Songwriter: Taylor Swift

[Verse 1]
You walk in here with your guitar man
Your shining boots and your full on band
A smile on your face, a knife in your hand
Singing songs you've got memorized
With whatever talent money buys
So polished that it slips right through your hands

But don't ruin yourself I aren’t your competition
Don't flatter yourself that was never my intention

[Hook]
I want to talk about what you are that I aren’t
Let's talk about what you do that I can't
Let's talk about me and you and that empty room and who wins
Let's talk about what you did to get here
Let's talk about blood and sweat and tears
Let's talk about what you want to be and who I've always been

[Verse 2]
I walk in here with a beat up case
The same guitar I've always played
And the words I wrote down on a page
When I was 12 years old a small town raised
You tell the crowd you're paying dues
I tell them, "this is what I do"
And it’s what I put my life into
As I breathe the smoke and cheap perfume

And say life on musical road is rough conditions
But the easy ride was never my ambition

[Hook]
I want to talk about what you are that I aren’t
Let's talk about what you do that I can't
Let's talk about me and you and that empty room and who wins
Let's talk about what you did to get here
Let's talk about blood and sweat and tears
Let's talk about what you want to be and who I've always been

[Verse 3]
Let's talk about your childhood days
You were the prom queen, I was on this stage
So where's that crown gotten you these days?
When it's me and you and the same damn games

[Hook]
So what have you got that I ain't?
And what can you do that I can't?
Let's put me and you in an empty room and see who wins
Let's talk about what you did to get here
Let's talk about blood and sweat and tears
Let's talk about what you want to be, girl, and who I've always been

Taylor Swift

One of the defining artists of the 2010s, Taylor Alison Swift, born December 13th, 1989, is an American singer-songwriter and actress who has achieved success in both country and pop. Raised on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at age fourteen to pursue a career in country music. Scott Borchetta signed Swift to his then-nonexistent label Big Machine Records after seeing her perform at the Bluebird Cafe in November 2004.

Swift debuted in June 2006 with “Tim McGraw,” an ode to a lover who would be leaving town. The song served as an introduction to her self-titled debut album, which touched upon topics like heartbreak and bullying Swift faced at school. Her honesty and relatability appealed to fans from all walks of life, and went on to become the longest-charting album of the 2000s, spending 227 weeks on the Billboard 200.

Swift’s sophomore effort, Fearless, came in November 2008 and cemented her status as a country superstar, while tracks like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” also garnered mainstream attention. Not only did the record become her first number one, but it also became the most-awarded country album of all time, winning accolades such as the Grammy award for Album of the Year. Until Billie Eilish’s 2020 win, then-20-year-old Swift was the youngest person to have ever received the honor.

more tracks from the album

Unreleased Songs

From the albums