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Tied Together With A Smile

Taylor Swift (2006)

“Tied Together With A Smile” is track seven on Taylor’s debut album, Taylor Swift (2006). It is a song about a high school friend of Taylor’s who struggled with an eating disorder.

Background and Lyrical Theme

Taylor wrote “Tied Together With A Smile” in August 2005 together with Liz Rose about one of her best friends in high school who suffered from anorexia. She told Entertainment Weekly, “There are a couple songs on the album like that, that are just me watching other people and making observations. But most of the songs on the album are about actual people that have been in my life.” On her website, Taylor wrote:

«A lot of my songs on the album are about my friends and the things that they've gone through. And there's a song called 'Tied Together With A Smile,' which is about one of my really good friends, who is absolutely beautiful. You know, all the guys want to be with her, all the girls want to be her. I wrote this song the day I found out she had an eating disorder. It completely blew my mind, and this one was tough to write, because I wasn't just telling some sad story. This was real. This song is basically about the girls I know, and the difficult things I saw them go through. I've never seen this song as a lecture. It's really about how no matter what my friends go through, I'm always going to love them.»

Taylor Swift

In an interview in 2007, she further talked about the song: “It’s kind of a halting point in your life when you realize that something you thought was so strong actually isn’t strong at all. And that she had a deadly problem that she had been keeping from everybody. It was a really tough time. And I wrote that song and helped her through it. And she’s fine now, so it’s good.”

Live Performances

Taylor has only performed “Tied Together With A Smile” seven times, most of those being in 2007, when she was promoting her debut album. She sang the song for the first time in roughly ten years during her “reputation Stadium Tour” in 2018. Before she sang the song, she shared some meaningful advice with her fans, reminding those in the crowd that they’re not alone in whatever struggles they may encounter in their lives:

«One thing I have noticed in my life is you can never judge what somebody else is going through, even if they seem like they have it all together. [...] Somebody is maybe really beautiful or seems like they have it all together, maybe they have a life that you're really envious of. But I've learned that appearances aren't everything. Just because somebody looks happy doesn't mean they are. Just because somebody looks healthy doesn't mean they are. There's so much pressure on everyone these days to have it all together, to have a perfect body, a perfect life, to know exactly where they want to go with their life. I think the stress and the pressure of not being able to say that they're hurting has really taken a toll on a lot of people. So I'm just asking you, just try to be kind to yourself. Just know that there are so many people that are going through the exact same thing that you might be going through, whatever it is.»

Taylor Swift

Taylor again performed “Tied Together With A Smile” on July 23, 2023, in Seattle on her “The Eras Tour“. The song was the second acoustic surprise song of the night, performed on piano.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Seems the only one who doesn’t see your beauty
Is the face in the mirror looking back at you
You walk around here thinking you’re not pretty
But that’s not true, ’cause I know you…

[Chorus]
Hold on, baby, you’re losing it
The water’s high, you’re jumping into it
And letting go…and no one knows
You cry, but you don’t tell anyone
That you might not be the golden one
And you’re tied together with a smile
But you’re coming undone

[Verse 2]
I guess it’s true that love was all you wanted
‘Cause you’re giving it away like it’s extra change
Hoping it will end up in his pocket
But he leaves you out like a penny in the rain
Oh, ’cause it’s not his price to pay
It’s not his price to pay…

[Final Chorus]
Hold on, baby, you’re losing it
The water’s high, you’re jumping into it
And letting go…and no one knows
You cry, but you don’t tell anyone
That you might not be the golden one
And you’re tied together with a smile
But you’re coming undone

[Outro]
You’re tied together with a smile
But you’re coming undone…oh
Goodbye, baby
Goodbye, baby
With a smile, baby, baby