Taylor Swift Talks Songwriting and Her Former Dreams of Being a Stock Broker

Taylor Swift sat down for a 40-minute interview with YouTube Presents and the chatty singer gabbed away the entire time. Dressed in a short, strapless black and white polka dot dress with her famous ringlets piled into a loose bun undo and rocking those signature crimson lips, Swift got down to business and talked about being a writer for the most part. One poignant thing the ‘You Belong With Me’ singer said? “I never talk about my personal life, but I write about it.” Oh, Taylor, don’t we (and your ex-boyfriends) know it!
More than 30,000 questions were submitted for the chat. Here are some of the choice cuts from the interview.
Which comes first, music or lyrics: Swift said that songwriting is so spontaneous and unpredictable for her and it often starts with an idea. “It’s what hits you first, whether it’s a general thought or if you are going through something,” she revealed. “‘Love Story’ was written sitting on my bedroom floor. I liked a guy and my parents didn’t want to let me date him.”

Strangest place she’s ever written lyrics: When inspired, Swift writes, no matter what her location is or what amenities are available to her. She said she has scribbled words on paper towels in airport bathrooms even. (That song hasn’t come out yet, BTW!) Swift also said she often wakes up in the middle of the night in her bunk while on tour and writes.
What goes through her mind while onstage: Swift straps herself in before she steps on stage to perform, since she cycles through a myriad of emotions. She said, “I am really in it. I go through a roller coaster, since there are songs about people who have been in my life and some aren’t in my life anymore.” While onstage, an emotion “will hit you in just the right way, strongly, and it doesn’t matter if you are in front of 20,000 people,” she revealed.
Her favorite sound in the world: The screaming of her fans.
Her earliest aspirations: Swift wanted to follow in dad’s footsteps and be a stock broker. She said he is as passionate about being able to “broke stocks” as she is about her music.
Her definition of beauty: It comes from within “Beauty is sincerity,” Swift said. “There are so many different ways someone can be beautiful.”