Day 82: Simple & Clean

I'm not the kind of person to say that a song can be beyond criticism. Every piece of media has strengths and weaknesses and there's a lot to be learned from evaluating them in various contexts. That said, today I'll be doing something a little different. It feels a little weird trying to analyze The Best Day from the album Fearless in the usual fashion because it's not a very normal song at all. Sure, some songs may make their inspiration pretty obvious (looking at you Dear John), but this song has no reason to pretend. It's a song Taylor Swift wrote about how much she loves her mom. It's a simple idea and it's very sweet.

"I don't know why all the trees change in the fall
But I know you're not scared of anything at all
Don't know if Snow White's house is near or far away
But I know I had the best day with you today"

Like I mentioned, I don't have a ton to say about this song. So why give it an entire post when there are only 18 days left in this project? Well, just because I don't have a ton to say that doesn't mean I don't think there's nothing to gain from listening to it. Listening to it feels a lot like watching someone else's home movies, and I thought that before I even know about the music video. Good music is all about sending a message and there's nothing wrong with that message being "I love my mom". Sure, this song has some shortcomings. Some of the lines are a bit clunky and the intro makes it sound like a Jimmy Buffet song but I still like it. What it lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in pure charm.

"What do you have in your hair?
Spiders
Not spider, what are those things?
Pigturs!
Yesss, pigtails!"

It's okay Taylor, I also frequently confuse pigtails and spiders.

See you tomorrow,
-C