Taylor Swift – Lyric Inspired Travel Ideas
Unless you live under a rock, you will be well aware of the Taylormania sweeping the world at the moment. Whether a fan or not, you have to respect Miss Swift’s ability to market, rebrand, perform and push herself to release copious amounts of songs.
I am a huge swiftie, and in this new Era (I’m looking at you The Tortured Poets Department) I’ve been wistfully imagining a whole range of travel destinations as I sing along.
So where we can travel to – literally or figuratively as inspired by Taylor Swift?
THE SONG TITLE BIG HITTERS
Let’s get the obvious places out of way early?
NEW YORK
Taylor has made no secret of her love affair with New York City. It was the starring focus and the opening track of her massive pop record 1989.
Welcome to New York (1989)
Walkin’ through a crowd, the village is aglowKaleidoscope of loud heartbeats under coats
I remember hanging out in Greenwich Village and even taking a well-earned nap on one of the park benches after a long morning of sightseeing!
The lights are so bright, but they never blind me, meWelcome to New York, it’s been waitin’ for you
Cornelia Street (Lover)
And baby, I get mystified by how this city screams your nameAnd baby, I’m so terrified of if you ever walk awayI’d never walk Cornelia Street again.
I didn’t walk down the exact Cornelia St when I was in NY, but this song reminds me of pounding the pavements all across Manhattan.
ENGLAND
Swift’s love affair with England is also evident in her songs (not to mention her love affair for British men).
London Boy (Lover)
You know I love a London boyI enjoy walking Camden Market in the afternoon
Haven’t we all loved (and lost) a London Boy? I lived in London for 8 months and can confirm that some of them are quite dashing. And that’s all I’m going to say about that! London Boy makes me think of all the places I spent time when living there. I also remember walking around Camden Markets in the afternoon – with a good friend on my first trip there.
And now I love high tea, stories from uni, and the West EndYou can find me in the pub, we are watching rugby with his school friendsShow me a gray sky, a rainy cab ride, babe don’t threaten me with a good time!
So Long, London (The Tortured Poet’s Department)
So long, London, had a good run
A moment of warm sun, but I’m not the one
FRANCE
Paris! (Midnights)
CALIFORNIA
But the one destination that proably gets the most references is Hollywood /Los Angeles / California. And this isn’t exclusive to just Taylor, many artists reference the Angels City adn Sunshine State in their music. Katy Perry (and the Beach Boys) have a whole song about it, and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers have a whole album.
Lyrical references below – thanks Tay Tay we get the message!
The Lucky One: New to town with a made up name in the angels’ city chasing fortune and fame
White Horse: This ain’t Hollywood, this is small town
Clara Bow: No one in my small town thought I’d meet these suits in L.A.
I Bet You Think About Me: You grew up in a silver spoon gated community, glamorous, shiny, bright Beverly Hills
The Very First Night: But don’t forget about the night out in L.A.
Gorgeous: Whiskey on ice, Sunset and Vine
‘Tis The Damn Season: So I’ll go back to L.A. and the so-called friends who’ll write books about me if I ever make it
London Boy: I love my hometown as much as Motown, I love SoCal
Invisible String: Bad was the blood of the song in the cab on your first trip to L.A.
When Emma Falls in Love: Well, she’s so New York when she’s in L.A.
THE SINGLES DESTINATIONS
Blank Space (1989)
Screaming, crying, perfect stormsI can make all the tables turnRose garden filled with thorns
The Blank Space video was famously filmed in two castles/mansions in the USA, one being on Rhode Island, near her Holiday House property and the focus of her 2020 song ‘The Last Great American Dynasty’ from Folklore. I haven’t been to the actual filming locations but it makes me think of other grand properties across the world like the Palace of Versailles and Hearst Castle, California. In another music connection – Lady Gaga filmed a music video in the famous pool at Hearst Castle for her song ‘G.U.Y’. It’s a great tourist destination to vist, a few hours drive north of L.A.
Wildest Dreams (1989)
Say you’ll remember me, standing in a nice dressStaring at the sunset, babe, red lips and rosy cheeksSay you’ll see me again, even if it’s just in your wildest dreams
Taylor Swift famously filmed the Wildest Dreams Music video in parts of Botswana and South Africa. Although I’ve yet to visit the African Continent (my last besides Antarctica) this song and video always transports me there in my mind. Swift donated the proceeds of the video to the African Parks Foundation of America.
And those widlife shots? Stunning! The closest I get is when I visit the zoo.
Karma (Midnights)
Flexing like a Vegas acrobatMe and karma vibe like that
The PG edit of the song says Vegas, the unedited version says something else. But without the Vegas reference I still get Las Vegas vibes from this song, and the fun film clip with Ice Spice. I recall seeing actual Vegas acrobats at the Le Reve show, dancing and twirling as they plunged into a large swimming pool!
The Man (Lover)
And they would toast to me, oh let the players playI’d be just like Leo, in Saint-Tropez
Love the song and film clip reference to partying in the French Riviera, like the towns of Nice, Cannes and Monaco with the money and the big yachts. One can dream!
Out of the Woods (1989)
The stunning music video for this song was mainly shot on the South Island of New Zealand. And if you’ve visited Queenstown and surrounds, you’d definitely understand why she picked this corner of the earth to create the song’s visual back drops.
THE OFF THE BEATEN TRACK TRACKLISTS
For the diehard swifites here are some lesser known nuggets of travel inspiration.
Seven (Folklore)
But I, I was high in the skyWith Pennsylvania under meAre there still beautiful things?
Pennsylvania – Taylor’s hometown gets a mention. I have been to Allentown Pennsylvania very briefly, a classic US small town.
Carolina (Music Soundtrack)
And there are places I will never ever go and things that only Carolina will ever know
Based on the book and movie ‘Where the Crawdad’s Sing’ this song perfectly captures the feel of living in the saltwater marshes of South Carolina. The book and song made me want to visit – and randomly made me want to become a birdwatcher! (apparently a big hobby of forty somethings)
The Lakes (Folklore)
Take me to the Lakes where all the poets went to die
Those Windermere peaks look like the perfect place to cry
Taylor Swift mentions the Lakes in her Folklore/evermore Era, referencing the Lakes District of England. These lyrics always take me back to going to a wedding in the Cumbria region of England and exploring the peaks of Scotland and Wales while I lived in the UK.
Florida!!! (The Tortured Poets Deparment)
Love left me like this and I don’t want to exist
So take me to Florida
Cue Floria related travel inspiration since this song came out recently. Another place in the USA on my bucket list!
Invisible String (Folklore)
Green was the color of the grass where I used to read at Centennial Park
Another hometown of Ms Swift’s, Nashville Tennessee gets a few mentions. I feel any music lover could have a field day travelling around Tennessee and Nashville, think Gracelands and Dollywood! Ok Ok, its on my list.
Ivy / Cardigan / Willow – Cottage Living Dreams
Oh, I can’t, stop you putting roots in my dreamlandMy house of stone, your ivy growsAnd now I’m covered in you
These songs (and half of the Evermore/Folklore collection) always make me think about snuggling up in a cottage in the woods. They really give wintry, cottage aesthetic vibes. And that could be anywhere cold! Now who’s googling winter weekends in the woods somewhere?
Like Muir Woods, San Francisco,
Or Mariposa Grove, Yosemite California 
Or staying in cottage BnBs in Winter!
Begin Again (Red)
And on a Wednesday, in a Cafe, I watched it begin again
The film clip for this song was shot in a Paris Cafe, so now that’s the only type of cafe I picture when I hear this line!
Now that I think about it, I have many other favourite singers who have the ability to transport me figuratively through their lyrics. Or maybe when you think about travel a lot you tend to pick up on the wanderlust phrases everywhere you listen.
Anyway, I’m off to iTunes to make some travel music inspired playlists!
Starting with New York, and a lot more TS references…
All Too Well: We’re singing in the car, getting lost Upstate
Holy Ground: Back to a first-glance feeling on New York time
The Lucky One: Chose the Rose Garden over Madison Square
Come Back… Be Here: I guess you’re in New York today
Delicate:Dive bar on the East Side, where you at? Third floor on the West Side, me and you
All Too Well (10 Minute Version): From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones
False God: I’m New York City, I still do it for you, babe, You’re the West Village, you still do it for me, babe
Daylight: Back and forth from New York, sneaking in your bed
Hoax: You know I left a part of me back in New York
Coney Island: I’m sitting on a bench in Coney Island wondering, where did my baby go?
Maroon: And I chose you, the one I was dancing with inNew York
