Heartbreak Is the National Anthem: How Taylor Swift Reinvented Pop Music

by Rob Sheffield

The Fountain Pen songs are the most direct. “Most of my lyrics are ‘Fountain Pen’ lyrics,” Swift said. “They’re modern personal stories, written like poetry, about those moments you remember all too well where you can see, hear, and feel everything in screaming detail.” The Quill songs are designed to “make you feel all old-fashioned, like you’re a nineteenth-century poet crafting your next sonnet by candlelight.” The Glitter Gel Pen is the party girl. “Glitter Gel Pen songs have lyrics that make you want to dance, sing, and toss glitter around the room,” she said. “Glitter Gel Pen lyrics don’t care if you don’t take them seriously because they don’t take themselves seriously. Glitter Gel Pen lyrics are the drunk girl at the party who tells you that you look like an angel in the bathroom.” Quill Pen Taylor is my favorite, the one who reigns on Folklore and Evermore. But she wouldn’t be the same without the others. She needs to be jostled and irritated by Glitter Gel Pen. And they both need Fountain Pen. They’re all so needy, elbowing each other for more of her attention as well as yours.