The Work
The Inspiration
After listening to her album "Folklore", I recently became a
Taylor Swift fan, realizing her charm and the lyrical genius she is. I
now totally get why she's so famous. It took me a while to realize how
great she is, but it's better late than never.
Among all her songs, the song "All Too Well" stands out as a true masterpiece. Its lyrics and imagery beautifully captured the essence of a complicated relationship. One particular line that struck me was, "You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath." I was so moved by the emotion and symbolism of the relationship dynamics in this line that I decided to create a lettering piece inspired by it.
I slightly changed "I remember it all too well" to "We knew it all too well," to highlight the shared understanding of the toxic relationship in the past. You can see the past beyond just reminiscing with this adjustment, as it adds more layers to the story without the song's context.
And there we are again
When nobody had to know
You kept me like a secret
But I kept you like an oath
Sacred prayer and we'd swear
to remember it all too wellWell maybe we got lost in translation
Maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece
Til you tore it all up
Running scared, I was there
I remember it all too wellAnd you call me up again
Just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
I’m a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
Cause I remember it all, all, allThey say all’s well that ends well
But I’m in a new hell every time
You double-cross my mind
You said if we had been closer in age
Maybe it would have been fine
And that made me want to die.
The Process
In designing the lettering, I aimed to incorporate symbolism from
the song's themes of secrets and oaths. So I decided to use a lock and
key, as well as an oath ceremony, in the design.
Creating this design required meticulous attention to detail and precise composition. Despite spending two hours into the initial layout, I couldn't finish the design in one sitting. I had to settle for a rough draft, with plans to revisit it for improvements
While this style of design may not be something I tackle frequently, the detailing and precision required for such a piece made me realize the dedication and skill that go into lettering art.