Teardrops on My Guitar

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"Teardrops on My Guitar"
Cover art of "Teardrops on My Guitar"
Single by Taylor Swift
from the album Taylor Swift
ReleasedFebruary 19, 2007 (2007-02-19)
StudioSound Cottage (Nashville)
Genre
Length3:35
LabelBig Machine
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Nathan Chapman
Taylor Swift singles chronology
"Tim McGraw"
(2006)
"Teardrops on My Guitar"
(2007)
"Our Song"
(2007)
Music video
"Teardrops on My Guitar" on
YouTube

"Teardrops on My Guitar" is a song by the American singer-songwriter

crossover single in November 2007. It was included on the international edition of Swift's second studio album, Fearless
, and released in the UK in 2009.

Swift was inspired to write "Teardrops on My Guitar" by her unrequited love for a high-school classmate. Musically, the track is a gentle

Music critics have conflicting opinions about the song's country-music classification; those disagreeing said it had a pop-music production. They complimented Swift's vocals and songwriting for earnestly portraying heartbreak. "Teardrops on My Guitar" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was Swift's first pop-radio crossover single on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. The single was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA).

The song's music video was directed by Trey Fanjoy and features Swift as she sees her love interest develop a relationship with another female. The video received a nomination for MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist, but lost to Tokio Hotel's music video for "Ready, Set, Go!". Swift performed the song live while supporting as the opening act for other country-music artists' concert tours, and included it on the set list of her first headlining tour, the Fearless Tour (2009–10).

Background and release

Swift was inspired to write "Teardrops on My Guitar" about her experience with a boy named Drew Hardwick, a classmate of hers whom she had feelings for. Hardwick later went on to join the

freshman year at Hendersonville High School in Hendersonville, Tennessee,[2] Swift and Hardwick sat beside each other in class every day. The two became friends, although Swift secretly desired for them to become a couple. Because of Hardwick's unawareness, he would frequently speak to Swift about another girl he had feelings for, something Swift pretended to be endeared by, commenting, "How beautiful she was, how nice and smart and perfect she was. And I sat there and listened, never meaning it any of the times I said, 'Oh, I'm so happy for you.'"[3] Hardwick and his crush eventually developed a relationship that lasted for a few years. Swift never confessed her feelings to him. By the release of Taylor Swift, he remained unaware of Swift's intentions or of the song and continued his relationship with the same female.[3] Upon its release as a single, Hardwick attempted to contact Swift via phone calls, which Swift did not respond to; he then left voicemails, but Swift felt too awkward to call back.[4]

Two years after the album's release, as she was leaving her house to attend a Nashville Predators hockey game with Kellie Pickler and Carrie Underwood, Hardwick appeared at her driveway. A car parked and Hardwick and a friend of his came out of it.[5] After two and a half years of not speaking, the two conversed: "He was like, 'Hey, how's it going?' And I'm like, 'Wow, you're late. Good to see you.' But we were civilized."[5] Swift conjectured multiple theories as to why Hardwick appeared at her house. One of them was that he was attempting to prove to his friend that he was indeed the subject of "Teardrops on My Guitar". Other possibilities was that he wanted to rebuild their friendship or believed Swift was still pining away from him.[5] Swift said it would have been poetic if he approached her upon the album's release and she would have accepted but that she had already moved on.[6] Swift cited "Teardrops on My Guitar" as an example of how she expresses her sentiments in songs and sometimes in no other manner. She was not afraid of using Hardwick's first name on the track and, therefore, believed it was very honest and susceptible, something she adored.[3]

"Teardrops on My Guitar" was released to US country radio on February 20, 2007, by Big Machine Records as the second single from Swift's debut album.[7] Big Machine and Republic Records released the song to US contemporary hit radio in November 2007.[8] The track was included on the non-US editions of Swift's second album, Fearless, released in March 2009.[9][10] In the United Kingdom, "Teardrops on My Guitar" was released as a single on May 18, 2009, by Mercury Records.[11]

Composition

"Teardrops on My Guitar" is a

drums.[20] It ultimately results in a simple[21] and tender undertone.[22] The version released to pop radio replaces the banjo with a drum loop.[14]

The lyrics of "Teardrops on My Guitar" speak of heartbreak and are direct, referring to the subject by his first name, Drew.[18][21] The song describes fancying someone who is already interested in someone else and, therefore, maintaining the sentiments a secret. To him, Swift acted as though she was happy about his relationship,[23] while crying and lamenting at home.[18] Dave Heaton of PopMatters interpreted the lines "And there he goes, so perfectly / The kind of flawless I wish I could be" to address Swift's ideal of perfection and her attempting to meet it, but not succeeding, a predominant theme on Fearless.[24]

Critical reception

"Teardrops on My Guitar" has received acclaim from contemporary critics. Perone cited the song as Swift's songwriting ability to draw on diverse musical styles and regarded the "teardrops on my guitar" image one of the album's most memorable lyrical detail.

About.com rated "Teardrops on My Guitar" four out of five stars. Lamb complimented Swift's vocal delivery and songwriting style, but criticized the production and arrangement, perceiving them to be dull. He added that the track's refrains were most impacting and deemed it among the most memorable songs of 2007.[20] Sean Dooley, also of About.com, described Swift's vocals as "nothing less than captivating."[18]

Fiona Chua of

Chuck Taylor, also of Billboard, reviewed the pop version release of "Teardrops on My Guitar", and stated it was a "beautiful mainstream intro to an artist whose rise is ably exemplified by her last name."[19] An uncredited review from Rolling Stone attributed the track to be one of the reasons why Taylor Swift was so commercially successful.[26] Jon Bream of Star Tribune believed the song was in attempt to empower high school- and college-age females by confronting males.[27] In 2019, Insider named "Teardrops on My Guitar" one of the fourteen best songs written by teenagers.[28] It also ranked at number 47 on Teen Vogue's "91 Best Songs About Unrequited Love" list, while Swift's 2009 single "You Belong with Me" topped the list.[29]

Commercial performance

In the United States, "Teardrops on My Guitar" peaked at number 13 on the

Mainstream Top 40 chart.[32] It was Swift's first single to enter the pop charts.[33] The song peaked within the top 10 of four airplay charts—Hot Country Songs, Mainstream Top 40, Adult Pop Songs, and Adult Contemporary.[34] The single was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in April 2014, for surpassing three million units based on sales and streaming.[35] By July 2019, "Teardrops on My Guitar" had sold three million digital copies in the United States.[36]

In Canada, "Teardrops on My Guitar" peaked at number 45 on the

UK Singles Chart.[39] In August 2021, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for 200,000 units based on sales and streaming.[40]

Music video

Tyler Hilton, American singer and actor
Tyler Hilton portrayed the male lead in the video for "Teardrops on My Guitar".

Trey Fanjoy directed the music video for "Teardrops on My Guitar". Swift worked again with Fanjoy, who had directed the video for Swift's debut single "Tim McGraw", because of positive experiences, "You have to remember the people who were good to you in the beginning".[41] For "Teardrops on My Guitar", Swift said the theme was unrequited love.[41] Despite recommendation from label personnel that the video should have been set in a prior era and filmed at a larger city, Swift kept it simple and filmed it in Nashville.[42] American singer and actor Tyler Hilton portrayed the male lead. Swift had been fond of Hilton's music as well as acting on the television series One Tree Hill and the film Walk the Line (2005).[41] She chose Hilton particularly because she thought he resembled the subject behind the song, Drew Hardwick, whom she had a crush on during high school.[43] Swift invited other high-school friends, her cousin, and her brother Austin to portray fellow high-school students in the halls.[44]

In the video, Swift and Hilton portray two high school students. Swift's character is in love with Hilton's, but he is in love with another girl. Scenes of the two characters studying together are intertwined with scenes of Swift's character in a long aquamarine evening gown, lying beside an acoustic guitar on a mattress in a bedroom. By the song's bridge, Swift's character witnesses the male lead kissing his girlfriend as she watches despondently. The video ends with Swift in the bedroom, crying on the mattress. The video received a nomination for "Number One Streamed Music Video" at the web-hosted 2007 CMT Online Awards, but lost to Sugarland's "Stay" (2007).[45] The video received a nomination for MTV Video Music Award for Best New Artist at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, but lost to Tokio Hotel's video for "Ready, Set, Go!" (2007).[46]

Accolades

Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2008 MTV Video Music Awards Best New Artist Nominated [47]
BMI Country Awards
Song of the Year Won [48]
SESAC Nashville Music Awards Recurrent Country Performance Activity Awards Won [49]
2009
BMI Pop Awards
Award-Winning Songs Won [50]

Live performances

Taylor Swift playing a wooden acoustic guitar made while a large microphone is placed close to her
Swift performing "Teardrops on My Guitar" in 2006

She performed "Teardrops on My Guitar" as she opened for Rascal Flatts on several dates, from October 19 to November 3, 2006, included on the Me and My Gang Tour (2006–07).[51] Swift opened the concert with the song and dressed in a black, knee-length dress and red cowboy boots with a design of a skull and crossbones across it, playing an acoustic guitar.[52] She also performed the song when she served as opening act on twenty dates for George Strait's 2007 United States tour,[53] and selected dates for Brad Paisley's Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour in 2007.[54][55] Throughout mid-2007, Swift engaged as the opening act on several dates for Tim McGraw's and Faith Hill's joint tour, Soul2Soul II Tour (2006–07), where she again performed "Teardrops on My Guitar".[56] During that period, she also performed the song at a set for Longwood University's Spring Weekend.[57] Swift performed the song while she was again opening for Rascal Flatts for their Still Feels Good Tour in 2008.[58]

When promoting the single, Swift performed it on numerous venues, including Total Request Live (TRL),[59] The Engine Room,

CMA Music Festival,[66] at the 2009 V Festival,[67] and at the Australian charity concert Sydney Sound Relief.[68]

Swift performed the song on all venues of her first headlining concert tour, the

Reputation Stadium Tour on May 25, 2018.[73] Most recently, she performed it as a surprise song at her first show in Nashville on the Eras Tour on May 5, 2023.[74]

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Taylor Swift (2006).[75]

  • Taylor Swift – vocals, songwriter, guitar, harmony vocals
  • Liz Rose – songwriter
  • bass
    , acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmony vocals
  • Eric Darken –
    percussion
  • Dan Dugmore – steel guitar
  • Rob Hajacos – fiddle
  • John Willis – acoustic guitar (high string)

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Teardrops on My Guitar"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[89] Platinum 70,000
Canada (Music Canada)[38] Platinum 80,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[40] Silver 200,000
United States (RIAA)[35] 3× Platinum 3,000,000[36]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats for "Teardrops on My Guitar"
Region Date Format Label Ref.
United States February 20, 2007 Country radio Big Machine [7]
November 9, 2007 Contemporary hit radio
[8]
August 30, 2019
7-inch vinyl
Big Machine [90][91][92]

Notes

  1. ^ "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Our Song" were included on the Asian version of Fearless.

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Sources