泰勒絲《Style》深度解析：英語精讀講義

The majority of Americans are getting their music on the radio.

大多數美國人都是透過廣播聽音樂的。

Like we have a huge population of people that hear

畢竟，有很大一群人

mostly top 40 hits. 文化背景

平常聽到的大多是排行榜前 40 名的熱門歌曲。

And so what's in the top 40 文法

所以，哪些歌能進入前 40 名，

really matters to the way that people see the world

確實會影響人們看待世界的方式，

and the way that we kind of care.

以及我們關心事物的方式。

Style is such a pop song. 文法

《Style》就是一首非常典型的流行歌曲。

And when I listen to this song on repeat for hours a few years ago, 片語搭配

幾年前，我曾把這首歌重複播放，一連聽了好幾個小時，

I realized that part of what I really like about the beginning of that song is that 文法

我意識到，我這麼喜歡這首歌的開頭，部分原因

there's almost a question and an answer format.

是它幾乎採用了一問一答的形式。

And you hear this riff the whole way through the song. 片語搭配

而且，這段樂句貫穿了整首歌。

All of the songs on this album are 100% pop.

這張專輯裡所有歌曲都是百分之百的流行樂。

And though some of them tell stories,

雖然其中有些歌也在說故事，

they aren't stories like the ones she was telling on Fearless or Speak Now.

但不像她在《Fearless》或《Speak Now》裡說的那些故事。

It's a video that doesn't make a lot of sense when you watch it. 片語搭配

這支 MV 看起來讓人有點摸不著頭緒。

There's no storyline that it follows.

它沒有一條貫穿始終的故事線。

But the word style many people have taken as a reference to Taylor Swift's relationship with Harry Styles, 片語搭配

不過，很多人認為，「Style」這個字是在暗指 Taylor Swift 與 Harry Styles 的戀情，

the lead singer of One Direction.

後者是 One Direction 的主唱。

Taylor has been very consistent in saying,

Taylor 始終堅持表示：

"You know, this song is about my life and I've never revealed who it's actually about." 文法

「你知道，這首歌寫的是我的生活，但我從未透露過它究竟是關於誰的。」

And then 14 seconds into this video, 片語搭配

然而，這支 MV 播到第 14 秒時，

you see that paper airplane necklace. is the one that she and Harry Styles exchanged with each other.

你會看到那條紙飛機項鍊，正是她和 Harry Styles 互贈的那一條。

She's giving you that clue.

她就是在給你這個線索。

When you're creating a song and hoping to get high radio play, 用詞

當你創作一首歌，並希望它能在電台獲得大量播放時，

what you want is for listeners to be hooked. 講解

你會希望聽眾馬上被吸引住。

What that normally means is

這通常意味著，

you put the chorus of the song as close to the front as you can. 文法

你得盡可能早點讓副歌出現。

A lot of songs start with the chorus.

很多歌一開頭就是副歌。

In this song,

但在這首歌裡，

the chorus doesn't come in for a full minute. 片語動詞

足足過了一分鐘，副歌才出現。

And so she's kind of pushed that back. 講解

也就是說，她刻意把副歌往後延了。

And when I wrote this next song,

而我寫接下來這首歌時，

I was thinking about how we have these kind of fashion staples that 用詞

想的是，我們總有一些歷久不衰的時尚基本款，

never quite we never quite throw them out of our closet, right? 片語動詞

怎麼樣都不會真的把它們從衣櫃裡淘汰掉，對吧？

Like no one's going to be like, 用詞

比方說，不會有人說：

"Why are you wearing a little black dress? 文化背景

「你為什麼要穿小黑裙？

No one wears that.

現在根本沒人那樣穿。

That was so 2 years ago." 用詞

那都是兩年前的流行了。」

This is a pretty classic chorus structure

這是很經典的副歌結構，

and it's using all major chords except for one line.

除了其中一行之外，用的全都是大三和弦。

On every single line,

每一句裡，

you have this like positive feeling to the song.

你都能感受到歌曲傳遞出的正面情緒。

And then in the second half,

可是到了後半段，

something changes.

有些東西改變了。

Tiny minor chord that gives you that question.

一個一閃而過的小三和弦，讓你心中浮現那個疑問：

Is this really a happy song?

這真的是一首快樂的歌嗎？

But that B minor says like, 慣用語

但那個 B 小三和弦就像在問：

"Is this a good thing?"

「這真的是件好事嗎？」

She is notorious for writing songs 片語搭配

她可是出了名地愛寫這類歌，

that are completely about affairs she has had in the past. 用詞

歌裡寫的全是她過去經歷的戀情。

And here in this song,

而在這首歌裡，

she says that he has cheated.

她說男方劈腿了。

She has historically played the victim. 慣用語

過去，她總把自己塑造成受害者。

But in this song,

但在這首歌裡，

you have her kind of taking a little bit of the blame. 片語搭配

她也承認自己要負一點責任。

What you heard is true,

你聽到的都是真的，

but I can't stop thinking about you and I. 文法

但我還是忍不住想著你和我。

I said I've been there too a few times. 慣用語

我說，我也有過幾次這樣的經歷。

Cuz you've got that James...

因為你有那種 James……

There's a lot of like sensual imagery going on here.

這裡有很多帶著性感意味的畫面。

Taylor Swift like kind of hugging herself against the wall,

像是 Taylor Swift 靠著牆，雙臂環抱自己，

her like running her hands up her body.

還有她用雙手沿著身體往上撫摸的鏡頭。

Taylor Swift isn't a sex symbol. 用詞

Taylor Swift 並不是性感象徵。

But she's trying to show you like I am sexual.

但她想讓你看到：我也有性感的一面。

Like she's trying to come out and say, 語氣意圖

她彷彿正站出來宣告：

"I'm an artist.

「我是一名藝術家。

I'm someone who is a mature adult."

我是一個成熟的大人。」

And that's a lot of what this album is. 表達脈絡

而這正是這張專輯的一大主題。

It's kind of a coming out party for Taylor Swift to say like, 慣用語

這有點像 Taylor Swift 的一次正式亮相，她要告訴大家：

"Look at me, I'm a pop star.

「看看我，我是流行巨星。

I'm an adult.

我是大人了。

I'm no longer this country starlet. 用詞

我不再是那個唱鄉村音樂的小明星。

I'm someone who has made mistakes 文法

我是一個犯過錯的人，

and been in hard situations and failed."

經歷過艱難處境，也遭遇過失敗。」