Shadowing Practice: 4.2k - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

We sat down with Taylor Swift in Nashville, Tennessee and talked about her career, a few special moments, and her new project, Fearless, the Platinum Edition.

⏸ Paused

Speed:

226 sentences

If sentences are too short or too long, click Edit to adjust them.

We sat down with Taylor Swift in Nashville, Tennessee and talked about her career, a few special moments, and her new project, Fearless, the Platinum Edition.

When I was little, my parents always talk about how we used to be driving

back from seeing a Disney movie at the movie theaters or something.

And I was like three years old in the backseat singing every single word to the songs

that I had heard and I'd just seen the movie once.

because I think I've just always loved music and gravitated towards it since I was a little kid.

My grandmother took me to go see a children's theater production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

And it was in my hometown, and there were all these kids that were my age.

I was nine at the time.

And they were all getting up there and performing and just becoming these characters, and I was really into it.

I loved it.

And so the next week I went to go try out for a musical, and that was what really made me fall in love with performing.

A couple years later, you know, I'd been singing karaoke and playing at festivals and fairs

and Boy Scout meetings and garden club meetings and anywhere I could possibly play with my little karaoke machine.

And I was at my house and this guy came to fix my computer.

And I was doing my homework in the same room and I saw that he had brought a guitar with him him.

And so I looked down at the guitar and I was like, you play that?

And he's like, yeah, I do.

Do you play?

And I was like, oh, I wish.

And he asked if I wanted to learn a couple chords.

And I said yes.

And I learned those three chords.

And he left the guitar with me that week.

And I wrote my first song that night.

And he just kept coming back every week and teaching me new guitar chords.

So I started writing songs immediately after I started playing guitar.

The artists that made me want to be in country music were artists like Faith Hill

and Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks.

And these were all female artists in country music

that I felt were different than anything I'd ever heard in my whole life.

Shania Twain is just so independent and confident and empowering and Faith Hill is so glamorous

and just everything that she does to me seems graceful.

And the Dixie Chicks, they had this really quirky element to everything that they did.

I was inspired by different things about every one of those artists, but those were definitely the three that inspired me more than anything else.

But you look at Britney Spears' early award show performances where she would always do something a little unexpected.

I was inspired by that.

And then songwriters like Sheryl Crow, I was very inspired by what she did in the songwriting realm of things.

So I love great music.

It doesn't matter what genre it falls under.

I try to look at my music as diary entries, because that's sort of what it's become.

I went through a period of time when I didn't really have friends at school.

And the one thing that I had to look forward to was going home and writing a song about it.

was the way that I started dealing with my problems.

And so that hasn't changed much at all.

That's still how I deal with my problems.

And my first album that I put out, the self-titled album, that's my diary from the point when I started writing music to the point where I was 16.

So that's 12 to 16.

And then Fearless, I look at that as being my diary from the time

that I was 16 to when I was 18.

And so I think it's going to be really crazy to look back

when I'm older and look at these albums as these diary entries from different times in my life.

When I put out my first album, there was a fear that I had that maybe my music would be too personal for people to relate to.

I had two songs on that album that mentioned guys' names, you know, guys that I'd had a crush on or the guy

that sat next me in class and I was sitting there and part of me was thinking, are people going to be able to relate to this at all

because it's so my personal story that maybe people might not be able to relate.

It actually had the opposite effect.

It was crazy how many people were coming up to me

and mentioning the songs that were the most personal on the record

and and saying that those were the ones they could relate to the most.

And at that point I started to realize that it was a good thing to put details into songs.

It's how I had always written, so I didn't really know any other different way.

It just really meant a lot to me

that I realized after my first record came out that I didn't have to change anything that I was doing.

It was okay to write songs in my bedroom, you know, sitting there, writing songs about a guy that I almost dated,

and comparing him to, you know, Prince Charming, and all that was okay to write about because if I was feeling it,

I guess it didn't occur to me that a lot of other people might be feeling it too.

Making Fearless happened over the course of two years.

I put out my first album and went on non-stop tours.

I was the opening act for every country artist out there that was on their headlining tour.

And I'm so glad that I took two years to make the second album

because what I've always wanted to do and my main goal above everything else is to beat what I've done before.

To me that's the most important thing.

And always topping what you did last.

So taking those two years in between the album, I experienced two years worth of experiences and two years worth of life

and meeting people and getting let down and having people promise you things

that they don't follow through with and watching people and reflecting on things.

And I'm so glad that there was that amount of time for me to grow up.

You do so much growing from the age of 16 to 18.

And I was living on a tour bus at that point and I was playing a show every night, but that didn't change the fact that I was meeting boys

and got my heart broken and lived life the way a 16 to 18 year old lives their life.

Regardless of if you're staying in a hotel or if you're going to high school every day, those things happen to you.

And I've tried to leave the whole travel aspect out of my writing

and just focus on feelings and boys because that's what I like to write songs about.

The title Fearless was directly taken from a song that I wrote.

I wrote this song about what my idea was of the best first date ever.

And, you know, it doesn't matter where you go to dinner on the best first date

or if somebody brings you flowers at the door or something like that.

It's really all about who you're with and who shows up at your doorstep and how that person makes you feel.

And I wrote this song called Fearless about how you just have that feeling where you would do anything.

You would dance in the rain in your best dress because with that person you feel fearless.

And you know, the first thing I do

when I'm thinking about titling an album is I look to the music first and I look to the lyrics.

So that really stuck out to me as something that not only described the feeling you get when you're in love,

but it describes the feeling that I hoped to have putting out that album.

You know, everything just disappears, all your fears and your anxiety and your doubt, and you put it out and you hope people like it.

And I think there's a lot of fearlessness that goes into love

and writing honest songs about what you're going through on a daily basis.

So I'm really, really happy that we chose that as the album title.

100

My co-producer, Nathan Chapman, is amazing, and I met him when I was 14.

101

So when I met him, I was writing songs in this little publishing company

102

and he was producing demos in a shack behind that publishing company with like a space heater next to his computer.

103

And he had like a couple instruments and he would like make these demos in this shack that sounded like records.

104

When we put out my self-titled album, that was the first album either of us had ever made.

105

So it's been awesome to see those albums go on to sell millions of records

106

when we were just having fun in this little shack behind a publishing company.

107

And then we got to upgrade to studios with air conditioning and stuff, which was really nice.

108

But making Fearless was a little bit different than making the first album

109

because if we wanted to put strings on a certain song, that was easier for us to do.

110

And if we wanted to really experiment with recording a last-minute song that I had just written the night before.

111

Love Story was a song that I wrote in my bedroom

112

and then the next day I was scheduled to go into the studio and we had 15 extra minutes in the studio.

113

And so I got up my guitar and I was like, I know that you guys want to go home

114

but I wrote this last night and I was wondering if maybe we could just kind of do a run through, just like try it out, see if we like it.

115

If not, you know, just we won't do it.

116

But it ended up being the biggest hit that I've ever had and being number one in countries I've never been before.

117

Like, that's so crazy to me.

118

So co-producing this record was also really awesome because when I write songs, I hear the entire production in my head

119

and I hear what the guitar lick is in the beginning

120

and I hear what the hook is and just instrumentally

121

and I really love the fact that I am with the producer that listens to me.

122

It means so much to me

123

because I've been a teenage girl in Nashville in the studio with people who don't listen

124

and I like it a lot better when they do listen to me.

125

I heard stories about Shania and Garth going over there and touring in different countries,

126

but other than that, I hadn't heard of any country artists that have gone overseas and really tried to make it work. But it's been wonderful.

127

I'm so excited about going over there and playing Wembley Arena and playing an arena in London.

128

Are you kidding me?

129

I just am so excited about it.

130

Touring in Australia last year was incredible and we're going back there with my entire set. So excited.

131

And I'm going to Japan for the first time.

132

So it's been so exciting because I've never expected to get to do any of this.

133

So when it happens I just freak out.

134

Writing the song You Belong With Me was really inspired by a conversation that happened in my life.

135

It's so funny how sometimes I'll get inspired by something that's happening to one of my friends or something like that,

136

but then there's the case where I'm literally having this happen to me and I write a song about it.

137

I was walking past one of my guy friends

138

and he was on the phone with his girlfriend and she was yelling at him like really loudly in the phone.

139

I mean I could hear her voice yelling at him from across the room and she was on the phone.

140

It's terrible.

141

And I felt so bad for him because I was like, don't be with her.

142

She's mean to you.

143

Like, she's being ridiculously mean.

144

It was because he didn't call her back in 10 minutes.

145

He called her back in 15 minutes.

146

Crazy.

147

And so I walked past and I started humming to myself.

148

I started singing in my head, you're on the phone with your girlfriend.

149

She's upset.

150

And I was like, that could be something.

151

And so I went back to my tour bus

152

and picked up my guitar and wrote the first verse

153

and got back to Nashville and went over to Liz Rose's house

154

and played her the first verse and like half the chorus.

155

And we turned it into this song that I'm really excited.

156

It was a big hit.

157

I mean, it's like, I just, it's so funny to look back on the inspiration point of these songs,

158

and then what they go on to become is crazy to me.

159

The video was really fun to make because we got to go back to high school, and that storyline is what I always wished would happen to me in high school,

160

and because it never did, I got to make a music video about it.

161

So Lucas Till was in the video, and I thought he did a great job as the male love interest, and I got to wear my glasses that I used to wear in high school, so it was all good.

162

When I have any time off, which doesn't happen that much, but when I do have time off, I love baking and cooking,

163

and right now I'm getting my mom to teach me all of the recipes that she knows.

164

And I have this little red book that's a journal, but I just write the recipes in that book that she knows,

165

and whenever I'm home, like, I have her teach me a new recipe every single night, and it's really fun.

166

Other than that, I just got my first place, and I'm really excited about it.

167

So whenever I'm on the road and when I'm home, I'm always in antique stores and buying old things,

168

and I just want it to be a really quirky, eclectic place with, like, mismatched furniture and,

169

you know, crazy colors and some place where I can't wait to go when I'm home.

170

So I'm doing lots of construction.

171

It looks very post-apocalyptic right now in there, but it's gonna be cool.

172

I am involved in charities.

173

I haven't just picked one.

174

I try to spread it out and really be a part of a lot of different charities.

175

But Red Cross has been a favorite of mine.

176

Also, St. Jude's is everybody.

177

Everybody loves St. Jude's because they do amazing stuff over there.

178

And also, when I go to a town that has had flooding or natural disasters happen there,

179

I give back privately and stuff like that

180

and I'm a big fan of making a difference in a family's life when I meet someone who really needs it.

181

And I don't talk about those ones because it's

182

so rewarding just on a personal level to be able to help people now.

183

And I get to be a good tipper now, which is really fun.

184

I really love tipping people at drive-thrus because they don't expect you to.

185

There's a lot of extra content on this album

186

and I just always try to let people into my life

187

and show them what they've done for me because the fans are the reason I'm here.

188

They're the reason I get to stand on a big stage

189

so I want to show them what it's like to be on tour.

190

So we have a lot of backstage footage

191

and my brother recently got a camera and started taking pictures

192

when we were on the road and eventually we just started saying, Austin, why don't you take pictures of everything and we'll use it somewhere.

193

Why don't you just be tour photographer for the summer?

194

And so he came out on the road every single show this summer and took pictures behind the scenes, took pictures of the band, of the crew, of me,

195

of performances, of backstage and there are so many pictures on there that I'm so excited for people to see.

196

There are music videos, Thug Story, the T-Pain collaboration that I did for the CMT Awards is on there,

197

which I'm really excited about.

198

I'm also really excited about all the videos that are on there, like You Belong With Me, Love Story, White Horse, they're all on there.

199

The six new songs on the Fearless Platinum Edition are songs that I either recorded really recently and wrote really recently.

200

Wrote maybe a year ago and almost put on Fearless but decided not to for one reason or another.

201

Songs that I wrote when I was 14 or 15 and recorded back then and then re-recorded recently.

202

It's a good mixture of songs from different time periods throughout my life

203

but when I make an album I always have a general theme for

204

that album and when I hear my songs and go back and listen to old ones,

205

there are some that you know fit in with the theme of this album, just musically, sonically.

206

And so these are six songs that I've written that I feel really, really working well with this album.

207

And there are a few that are just my favorites.

208

There's a song called Jump Then Fall that is probably the happiest,

209

bounciest, fun song to drive down the street listening to.

210

I wrote it last summer and it's just really fun and happy and takes me back to a good place.

211

There's a song called The Other Side of the Door

212

that I really like because it talks about

213

when you're in a fight with someone you're in a relationship with and you slam the door and you're like, leave me alone, don't ever talk to me, I hate you.

214

But what you really mean is, please go buy me flowers and beg that I forgive you and stand at the door and don't leave for three days.

215

It's like all about the dramatics of relationships where you're like, I hate you so much, I don't ever want to talk to you again, and you mean the opposite.

216

So that's a fun one that I am really excited about getting out there.

217

And there's also a version of my song Forever and always that is just piano and cello.

218

And that's a song on the record that I feel like

219

that song has a lot of different sides and it has a lot of different emotions all poured into one song.

220

And so this version of the song really addresses the sad parts of that song.

221

And you know on the record the way it is, it's produced and it seems frustrated and angry and confused,

222

but this version of the song is just really sad.

223

So it's going to be really excited to hear what people think of the six new songs

224

and all the new stuff on this record because they've made this a really great year for me.

225

And so this is my chance to, you know, give some new music and some new stuff to the people who have had this CD for a year.

226

I hope they all enjoy the Fearless Jedi Ninja Platinum Edition.

TRENDING

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

☕ Buy us a coffee

ShadowingEnglish remains 100% free thanks to your support. Server and AI costs are high — your coffee keeps us going! 🙏

Donate via PayPal

ShadowingEnglish.com – English Shadowing Practice

Speak English fluently using the Shadowing technique. Listen to native YouTube videos, repeat sentence by sentence, and build real pronunciation and fluency — used by IELTS learners worldwide.

Shadowing Practice: 4.2k - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

Popular

Why practice speaking with this video?

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Common Pronunciation Traps

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing Practice: 4.2k - Learn English Speaking with YouTube

Download App

Why practice speaking with this video?

Grammar & Expressions in Context

Common Pronunciation Traps

What is the Shadowing Technique?