Shakespearean Accuracy

Who here likes Taylor Swift?  Ok, I see a small raise of hands.  Don't be shy!
That's ok.  I don't have anything against her more than any other country/pop star.  Maybe less even than that.  So you're good, Taylor.

Except for this song:  Love Story.

So Romeo and Juliet eh?  She does an alright synopsis from Juliet's point of view for the first bit of the song.  Yes Juliet WAS quite in love with Romeo; immediately after seeing him by the way.  And the staircase she mentions is probably the balcony scene which is pretty romantic and blah blah blah.

The line about her dad saying "Stay away from Juliet" didn't happen in the play.  Had Juliet's father seen the two of them together at all, there probably would have been blood.  Everywhere.  The Capulets and Montagues were not exactly friendly to each other.

She is accurate in saying the two of them get married (VERY soon after meeting, by the way) by a nice impartial friar (poor guy isn't mentioned, though honestly hardly anyone from the play is).

The line "I talked to your dad" didn't happen.  There would have been the blood thing again.

And this is where the song ends!  Full of holes!  BUT WAIT!  I've got more!
Taylor left out the beginning and the end of the play!  Let's take for instance the party where Romeo and Juliet meet:
Romeo is originally depressed because he's so madly in love.... with another girl named Rosaline.  Suddenly he sees Juliet (it's a masked event which is why there isn't any fighting between the two families) and BAM love at first sight!!! Woo

Ms. Swift, does your ideal love story involve the man being pretty whimsical about his love of women?  Hmmm...

Ok, so we got the beginning down and now comes the song.  You can look up the lyrics if you haven't heard it every single night you work like I do (which is why I have it half memorized at this point).  Now onto the end!

I wrote some verses for her song actually...  After when it ends.
It starts with the same tune as when she sings "I got tired of waiting":

Then Romeo slew Tybalt
And got run out of town
The city's in revolt
And you running off was getting me down
and I said


Romeo tell me this isn't how you had it planned
I still love you even with blood on your hands
I went to the friar, he gave me a flower
That'll make it look like I've passed my final hour
he said


(to the tune of "marry me juliet")
What'd you say Juliet?  Romeo missed the entire thing
Thought I was dead and went back on the upswing
He went to my tomb he killed my other suitor
Still thought I was dead and poisoned himself
in a horrid stupor


(To the tune of "we were both young")
I woke up and I saw the situation
how Paris and Romeo had given to aberrations
I felt sad
Things were worse than bad
So I grabbed Romeo's blade
and said goodbye
"Come happy dagger" was my final reply
and I went with my lover to past the end of the road...


(Guitar interlude)


We were first young when I first saw you.


Wow.  This will probably become a vlog post before long.

As a reader and enjoyer of William Shakespeare, I offer these verses to Taylor Swift.

Y'know Romeo and Juliet isn't even a very good love story.  More of a cautionary one.  Just sayin'!