Singer Taylor Swift, nominated for song, pop solo performance and pop vocal album in Sunday night's 62nd annual Grammy Awards, recently allowed that her upcoming song "Only the Young" was written to encourage young voters to get involved in left-wing causes after being disappointed that Republicans won certain races in the 2018 mid-term elections.
The singer once declined to talk about her political beliefs but now is a vocal Democrat. In 2018, she was outspoken in her support for former Gov. Phil Bredesen's U.S. Senate campaign that was won handily by then-U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn.
In an interview with Variety, Swift called the stances of Republicans "sinister" and "so dark." She penned her new song, she said, because "I was really upset about Tennessee going the way that it did, obviously."
Some of the lyrics say, "You did all that you could do / The game was rigged, the ref got tricked / The wrong ones think they're right / We were outnumbered - this time."
Our advice to Swift would be to stick with her music career. If "Only the Young" is her political anthem, we wondered which of her songs and lyrics already fit the two dozen current or former Democratic candidates seeking the 2020 presidential nomination. Here's our take:
* "You Belong With Me": Here, Swift could be speaking to voters as if she were lifetime politician Joe Biden wooing voters who have known him as senator, vice president or candidate for president for years. "If you can see I'm the one who understands you," her lyrics say, "been here all along, so why can't you see you belong with me."
* "You Need To Calm Down": Swift's subtle message to Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, would include the lyrics "You need to calm down, you're being too loud. And I'm just like oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh (oh). You just need to stop. You need to calm down. Why are you so mad? You just need to take several seats and then try to restore the peace, and control your urges to scream about all the people you hate."
* "Shake It Off": Here, she could pay tribute to Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who has survived her lies about being a Native American, her false story of growing up poor and obfuscations about what her policies would do to remain a player in the race. "Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play," Swift writes. "And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Baby, I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. I shake it off, I shake it off."
* "Blank Space": Swift could evoke former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Farallon Capital Management founder Tom Steyer with their late entries in the race and their strategies to buy their way to the top. "So it's gonna be forever," she writes, "or it's gonna go down in flames. You can tell me when it's over if the high was worth the pain."
* "Death By A Thousand Cuts": Here, she would describe the party faithful's flirtation with former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, who famously told Vanity Fair, "Man, I'm just born to be in [the race]." O'Rourke withdrew from the race in November, but Swift pines, "I see you everywhere, the only thing we share is this small town. You said it was a great love, one for the ages. But if the story's over, why am I still writing pages? 'Cause saying goodbye is death by a thousand cuts."
* "Cruel Summer": She could redirect her words to express sympathy for New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who had the misfortune to enter the race with fanfare only to be quickly dashed on the rocks and withdraw in August 2019 because in a campaign there are "no rules in a breakable heaven, but ooh, whoa, oh, it's a cruel summer."
* "Back To December": Here, Swift might turn her thoughts to California Sen. Kamala Harris, whose early debate success elevated her into the top pantheon of candidates but whose support fell just as quickly. "Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine," she could write about Harris, who withdrew from the race last month, "I'd go back to December, turn around and make it all right. I go back to December all the time."
* "I Forgot That You Existed": With her lyrics "I forgot that you existed. It isn't love, it isn't hate, it's just indifference," she could deliver a message to current nonentities in the race such as U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and author/entrepreneur Andrew Yang.
* "Wildest Dreams": Swift delivers a paean - "Say you'll remember me in your wildest dreams" to withdrawn candidates such as U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell of California, former U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, Montana Gov. Steve Bullock, former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, former U.S. Sen. Mike Gravel and author/spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson.