Priscilla Block: Her Lucky Meeting With Taylor Swift Changed Her Life
Once upon a time there was a young girl who loved Taylor Swift. She would blast Taylor’s music, stare at herself in the mirror and sing into her hairbrush. She…
Taylor Swift’s 13 Finest Country Songs
Before Taylor Swift was an international superstar whose 2023 "Eras Tour" caused Ticket Master's website to shut down with high ticket demand selling out multiple nights at stadiums all over the country, she was a country star. She came to Nashville as a teenager and attended Hendersonville High School North of Nashville, writing songs about young love and loss. She won the CMA's Top honor of Entertainer of the Year in 2009 and again in 2011, the same year she won the ACM's Entertainer of the Year. Plainly put, she was country before she was a pop star.
Her early country songs started her road to history-making fame and fortune, and as she celebrates her 33rd birthday today (12/13), we celebrate the country songs that put her on the map in music.
13. "Fearless" (2010)
BMLGTaylor wrote "Fearless" while traveling on tour to promote her self-titled debut studio album (2006) in regard to the fearlessness of falling in love and eventually titled her second studio album after the song. The song narrates a perfect first date.
12. "Picture to Burn" (2008)
BMLGClassic Swift. The first album's single was chosen as a single based on the audience's reaction to it in concert. The lyrics concern setting fire to photographs of a former boyfriend.
11. "Back to December" (2011)
BMLGTaylor said that "Back to December" is an apology to a past lover in the form of a song. She said, "I've never felt the need to apologize in a song before. But in the last two years, I've experienced a lot, including a lot of different kinds of learning lessons. And sometimes you learn a lesson too late, and at that point, you need to apologize because you were careless."
10. "Love Story" (2008)
BMLGAnother early career single. This song was huge for Swift receiving widespread critical praise, with many complimenting her writing style and the song's catchiness. The single peaked atop the chart in Australia, where it was certified ten times platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). It reached the top five on charts in Canada, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, and the U.K., and was one of the best-selling singles of 2009 worldwide.
9. "Mean" (2011)
BMLGThe banjo in this song is infectious. A song Taylor wrote in response to people who criticize whatever she does. She said, "there's constructive criticism, there's professional criticism, and then there's just being mean. And there's a line that you cross when you just start to attack everything about a person."
8. "Highway Don't Care" (with Tim McGraw featuring Keith Urban) (2013)
BMLGA great collaboration with the man who she wrote her very first single, "Tim McGraw," about. Adding Keith Urban's guitar to this makes it close to a masterpiece.
7. "That's When" (with Keith Urban) (2021)
UMGA song from Taylor that, with the addition of Keith Urban, makes it country in my book. From Taylor's "Vault." Keith said he listened to the song while sitting in a mall food court and "loved it."
6. "You Belong with Me" (2009)
BMLGAnother classic. "You Belong with Me" was ranked among the greatest songs of the 2000s decade by both CMT and VH1. The song's music video features Swift portraying two characters: an ordinary girl (the protagonist and narrator) and a popular girl (the antagonist and girlfriend).
5. "I Bet You Think About Me" (featuring Chris Stapleton) (2021)
UMGAs usual, Stapleton's voice adds so much to this song. From Taylor's Red (Taylor's Version) album.
It's A Big Day In Country Music
BMLGThe song that started it all. The moment a young teenage Taylor singing the song on the ACM Awards show and went into the audience to sing it directly to McGraw himself is legendary. She wrote "Tim McGraw" during her freshman year of high school, knowing that she and her senior boyfriend would break up at the end of the year when he left for college.
3. "Our Song" (2007)
BMLGOne of Taylor's finest songs, and is on her debut album. Swift wrote "Our Song" for a high school talent show during her freshman year; the lyrics are about a young couple using the regular events in their lives to create their own song. She persuaded Big Machine Records to include the song on her debut album because it was popular among her classmates.
2. "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (2012)
BMLGThis is scarily catchy, and so good. Music critics praised the track for its catchy melody and radio-friendly sound. The song appeared in year-end lists by Rolling Stone, Time, and The Village Voice.
1. "Better Man" (2021)
UMGA huge hit and Grammy-winning song for Little Big Town. The song also won Song of the Year and was nominated for Single of the Year and Music Video of the Year at the 2017 CMA Awards for Little Big Town. The lyrics are powerful. Taylor's version is just, well, the best, and that's why it tops the list.
Once upon a time there was a young girl who loved Taylor Swift. She would blast Taylor’s music, stare at herself in the mirror and sing into her hairbrush. She would imagine herself on stage just like Taylor.
Wait. That sounds like every girl.
It is. And that’s what’s so great about country music. Even the artists we play are just like us. They grew up idolizing artists. And they dreamed of what it would be like to be on stage singing to thousands of people.
Dolly Parton has a quote on the wall outside the Country Music Hall of Fame that states: “Country music is music with a lot of class. It’s just ordinary stories told by ordinary people in an extraordinary way.”
And that’s what makes it so relatable. It’s not just about the music or the lyrics, it all starts with the artist. The ordinary person, like you and me, who remarkably documents our thoughts, our feelings, and our experiences.
How She Met Taylor
So, when Priscilla Block tells the story of working her tail off to make ends meet while putting herself through night school, we can relate. Today you can find Priscilla on stage, but back then she was serving fro-yo during the day and getting her degree at night. She was tired and overworked and questioned every decision she ever made. She was so disgruntled she called her sister: “I was like, 'Hey, I just don't know if, Nashville's it, I'm drowning out here.'”
That same day, when Priscilla was leaving work, wearing her favorite Taylor Swift t-shirt (undoubtedly splattered with chocolate, vanilla, and/or strawberry), a car pulled over. A woman got out. And Priscilla took that as the sign she was looking for to quit it all and put all of her effort into her dream.
Watch Priscilla tell the story of how Taylor Swift changed her life below.
