Taylor Swift

By:  Will Hermes

2010 08 11

Yes, we know: It's tough watching the kids grow up. And here's Taylor Swift, once the voice of heartbroken fifteen year olds everywhere now singing about living in sin with a college dude, imagining "a drawer of my things" at his crib while her dude assures her "we'll never make my parents' mistakes." (Uh-huh.) Sure, it's formula: spare, acoustic guitar-driven opening; big fat chorus; lyrical perspective-shift, from hers to his, for the feel-good final verse. But it's expert formula, like vintage Fleetwood Mac reimagined for 2010 Nashville. And if she delivers the lines "We got bills to pay, we've got nothing figured out" with an impossible amount of sugar, well, sometimes sugar helps.