When Taylor Swift was attending school in Hendersonville, Tenn., she put her daydreaming to work. She wrote the lyrics to her first hit, "Tim McGraw," during math and sneaked out of class to make a quick recording of the melody for "Teardrops On My Guitar."
What do those two songs have in common? Not surprisingly, boys — a topic many of her female peers understand.
"I'm not going to write songs about what it's like being on the road," she tells The Kansas City Star. "I know 99 percent of my fans can't relate to that. I will write songs about things I can relate to and the people buying my album can relate to. If I have to go back to when I was 13 and had a crush on the basketball player who didn't notice me, that's what I'll do. Those feelings are universal."
Talent is not universal, so Taylor — having demonstrated she possesses it — is now in demand. Her publishing company in Nashville recently renewed her songwriting contract, and she's already written new material for her second album with Kellie Pickler and pop singer Colbie Caillat.
Meanwhile, Taylor's passion for writing about relationships makes it dangerous for any guy to get involved with her romantically.
"I think the coolest thing about being a songwriter is you can call out anyone you want to," she says. "Sometimes I feel bad for the guys I've written songs about. They are permanently branded."