Taylor Swift is the Purest, Most Wonderful Lady on Planet Earth

The economy is in the toilet. Unemployment rates keep going skyward with increases likely through 2010, according to the Wall Street Journal. And bad news keeps getting worse with the delivery of the morning paper. Times are tough indeed.

But, hey, it's not all bad. After all, we have Taylor Swift and she can take your mind off your troubles. Like the doctors used to say, "Take two of these (Taylor Swift songs) and call me in the morning."

Even if you're not a country or pop-music fan, it is seriously hard to dislike Taylor Swift or her songs and music videos. She still has that exuberance and charm of youthful innocence, and that is more prized than a high-yielding certificate of deposit in this Great Recession which is really not so great.

Taylor Swift is smokin' hot right now, in more ways than one. She is so adorably cute and that is definitely one form of hotness. She's also racing up the music charts with hit after monster hit and success that is nearly incomparable, especially when it comes to downloads of her songs, according to last.fm. She recently headlined the 2009 Country Music Television (CMT) awards and won two major awards.

Here is a list and analysis of four of her biggest hits. Feeling down? Take two of these and you'll be all right, at least for a time.

"You Belong With Me"

Spend some time listening to "You Belong to Me" by Taylor Swift and the beat will follow you all day long. It's such a fun, catchy tune but therein lies the paradox, because the song is about how the girl pines for the boy next door and we all know there's no fun in watching the one you love in someone else's arms.

"Our Song"

This song is one part "being trampled on" and one part "asking God to play it again." It's about a whole lot more than that but we all know that ithe song is classic Taylor Swift, with every line and note exuding her innocence and beauty, her perfect smile and deep longing.

"Love Story"

This Taylor Swift song and music video overwhelms with heartache and loss and Ms. Swift seems ready to burst with emotion. She is so genuine in the song, and though the words are common she finds the perfect way of building urgency between the two possible lovers. The Romeo and Juliet theme about frustrated lovers who have a hidden romance is irresistible.

"Teardrops on My Guitar"

This song is another one where Ms. Swift's character keeps thinking about her love and how he is with someone else, curses, but the difference is her guitar which is very central to the song. She uses her musical instrument as an emotional crutch and it helps steady her, it is there for her when she cries, when she struggles. The scene with her standing alone in the high school hallway in stunned disbelief as the boy kisses another girl is a true classic, mostly because we've all been there too. We've all lost out on a love and ached for a time because of it.

Taylor Swift is very young, of course, but don't hold that against her. Spend some time with her music and see the good in it, the charm in her performance, and the ease in which she takes the so-called unfortunate or rejected characters in the songs and makes them so heart-meltingly welcome in this day and age of financial abyss.

Taylor Swift, "you belong with us" until the economy gets better and we can stand on our own two feet. She is the singer of "our song" for a little while longer.

Sources

"Taylor Swift Raps and Wins at CMT Awards," Gil Kaufman, MTV.com, June 17, 2009.

"Recession and Revolution," Ross Douthat, The New York Times, June 15, 2009.

"The world is falling apart.," Ryan Rhodes, Houston County News, June 22, 2009.

"Fed Rate Hike Unlikely Until Late 2010," Maya Jackson Randall, Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2009.

Taylor Swift profile page, last.fm