyrics and cheesy, almost rom-com iconography used have been around for much longer than this album.

"Drop everything now
Meet me in the pouring rain
Kiss me on the sidewalk
Take away the pain
'Cause I see, sparks fly, whenever you smile"

This makes Sparks Fly a perfect choice for a song to play early in the album. It's familiar enough so as not to alienate the older fans while still showing what the rest of the album will be like. By the time that Better Than Revenge rolls around, no one is that surprised. It's interesting to compare this to Taylor's newest album, Reputation, where the exact opposite approach was taken. Through it's singles and first songs on the album Reputation made it very clear right away that it would be very different from anything Taylor had released in the past. I don't really prefer either method, it's just cool to see how Taylor has presented her content throughout hr career.

The only complaint I can really think of for this song is that the vocals are a bit dull. I enjoy them a lot, but after a while it's hard not to compare this song to others on the album like Enchanted and Mean. Those songs have so much personality in their performances, you get a lot of information just from the way Taylor is speaking. Sparks Fly doesn't have bad vocals, there's just nothing incredibly interesting going on. But what it lacks in vocals it more than makes up for in songwriting.

"And you stood there in front of me just close enough to touch
Close enough to hope you couldn't see what I was thinking of"

"Get me with those green eyes, baby as the lights go down
Gimme something that'll haunt me when you're not around
'Cause I see, sparks fly
Whenever you smile"

This album is where Taylor really starts to hit her stride lyrically, and it shows in (almost) every single song. These lines are the epitome of a non-obvious way to show a common feeling. I never would have thought of anything half as this good but I instantly understand what Taylor is saying here. And I don't just get it, I really feel it. These lines just resonate. You can feel the sparks flying as if you were there. Now that's what I call songwriting!

See you tomorrow,
-C