“Glitter Gel Pen lyrics are the drunk girl at the party who tells you that you look like an Angel in the bathroom”: How Taylor Swift’s songwriting skilfully makes the personal universal

Taylor Swift guitar.

Though millions of words have been committed to the web concerning the massive pop cultural clout of Taylor Swift, it's important to stress that a major pillar of her fame is founded on her abilities as a songwriter. A skillset that is an increasingly rare attribute in modern pop.

For some cynical observers, the level of global attention that Swift receives feels suspicious - surely, it must somehow be the result of some kind of calculated, manufactured trajectory, mapped out in some nefarious boardroom. But, the underpinning truth is that Swift - who started songwriting at age 12 - is really the architect of her own success.

Despite the plaudits (Swift has accumulated over 300 awards, including 14 Grammys and 40 AMAs), the triumph of her recent Eras tour, high profile relationships, and jaw-dropping bank balance, the root of Swift’s mass appeal to a generation of fans lay in the emotional transparency of her songs.