Fans have known Taylor Swift as a singer-songwriter since the start of her career. The pop star pours her heart into her songs in order for them to be relatable. But are there any songs Taylor Swift didn’t write?
Taylor Swift wrote or co-wrote every song on all of her albums. She has, however, occasionally performed covers of other people’s songs, such as Tom Petty’s American Girl or Train’s Drops of Jupiter. She has also performed duets with artists such as Haim and Kenny Chesney of songs she didn’t write.
Many artists who write their own songs collaborate with other writers.
This is a fairly common practice, and some even have entire songs written by other people. This does not make them less than great songwriters. It just means collaboration is sometimes appropriate.
Taylor Swift is one of those artists who writes all of her songs. However, she does work with other songwriters on her music. The most recent example is her work with The National on both folklore and evermore.
Since so many people have questions about Taylor’s songwriting, I decided to do some digging. Does she have a pen name? Did she write for Olivia Rodrigo?
Continue reading for answers to those questions and more.
What songs has Taylor Swift written alone?
Taylor Swift has written many songs by herself, including Mean, Dear John, Love Story, and Forever and Always. However, beginning with her album 1989, she began using co-writers on most songs.
Taylor Swift has always been a great songwriter.
This is one of the most enduring things about her as an artist. What many people don’t realize is that while she does collaborate with other writers, a number of her songs were written solo.
Some of the songs she wrote by herself are Change, Fifteen, every song on Speak Now, Begin Again, and many more. However, as Taylor left country music and became a pop star, she started to work with more people.
1989 marked the end of an era.
The 1989 era from Taylor’s career found the singer going for bigger sounds. She worked with people such as Max Martin and Shellback for many of the biggest hits from that album.
Only one song on this album was written solely by Taylor.
This continued with Taylor’s next album, Lover. She didn’t write any of the songs on that album by herself. This does not make Taylor any less of a real artist because it is important to bring different voices to the table in the creative process.
The next thematic composition that I put together from the album is out now ???? Listen to “folklore: the sleepless nights chapter” here: https://t.co/QFbi6rH5JJ pic.twitter.com/X62Gb3KkjQ
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) August 24, 2020
Did Taylor Swift write all the folklore songs?
Taylor co-authored all of the songs on folklore, primarily with one or both of her co-producers Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. The only song where she is the sole writer is “My Tears Ricochet”.
“folklore”, Taylor’s first surprise album of her career, was released in 2020.
The album was written and recorded at the start of the pandemic and throughout the months leading to its release. She is listed as the main writer on all of the tracks on the album.
As previously mentioned, Taylor did collaborate with other songwriters for the music contained in folklore.
She worked very closely with members of The National. In fact, they are listed second to her under the writing credits for folklore.
Her music still has a personal touch.
Taylor seems to have found her footing in terms of working with other songwriters.
But 2020 saw Swift release not only folklore but also the follow-up evermore. But is one album better than the other?
In a recent article, I wrote about folklore versus evermore. I pondered which is better in the article as well as talked about the recording of it. There is a great deal to explore about both albums.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
Technically , they had a collab already when Tay penned THIS IS WHAT YOU CAME FOR and Rihanna sang it.#RedTaylorsVersion #TaylorSwift #november19 pic.twitter.com/akQ0cVAYxR
— Swiftie_13 (@ObsessedLass) June 29, 2021
Why does Taylor Swift sometimes write songs under the name Nils Sjöberg?
Taylor uses the pen name Nils Sjöberg when she writes songs for other people because she does not want the songs she is writing to be overshadowed by who she is. Thus the anonymity of the songwriter allows fans and the media to focus on the artist who recorded the song.
Taylor Swift has been using the pen name Nils Sjöberg for a while now.
It should be noted that Taylor wrote Rihanna’s “This Is What You Came For” under the pen name. This was back in 2016, and people had no idea for the longest time.
She told Paul McCartney in a Rolling Stone interview that:
“I think when a pseudonym comes in is when you still have a love for making the work, and you don’t want the work to become overshadowed by this thing that’s been built around you, based on what people know about you.”
Unfortunately, people tend to expect the same type of content from their favorite singers.
When these artists try and branch out, they can receive backlash. Using this name is a way for Taylor to fully experiment without much judgement based on her past music.
Taylor Swift may even have other pen names.
Taylor has also said that she thinks it’s fun to write music under a different name.
This has led many people to wonder if she may even have other pen names. It would be interesting if she ever confirmed this theory.
????| @taylorswift13 has won a NMPA Gold & Platinum Award for her songwriting credits on @Olivia_Rodrigo‘s “deja vu”.
— Taylor now has 78 NMPA awards! pic.twitter.com/wdXL4lnJ71
— The Swift Society (@TheSwiftSociety) August 24, 2021
What song did Taylor Swift write for Olivia Rodrigo?
Taylor Swift is credited for having contributed to Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Déjà vu” from the album SOUR. However, she did not help write the song. Rodrigo simply sampled Swift’s song “Cruel Summer”.
And it’s worth noting that when Rodrigo released the song, Taylor’s name wasn’t listed.
It was listed later, along with co-authors Jack Antonoff and St. Vincent. Most likely, the credit was added due to pressure from Swift’s lawyers or record label.
But Olivia Rodrigo has very openly expressed her love and admiration for Taylor Swift.
While the two have never worked together, they are supportive of one another. I would not be surprised if Oliva Rodrigo and Taylor Swift one day wrote a song together.
Only time will tell!
In a recent article, I actually explored Taylor and Olivia’s relationship. It goes into the story of how they met, how Taylor influenced Olivia, and also if the two are related somehow. In fact, some have speculated that she is Swift’s daughter!
Just click that link to read it on my site.
I was today years old when I found out @taylorswift13 wrote You‘ll Always Find Your Way Back Home in the Hannah Montana Movie
Wow lmao@taylornation13 @LaurenLipman https://t.co/FFCcWuLjIS pic.twitter.com/NVVZf6tbTH
— em. (@EmilyTorresz) April 12, 2020
What song did Taylor Swift write for Miley Cyrus?
Taylor Swift wrote the song “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home” for Miley Cyrus for the 2009 film Hannah Montana: The Movie. Cyrus, of course, played Hannah Montana.
As previously mentioned, Taylor Swift is a pretty great songwriter.
Another artist she has written for is Miley Cyrus. She wrote the song “You’ll Always Find Your Way Back Home, which is a country-pop song. Taylor wrote the song with Martin Johnson.
Although the song was not a big hit, it was well-received by critics. This came about when the producers of the movie reached out to Taylor about doing a cameo for the film.
This song closed the movie.
Conclusion
Taylor Swift is known as being a great singer/songwriter.
She has been writing for her entire career, but she has also learned the value of working with others. According to many fans, some of her best music comes from writing for other people.
The music industry has changed, and so has Taylor.
She seems to now understand the art of evolving as an artist, and her songwriting process shows that. I wrote a recent article about her approach to music as well as if she uses autotune.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
Taylor is also great at writing for other people. She seems to truly enjoy composing songs that are meant for other people. This also allows her to explore all aspects of herself as an artist.
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
Also, Taylor Swift by Eva Rinaldi is licensed under CC2.0 and was cropped, edited, and had a text and graphic overlay added.