Sometimes, it feels like Taylor Swift is receiving some sort of award on a daily basis (and deservedly so). Heck, she was recognized at two different award ceremonies just yesterday: Her video for “The Best Day (Taylor’s Version)” won Best Family Feature at the CMT Music Awards, and during the National Music Publishers Association’s annual membership meeting yesterday, she was given the Songwriter Icon Award.
Video of Swift’s acceptance speech isn’t currently available online, but Variety shared a full transcript of Swift’s acceptance speech from the virtual event. She began by explaining why songwriting feels “so magical and mystical” to her:
“I’m really, really honored to be receiving this award because it honors the part of my job that is so magical and mystical to me, still. I love songwriting so much because there’s an element to it that is still really mysterious — like I think any songwriter will tell you, when you get an idea you’re not quite sure where it floated down from, but if you can grab onto that idea and turn it into something, a piece of music, that’s where craftsmanship comes in; that’s where you have the opportunity to learn and to nurture that craft, and I want to take a moment to thank the people who were my professors, my teachers, of the craft of songwriting.”
She then thanked some choice songwriting collaborators from throughout her career, including Liz Rose, Max Martin, Johan Shellback, Jack Antonoff, and Aaron Dessner. She also expressed how moved she has been and continues to be by the support she receives from fans, saying, “To the fans who are out there who care about my lyrics: you have no idea how much it means to me that you dissect them and copy them into your journals and care about the words that I write.”
Read Swift’s full speech here.