Taylor Swift was named songwriter-artist of the decade at the Nashville Songwriter Awards this week. And she revealed that she groups her lyrics into three distinct categories.
They are: Quill Lyrics, Fountain Pen Lyrics, and Glitter Gel Pen Lyrics.
She said, “I came up with these categories based on what writing tool I imagine having in my hand when I scribbled it down, figuratively. I don’t actually have a quill. Anymore. I broke it once when I was mad.”
Here’s how she described the categories:
1. Quill Lyrics: “If the words and phrasings are antiquated, if I was inspired to write it after reading Charlotte Brontë or after watching a movie where everyone is wearing poet shirts and corsets.” Example: “Ivy“
2. Fountain Pen Lyrics: “A modern storyline or references, with a poetic twist. Taking a common phrase and flipping its meaning . . . the songs I categorize in this style sound like confessions scribbled and sealed in an envelope, but too brutally honest to ever send.” Example: “All Too Well“
3. Glitter Gel Pen lyrics: “Frivolous, carefree, bouncy, syncopated perfectly to the beat . . .
“Glitter Gel Pen lyrics are the drunk girl at the party who tells you that you look like an angel in the bathroom. It’s what we need every once in a while in these fraught times in which we live.” Example: “Shake It Off“
