Episode Details

"It's nice to believe, when you think Tim McGraw." This week on AP Taylor Swift, we're going line-by-line through Taylor Swift's "Tim McGraw" (debut, 2006) — her very first single. We trace a Chevy truck down some back roads, argue about whether "that's a lie" means something different by the end of the song than it did at the beginning, float (and mostly reject) a death theory, and land on why a 16-year-old writing about one summer might be one of the most quietly ambitious songwriting choices of her career.

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Anita de Monte Laughs Last, Xóchitl González — https://bookshop.org/p/books/anita-de-monte-laughs-last-xochitl-gonzalez/19987600
• The Last Song (2010) — https://reelgood.com/movie/the-last-song-2010
• Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009) — https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/hannah-montana-the-movie
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before — https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/to-all-the-boys-ive-loved-before
• The Summer I Turned Pretty — https://www.justwatch.com/us/tv-show/the-summer-i-turned-pretty
• Dirty Dancing (1987) — https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/danse-lascive
• Grease (1978) — https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/grease

Episode Highlights: 

[03:38] "He said the way my blue eyes shined put those Georgia stars to shame that night. I said, that's a lie."

[05:43] "Just a boy in a Chevy truck"

[08:01] "I was right there beside him all summer long"

[10:46] "When you think Tim McGraw, I hope you think my favorite song"

[11:35] "When you think happiness, I hope you think that little black dress"

[15:58] "September saw a month of tears"

[19:25] "In a box beneath my bed is a letter that you've never read from three summers back"

[33:55] Purpose of the song

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This podcast is neither related to nor endorsed by Taylor Swift, her companies, or record labels. All opinions are our own