Buy Into The Taylor-Verse by Satu Hämeenaho-Fox here

From OG ‘Debut’ Swiftie’s to new Swiftie’s since ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, we fans all appreciate and love the talent and depth behind every single Taylor Swift Song! Swifties have spent every album decoding her songs and finding easter eggs in her lyric books, songs and videos – It’s fun and engaging and brings community to Swifties and a connection between Swifties and Taylor herself.

It wasn’t that long ago that when you asked someone if they were a Taylor Swift fan that they would say that they only know the hits such as Shake It Off and Love Story and now pretty much everyone is a hardcore Swiftie. I had personally spent years trying to get friends and family to listen to her music and convincing them that she was and is so much more than her hit singles and that she was one of the most gifted songwriters of all time. It didn’t work, people just wouldn’t believe it nor cared. They care now though and due to this huge influx of fans, the eras tour is just about the most sought after tour ever and Taylor is just about the biggest star on the planet!

Swift herself has had trouble with people believing she writes her own lyrics which is why she released Speak Now as an album full of songs solely written by her. However, even her co-writes are mostly her work. Liz Rose with whom she wrote You Belong With Me, All Too Well and many more has often stated that Taylor comes into the writing room with an almost full song and Liz just helps tidy it up. That happened in particular with All Too Well. A song that for many years was denied that there was a ten minute version, we are now lucky to know that it does exist and having listened to it, how difficult it must have been to edit it.

One Swiftie who definitely spends a lot of time analysing the work of Taylor Swift is author Satu Hämeenaho-Fox. A Swiftie since the Fearless Era, Satu takes a deep dive into the story of Taylor’s life through her songwriting in her book Into The Taylor-Verse.

A beautifully illustrated book by Maddalena Carrai, Satu takes us back in time where we follow her on her journey through the eras of Debut, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, Reputation, Lover, folklore, evermore and Midnights. (If you’re wondering where The Tortured Poets Department is, it’s because it was released after the book went to publish).

As well as focusing on the songwriting, Satu also talks about Swift’s musical influences, personal experiences and overall celebrating the inimitable talent of one of the world’s greatest songwriters, performers and cat lovers.

Covering her ground-breaking tours, fiercely loyal fans and inspiring position as a business woman, discover how Taylor uses her signature themes of girlhood, heartbreak and female friendship to master her craft, and how her genius for poignant lyrics and planting secret clues has developed her music into a whole universe for Swifties to explore.

We caught up with Satu to discuss the book. As a Swiftie myself since 2007, this book is a must-have and I was dying to talk to another Swiftie about Taylor’s music but also on how she went about writing the book and what research and depth went into creating it!

Enjoy!

So let’s kick this off with asking you to introduce yourself and what made you want to become an author as this isn’t the first book you have written?

The first and most important thing to know about me is that I love Taylor Swift. After that, I’m Satu, I’m an author and editor from London. Being an author was a lifelong dream of mine, and my dream career once I realised Olympic gymnast probably wasn’t going to happen. I used to work in publishing as an editor but after I went freelance I was offered writing as well as editing work. My slightly obsessive love of pop music meant I was offered the chance to write several books on popstars, from Lady Gaga to Harry Styles. They were short and sweet and helped give me the confidence to think, hmm I think what the world really needs is a deep dive into the world of Taylor Swift.

When did you become a Swiftie and how?

I first heard Taylor’s music on the radio when ‘Love Story’ came out. I remember so well the sound of those opening notes. At first I thought it was just another cute country-pop song, but by the end I was blown away by how next-level the drama and songwriting was. I kept tabs on her for a few years, went to see her live and enjoyed songs like ‘Mine’. But I didn’t necessarily think she was going to be a huge deal until I bought Red. It was just so clearly a game-changer for her and music generally, being able to combine pure pop instincts with those epic emotions. It just got better and better for me with 1989 as I love clinical Swedish pop. When I heard reputation I knew I was going to be into Taylor for life and everything she put out was going to be my new favourite set of songs. But I’m not sure I would have called myself a Swiftie – back then I just listened to the music and minded my own business. It’s only by getting involved with other fans, reading theories online, going to Swiftogeddon and by writing Into the Taylor-Verse that I think I’ve connected with the culture of being a Taylor fan. It’s the funnest thing in my life now!

What is it about her work that inspired the book?

I started to get serious about it at the end of 2022. I’d been writing these mega deep, philosophical essays about Taylor’s use of kitsch and things like that, and my writing group had to read them all. I had written a short book about Taylor called ‘Be More Taylor’ that involved watching literally every interview she had ever done and the research led me to making connections between her songs that I’d never really noticed before. Everything she does is so intentional that you can bring an art history or literary theory approach to her work, while her brilliant celebrity game-playing and performance flair make sure it never gets dry. I could write a million words on her genius! I developed this certainty that I could write a full-length book for teenagers and adults.

How much research had to go into this because us hardcore Swifties (personally since 2007) know our stuff but this is next level and I assume a lot of fact checking, fan girling, and listening to her non stop had to happen?

Having been a fan since relatively early (I know there’s Debut fans out there!) I had lived through a lot of the culture around Taylor. With respect to Taylor authors of the future, you can’t tell from the glowing coverage she gets now what it was like for her and for fans in 2008 or 2016. For example, you’ll often see the “Taylor Swift is over party” in 2015 now being described as a minor setback or no big deal. Taylor made reputation about it and her career recovered. But actually it was a really grim thing to witness – I came off Twitter because it was so upsetting to witness, with so much sexist language and I was just a fan, not Taylor herself. So a lot of my material was in my head and ready to go. Just for my own fun, I made a spreadsheet of symbols she uses in her music, and followed accounts that tell you where she bought her clothes, and attended academic conferences about Taylor and just generally stuffed my memory banks with Taylor-related things that weren’t just celebrity stories. I basically think she is the Leonardo da Vinci of pop music. But somehow there was more to learn. When I wrote the book, my process was to listen to each album really closely and slowly, repeating tracks as often as I needed to. I wanted to know how the tracks were made and the little details about her intentions with them. I already knew there was a recording of her heartbeat on Wildest Dreams but I learned from watching interviews with her record producers that Jack Antonoff made a drum sound for Out of the Woods by dropping a pile of stuff on the floor. Her music rewards listening closely and because she’s such a master of a melody and a poetic lyric, we forget that she also never misses a beat musically.

How did you go about getting this book published and was it an easy process? (the book is published by Transworld Publishers)

Long story short: it was not an easy process and took around a year from starting to pitch editors to getting an agent to being offered a deal.

What is your favourite era?

I will never forget the way it felt to sit on my sofa in 2020 and listen to folklore. There are some turning point moments in Taylor’s career where she suddenly makes a leap. Red was like that, and folklore was like that. I just didn’t know she could go to these places musically. I wept when I first heard ‘seven’. The opening notes of ‘the one’ will always take me back to that strange summer and make me feel comforted.

Tell us about the biggest challenge you faced writing this book?

Writing it was probably the most fun I’ve had in my life so I faced very few challenges, although I did write so many hours a day that I hurt the finger that taps the ‘I’ key. I spent every day listening to Taylor, writing my thoughts about her to share with other fans, and also I let myself not do any chores because I was Writing A Book. I don’t suffer too much from the dreaded writer’s block because who wouldn’t want to write about Taylor all day? But I did have to have a day off to cry after writing the Red chapter. I listen to that album all the time but writing her heartbreak brought me so close to my own emotions from that time, which was absolutely miserable and magical for me too. Being in your twenties is one of the toughest times and that album captures the mix of going out with your friends and crying yourself to sleep so perfectly.

How long did it take to do a book like this?

Most non-fiction books are written after you secure the deal, which I got in autumn of last year. You also get time to research and take in multiple rounds of editorial notes… unless your subject is coming to Europe for her record-breaking tour in June. Then you have to write the book extremely fast, extremely immediately. Because I’d already written parts and done a lot of the prep, the eventual timeframe for writing was able to be squeezed into two months. If that sounds intense, it was. I wrote all day, every day, and delivered the book two hours before the deadline. I had one day off for Christmas and one day off to cry about Red.

So your book was ready to go and then she announced Tortured Poets Department…

My first emotion: oh my god new Taylor album yesssssssss. My second emotion: oh crap the book. I was able to insert some references to the album at the last minute and the amazing illustrator Maddalena Carrai produced a gorgeous illustration inspired by The Tortured Poets Department. I also write a collaborative Taylor newsletter with three other Swifties, called Swiftian Theory and a lot of extra TTPD-related writing is available there for free, including a very detailed review. Although I wish I could have written an extra chapter focusing on TTPD, I do think you need time for each album to settle and for a fan culture to develop around it before you can write meaningfully on it. When I heard the album, which I absolutely love, I actually felt a lot of what I said about Taylor’s songwriting and where she’s going with her art, played out very accurately on that record. I mention the invisible string of Taylor’s symbols throughout the book, which are becoming less concrete and more abstract or even cosmic as time goes on. The connection between an ideal love and a sense of home are so closely drawn on Tortured Poets. I love how long the album is because she addresses some relatively niche Taylor themes on the quieter songs towards the end of the second half: ‘I Look in People’s Windows’ touches on loneliness, which she has rarely addressed in her adult work but which crops up metaphorically in the form of those 2am songs. Who else is awake at 2am? Who is she supposed to talk to?

So will there be a book two?

I am keen to do a second edition once Taylor has crossed another of her Red/folklore style lines of change. I think and hope we are entering a period of personal happiness for Taylor with lots of light pop tunes but also she’s clearly becoming a really fascinating and complex person under the celebrity bombast and I’d embrace any direction she wants to go in. My dream for a second book is that I could assist Taylor in writing her own book!

How would you describe Taylor as an artist and a songwriter?

If I was telling an alien about Taylor I would describe the emotions she conveys in her songwriting. She excels at joyful pop bops, an underrated skill a bit similar to how comedic actresses don’t get as many Academy Awards as dramatic ones. It takes a lot of work to be light-hearted. Elsewhere on the rainbow of emotions, Taylor’s songs go to sad places that allow us to feel big emotions that sometimes feel too much for the outside world. When I’m sad, I listen to her music and it makes the sadness feel poetic rather than depressing. You’re permitted to feel destroyed over a love affair that lasted two weeks (‘loml’), or to get angry at someone who made you feel small (‘Mean’). It’s this deft variety that defines her artistry. On top of that she’s one of the world’s greatest entertainers, despite not having a big voice or top-notch dance skills. She has passion, enthusiasm and charisma. She sells her songs through the power of owning her unique talents and I think there’s a positive lesson in that.

Have you noticed any particular changes or similarities in her writing from the start to now?

Relaxing into her songwriting is the biggest change overall. In Speak Now she started writing longer songs and introducing her Swiftian bridges. In folklore she experimented with under-writing her songs and letting them breathe as little exercises rather than iron-clad future radio hits.

What era was the hardest to write about and what era was the easiest?

The chapter about Debut opens the book and I was nervous that very few fans lived through that era, including me, and although I’ve spoken to lots of people who did for their impressions, I worried that it might put people off persisting with the book! I hope I’ve made that opening chapter a little bit like Taylor Swift: a nice place to be while you wait for the full potential to become clear. I was quite surprised at how much I had to say about Lover, which I never think of as a complex album. But actually it’s when we meet Business Taylor because she changed record companies. She tried to thread the needle of being a popstar and holding political views, which was fraught for her. She bounced back maybe a bit too hard after the reputation era and there’s a lot to say about that with knowledge that the next album would be folklore. I ended up cutting that chapter down a lot to fit into the overall structure of the book.

What do you think it is about her that sets her apart from all other pop stars of today because I am sure that you can agree as an OG fan, that her popularity is insane!

The way she’s maintained a relationship with the fandom is a masterclass. Typically a teen popstar struggles to keep her fanbase as we become adults and want to put away childish things but she managed to build more fans. For everyone who stopped listening after the country era, she kept some people onboard through careful musical and personal presentation choices and made new fans who loved the pop direction and eventually whatever genre folklore is. She’s gradually accrued male fans as well as women and outlived the era where she was associated with being “basic”. Writing her own songs gives her creative control of her music and means she’s not scouting for hits, which is an awkward business problem for a lot of singers. She’s often criticised for not speaking up on political issues and having a bland public presentation and fashion style but never being especially cool or timely has worked in her favour in terms of longevity. Taylor is not governed by trends in pop music; she is pop music.

Let’s talk about the artwork of the book – who did all the artwork?

Each chapter has an amazing large image and lots of little spot images by the lovely Maddalena Carrai, who brought her own ideas to my random sketches and made them come to life.

What did you learn whilst writing this book whether that be about Taylor or just in general?

Writing and publishing the book was a transformational process for me. I love Taylor more than ever so nothing has changed on that front, but I did develop a greater respect for how she’s managed the business side of being a musician. Much is said about her being a billionaire and I don’t really care how much money she has accrued. But watching her gain confidence in speaking out against companies like Apple and in the political realm, and coming to totally own her power and her voice in the Time 100 interview was so satisfying and inspiring. It’s a classic coming-of-age story from being a “polite young lady” at all costs, to talking about a women-centered economy and dismissing haters as “Brads, Chads and dads”. I had my own confidence journey with the book. Waiting to hear about whether anyone wanted to publish it, then ended up at an amazing publisher, and the book being such a success so far, has vindicated my Taylor obsession and the single-minded determination I had to get this book out there.

Have you met Taylor yet or know if she knows about this book?

I would vanish in a cloud of sparkling dust if I met Taylor. I don’t know if she has a copy of the book but I hope if she reads it, or has someone summarise it for her, she’ll get that it’s all about taking her legacy-building to another level. When I see it on shelves at the bookshop, surrounded by books by men about male musicians, I remember why it’s important.

What are your predictions for her next album? Genre??

The Swiftian Theory girls and I officially predict a 90s movie soundtrack indie-pop vibe, along the lines of ‘So High School’.

Have you seen Taylor live? If so, where?

I’ve seen Taylor a few times, starting with the Fearless tour. I went to the Red tour, where I bought the best merch, and saw Taylor perform at a festival during the 1989 tour. I couldn’t go to the Rep tour and then of course there was no Loverfest. So I’ve been to fewer tours than I would like!

Are you going to the era’s tour and if so which show?

By some miracle I got tickets to two shows. I’ll be at Edinburgh and a London show in August. Say hi if you see me 🙂

Will you be dressing up and exchanging friendship bracelets?

I’ll definitely be swapping bracelets, I want some really niche ones. Is someone out there making a ‘Mary’s Song’-themed bracelet that could be mine? My current hobby is bedazzling a lavender gown for a big Enchanted moment. I’m tempted to dress as “pandemic Taylor” for London but it may be too hot so I’m tempted to go as her iconic worst outfit ever, the Lover-era rainbow shorts and yellow t-shirt. Even in her worst times, I see the best in her.