Teardrops On My Guitar" illustrates the unrequited love Taylor felt for classmate Drew Hardwick. Taylor told fans that Drew would often ask her for advice and date ideas for his girlfriend, and she would give him ideas to be a good friend. Surprisingly, in 2015, Drew was arrested for child abuse – maybe it's a good thing they were never really together!
The song:
[Verse 1]
Drew looks at me
I fake a smile so he won't see
That I want and I'm needing
Everything that we should be
> Drew is the boy that Taylor has a crush on through the whole song. Drew sat next to her in one of her classes, so she saw him everyday. This is most likely why she had crushed on him so easily. Interestingly, Drew never knew Taylor liked him until the song came out.
Since they were friends, they often talked to each other, with one main topic being Drew's girlfriend. Despite her feelings, Taylor has to hide her sadness and act happy that he's found someone.
This is one of only four times that Taylor has explicitly named the song's subjects – the other three times being in her tracks "Hey Stephen", Cory mentioned in "Stay Beautiful" and "Dear John"<
[Pre-Chorus]
I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about
And she's got everything that I have to live without
[Verse 2]
Drew talks to me
I laugh 'cause it's just so funny
That I can't even see
Anyone when he's with me
> This shows that she truly believes that Drew is the one for her. While she talks to him, it's like everyone else disappears, because in the moment they are the only two people who matter.
However, after this song was published, Taylor seemed to be too embarrassed to answer the messages she kept getting from the answering machine. When they actually met again, they didn't seem to be interested in each other anymore.<
[Pre-Chorus]
He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right
I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night
[Chorus]
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishin' on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
> It's an old adage that wishing on a shooting star could make your wishes come true. The myth is believed to have originated in Europe around AD 127-151, when Greek astronomer Ptolemy wrote that the Gods occasionally, out of curiosity or even boredom, peer down at the earth from between the spheres, and stars sometimes slip out of this gap, becoming visible as shooting or falling stars. Since the Gods are already looking at us at such a time, they tend to be more receptive to any wishes we make!
Unfortunately, shooting stars are merely a misnomer, and are really just bits of rock and dust traveling toward the earth at blinding speeds. Nonetheless, Taylor does everything to get him to like her, even wish on stars that she knows is not real. This shows that she still has hope, no matter how hopeless the situation may seem.
Whenever she hears a song on the radio, she instantly thinks about him because she's blinded by her infatuation with him and he's all she can think about.
It's a typical symptom of crushing on someone, to attribute little things around you to them – movies, poems and, in Taylor's case, songs. Interestingly enough, this song soon became a radio hit, spending 48 weeks on the Billboard charts and simultaneously becoming the song many would pine to about their unrequited lovers.<
[Verse 3]
Drew walks by me
Can he tell that I can't breathe?
And there he goes, so perfectly
The kind of flawless I wish I could be
[Pre-Chorus]
She'd better hold him tight, give him all her love
Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky 'cause
[Chorus]
He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only thing that keeps me wishin' on a wishing star
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
[Pre-Chorus\bridge)
So I'll drive home alone as I turn off the light
I'll put his picture down and maybe get some sleep tonight
[Chorus]
'Cause he's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar
The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart
He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do
[Outro]
He's the time taken up, but there's never enough
And he's all that I need to fall into
Drew looks at me
I fake a smile, so he won't see
>The final lines of the song are heartbreaking, as it doesn't end well as she has to continue to hide her feelings. In the end, Taylor and Drew stay friends, but never reveal anything more.>
Score: 8/10
(Lyrics: 8.5/10, bridge: 6/10, sonically: 9/10)
Opinion: a classic Taylor swift song. So dramatic but so good. Also it feels that she is young. Sonically it's such a good song. I feel like it's very relatable. The bridge which is not for sure a bridge is fine. The fact that I can't confirm it's bridge is a the reasons of the score.
