“Never Grow Up” by Taylor Swift
When life seems to be moving too fast, it’s natural to look back to our younger days and wish we could rewind time to those simple times. With her quick-rising stardom from a young age, a teenaged Taylor Swift pens down these exact thoughts on “Never Grow Up”.
From looking back on herself when she was a baby without a care in the world, the lyrics of this song then fast forward to her days of being a teenager. Like every ordinary teenager growing up, the songstress finds herself wanting to grow up quickly so that she can “call (her) own shots”.
As the song progresses, we find Swift moving into the next stage of her life – a time when she’s being ushered into adulthood. At this stage in her life, she buys her first house in Nashville. However, she experiences the coldness of living alone in her new penthouse. Alone in this mansion of hers, she copiously recalls memories from days of growing up in the company of her beloved family. And of course the more she recalls these priceless memories, the more she apparently longs to relive them once again.
This is undoubtedly a sentiment that anyone who has recently moved out of their family home would find relatable. The experience itself can be both exhilarating and scary. However, that’s the cycle of life and no matter how much we wish we could turn back time, we have to accept the only way to go is forward.
Taylor Swift talks about “Never Grow Up”
According to Swift, the lyrics are about her not knowing exactly how she feels about becoming an adult. She referred to the act of growing up as a “tricky” thing. Why? Because you never know it is happening yet it is actually happening. She also went on to refer to the process of “growing up” as “a crazy concept”. This is because more often than not you find a young person wishing they were older. However, when they get older, they wish they could rewind the hands of the clock and go back to their younger selves once again.
Taylor has categorically stated that she “wrote this song for those little girls” wanting to grow up quickly. Her message to these teenage girls is that growing up happens quickly and it’s crazy, so they should take their time to enjoy the process.
The Team behind the Creation of “Never Grow Up”
Taylor Swift is the sole credited songwriter. But on the song’s production side, she worked alongside American country-music record producer Nathan Chapman to produce the track.
In addition to being known for his numerous collaborations with Swift, Chapman is also famed for working big names such as Kylie Minogue, Lady Antebellum and Shania Twain.
NOTE: According to Swift, she wrote “Never Grow Up” when she was either “18 or 19” years old.
Date of Release
“Never Grow Up” is one of the tracks on Swift’s third album, “Speak Now”. Since Swift didn’t release it as a single from the album, it shares the same date of release as the album. The album, which is a product of Big Machine Records, was launched on the 25th of October, 2010.
Swift dedicates “Never Grow Up” to Godson
Before performing this song at a 2015 concert in California, Taylor Swift dedicated it to her godson, Leo Thames (who had recently just been born to her close friend, model and actress, Jaime King).
She told the crowd gathered in Santa Clara, California of her recent experience of holding her godson in her arms for the first time. She went on to describe the baby as “so innocent and so perfect” with no idea what the world is going to throw at him.
Who has covered “Never Grow Up”?
On 23rd June, 2020, American singer-songwriter Kylie Spence posted her version of the track on YouTube.
Singaporean bilingual singer-songwriter Marcus Lee posted his cover on 2nd October, 2020 as part of a dedication to those celebrating Children’s Day.
English actor and narrator Shaun Dooley collaborated with Grimethorpe Colliery Band in 2019 to produce a cover of this song. Their cover can be found on the “BBC Children In Need: Got It Covered” album.
