Last Wednesday, June 9, Taylor Swift was given the 2021 Songwriter Icon Award at the National Music Publishers conference. As reported by Billboard, Swift presented her acceptance speech at the virtual meeting which turned out to be a tribute to everyone who has helped in the darkest moments of her career.
Swift Pays Tribute to Teachers and Collaborators
Before having the speech, Swift was introduced by the organization's president and CEO David Israelite himself. The American singer and songwriter then proceeded to first thank people who were with her during her childhood years.
"First of all, anyone who wrote with me in Nashville when I was in like eighth or ninth grade, that is insane that you did that. I am so lucky that I got to learn from some of the best writers on Music Row", she said.
"I want to take a moment to thank the people who were my professors, my teachers, of the craft of songwriting," she added.
Swift then proceeded to talk about Liz Rose, an American country music songwriter who's helped her back in the day when her career had nowhere to go. According to Tusla World, Rose co-wrote several of Swift's tracks including "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Tim McGraw." She also helped Swift further with her upcoming albums "Fearless", "Red", and "The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection".
When talking about Liz, Swift said, "Liz Rose is someone who spent hours and hours and hours with me when there was absolutely no sign that anything would happen in my career."
"My dance card was not full, I was 14, and she wrote with me so many times and taught me how to edit my ideas down to something more concise that packed an emotional punch", she said emotionally.
Swift didn't miss on thanking the people who has helped bring success on her career. She also thanked Max Martin, Shellback, Jack Anyonoff, and Aaron Dessner who have helped bring the hits "Red", "1989", "Reputation", "Folkore", and "Evermore" up the charts. Last week, Dessner has also helped her on her re-recording of Fearless (Taylor Version).
Read more: Top 10 Taylor Swift Songs Inspired by Ex-Boyfriends
Swift Talks About Craftsmanship in Songwriting
Swift also didn't let the opportunity pass without thanking her fans, which is of a great deal of importance for her. She says that she's thankful for those "who care about my lyrics."
"You have no idea how much that means to me, that you dissect them and copy them into your journals and care about the things that I write.", she added.
In the spirit of the occasion, Swift also talked about the art of songwriting and craftsmanship. She says that the process is a magical and mystifying process. She says, "I think any songwriter will tell you when you get an idea, you're not quite sure where it floated down from, but if you can grab onto that idea and turn it into something, a piece of music, that's where craftsmanship comes in."
To wrap things up, she says that when an artist grabs the idea, that is when the opportunity comes to learn and nurture the art. Swift has come a long way from the beginning of her career, and her lengthy speech speaks volumes about how she's kept a grateful attitude throughout these years.
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Written by Nikki Schmidt
