'There are so many emotions that you're feeling, you can get stifled by them if you're feeling them all at once,' Swift says. 'It's like she knows you,' says Megan, 16, whose favourite Swift song is Back to December – one of the most accomplished numbers in a catalogue deep in detail-rich, resonant narratives. 'She's just – perfect,' gasps Mica, 18, one of around 30 fans – mostly teenage girls – who have gathered outside the Connaught Hotel in London in the hope of a meet-and-greet. One gets the impression that Swift, who describes herself as a 'girls' girl', has many such conversations: the skilful way in which her music untangles the minutiae of feelings has won her the hearts of a devoted fanbase to whom she is somewhere between a best friend and a big sister – awe-inspiring, but relatable.

Or I cut off my friends and family because he wanted me to do that.

Or I started trying to act like a hipster. 'You look back and you think: I only wore black in that relationship. 'My girlfriends and I are plagued by the idea, looking back, that changed us,' she muses. When Taylor Swift talks about love and relationships, she dwells on them at length and in detail.

Tell me why - taylor swift