Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Taylor Swift is like Shakespeare and Neil Armstrong, says Ryan Adams

Adams recently released a full cover album of Swift's 1989 to mixed reaction from fans

Jess Denham
Monday 26 October 2015 10:04 GMT
Comments
Taylor Swift has a lot of devoted fans but none so much so as Ryan Adams
Taylor Swift has a lot of devoted fans but none so much so as Ryan Adams (Getty Images)

Taylor Swift might have one of the most devoted fan armies in the music industry, but Ryan Adams has more than proved himself the ultimate Swiftie after comparing the pop star’s lyrics to Shakespeare.

Singer-songwriter Adams recently released a full cover of Swift’s chart-topping album 1989. Now, he has described the project as like being an actor “in Ghostbusters or something and then all of a sudden I have to go do Shakespeare”.

The 40-year-old told the Guardian that he first fell in love with Swift’s music after listening to “White Horse” and getting “chills head to toe”.

“I remember feeling shocked by her voice, shocked at how clean that song was,” he said. “I like stuff that sort of penetrates through my regular consciousness and hits me where I’m not looking. That’s usually stuff that’s a little darker.”

Swift gave Adams the go-ahead to make his record but many people have responded negatively to it, with some fans arguing that she does not need a man to validate her music and make it “serious”.

Nevertheless, it’s tough to dispute that Adams has true passion for the “Bad Blood” singer. After putting her in the same league as one of the world’s greatest playwrights, he compared her to the first man on the moon.

“Some of us just go up and we work on the satellites, we do some space walks and we go back to Earth,” he said.

“Then there’s the Neil Armstrongs - those folks that go to the moon. They’re awesome. I’m just a dude who works on the satellites. And I’m happy with that. At least I get to go to space.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in