Part of what makes Taylor Swift a successful musician is her songwriting skills. The “All Too Well” singer started writing songs when she was just a kid and she never looked back. In fact, Swift wrote or co-wrote every song she’s ever released. But how does Swift continue to excel as a songwriter year after year?

Throughout her career, Swift has been outspoken that her approach to songwriting differs every time. Sometimes she records the lyrics for years before she can find a place for them in her songs. In Folklore: the sessions of the studio Long Pond, Swift revealed that she had recorded the words “meet me behind the mall” in her phone for years. But it was not until the moment of writing “August” that she finally found a place for them.

Taylor Swift has gained a reputation for writing songs quickly

Other times, Swift songwriting is much more fleeting. For example, her experience writing the title song for her seventh album Lover was a bit of a feverish dream. The “I Bet You Think About Me” singer was actually in bed at her Nashville home when inspiration hit. She stumbled over to her piano and the chorus of the song hit her. In no time, she had finished the whole song that night.

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But “Lover” isn’t the only song Swift wrote at high speed. In an interview with Vulture, Aaron Dessner (who collaborated with Swift on folklore and always) revealed how fast it can be. For example, Swift wrote “the last great American dynasty” during Dessner’s exercise. “I sent it before I ran, and when I came back from the race, that song was there,” he revealed. Continuing, he became outspoken about what it’s like to collaborate with Swift.

“All Too Well” singer wrote “the last great American dynasty” at lightning speed

“It’s almost like a song is coming out like lightning,” Desnner explained of Swift. “It’s exhilarating. The shared focus, the clarity of her ideas and the way she structures things, it’s all there. But I think she works really hard when she works, and then she polishes. She goes on, so sometimes things evolve or change. By the time she sings it, she’s really inside. She doesn’t do a lot of vocal takes before she succeeds.

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Maybe the reason why Swift managed to write “America’s Last Great Dynasty” so quickly was because Rebekah Harkness (whose song is based) had been in her head for years. Swift began researching the Heiress after buying her house and has always longed for a way to tell her story. However, it wasn’t until Dessner introduced him to his tune that the opportunity felt right.

Swift wanted to write about Rebekah Harkness ever since she bought her house

“I had never found the right way to do it because there had never been a song that seemed to hold the whole story of someone’s life and pass from one generation to the next. “Swift explained of the melody in Folklore: the sessions of the studio Long Pond. But from the first moment she heard the melody, she knew she would finally be able to tell Harkness’s story. Still, no matter how long Swift had the idea in her mind, it’s impressive that she could have imagined the melody in the span of a run.

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