Song Analysis 2: "Teardrops on My Guitar" by Taylor Swift

Over the years music has changed dramatically. New artists are constantly being discovered and forming new genres. Not only are they forming new genres, but they are also molding their genres by using new techniques. Country singers like Charlie Daniels and Willy Nelson have paved the way for new artists like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. Taylor Swift is a fairly new country singer who has captured the heats of many young boys and girls. She sings about events throughout life that teens can relate to. Taylor Swift uses metaphor and hyperbole to express the deep emotions of heartbreak in her song “Teardrops on My Guitar”.

Taylor Swift’s use pf hyperbole in “Teardrops on My Guitar” expresses the love for a boy. She uses hyperbole to exaggerate the feelings she has for a boy. She says “I can’t even see anyone when he’s with me” (stanza 2, line 2). This hyperbole shows that Taylor is so in love that when she is around this boy she doesn’t want to look or pay attention to anyone else around her. This line exaggerates because she can physically see people around her, but she only pays attention to that one boy. Another example of hyperbole is “Drew walks by me, can he tell that I can’t breathe?” (stanza 4, line 1). Taylor is exaggerating the fact that she can’t breathe when she is near Drew. Even though she can still breathe, she is symbolizing being in love and being happy whenever she is around Drew. Both of these examples show how the use of hyperbole helps to uncover a deeper meaning in the song “Teardrops on My Guitar”.

Along with hyperbole, Taylor Swift also uses metaphor to show a deeper meaning in her songs. The metaphor “He’s the song in the car I keep singing, don’t know why I do” (stanza 3, line 3) is comparing the boy she is in love with to a song in her car. This line means that she sings songs in her car and relates them to her love. This is why she calls him the song in the car. Another metaphor is “he’s the time taken up, but there’s never enough” (stanza 6. line 4). This metaphor is comparing the boy with time. Taylor says that she wastes time thinking about Drew. Taylor Swift uses metaphor and hyperbole to convey a deeper message to her listeners.