'Gilmore Girls': Taylor Swift songs are all about Dean, Jess and Logan
They tell all young artists one thing: Write what you know. In the early days, teen Taylor Swift had little experience with heartbreak, which would become the basis of most of her musical work. She drew inspiration in the beginning from fiction and film.
And, perhaps, early aughts dramedies about a mother and daughter duo?
Swift's songs are supposed to be universal, but sometimes they hit too close to home -- especially if you’re Rory Gilmore. Rory is another young ingenue, inexperienced in matters of love and swept off her feet by one dashing, flawed suitor after another and her romantic path mirrors Swift’s too closely for comfort.
Gilmore Girls premiered on October 5, 2000. Swift's first album, Taylor Swift, was released on October 26, 2006. The show had a six year start on Swift's career, meaning she had plenty of time to craft sparkly pop songs with all the market research of her primarily young, female fanbase's reactions to Rory's love interests.
We're mostly kidding, of course, but Mashable assembled a crack team of experts to analyze the evidence tying Taylor to Rory and all the men she loved, and, well, the evidence speaks for itself.
Taylor Swift songs about Dean
The literary references in "Love Story" would surely make Rory cringe, but she's all-too-familiar with its tropes (and not just because she performed Romeo and Juliet at Chilton): Chubby-cheeked Rory is the same as country-curls Taylor; both seduced by mop-headed guys in overlarge suits who either stare or get stared at.
Rory's first suitor finally approached her after spying on her and she couldn't shake him off. Soon, Dean was everywhere she looked in Stars Hollow.
'Cause there we are again on that little town street. You almost ran the red 'cause you were looking over me. Wind in my hair, I was there, I remember it all too well.
But Dean, much like Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler, could be volatile and his major possessive streaks poisoned their sad, beautiful tragic love affair.
Rory and Dean were not meant to be and eventually Dean let her know that they were never ever getting back together. Like, ever!
Part of the problem was Dean's insecurity -- his fear that his he wasn't smart enough or classy enough for Rory made him do stupid things and act out of anger. How deep was her love? Like the ocean? It never mattered what Rory said or how she looked at him. Dean was jealous. And so she turned to someone else at the Met Gala Stars Hollow Dance Marathon.
"Everybody's watching her, but she's looking at you," wrote the great poet Nils Sjöberg, probably remembering Rory's debutante ball. "Oh, oh. You, oh, oh, you, oh, oh."
Taylor Swift songs about Jess
This image notwithstanding, almost every lyric in 1989 is basically about Rory and Jess. Remember when Haylor got in a snowmobile accident? "20 stitches in a hospital room?" And what about "Style," that timeless ode to the fuckboy you just can't let go?
You’ve got that James Dean day dream look in your eyes And I got that red-lipped classic thing that you like And when we go crashing down we come back every time We never go out of style
No, Ror-lor. You were never in style.
Rory made it out of the woods, but years down the line Jess ditched his hair and a lot of his emotional baggage, paving the way for a comeback a la Haylor. Harry could really commit to the bit by following another former Directioner and writing a book. Jess really loves books.
Taylor Swift songs about Logan
Oh my god, look at that face You look like my next mistake Love’s a game, wanna play? New money, suit and tie I can read you like a magazine Ain't it funny, rumors fly And I know you heard about me
So hey, let's be friends
I'm dying to see how this one ends
He certainly did hear about her, and she him, through the Gilmore-gossip social circle. Nice try using "magazine" instead of "newspaper," Taylor, but we're smarter than that. When Rory met Logan, he was a careless rich playboy -- in short, she knew he was trouble when he walked in.
So there you have it. Rory Gilmore is Taylor Swift. Or...is Taylor Swift Rory Gilmore? Will Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life be the basis of Taylor's upcoming hip-hop album? And of course...who will Rory end up with?
Gilmore Girls: A Day in the Life starts streaming on Netflix November 25...and we're dying to see how this one ends.
Bonus: Doug the Pug Lives Like Taylor Swift
Topics Music
Proma Khosla is a Senior Entertainment Reporter writing about all things TV, from ranking Bridgerton crushes to composer interviews and leading Mashable's stateside coverage of Bollywood and South Asian representation. You might also catch her hosting video explainers or on Mashable's TikTok and Reels, or tweeting silly thoughts from @promawhatup.
