Her new track “Out Of The Woods” has been out for about 24 hours and already her audience is loving it but it’s her debut single off the highly anticipated 1989 album that takes centre stage in this blog post. A month ago, Taylor Swift released “Shake it Off” which has now become a world-wide hit and I can see why as the catchy, up-tempo, trombone-heavy song encourages us to get up and dance and essentially “shake off” our worries and our critics.
The more I listened to it over the past month, the more it got me thinking about the lyrics. I thought if I am going to belt this one out, I had better ensure that I was in fact singing the correct lyrics. Flashback moment: how many of us have butchered Cold Chisel’s “Cheap Wine” by singing “cheap wine and a female goat” instead of “cheap wine and a three-day growth”? How many times have we botched Elton’s classic by singing “hold me closer, Tony Danza” instead of “hold me closer, Tiny Dancer”?
Determined not to repeat a lyrical faux pas, I discovered the song goes like this:
“…But I keep cruising
Can’t stop, won’t stop grooving
It’s like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, “It’s gonna be alright.
‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off.”
After taking a good look at the lyrics, I then realised this song really does pack a positive punch to one’s self-esteem. I’d even like to go as far to say that this song is all about letting go. And to the Scorpion-left-sided-analytical part of me, that is music to my ears. The Hollywood Reporter (THR) recently referred to “Shake It Off” as “an uptempo version” of Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go” from Disney’s popular animated musical Frozen. Swift’s song could easily be classed in the same category as “Let It Go” as “an incredible anthem of liberation.”
I feel Taylor Swift’s hit could very well be the anthem for a new attitude! Even though lyrically, the song is directed at Taylor’s detractors, every time I heard it I felt like bopping my blues away. It really got me thinking about how easy it is to have a more positive attitude about life. So in the spirit of Swift’s song:
Let’s de-mountainise our molehills.
Let’s “shake off” the unnecessary attachment and drama to perceived personal petty problems. All those things we complain and whine about; not getting the car space we wanted, waiting in line, the weather! I’m not referring to the big emotional issues that arise for us to heal but I wonder how much more energy we would have if we didn’t complain about all the little things? Here’s a theory – maybe it would give us more energy and time to focus on what is truly important! For anyone who finds themselves worrying about what other people say, “Shake It Off” is definitely the song for you. For me, this song is a reminder that minor grievances can be gone with a quick clap of the hands and a gyrate of the hips.
After the release of her song, Swift explained that:
“I’ve learned a pretty tough lesson that people can say whatever they want about us at any time, and we cannot control that. The only thing we can control is our reaction to that.”
In an interview for Rolling Stone, Swift further elaborated:
“I’ve had every part of my life dissected—my choices, my actions, my words, my body, my style, my music. When you live your life under that kind of scrutiny, you can either let it break you, or you can get really good at dodging punches. And when one lands, you know how to deal with it. And I guess the way that I deal with it is to shake it off.”
Emphasising my point perfectly about Taylor’s ability to combine self-empowering lyrics with a sassy beat, just five days ago THR announced Taylor Swift as Billboard’s Woman of the Year. Incidentally, “Shake It Off” still sits in the #2 position on the Billboard charts and spent three weeks at #1 on the Take 40 ARIA Charts.
As if I hadn’t already understood the point of this blog-writing exercise to demonstrate how we can choose to have a positive attitude despite circumstances and how music can have a positive effect on our moods, I was given an extra swift kick up my attitude. As I was writing this post I was drawn, almost magnetically to the bookshelf, and there on the floor was a book I had not picked up for sometime but has since been moved to prime real estate (aka my top bedside drawer). My 18-month old had recently been playing in front of the bookshelf and it was as though she had strategically placed Richard Carlson’s “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff” right where I would see it!
Carlson’s book is sprinkled with similar sentiments to the message Swift’s song is trying to convey. Carlson captures the attitude perfectly, not just in his aptly titled #1 New York Times Bestseller, but the very first quote he features in the Introduction by American Philosopher and Psychologist William James:
Carlson articulates beautifully how I now feel about my attitude to the small stuff:
“When we are immobolised by little things – when we are irritated, annoyed, and easily bothered – our (over) reactions not only make us frustrated but actually get in the way of getting what we want. We lose sight of the bigger picture, focus on the negative, and annoy other people who might otherwise help us.”
As I conclude this blog post I return to Swift’s underlying meaning to the song, for there is a message in it for all of us. In a behind-the-scenes look at the video clip accompanying this playful yet powerful song, Swift encourages her fans to:
“dance to the beat of your own drum”
Thank you Taylor, well said…I mean sung!
To shake your booty to “Shake It Off” click here.
