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This 1940’s themed song was inspired by Ethel and Bobby Kennedy.
Starlight is a song I wrote actually after seeing a picture of um, Ethel and Bobby Kennedy when they were seventeen. I saw this picture about a year a half ago, and I didn’t know anything about like, what they were doing or what was going on in the picture, but I just thought ‘They look like they’re having the best night.’ And, um, and so I wrote this song about what the night might’ve been like. And um, I ended up meeting Ethel and going and playing it for her and she just loved it. It was such a fun moment when she was just in love with the song and so happy about it and um, it’s just this adorable picture that to me, it just like brought forth all these potentials for how that night could’ve been. –Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift also briefly dated Conor Kennedy earlier in 2012, who is also rumored to have part in inspiring this song.
Lyrics
[Chorus]
I said, "Oh, my, what a marvelous tune" It was the best night, never would forget how we moved The whole place was dressed to the nines And we were dancing, dancing Like we're made of starlight Like we're made of starlight
[Verse 1]
I met Bobby on the boardwalk, summer of '45 Picked me up, late one night at the window We were 17 and crazy, running wild, wild Can't remember what song it was playing when we walked in The night we snuck into a yacht club party Pretending to be a duchess and a prince
[Chorus]
And I said, "Oh, my, what a marvelous tune" It was the best night, never would forget how we moved The whole place was dressed to the nines And we were dancing, dancing Like we're made of starlight, starlight Like we're made of starlight, starlight
[Verse 2]
He said, "Look at you Worrying so much about things you can't change You'll spend your whole life singing the blues If you keep thinking that way" He was trying to skip rocks on the ocean, saying to me "Don't you see the starlight, starlight? Don't you dream impossible things?"
[Chorus]
Like, "Oh, my, what a marvelous tune" It was the best night, never would forget how we moved The whole place was dressed to the nines And we were dancing, dancing Like we're made of starlight, starlight Like we're made of starlight, starlight
[Bridge]
Ooh, ooh, he's talking crazy Ooh, ooh, dancing with me Ooh, ooh, we could get married Have ten kids and teach 'em how to dream
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus]
Oh, my, what a marvelous tune It was the best night, never would forget how we moved The whole place was dressed to the nines And we were dancing, dancing Like we're made of starlight, starlight Like we're made of starlight, starlight
[Breakdown]
Like we're made of starlight, starlight Like we dream impossible dreams Like starlight, starlight Like we dream impossible dreams
[Outro]
Don't you see the starlight, starlight? Don't you dream impossible things?
