Hello and welcome to a new series called, “Tortured Poet,” where I edit songs to make pieces of poetry. I believe that songs and poems are one in the same, with both formulaically telling a story, and by this practice we are making one story out of another. This is a fun editing exercise for those that enjoy writing as well, so please feel free to do this at home with a song you have been listening to recently.
To start off this series is song #22 from the album that inspired this series, “The Tortured Poet Society,” by Taylor Swift, called, “So High School.”
“So High School” is a love story inspired by Travis Kelce and Taylor while using the romance of high school love as a motif for their blossoming relationship, a fun way to emphasize the excitement of a new relationship, and have those butterflies resonate with the listener as well.
We will first begin by “cutting out the fat” and exposing the bones of the story we are trying to tell.
So High School by Taylor Swift
*Warning: Adult themes*
I feel so high school every time I look at you
I wanna find you in a crowd just to hide from you
[Chorus]
And in a blink of a crinklin' eye
I'm sinkin', our fingers entwined
Cheeks pink in the twinklin' lightsTell me 'bout the first time you saw me
I'll drink what you think and I'm high
From smokin' your jokes all damn night
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Bittersweet sixteen suddenly
[Post-Chorus]I'm watchin' American Pie with you on a Saturday night
Your friends are around, so be quiet
I'm tryin' to stifle my sighs
'Cause I feel so high school every time I look at youBut look at you
[Interlude]Ah-ah, ah-ah, ah
[Verse 1]Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me? (Kill me)It's just a game, but really (Really)I'm bettin' on all three (All three) for us two
Get my car door, isn't that sweet? (That sweet)
Then pull me to thе backseat (The backseat)
No onе's ever had me (Had me), not like you
[Bridge]
Truth, dare, spin bottlesYou know how to ball, I know Aristotle *before Brand-new, full throttleTouch me while your bros play Grand Theft AutoIt's true, swear, scout's honor
You knew what you wantedand, boy, you got herBrand-new, full throttleYou already know, babe
[Verse 2]I feel like laughin' in the middle of practiceDo that impression you did of your dad againI'm hearing voices like a madman
[Chorus]
And in a blink of a crinklin' eyeI'm sinkin', our fingers entwined
Cheeks pink in the twinklin' lights
Tell me 'bout the first time you saw me
I'll drink what you think, and I'm high
From smokin' your jokes all damn night
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Bittersweet sixteen suddenly
[Post-Chorus]I'm watchin' American Pie with you on a Saturday night
Your friends are around, so be quiet
I'm tryin' to stifle my sighs'Cause I feel so high school (Feel so high school) every time I look at youBut look at you
So, I have trimmed down the fat, what I think are not necessary to the plot of my story, so to speak. Yes, this is a ballad to Travis Kelce, but we are going to make it a more general for others to share with their significant other who aren’t Taylor or Travis. Taking out lines that don’t pertain directly to the plot or drag an idea have been crossed out, leaving behind the skeleton and imagery we want to keep. Now, the reconstruction begins, little by little, until we come up with a new romance.
So High School (St.Sinjin’s Version)
In a blink of an eye,
I am suddenly sixteen,
a bittersweet Aristotle,
cheeks pink from drinking what you think
thoughts churning during spin the bottle,
marry, kiss, or kill me with your jokes,
I am back in high school, a wrinkle in time,
sinking into the smoke
of those twinkling eyes,
suddenly we are sixteen,
living through the memory of when your first saw me,
set in a fairground fantasy
where life is a game
and we are trying to play reality.
*
What would the next song you would like me to cover? Please comment below, I am very excited for this series.