Monday, September 2, 2013

"Stay Beautiful" Song Meaning

Today's Taylor Swift song is the meaning of "Stay Beautiful" from her Taylor Swift album.


Who is this song about?

Taylor says his name in the song, CORY.  The song begins by saying "Cory's eyes are like a jungle", his "smiles are like the radio".  "There's pretty girls on every corner/That watch him as he's walking home/Saying, does he know/Will you ever know/You're beautiful". This guy is amazing.  What I really love about this song is Taylor's faith in him, "You're really gonna be someone".  She hopes that "your life leads you back to my door".  What an amazing song for her to write about a boy she knew when she was so young.  She knew him in the 4th grade.  I don't know if I had that kind of insight or faith about people in the 4th grade.

In her 2011 target commercial for her Speak Now album Taylor says,  "So I suppose it all started with my first crush in 4th grade. Cory Robertson. Yeah, he liked the cool girl. She had straight hair. Little did he know, I was writing songs about him after school. Dreaming of one day becoming a country singer. Or, maybe a poet. Or, a professional basketball player. Well, eventually I found my way. For me, 'Speak Now' is the next chapter in my story, and I'm naming names."

Cory Robertson, one of Taylor Swift's first crushes
Cory was one of Taylor's first crushes, but he didn't know and didn't like her back.  Too bad for him. This story reminds me of the time when I was in 4th grade and a boy name Cory Jackson had the hugest crush on me.  He was crazy, he followed me home one day just to see where I lived, and I lived a mile from the school in the opposite direction of him. Then one time he threw a pencil at my neck.  He tortured me relentlessly, but alas that is how 10 year old boys show their affection.

Even though nothing happened because of this crush a wonderful song came out of it. On her website Taylor says "After hearing my songs, a lot of people ask me, `How many boyfriends have you HAD?' And I always tell them that more of my songs come from observation than actual experience. In other words, you don't have to date someone to write a song about them. This is a song I wrote about a guy I never dated! Wow, right? Haha. This song is about a guy I thought was cute, and never really talked to him much. But something about him inspired this song, just watching him."

What a fun song about an elementary school crush!

Click here for lyrics to the song, "Stay Beautiful".

9 comments:

  1. It's Corey Robinson so I don't think that's him (although it does look a little like him) and he is real but I really don't think the song is about him. She was in 6th grade at the time (not 4th, I think she changed little details like his name and her age because not only was it not a completely serious thing but because she probably didn't want people to look him up) and she started writing songs that year so not only was she possibly not even writing songs yet but she wrote the song with Liz Rose who she didn't meet until she was 14 and probably already living in Nashville so I don't think this is about a guy from PA at all. And on top of that she knew Corey and actually told her friend Troy Ziegler who liked her at the time that she wanted to go out with him instead only to find out he was already dating Sarah Jaxhiemer the girl with the perfect straight hair who she mentioned in her 2012 Vogue article whereas she always said she didn't really know or talk to the Stay Beautiful guy, just thought he was cute when he walked by her in the hall at school one day and kinda of admired him from afar. So I think there were two Cory's (we don't even know how he spells it anyway because she spells it Cory in her album booklet lyrics and Corey in her online lyrics on her website) just like there were two Drews. :) ~ ♥Alyssa

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  2. She didn't do her website but I think she did her booklet since she capitalizes certain letters. her website has incorrect lyrics so obviously not her work. she wouldn't have time for everything on her website anyway. so that is Cory.

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    1. SHAKE AND BAKE is the booklet clue. No idea on that.

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  3. I think so too. Which makes a good case that he spells it but still rules him out because he spells it Corey. lol They spelled his name wrong in the post and got his last name wrong but yes, that is him but that doesn't mean the song's about him. Given the time period she'd have to have written it to have co-written it with Liz Rose it couldn't be about anyone from PA which limits it to TN guys but that didn't stop the kids at school from singing it to him everywhere he went after her CD came out haha so he probably thinks it's about him too. But since it's about a high school crush and not an elementary school one, I personally think it's about Cory Bracey. People who went to school with her who knew both of them think it's about him and not only did he go to her school with her and was in her grade but he's pretty attractive and he's now a marine so he pretty much fits the bill in every way but given the limited knowlage we have of him (the song and secret message are really vauge and she didn't really know him well so all we know is that she thought he was cute) it's probably impossible to know for sure and considering she barely knew him and may not have even known the way he spells his name or his last name herself, I doubt we ever will. But at least knowing the time period she wrote it in narrows it down to cute guys named Cory (or possibly Corey) who went to Hendersonville high school between 2004 and 2006 which couldn't be that many right? haha

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    1. The song lyrics have it spelled Cory, wonder why. And the last name is Robertson, here's the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pZhIMpR3Jcg

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  4. Ps. That picture f her is from like first grade so even if she had written it in 4th grade that's not what she looked like at the time! lol

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    1. I just thought it was a cute picture of her when she was young. Looks like I should find one from 4th grade.

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  5. You guys are awesome!! Can you guys decode the messages from 1989?

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  6. She just changed his name for the video (just like she changed the time period, she didn't even write songs yet in 4th grade) because she probably didn't want anyone to look him up or maybe forgot his last name but if you look him up (he's on Facebook), it's Robinson. He's in her yearbooks as well. I've owned a copy of a middle school yearbook of hers and he's in there but there's no Cory Robertson at all. Nor was there in the high school yearbook I owned of hers. I don't think that video was meant to be taken completely literally. haha
    Ps. Sorry I didn't respond for so long! lol

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