September 8, 2026 • 7 mins
Taylor Swift recently returned to country radio through a song she recorded for the Toy Story movie franchise, "I Knew It, I Knew You!" We were luckly enough to get some of our, custom questrions in front of Taylor. We talk writing, how fans react to her music and what it meant to be invited into the Toy Story franchise.
Don't miss the most talked about interview we've had, with Taylro Swift!!!!
Don't miss the most talked about interview we've had, with Taylro Swift!!!!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
And I got to tell you, it's pretty exciting stuff
when we can sit down and be dialed in with
one of the biggest artists that music in general has
ever seen, right? We're lucky to be hanging out with
Taylor Swift. Congrats on Toy Story 5 being a part
of that soundtrack. You have been such a great writer
for so long and so many different songs and different
(00:21):
approaches to the songs. Did writing for a movie franchise
like Toy Story kind of change your approach to writing
or storytelling?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I absolutely knew going into making a song for Toy
Story 5 that I was entering a real legacy, both cinematically,
but also sonically.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Like the world of Toy Story has a look.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Pixar has just excellently crafted, but it also has a
sonic world that Randy Newman has crafted so beautifully. So
stepping into that, I wouldn't say that I felt pressure,
but I definitely felt like the weight and depth of it.
And I didn't go about it flippantly. I really wanted
to make sure that what we were doing was very
faithful to The music that fits along with these films
(01:01):
and these amazing stories that have made us laugh, have
made us cry, have made us cheer. I think the
chord progressions we chose were different because Randy Newman tends
to choose things differently musically because, I mean, the genius
that he is, like he's got such a repertoire of.
unbelievable choices he naturally goes to, musically speaking. And we
(01:22):
just kind of tried to challenge ourselves to think about
what might Randy do? So he told me he likes it,
which is really all I need to know. And I'm
very excited about that fact.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
And something else about how you create music, your fans
pick apart your lyrics. Every word means so much to them.
A lot of your fans have already picked out favorite
lyrics from I Knew It, I Knew You. Is there
a line you put in this song that means a
lot to you that you were kind of hoping fans
wouldn't miss or overlook?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I love that the lyrics of this song are really
being delved into by the fans because there are several
lyrics that have like more than one meaning to them.
When you're getting to write for a film that's this
brilliant and has this many different themes running throughout it.
you only have so long in a song to convey
and surmise and sum up this entire film that people
(02:13):
just watched. So sometimes you'll try to have like a
double meaning in a line. The first line of the
song is, I knew you through the days of the
blades of the grass in summer. And the double meaning
of that is, first of all, there's the word days,
it's spelled D-A-Z-E in the lyrics, but you could also,
if you wanted to think of it as days, D-A-Y-S,
you could perceive it as that. But I thought of
(02:35):
it as like a childhood daze of like you look
back and you see this sort of like blurry, beautiful
memory that's kind of blurry at the edges. And the
blades of the grass in summer, that harkens back to
childhood and playing and using your imagination.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
But also there's the added meaning of they're toys.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
They can only see up to the height of blades
of grass. So that was kind of what I was
trying to do with each line was making sure that like,
you know, parachutes for the free fall of being younger.
There's the actual parachute army toys in Toy Story, as
well as symbolically somebody who helps you grow up and
(03:19):
helps your landings be softer, just things like that. So
Thanks to all the fans who have actually cared about
the lyrics.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
You guys are the best.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
And back to the whole being a part of the
Toy Story movie franchise. It's like unreal that you got
to be a part of this because it's such an
iconic five movies deep. The songs are iconic. They match
the movie so well. So what was it like when
you finally heard like, hey, Taylor Swift, we want you
all in on this?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
When I realized that we were going to have the
opportunity to write a song for Toy Story, it really
hit me the weight of this. like how lucky we
were to get to sort of take up what Randy
Newman has created and continue that legacy.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
And so rather than thinking like, oh, you know what
we're going to do? We're going to reinvent this.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
I just thought we're going to take these beautiful, you know,
tapestries of musical art he's created brushstroke by brushstroke and
we're going to try to create something that would go
in that collection that you could hopefully hang next to
those paintings on the wall if we were talking about paintings.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I'm sorry, I go into metaphor a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Anyway, I'm.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
A huge Randy Newman fan, so is Jack.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So Randy tends to go to really different kind of
chord progressions and has very different musical sensibilities than I do.
And so we try to we try to channel what,
you know, what would Randy do?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
That took us.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
To a very different place musically and from a chord
structure perspective. The harmonica came in because I really thought
that we needed to, in this ode to Jessie, kind of,
you know, pay homage to where she comes from, which
is she's this cowgirl doll and she comes from this
Western landscape. And I thought that that would be really
(05:04):
cool to kind of signify that this is actually Jessie's song.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
This is from her perspective. This is in honor of her.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Well, what you've done is fantastic because it honestly has
married the song to the movie so well. We're talking
to Taylor Swift. Your songwriting has become iconic, right? You
have such a special way that you approach things. What's
something you've learned about your songwriting that maybe stands out
from the way other people approach it?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
It's kind of been brought to my attention that I,
and I agree with this, that I love to use
detail in my lyricism.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
And that's true. I'm very proud of that.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
But I also think one thing I always make sure
to check myself on is, does this detail signify something
that informs the story? Or does it tell the listener
the mindset that the narrator is in or what place
they're in in their life? Does it describe the person
(05:58):
that is influencing and inspiring the song?
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Does it help further the storyline?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Does it tell you more about what makes this song important,
which is the human emotion behind it? So detail, just
for the sake of saying descriptive words, is not really
my thing. It's like, I love detail if it informs
the actual human emotion that we're singing about.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
So I think that might be a lesson, if somebody
cared to take a lesson from what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Speaking of that, lessons. To be successful is one thing.
Stay successful over time is a whole other story. You
really got to be a student to your craft. Continue
to learn. What are some things, even though you've been
at this a little while, that you continue to learn
and kind of help you stay sharp?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I think one thing I've learned over the many years
of studio sessions and writing sessions and working with people
collaboratively is that your energy and attitude that you bring
into the room is can affect absolutely everything about the day.
So really trying to be accountable to knowing that enthusiasm
(07:01):
for the actual craft that you guys have all shown
up to do, it can make or break the session.
So like if you come in and you act like
you don't want to be there, everyone else is going
to pick up on that. It doesn't matter if you're
the artist or you're a writer or you're a producer
or you're an engineer, like everyone's going to pick up
on you not wanting to be there and it could
very well These are very intuitive people, people who, like,
(07:24):
want to make art. It could kind of make sure
that nobody makes anything that day if you're acting like
you had to be dragged in there. So I'd say, like,
be enthusiastic about being able to be making art every
day that you get to make art.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And you become dang good at making that art. Hey,
Taylor Swift, such an honor. What an awesome privilege it's
been to catch up. Hopefully you enjoyed our chat as well.
More awesome interviews with some of your favorite artists. Just
check it out up on the podcast. Just search Wayne
D Show Podcast. Available on the free iHeartRadio app.
And I got to tell you, it's pretty exciting stuff
when we can sit down and be dialed in with
one of the biggest artists that music in general has
ever seen, right? We're lucky to be hanging out with
Taylor Swift. Congrats on Toy Story 5 being a part
of that soundtrack. You have been such a great writer
for so long and so many different songs and different
(00:21):
approaches to the songs. Did writing for a movie franchise
like Toy Story kind of change your approach to writing
or storytelling?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I absolutely knew going into making a song for Toy
Story 5 that I was entering a real legacy, both cinematically,
but also sonically.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Like the world of Toy Story has a look.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
Pixar has just excellently crafted, but it also has a
sonic world that Randy Newman has crafted so beautifully. So
stepping into that, I wouldn't say that I felt pressure,
but I definitely felt like the weight and depth of it.
And I didn't go about it flippantly. I really wanted
to make sure that what we were doing was very
faithful to The music that fits along with these films
(01:01):
and these amazing stories that have made us laugh, have
made us cry, have made us cheer. I think the
chord progressions we chose were different because Randy Newman tends
to choose things differently musically because, I mean, the genius
that he is, like he's got such a repertoire of.
unbelievable choices he naturally goes to, musically speaking. And we
(01:22):
just kind of tried to challenge ourselves to think about
what might Randy do? So he told me he likes it,
which is really all I need to know. And I'm
very excited about that fact.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
And something else about how you create music, your fans
pick apart your lyrics. Every word means so much to them.
A lot of your fans have already picked out favorite
lyrics from I Knew It, I Knew You. Is there
a line you put in this song that means a
lot to you that you were kind of hoping fans
wouldn't miss or overlook?
Speaker 2 (01:52):
I love that the lyrics of this song are really
being delved into by the fans because there are several
lyrics that have like more than one meaning to them.
When you're getting to write for a film that's this
brilliant and has this many different themes running throughout it.
you only have so long in a song to convey
and surmise and sum up this entire film that people
(02:13):
just watched. So sometimes you'll try to have like a
double meaning in a line. The first line of the
song is, I knew you through the days of the
blades of the grass in summer. And the double meaning
of that is, first of all, there's the word days,
it's spelled D-A-Z-E in the lyrics, but you could also,
if you wanted to think of it as days, D-A-Y-S,
you could perceive it as that. But I thought of
(02:35):
it as like a childhood daze of like you look
back and you see this sort of like blurry, beautiful
memory that's kind of blurry at the edges. And the
blades of the grass in summer, that harkens back to
childhood and playing and using your imagination.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
But also there's the added meaning of they're toys.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
They can only see up to the height of blades
of grass. So that was kind of what I was
trying to do with each line was making sure that like,
you know, parachutes for the free fall of being younger.
There's the actual parachute army toys in Toy Story, as
well as symbolically somebody who helps you grow up and
(03:19):
helps your landings be softer, just things like that. So
Thanks to all the fans who have actually cared about
the lyrics.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
You guys are the best.
Speaker 1 (03:26):
And back to the whole being a part of the
Toy Story movie franchise. It's like unreal that you got
to be a part of this because it's such an
iconic five movies deep. The songs are iconic. They match
the movie so well. So what was it like when
you finally heard like, hey, Taylor Swift, we want you
all in on this?
Speaker 2 (03:43):
When I realized that we were going to have the
opportunity to write a song for Toy Story, it really
hit me the weight of this. like how lucky we
were to get to sort of take up what Randy
Newman has created and continue that legacy.
Speaker 3 (04:00):
And so rather than thinking like, oh, you know what
we're going to do? We're going to reinvent this.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
I just thought we're going to take these beautiful, you know,
tapestries of musical art he's created brushstroke by brushstroke and
we're going to try to create something that would go
in that collection that you could hopefully hang next to
those paintings on the wall if we were talking about paintings.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
I'm sorry, I go into metaphor a lot.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Anyway, I'm.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
A huge Randy Newman fan, so is Jack.
Speaker 2 (04:30):
So Randy tends to go to really different kind of
chord progressions and has very different musical sensibilities than I do.
And so we try to we try to channel what,
you know, what would Randy do?
Speaker 3 (04:43):
That took us.
Speaker 2 (04:44):
To a very different place musically and from a chord
structure perspective. The harmonica came in because I really thought
that we needed to, in this ode to Jessie, kind of,
you know, pay homage to where she comes from, which
is she's this cowgirl doll and she comes from this
Western landscape. And I thought that that would be really
(05:04):
cool to kind of signify that this is actually Jessie's song.
Speaker 3 (05:07):
This is from her perspective. This is in honor of her.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
Well, what you've done is fantastic because it honestly has
married the song to the movie so well. We're talking
to Taylor Swift. Your songwriting has become iconic, right? You
have such a special way that you approach things. What's
something you've learned about your songwriting that maybe stands out
from the way other people approach it?
Speaker 2 (05:28):
It's kind of been brought to my attention that I,
and I agree with this, that I love to use
detail in my lyricism.
Speaker 3 (05:35):
And that's true. I'm very proud of that.
Speaker 2 (05:38):
But I also think one thing I always make sure
to check myself on is, does this detail signify something
that informs the story? Or does it tell the listener
the mindset that the narrator is in or what place
they're in in their life? Does it describe the person
(05:58):
that is influencing and inspiring the song?
Speaker 3 (06:00):
Does it help further the storyline?
Speaker 2 (06:02):
Does it tell you more about what makes this song important,
which is the human emotion behind it? So detail, just
for the sake of saying descriptive words, is not really
my thing. It's like, I love detail if it informs
the actual human emotion that we're singing about.
Speaker 3 (06:20):
So I think that might be a lesson, if somebody
cared to take a lesson from what I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Speaking of that, lessons. To be successful is one thing.
Stay successful over time is a whole other story. You
really got to be a student to your craft. Continue
to learn. What are some things, even though you've been
at this a little while, that you continue to learn
and kind of help you stay sharp?
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I think one thing I've learned over the many years
of studio sessions and writing sessions and working with people
collaboratively is that your energy and attitude that you bring
into the room is can affect absolutely everything about the day.
So really trying to be accountable to knowing that enthusiasm
(07:01):
for the actual craft that you guys have all shown
up to do, it can make or break the session.
So like if you come in and you act like
you don't want to be there, everyone else is going
to pick up on that. It doesn't matter if you're
the artist or you're a writer or you're a producer
or you're an engineer, like everyone's going to pick up
on you not wanting to be there and it could
very well These are very intuitive people, people who, like,
(07:24):
want to make art. It could kind of make sure
that nobody makes anything that day if you're acting like
you had to be dragged in there. So I'd say, like,
be enthusiastic about being able to be making art every
day that you get to make art.
Speaker 1 (07:35):
And you become dang good at making that art. Hey,
Taylor Swift, such an honor. What an awesome privilege it's
been to catch up. Hopefully you enjoyed our chat as well.
More awesome interviews with some of your favorite artists. Just
check it out up on the podcast. Just search Wayne
D Show Podcast. Available on the free iHeartRadio app.
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