Somebody get Taylor Swift one of those "I Heart NY" T-shirts stat, because she's just crazy about NYC. Just hours after Swift announced she will be releasing a new song from her upcoming album 1989, "Welcome to New York" surfaced online, and it's just as glitzy, shiny and polished as you expect Swift's penthouse apartment to be.
The song, which is the first track on 1989, begins with a round of electronic drums and an insanely optimistic glitz of synthesizer. Swift, a starry-eyed transplant to New York by way of Nashville (and Pennsylvania), sings about the renewal that a new city can offer, and she's more hopeful than ever.
"When we first dropped our bags on apartment floors / Took our broken hearts, put them in a drawer / Everybody here was someone else before / And you can want who you want / Boys and boys and girls and girls / Welcome to New York / It's been waiting for you," Swift sings in the second verse in a way that is just so full of hope and happiness that you kind of want to punch her in the face.
This song is too sunny and too optimistic, almost for no reason. Swift, once known for personal depth in her lyric writing, glosses over any sort of broken heart or struggle that led her to New York... and that feels like a much more interesting journey than the bright lights of the big city now that she's arrived.
And call me a jaded reviewer... But I moved to New York City at roughly the same time as Swift. Moving here isn't all limo rides through Times Square and endless hope. Taylor, when you have to run around a creepy part of Brooklyn to get a front door key to your roach-filled apartment, then you can get back to me. Sure, the city is great, but you oftentimes gotta give it a month or two to settle in...
Welcome to New York, though. It's cool here and definitely better than this generic pop tripe.
Listen to Taylor Swift's new song "Welcome to New York":
"Welcome to New York" is the first song from Taylor Swift's new album 1989, which is due to drop on Oct. 27.
