“If you are lucky enough to find something that you love, and you have a shot at being good at it, don’t stop, don’t put it down.” 假如你夠幸運找到自己喜愛的事，並有機會把它變成擅長的事，千萬不要放棄，要勇往直前。今天帶大家來看看泰勒絲如何從鄉村甜心到流行天后，喜歡透過歌曲學英文的你，別錯過呦！

泰勒絲—從鄉村甜心到流行天后

Taylor Swift—Country Darling to Pop Queen

Taylor Swift is the biggest pop star in the world, but did you know she started as a country singer? Although her parents worked in finance, they had something else in mind for their daughter, naming her Taylor after folk singer James Taylor. Growing up on a Pennsylvania Christmas tree farm, Taylor’s earliest memories are of listening to her grandmother—a professional opera singer—sing in church. She loved singing songs from Disney musicals as a kid, and when she ran out of words, she made up her own.

泰勒絲是全世界最知名的流行歌手，但你知道她是以鄉村歌手起家的嗎？泰勒絲的父母從事金融業，對女兒卻另有打算，並以民謠歌手詹姆士泰勒的名字為她命名。泰勒絲在賓州的一個聖誕樹農場長大，兒時記憶都是聽著祖母⸺一名職業歌劇演唱家⸺在教堂中演唱。她從小就愛唱迪士尼音樂劇中的歌曲，唱到詞窮就自己編。

For her debut album ,Taylor Swift (2006), the teenager used her own life experiences to write songs about romance and friendship. On the strength of catchy singles like "Our Song" and "Should've Said No" which both reached No. 1 on the country charts, Taylor was soon opening for country superstars like Brad Paisley and Tim McGraw. And the success of Taylor Swift－which remained the top country album for 24 weeks and was certified seven times platinum－turned her into a country star too.

2006年十幾歲的泰勒絲在首張專輯《泰勒絲》中，基於自己的人生經歷寫出描述愛情和友誼的歌曲。由於歌曲琅琅上口，〈我們的歌〉和〈早該拒絕〉雙雙拿下鄉村歌曲榜冠軍，泰動絲沒多久便開始替布萊德佩斯里、提姆麥格羅等鄉村音樂超級巨星唱開場。《泰勒絲》盤踞鄉村音樂專輯榜首長達二十四週，獲得七白金認證，而這張專輯的成功也讓她躋身鄉村音樂明星之列。

Although country had been good to Taylor, she began to expand into other genres over her next few albums. Fearless (2008) and Speak Now (2010) explored the themes of teenage romance and ^＊heartbreak in a country pop style. Singles like "Love Story" and "You Belong With Me had so much ^＊crossover appeal that they topped country and pop charts, making Fearless the best-selling album of 2009. And with its carefully crafted songs about the ups and downs of young love, Speak Now won her Artist of the Year at the 2011 American Music Awards.

雖然鄉村音樂讓泰勒絲受益良多，接下來幾張專輯她開始涉足其他音樂類型。2008年《無懼的愛》和2010年《愛的告白》採用鄉村流行風格，探索青少年愛戀與心碎的主題。單曲〈愛的故事〉和〈天生一對〉的跨界元素相當具有吸引力，同時拿下鄉村音樂榜和流行音樂榜的冠軍，將《無懼的愛》推上2009年的最暢銷專輯。《愛的告白》專輯精心打造的歌曲，刻畫青春愛情的酸甜苦辣，令她奪得2011年全美音樂獎的年度藝人大獎。

It was her next two albums, however, that brought Taylor mainstream fame. On Red (2012), she added electronic elements to her country pop sound. Despite being about toxic relationships, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together," and "I Knew You Were Trouble"－both about men she dated （Jake Gyllenhaal and Harry Styles)－ were huge hits with fans and critics alike. And then came 1989 (2014), which Taylor called her "first official pop album." Inspired by '80s synth-pop, it contained the ^＊megahits "Shake It Off," "Blank Space" and "Bad Blood," which all hit No. 1 in the U.S., Canada and Australia.

然而隨後的兩張專輯才讓泰勒絲在主流音樂建立名聲。在2012年發行的《紅色》專輯中， 她將電子元素加入她的鄉村流行聲音。〈絕對絕對分定了〉和〈我知道你是大麻煩〉寫的都是她的前男友（傑克葛倫霍和哈利史泰爾斯），儘管描述的是不健康的愛情，仍獲得歌迷和樂評的廣大迴響。2014年推出的專輯《1989》被泰勒絲稱為自己的「第一張正式流行音樂專輯」。專輯靈感來自八零年代合成器流行樂，收錄的超夯單曲〈通通甩掉〉〈空白〉〈壞到底〉在美國、加拿大、澳洲都拿下排行榜冠軍。

^{Image source: Shutterstock}

And Taylor's success has continued to grow. Lover (2019) and Folklore (2020) were both the best-selling albums of the year in the U.S., and Midnights (2022), led by synth-pop single "Anti-Hero," made her the first artist to ^＊monopolize the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. Midnights also won Best Pop Vocal Album and Album of the Year at the Grammys, bringing her Grammy total to 14! What's her secret? According to Taylor, it's the songs she writes. "My favorite thing in life is writing about life, specifically the parts of life concerning love," she says. "Because, as far as I'm concerned, love is absolutely everything."

泰勒絲的成功持續擴大。《情人》(2019)和《美麗傳說》(2020) 雙雙成為美國的年度最暢銷專輯，《午夜》(2022)在合成器流行樂單曲〈反英雄〉的帶領下，讓她成為第一位獨占告示牌百大單曲榜前十名的歌手。《午夜》也奪下葛萊美獎最佳流行演唱專輯和年度 ，為她生涯累積十四座葛萊美獎！她的成功祕訣究竟是什麼？泰勒絲自己表示要歸功於她寫的歌。「我一生中最愛的事情就是書寫生活，尤其是關於愛的部分。」她說，「因為對我來說，愛就是一切。」

🔸ADVANCED WORDS 進階單字

▪️ heartbreak (n.) 心碎，傷心
▪️ crossover（a./n.）跨界的（音樂、歌手等）
▪️ megahit（n.）非常受歡迎、暢銷的歌曲、電影等
▪️ monopolize（v.）包辦、壟斷

🔸PHRASES 片語

▪️ have sth./sb. in mind (for) 想到某人或某事，考慮選擇（某人）做某事
in mind 為「計畫、意圖」，也就是「對於某特定目的，覺得適合的物件或人選」，片語可單獨使用，也可根據前面的是「某事或某人」，來決定後面要加的是事情還是物件。

◎ Do you have anything in mind for Robert’s present?
    對於羅伯特的禮物你有什麼想法嗎？
◎ The manager has somebody in mind for the sales position.
    經理心中已有業務職位的適合人選。

＊本文內容節錄並重新編輯自 EZ TALK 編輯部、Judd Piggott、James Baron著，丁宥榆譯：《向A咖西洋歌手學英文：閱讀人生故事與名言》 （2024)，原文經適度摘錄與重組，用於導讀與延伸說明。