10 Greatest Songs About Other Musicians
6. Taylor Swift - Tim McGraw
With the release of debut single “Tim McGraw”, Taylor Swift was a country superstar from the off. With its mix of classical bluegrass musicianship and fresh, contemporary lyrics and sheen, Swift set herself apart from the remainder of the popular country scene, a marketable proposition in the pop market with the legitimacy for genre fans.
“Tim McGraw” is less a song about the country artist himself than the power of music and memory. It’s a bittersweet breakup song, with Swift and her ex maintaining an indelible connection through their shared love of McGraw’s music and memories that will be forever linked to it.
Even at such a young age, Swift has a knack for detail, picking just the right artist - famous but not too obvious, acclaimed but not necessarily a purist’s choice - to illustrate her point. Meanwhile her own music is subtle but stirring, and betrays from the off her genuine love for country music.
While Swift would gradually move away from the strictly country stylings of her first few records, with tracks like “Tim McGraw”, she could quickly enter the same pantheon as her idols.