When we pored over Taylor Swift‘s Red lyrics to compare them to those on her debut album, we never thought to cross-reference her words with songs written by some of her favorite musicians. But maybe we should have, because the Twitter masses have pointed out a similarity between a line on her song “All Too Well” and a lyric from Matt Nathanson‘s 2003 song “I Saw.” Gawker put together a handy round-up of the situation, which begins with the line in question, from Taylor: “And I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to.”
Here’s the “original” lyric by Nathanson: “And I’ll forget about you long enough to forget why I need to.” Welp, unlike that Carly Rae Jepsen lawsuit, it’s abundantly clear the content here is the same. We’re inclined to brush it off as coincidence, until we remember that Swift is an avowed fan of Nathanson’s (even going so far as scrawling his lyrics on her arms). So is it a case of straight-up plagiarism, or did her fandom cause the words to seep into her subconscious and later emerge during a songwriting session, sort of like Inception? Well, Matt Nathanson made sure to let the world know where he stands on the issue.
Nathanson said on October 24 in a tweet which has since been deleted: “she’s definitely a fan… and now she’s a thief.” Today, he fired off at Taylor’s apparently angry fans:
so far, my favorite thing about today is the wave of @taylorswift13 fans calling me a prick on twitter for writing “i saw” in 2003.
— matt nathanson (@mattnathanson) November 2, 2012
Swift herself has yet to comment on the story.
Do you guys think Swift purposely plagiarized Nathanson? Let us know in the comments, or on Facebook and Twitter.
Taylor being such a huge fan of Matt, do you REALLY think she would deliberatly “copy” one of his lyrics? Its not like that line is so complex! It is totally a coincidence, and Matt is using this for publicity. Taylor is too smart to copy a lyric word for word – just a publicity stunt, i belive.
Matt doesn’t strike me as the kind of person that would use something like this as a publicity stunt. Considering he is never in the spotlight for anything other than his music. I don’t know if Taylor deliberately stole his lyric or not (I don’t know her personally so I can’t judge her character), but I do know that the writing on this album was a collaborative effort, she didn’t write the whole thing alone. Meaning someone else, who isn’t as big a fan of Matt, could have written that in the song.
Taylor or whoever is responsible for writing the song was just careless. Considering she is such a big fan they should have seen this coming. Especially since everyone dissects her songs in hopes of figuring out who they’re about. I don’t think she necessarily meant to steal it, I think they just overlooked it.
If anything I’m surprised she didn’t pull a Lady Gaga and call it an “homage” to Matt.
Time to compare “Red” and “Blue”! How much has Taylor Swift stolen wholesale from Joni Mitchell? The cover on Swift’s new album “Red” is hauntingly reminiscent of Mitchell’s 1972 album named “Blue.” All of a sudden Swift is using the term “pretty lies.” That phrase would immediately ring a bell with anyone familiar with Mitchell’s “The Last Time I Saw Richard.” One of the songs on Swift’s album is even called “The Last Time.” European images, such as cafes, figure into Mitchell’s songs just like they do in Swift’s “Begin Again.” Mitchell’s “California” opens with the lyrics: “Sitting in a park in Paris, France…” And Mitchell invites “Carey” to “Come on down to the Mermaid Cafe!” I find it remarkable that people are unaware of the similarities between “Red” and “Blue.” Many people do not have a reference point or choose not to care that a star has copied a musical icon. The public is gaga over Swift, but anyone with any musical knowledge would know that Swift has stolen rich material from Joni Mitchell. Don’t tell me Swift never listened to “Blue”!
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You sound like a weird dude for thinking that song lyric is a throwaway line. The time and emotion artists like Matt put into their lyrics is incredible. Imagine if someone blatantly plagiarized something, knowingly or not, that precious to you. I know I would be pretty upset. Also, Matt is not doing this for publicity or because he is jealous. He has been making music since 1993. I think if he was all about being noticed, selling a ton of records and making a lot of money he would have done something to attract attention to himself earlier in his career. Additionally, if you knew anything about Matt you would know he does not drink. He has publicly said it numerous times. You should probably check your information before making ridiculous accusations.
I never heard on this guy before he started to run his mouth. He is just wanting publicity.He is using her name to do it.
People are stupid, the words are a little different Matt needs to pull his big boy pants up and get over it!!! She wouldn’t do that esp. on purpose and trust me she doesn’t need his lyrics or anyone’s to write an incredible song! All Too Well is AMAZING and Matt is just insecure and jealous! Oh and I haven’t even heard of him until he posted that on twitter, definitely for publicity!!!
If she’s a big fan of him, it’s more than likely she knew that the line was very similar to his and could have been putting it in as a tribute or reference, as so many people do with their influences.
Matt is such a Hypocrite!!!!
The first line of Matt Nathanson’s 2008 song Come on Get Higher is “I miss the sound of your voice”
That EXACT line is from a Motley Crew song If I Die Tomorrow released in 2005.
Just because Taylor uses the word cafe in her song and has her video shot in paris doesnt mean she is copying Joni Mitchell. She is not the first person other than Joni to film a music video in Paris so stop grasping at straws
Anon,
Here’s another. Are you familiar with the song on Mitchell’s Blue called “A Case of You.”? One of the lyrics says: You are in my blood like holy wine…so bitter…so sweet.”Well, now, one of Swift’s songs on Red is called “Holy Ground.” That whole alluding to love as holiness… Has Swift ever used it before this album? I think she took a TON of ideas from the album Blue (and possible other Mitchell albums.)
I think you ought to do a comparison of Red and Blue. Swift is in awe of James Taylor and Joni Mitchell. And rightfuly so. All I know is that Mitchell laced into Madonna several times about contemporary music becoming a cesspool since 1980. Mitchell also has trouble with plagarism, but maybe she’s flattered to have Swift play her in the upcoming movie called “Girls Like Us.” I just think people steal ideas left and right, especially by way of the Internet, and then they pass it off as their own. At least admit you have used phrases, ideas, album covers, etc. that belong to other artists. Then I’d have more respect for the person. Give homage and credit where it is due.
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I don’t see it as a publicity stunt from Matt. I’ve seen him play numerous times and have met him twice and he is such a down to earth, funny guy. I’m not saying Swift stole the line but everyone that is saying Matt Nathanson is using this as a publicity stunt is wrong. Taylor Swift is constantly in the media and spotlight yet Nathanson is not (because he chooses not to be, as some of you have said you’ve never heard of him until now) so like someone has already stated, Swift should have expected some backlash as fans dissect lyrics to find the meanings.
anybody who doesn’t think she copied from him directly or indirectly is a damn fool. those lines are way to close for her to have made them up herself. the only difference between the lines is the change in tense
Aw, COME ON. I listen to different artists, but I don’t know all their songs. Augustana for exapmle, I adore some of their songs, but I haven’t heard most. We don’t know that Taylor’s heard that exact song, now do we. And how many songs in the history of music has had pretty much the same exact lyric here and there do you think.
Actually, we do know she has heard this song since she was seen with those EXACT lyrics written on her arm like a year or two ago in concert. Look at the photos that her own fans took of her. I’m not saying she did it on purpose. Sometimes something is in your head and you can’t remember why. However, I think a good artist would come out and just admit that they made a mistake and didn’t mean to copy the lyrics. She has no leg to stand on when she was seen with the lyrics on her arms. Best thing to do is admit it was a mistake, talk to Matt and figure out how to solve it in a positive way.
So what if she did or didn’t. It may be coincidental. The law states 5% public use of any lyrics is legal.
The fact that he is mentioned by Taylor Swift as a fan would probably help his sales. Not quite Oprah but most artists would love a plug by other more famous artists…if someone “borrowed” my work i..I would mention it but not complain like an unprofessional child…Is he hurting so bad he needs royalties?