I was a die-hard Taylor Swift fan. I attended three of her concerts and have an autograph from the first time I saw her circa 2009 (will sell for the right price). She wrote popular, catchy songs and had nice hair. As a 12 year old, that about sums up the depth of my music appreciation.

Don’t get me wrong. The girl can write one hell of a break up song. Her lyrics are typically honest and clever and her music relates well to the tween and teen populations. I admire her class as well as her ability to top the music charts within minutes of each song’s release.

On Tuesday, Oct. 14 Swift released the second single “Out Of The Woods” off of her upcoming album 1989. The first song off of the album, “Shake It Off,” spent two weeks at No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 list. 1989 is Swift’s fifth studio-released album and will be available on iTunes in its entirety Oct. 27.

“Shake It Off” is Swift’s bubbly, upbeat response to her “haters.” The song has a bouncy drum beat and a driving trumpet sound. It’s a memorable radio tune that replays in my head hours after hearing it. I am not a fan of the so-called “rap” near the end of the song, overall the musical aspect of the song leaves little to complain about.

The lyrics of the song lack a deeper meaning. Yes, she addresses the haters, fakers and players who criticize her in the single saying she’s “just gonna shake it off.” But, “Haters gonna hate hate hate hate hate” isn’t enough to make me appreciate the cunning and original lyrics she is capable of. Exemplified in “Dear John” and “All Too Well,” she certainly has a way with words, but the lyrics of “Shake It Off” do not represent her best work.

When I first heard the second single “Out Of The Woods” I thought something was wrong with my computer’s speaker. The song starts with a repetitive synthesizer beat resembling an ‘80s, Madonna-sound different from Swift’s usual style. The more I listened to the song the more it grew on me, but at first the synthesizer introduction made me cringe. As the song goes on, a slow but steady beat pushes the song through all four minutes, making it another catchy Taylor Swift tune. But the music behind the song is nothing spectacular and could have used more diversity.

The lyrics are decent, nothing remarkable but certainly an improvement compared to “Shake It Off.” The song supposedly follows the story of Swift’s relationship with One Direction’s Harry Styles.

“Every day was a struggle. Forget making plans for life- we were just trying to make it to next week,” Swift said in a cover story in the September issue of Rolling Stone.

The verses are the song’s strength, my favorite line being “the rest of the world was in black and white, but we were in screaming color,” an artful example of the expressive writing her music usually entails.

What ruined it for me was the lyrics that follow. She asks “Are we out of the woods yet?” four times followed by “Are we in the clear yet?” four more times and that is the chorus. Her music is a lot of repetition and honesty, I’ve lost interest.

With the first two songs released, my expectations for 1989 are second-rate. Swift has outstanding potential and has previously delivered to her fans, but if the creative spark has faded, it may be time for her to retire her music career.