Matt Nathanson, who later complained that she stole a line from his song “I Saw” for “All Too Well” (and she did, “I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to,” good one), and declared, “She’s definitely a fan . . . and now she’s a thief.” Strong words, but maybe misunderstanding how the folk process works, because sometimes they’re the same thing—that’s part of how people pass on songs. Music, like poetry, survives by inspiring people to steal it, either in the way they hear it or the way they create it. Music dies when nobody steals it. Love is theft.
