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Taylor Swift - 'Love Story'

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Fraser McAlpine | 10:36 UK time, Saturday, 28 February 2009

Taylor SwiftOnce upon a time, I wanted to be a princess. I wanted to wear extravagant dresses and go to balls and dance with my Prince Charming. Okay, so I still want to be one. A lot. (I wouldn't have thrown a princess party the other day otherwise, and I certainly wouldn't have been the only one to dress up). But it has to be said, with my increasing maturity and wisdom-osity (what? It's a word!) I've realised that a pair of glass slippers would absolutely wreck my feet and the thought of kissing a frog has become slightly less appealing.

Why is this relevant? You might be thinking. Well, in short, it's not really. But basically the absolute megastar Taylor Swift has just realised a totally gorgeous song and she gets to play a princess in the video for it and I am just a tad(pole) jealous.

()

'Love Story' is a stunning pop song and, because it really does tell a love story, it's heart-warming and draws the listener into the exciting and romantic fairytale world of ball gowns and sneaking about after dark.

The lyrics liken a relationship where two people aren't allowed to be together to that of Romeo and Juliet. Which, while similar, is a little over-dramatic, seeing as no one dies in this case, and a little ironic seeing as "it's a love story, baby just say yes" has hardly got the genius of Shakespeare's feather-manship (well, they didn't have pens in those days).

But what's wrong with a little drama, eh? 'Love Story' doesn't claim to be great art, it just references it, just as it references being a princess. And although it's probably a little teensy bit of an insult to the Shakespeare's play in how it simplifies the story and kind of rewrites the ending, it's great to see a big pop song being used as a method of direct story telling, because it really works.

Vocally, it's not incredible, but Taylor (we're on first name terms now) sings softly and sweetly, yet passionately, and this perfectly compliments the sentiments of the song. The melody is simple, but catchy without getting tiresome too quickly and the song grows and grows, ending with a classic key change. You can't go wrong with one of those, ask Westlife.

All in all, yes, the song is obvious, kinda contrived and probably aimed at eight year old girls, yet this doesn't stop it being just lovely. Taylor Swift proves herself to be a true princess of the pop kind with 'Love Story' but if she keeps writing great pop tunes like this, it's highly unlikely she'll ever have to kiss any frogs.

Four starsDownload: Out now
CD Released: March 2nd

(Vicki Lutas)

PS. I have to say though, when she sings "daddy says stay away from Juliii-et", I always want to sing 'Julie Andrews'. Well, it kind of fits better. Although it does beg the question, why would anyone have to stay away from Julie Andrews?

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