Shake It Off

Lead Single | 1989 (2014)

“Shake It Off” is an upbeat track that encourages listeners to let go of small problems. The song was the lead single for Taylor’s fifth studio album,”1989” (2014), and officially marked her transition from country to pop. It is one of her biggest hit songs.

The release of “Shake It Off” was an event: on August 18th 2014, Taylor announced three surprises via a worldwide online stream for “ABC News” and Yahoo. The first surprise was the unveiling of “Shake It Off,” the second was the announcement of the “1989” album, and the third was the premiere of the song’s music video, which was directed by Mark Romanek. Before playing the song for the first time, she spoke about its meaning, saying:

“The message in the song is a problem I think we all deal with and an issue we deal with on a daily basis. We don’t live just in a celebrity takedown culture, we live in a takedown culture. People will find anything about you and twist it to where it’s weird or wrong or annoying or strange or bad. You have to not only live your life in spite of people who don’t understand you, you have to have more fun than they do.” — Taylor Swift

“Shake It Off” was written by Taylor, Max Martin & Shellback. The song’s lyrics are a response to all the criticism Taylor had received in her early twenties. During a Rolling Stone interview, she said:

“I’ve had every part of my life dissected — my choices, my actions, my words, my body, my style, my music. When you live your life under that kind of scrutiny, you can either let it break you, or you can get really good at dodging punches. And when one lands, you know how to deal with it. And I guess the way that I deal with it is to shake it off.”

COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE
“Shake It Off” debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending September 6, 2014, becoming Taylor’s second number-one single in the United States (after “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and only the 22nd song to debut at No. 1 in the chart’s history. It stayed at the top spot for four weeks. According to Billboard, it is Taylor’s biggest Hot 100 hit to date, staying on the chart for 50 consecutive weeks.

The music video for “Shake It Off” is one of the most viewed videos by a female artist on YouTube ever.

AWARD RECOGINTION
“Shake It Off” won the award for “Favorite Song” at the 2015 People’s Choice Awards, and also received nominations for “Record of the Year”, “Song of the Year” and “Best Pop Solo Performance” at the 2015 GRAMMY Awards.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I stay out too late, got nothing in my brain
That’s what people say, that’s what people say
I go on too many dates, but I can’t make them stay
At least that’s what people say, that’s what people say

[Pre-Chorus 1]
But I keep cruising
Can’t stop, won’t stop moving
It’s like I got this music in my mind
Saying it’s gonna be alright

[Chorus]
Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off

[Verse 2]
I never miss a beat, I’m lightning on my feet
And that’s what they don’t see, that’s what they don’t see
I’m dancing on my own, I make the moves up as I go
And that’s what they don’t know, that’s what they don’t know

[Pre-Chorus 2]
But I keep cruising
Can’t stop, won’t stop grooving
It’s like I got this music in my mind
Saying it’s gonna be alright

[Chorus]
Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off

[Post-Chorus]
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off

[Spoken Interlude]
Hey, hey, hey!
Just think while you’ve been getting down and out about the liars
And dirty, dirty cheats of the world you could’ve been getting down to this sick beat

[Bridge]
My ex-man brought his new girlfriend
She’s like, “oh my God”, but I’m just gonna shake
And to the fella over there with the hella good hair
Won’t you come on over, baby, we can shake, shake, shake

[Chorus]
Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
I shake it off, I shake it off

[Post-Chorus]
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off
I, I shake it off, I shake it off