Learning from Taylor Swift’s plausible language of lament

We need to talk about Taylor Swift. Much ink has been spilled as to how appropriate her music is for Christians; I am not getting into that debate here. Instead, my attention is on the incontrovertible fact that Swift’s music is beloved by a phenomenally large number of people.

In a culture that is hallmarked by individualism and fragmentation, Taylor Swift has garnered an unprecedented popularity and ubiquity. Her impact has been compared to that of the Beatles, an impact she has sustained for 18 years, eight years more (and counting) than the Fab Four. The New Yorker goes even further, saying that she is best compared to the likes of Napoleon or Julius Caesar.

Go to her concerts, as 4.3 million people have this year alone, and you will hear her fans screaming her lyrics verbatim for song after song (her recent concerts have averaged 45 songs an evening).