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On James Taylor

 Taylor Swift has a new album out, and the NYT has implied that it's among the worst albums of her career. It seems like a good time to consider one of Swift's songwriting idols, James Taylor (who plays a role in Swift's "Begin Again"):


Whenever I see your smiling face,
I have to smile myself--
Because I love you.
Yes, I do.
And when you give me that pretty little pout,
It turns me inside out.
There's something about you, baby--
 I don't know.

This is so well-crafted, it seems "artless." The speaker is floored by one face--so floored, he can't find words. ("There's something about you, baby; I don't know.")

I thought I was in love a couple of times before--
With the girl next door--
But that was long before I met you.
Now I'm sure that I won't forget you...

The speaker's love is so great, it makes former loves seem like delusions. ("I forget their names now; I'm so very tame now....")

I think the bridge is particularly strong:

No one can tell me that I'm doing wrong today--
Whenever I see you smiling at me.
No one can tell me that I'm doing wrong today--
Whenever I see your smiling face my way.

A smile is armor; it can defeat the entire hostile world.

Where does the bridge lead? To euphoric falsetto babbling: LA LA LA LA! LA LA LA LA LA LA LA! Surprising and inevitable.

This is how you write a song.
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