The year was 2006. Country music was about to unearth one of the most successful artists of our time, but very few knew it yet. An album called Taylor Swift -- a self-titled debut from a new young singer from Tennessee (well, technically Pennsylvania, but we're trying to create a very specific image here, you know) -- was on the horizon.
A single from the album called "Teardrops on My Guitar" hits country radio in February. It's such an honest look at the perils of unrequited love through the teenage lens that even grown adults can't get enough of it. Some people argue that it isn't actually a country song. The classification of Swift's music in this genre will be up for debate even after she pivots to full pop in later albums, upon which she drops the Southern accent. You can take the girl out of the Northeast ... you get it.
While Swift's debut album hasn't been in my top five since there were only five Taylor Swift albums to rank, "Teardrops on My Guitar" remains a staple in my Swift favorites playlist. Part of this is, admittedly, nostalgia; I first heard the song when I was 15 and thought I was in love with someone who never even once looked at me that way, and the lyrics made me feel seen. I was not the only one.
And that's exactly why the song still hits so hard 19 years after the world heard it for the very first time. Viewing the song through that intended teenage lens, if you're the intended audience as I was when the song came out, you feel like you're the star of that music video. But if you're not a teenager anymore ... guess what? It's still just as relatable as ever. Either you're transported back to your first or biggest encounter with unrequited love, or you're still experiencing it now.
One of the many elements of Swift's music that not only popularized her but has also kept her in the spotlight is her ability to create music that is widely universal in its lyrics and themes. You didn't have to be a teenage girl to relate to "Teardrops on My Guitar" when it released. You don't have to be a thirty-something now to sink into THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT in the most uncomfortable, necessary and intended ways.
Swift's music is quite literally timeless. That will be an important piece of her legacy no matter how long she continues making and performing albums. It hits you where it hurts. Even if the hurt is almost 20 years old, and you thought you'd forgotten about it. Swift knows you never did. That is why you still listen -- why so many of us do, and probably won't stop anytime soon.