I Knew You Were Trouble

One of my favorite songs right now is by Taylor Swift. The reason for this is because I feel like I can relate to it easily, like most of her other songs. However, this particular song "I Knew You Were Trouble" goes beyond her typical songs about boys. Although it is directed towards boys, it took on a greater meaning for me, especially the chorus: 

"'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
'Til you put me down, oh
I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now
Flew me to places I'd never been
Now I'm lying on the cold hard ground
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble
Oh, oh, trouble, trouble, trouble"

This could be seen as a song dedicated to boys, but I see it as a song dedicated to the stupid mistakes we make in life. I have had many instances where I knew that something bad was going to happen out of what I chose to do, but I still did it anyways. To me, these lyrics are directed at all the decisions I've made that only led to trouble, and that I knew were going to lead to just that. I also like how she says "So shame on me now," because in the end, the only one who's to blame for making bad decisions is yourself.

This chorus uses several words with negative connotations to really make the listener feel the pain that Taylor Swift is going through. For example, Taylor uses words like cold and hard. These two words have bad connotations of being uncomfortable and unpleasant, especially if you're laying on something cold and hard. It really paints the picture of how bad the consequence of her action is. 

Because of the greater meaning the song takes on for me and the negative connotations, I always feel really angry when I listen to this song because it reminds me of all the things I've done that I wish I hadn't, whether it's little things like choosing to talk back to my mom or bigger things. However, when the song ends, I feel better again because I know that I'm not the only one who makes stupid mistakes.

One of the techniques of the song to make listeners remember it is repetition. Because Taylor Swift repeats the word "trouble" just about a dozen times, that part of the song gets stuck in your head. I know that when I first heard the song, that was the only part I remembered. 

I think that Taylor Swift has become such a popular singer because of the way she can connect to her audience, whether it's on a superficial level or on a deeper level. I know that there are some songs where I can relate just on the surface, like one of her best songs ever "You Belong With Me." There are others, like "I Knew You Were Trouble" that take on a bigger meaning. 

Here is the music video of "I Knew You Were Trouble" if you are interested in watching. However, I must warn you it's a little darker than her other music videos.