Who is this song about?
It's about one of her best friends. The reason she wrote it is sad and it illustrates the struggles so many girls go through while growing up.
On her website Taylor said, "One of my best friends is absolutely beautiful. She goes to beauty pageants and wins everything. Girls want to be her and guys want to be with her. I wrote this song the day I found out about her eating disorder. It completely blew my mind, and this one was tough to write, because I wasn't just telling some sad story. This was real. This song is basically about the girls I know, and the difficult things I saw them go through. I've never seen this song as a lecture. It's really about how no matter what my friends go through, I'm always going to love them."
The song is about how her friend is doing this for a boy, and trying to fake her way through it. She's only "Tied Together With a Smile" and she's "coming undone" and cries, but doesn't "tell anyone". She offers some comforting words to her friend at the beginning of the song. She says "Seems the only one who doesn't see your beauty/Is the face in the mirror looking back at you/You walk around here thinking you're not pretty/But that's not true, cause I know you..."
Click here for lyrics to the song, "Tied Together With a Smile".
I definitely know how her friend feels. I felt that way all the time in high school/middle school, not pretty enough, good enough etc. It seemed like the boys never noticed me and if I could just do something different they would. I tried to be happy, but a lot of times I was crying inside and had no one to talk to. It was horrible. Absolutely horrible. But fortunately I came out of it, graduated high school, and went to college. While in college I found myself, found the confidence I needed. I wasn't perfectly healed, but so much more than when I was in those formidable years. I realized that I was fine being me, just the way I was. I found a perfect guy who thinks that too. I am so glad Taylor wrote this song. It really lets girls know that they are special, they don't need to do things to make guys like them. They just need to realize their beauty themselves and realize the face staring back at them in the mirror is beautiful.
