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Sweet Tea and God's Graces

Unreleased | 2004

“Sweet Tea and God’s Graces” is one of Taylor’s many unreleased songs. Co-written by her, Brian Maher and Liz Rose, it is track four on Taylor’s demo CD from 2004-2005. Lyrically, it explores a summer love, the importance of self-discovery, and the strength gained from coming out the other side of heartbreak as someone new.
Table of Contents

Background and Lyrical Theme

The track was written by Taylor, Brian Maher and Liz Rose. Brian also co-wrote Taylor’s unreleased songs “Who I’ve Always Been,” “Ten Dollars and a Six Pack,” and “Rain Song,” as well as “Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)“, which appears on her self-titled debut album (2006). Liz went on to become her most trusted songwriting partner during the first stage of her career.

“Sweet Tea and God’s Graces” describes a summer love, with honeysuckle blowing gently in the wind. Taylor reminisces about that time, describing images of Wilson County creek in North Carolina and lying in the grass watching the clouds drift by. As the seasons changed, the relationship ended. “You can crash and burn and come back someone new” shows that we can learn from the falls and breaks and emerge stronger.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Tire swings, summer dreams
Honeysuckle on the breeze
Wilson County creek
Laying in the green grass
I was watching clouds pass
Baby, you were watching me
Cold barns, truck beds
Everything you said
Slowly educating me
I never had a lesson so sweet

[Chorus]
You can get high on a first kiss
You can get by with sweet tea and God’s graces
You can love like a sinner and lose like a winner
Nothing’s shatterproof
You can crash and burn and come back someone new
And that’s what I learned from you

[Verse 2]
Autumn rain, window pane
Looking how the leaves change
Just like the two of us
Still got your laugh, your ghost, your jacket
Guess I loved you way too much
But I’m a little smarter
My heart’s a little harder
But it’s still soft enough to cry
Cause I remember those times
I remember

[Chorus]
You can get high on a first kiss
You can get by with sweet tea and God’s graces
You can love like a sinner and lose like a winner
Nothing’s shatterproof
You can crash and burn and come back someone new
And that’s what I learned from you

[Bridge]
Saw you just the other day
All that I could think to say was
“Hey, how have you been?”
You caught me with that old smile
Said, “It’s really been a while
And I still think about back when”

[Final Chorus]
We used to get high on the first kiss
We could get by with sweet tea and Jesus
And you can love like a sinner and lose like a winner
Nothing’s shatterproof
You can crash and burn and now I’m someone new
And that’s what I learned from you

[Outro]
Oh, that’s what I learned from you
That’s what I learned from you, oh you
Oh, that’s what I learned from you
Oh, yeah

General Information
StatusUnreleased
Leaked2004
Written2004-2005
GenreCountry
Length3:35
SongwritersTaylor Swift
Brian Maher
Liz Rose
Leaked Demo