Taylor Swift Songs as Gallagher Girls Characters

It's summer! And to me that means its time to reread some of my favorite books. Since Ally Carter's new adult romance comes out VERY SOON, I've been in an Ally Carter reading mood. (Arc review to come).

I started reading the Gallagher Girls series back in 2007. I picked up a copy of Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy because how could I not with a title like that? However, when I got home I quickly realized that this was a sequel (a habit that I still have). I ordered I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You from those monthly scholastic catalogs (cue nostalgia). I was HOOKED!

The Gallagher Girls series thus became the series that I grew up with. The last book came out the year that I turned 20, so it was very special to me. It was special because I entered a new phase of my life at the same time as Cammie, Bex, Liz, and Macey. I was so lucky to come of age with role models like them: strong, smart, talented, and caring friends.

I've lost count of how many times I've reread these books, and I know I will continue to read them for many years to come. Ally Carter's writing is fun, tight, fast-paced, and everything a good author should be.

The Gallagher Girls series is about a group of friends who attend The Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. They might seem like a normal group of rich teens, but really they go to a school for spies in training. This series starts with Cammie trying to manage her first boyfriend (a normal teen boy) to Cammie and her friends trying to stop a national terrorist organization from killing her. You know, normal girl things.

I've been listening to a lot of Taylor Swift (especially Speak Now TV) and I realized that a lot of her songs can describe the Gallagher Girls characters. This is a very niche blog post so be warned, there are many spoilers for the series. Of course, check out Ally Carter's Books and Speak Now Taylor's Version!

1. Enchanted x Book 1

Book 1 is mostly centered around the plot of Cammie meeting Josh, a regular boy from town, who doesn't know the truth about the Gallagher Academy. Cammie meets Josh one night at the town carnival. She is there with her classmates to complete a cove-ops assignment.

There I was again tonight

Forcing laughter, faking smiles

Same old tired, lonely place

Walls of insincerity, shifting eyes and vacancy

Vanished when I saw your face

All I can say is, it was enchanting to meet you

Faking smiles? Walls of insecurity?? This is literally Cammie. This is her first field assignment and as a 15 year old girl, with a legendary spy family, she has a lot to be nervous about.

Your eyes whispered, "Have we met?"

'Cross the room your silhouette

Starts to make its way to me

The playful conversation starts

Counter all your quick remarks

Like passing notes in secrecy

Cammie is known as "Cammie the Chameleon". She's a natural pavement artist which means she blends in, and can go unnoticed. On one hand it's great for a spy, on the other hand it sucks for a teenage girl. Josh is the boy that sees her. He strikes up a conversation with her, and Cammie pretends to be a regular, home schooled girl. Later on they pass notes to each other by hiding them in the town since she doesn't have a cell phone to talk to him. (And even if she did there was no way her school would let her because he'd be a security risk!)

Now, even though they weren't meant to be. Josh was an important part in Cammie's story. Cammie was able to learn a lot about herself and she learned more about boys. This might sound silly, but for a lot of teens, learning how to date is a BIG deal. Cammie does move on, but we can see that she is thankful for Josh. This reminds me of the following:

This night is sparkling, don't you let it go

I'm wonderstruck, blushing all the way home

I'll spend forever wondering if you knew

This night is flawless, don't you let it go

I think as Cammie grows up she will remember Josh with fondness, and she won't let that experience go (in a good way) because it was part of her journey.

2. State of Grace x Book 2-6

Not from Speak Now, but a classic Red song. In book 2, Cammie meets Zach, a student from Blackthorne Academy. An all boys' school for spies that was a highly kept secret. So it was a complete surprise when Zach, and a few others, became transfer students for a semester.

And I never (never)

Saw you coming

And I'll never (never)

Be the same

Cammie first meets Zach in Washington D. C. on a cove-ops assignment. Her goal was to meet her teacher by the ruby slippers without anyone following her. She encounters Zach who seemed just like a regular boy. Not thinking anything of it, she accidentally leads him to her destination and fails her task. Oh, and her teacher, Joe Solomon, seems to know Zach very well. Its a short time later that Zach is introduced to Cammie at school, and when I say their chemistry was electric, it could light up NYC.

I'm walking fast through the traffic lights Busy streets and busy lives And all we know is touch and go We are alone with our changing minds We fall in love 'til it hurts or bleeds, or fades in time

WE FALL IN LOVE 'TIL IT HURTS OR BLEEDS, OR FADES IN TIME sounds a lot like SPIES in LOVE to me!

Since Zach is a spy, he's being mysterious and aloof, but he obviously likes Cammie. Cammie is obviously interested in him too, but she doesn't know how to handle the enigma that is Zach Goode.

You come around and the armor falls

Pierce the room like a cannonball

Now all we know is don't let go

We are alone, just you and me

Up in your room and our slates are clean

Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes

Throughout the books we see their relationship develop (its so cute and I can't even sometimes). So when I hear "Pierce the room like a cannonball" I can't help but think about how they are so aware of each other and how their chemistry is palpable!

Ok, this is where It gets good(e).

So you were never a saint

And I've loved in shades of wrong

We learn to live with the pain

Mosaic broken hearts

But this love is brave and wild

Sometime after book 2 we find out that Blackthorne isn't just to train young men to become spies, but to become assassins. He tells Cammie at different points that he isn't a good guy and that he isn't good enough for her because he is literally trained to kill people. But Cammie believes that he even though his background was not the best, he is still good.

And I never (never)

Saw you coming

And I'll never (so you were never a saint)

(And I've loved in shades of wrong)

Be the same (we learn to live with the pain)

(Mosaic broken hearts)

(But this love is brave and wild)

Cammie didn't know that Zach was coming. Unlike Josh, Zach was able to know the real her. He helped her grow in new ways too, and he helped her overcome a literal terrorist organization. She will never see him coming, and their love is definitely brave and wild.

3. Come Back Be Here x End of book 4 to beginning of book 5

Another classic song from Red. This song reminds me of Zach's POV. By book 4 we learn that there is a secret terrorist organization that is after Cammie. At the very end Cammie decides that it would be best for her to run away to prevent anyone from getting hurt. She leaves right before her summer vacation. At the beginning of book 5 she doesn't have her memory of where she's been. It only feels like a couple of weeks have passed, but really it's been months!

During this time Zach (and her friends and family), had no idea where she was, but they were looking for her.

And this is when the feeling sinks in

I don't wanna miss you like this

Come back, be here

When Cammie is back she asks Zach where he went when he went looking for her. He says, "Crazy. I went crazy." (Probably the most romantic line in literature ever.) I imagine that when she is gone he is feeling alone and misses her. This moment captures that longing Zach has for her.

If I had known what I'd known now

I never would've played so nonchalant

Zach has been known to keep secrets and play it cool. It takes a while for him to open up to Cammie. I can imagine that while she is gone he is wishing he had handled things differently so that she wouldn't have felt like she needed to be on her own.

This is falling in love in the cruelest way

This is falling for you and you are worlds away

We don't see Zach's POV during the series, but we can assume Zach developed a crush on Cammie from the very beginning. I think he always admired her skills, and the kind of person she was. And even though they are teenagers, I believe that her disappearance is when he realized just how deep his feelings for her go. I think he realized that he didn't want to live a life without Cammie, but at the same time he hated that they were apart and he had no idea if she were safe or not.

4. Babe x Book 6

you tell that Red is my favorite album? Ok, so I'm about to talk about a HUGE plot twist/point in the series. So if you don't want to be spoiled on possibly the best plot point in the series please skip this song and come back when you've read the series.

This particular song reminds me of Abby, and Agent Townsend. Abby is Cammie's Aunt, who is introduced in book 3. She is a spy, Gallagher Girl, and ex secret service. She took a bullet to save Macey McHenry's life, and is now trying to track down Catherine, aka Zach's mother. (Zach's mother is part of the secret terrorist organization trying to take everything down.)

Townsend is an agent that was introduced in book 4. He was sent to the Gallagher Academy to replace Joe Solomon (who had to hide for reasons related to the terrorist organization.) By book 6 it is alluded that Abby and Townsend have a thing for each other. It is unclear as to how serious they are by this book, but in the epilogue it is revealed they have children together.

Abby and Townsend appear at Catherine's house where she has just appeared. Zach took Cammie and her friends there so they could hide (but like how most plans are they don't work out like intended.)

It's important to note that throughout the series we don't know who Zach's father is. He doesn't know who his dad is, but he is about to find out. Catherine was given a truth serum and she reveals that Agent Townsend is his father! Of course drama ensues, Zach is dealing with some angsty feelings, and Abby is clearly upset with Townsend. Cammie and Zach over hear them arguing and hear Townsend say, "She never told me!"

We don't see a lot of Abby and Townsend as a couple, but in my headcanon I imagine that this song describes them in this moment.

What about your promises, promises?

A repeated idea throughout the books is that its hard to live "normal" lives as spies. Abby and Townsend have every right to feel reserved about entering into a relationship. They know that the stakes are too high. So for them to be any sort of couple at this point, I Imagine that they would have to have made certain promises to each other to make it work. When they find out the truth I believe that Abby felt like her relationship was shattered.

I'm here on the kitchen floor

You call, but I won't hear it

You said no one else, how could you do this babe?

Now, I don't believe Abby is the crying on the kitchen floor type of person. She seems more like, I need to hit something really hard girl. However the rest of this verse stands. I think in this moment she is trying to evaluate who she thought he was. Perhaps, they both let their guard down for the first time in a really long time, and she probably felt like maybe she shouldn't have.

Your secret has its consequence and that's on you, babe

This line hits hard. At this point, we don't know that Townsend and Catherine have a history. Catherine is the bad guy in this series. So the implications of a relationship between the two of them are possibly very bad.

Since you admitted it (oh-oh), I keep picturing (oh-oh),

Her lips on your neck (oh-oh), I can't unsee it (oh-oh).

Again, this relationship is a huge shock. I believe that Abby thought she knew Townsend (at least the parts of him that mattered because remember they are spies). Now that Abby knows that Townsend was with Catherine at point, I believe she felt sick to her stomach. How could she move on from news like this?

Ultimately, they do move on from this. We don't see the details of their relationship, but in the epilogue we can see they were able to work it out and have children.

5. Mine x Rachel and Matthew

Rachel and Matthew are Cammie's parents. We don't see them together in the book because Mathew went missing (and is assumed dead, later confirmed) before the series even begins. Based off of Cammie's narration we can tell that Matthew was a great dad and husband. in book 1, Cammie sees a private moment where Rachel is crying by herself because it is Mathew's birthday. Years later, we can see that Rachel still loves him very much.

We don't know the details of their relationship. Like, how they met or how they became a couple. But this song reminds me of them- of what it could have been like for them.

You were in college working part-time waiting tables

Left a small town, never looked back

I was a flight risk, with a fear of falling

In my head canon, since Rachel and Abby were both Gallagher Girls, one of their parents were a student there, or worked for a government agency such as the CIA or FBI. Cammie describes how she spends her summers on her grandparents farm (dad's parents). We also know that he did not attend Blackthorne Academy. So perhaps, he joined the CIA on his own ambitions. To me it would make sense that Rachel would be the more hesitant one in the relationship, just because she had been exposed to more of what the spy life was like.

Flash forward and we're taking on the world together

And there's a drawer of my things at your place

You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded

Taking on the world together is such a spy line! Cammie mentions throughout the books that they would go on missions together. So it makes sense that even early on in the relationship they would be working together. "You learn my secrets" is such another spy line! It's hard to let your guard down, but I can imagine when they both feel comfortable enough to let each other into their worlds so they could make their relationship work.

And I remember that fight, 2:30 a.m.

As everything was slipping right out of our hands...

Braced myself for the goodbye

"Cause that's all I've ever known

I imagine Rachel and Matthew having their first serious argument. I can imagine Rachel thinking it was the end because again, for a spy, it's hard to have that normalcy in a relationship. The work, the stress, the secrets, it all was starting to be too much and she might have thought that Matthew didn't want that anymore.

But I can see him reassuring her, "I'll never leave you alone...every time I look at you, it's like the first time...Your the best thing that's ever been mine."

And with that they both knew that this was the real deal and that as long as they were alive they would have each other.

6. I Can See You x Cammie and Zach

Speak Now TV has some of my favorite vault tracks ever! As soon as I heard this song I got Gallagher Girls vibes. (The music video is literally about a heist! So Taylor please consider directing the books to a tv show.)

You brush past me in the hallway

And you don't think I, I, I can see ya, do ya?

I've been watchin' you for ages

And I spend my time tryin' not to feel it

When Zach goes to the Gallagher Academy there is a lot of tension between him and Cammie. Cammie tries to figure him out through a variety of spy and girl means. She tries to get close to him to figure out who he really is. She tries to deny her attraction to Zach, but she knows (and we know) that she has some feelings for him.

'Cause I can see you waitin' down the hall from me

And I could see you up against the wall with me

Zach watches Cammie a lot! I also like to imagine that he's doing that wall, lean thing that guys like to do.

I could see you in your suit and your necktie

Passed me a note saying, "Meet me tonight"

Then we kiss, and you know I won't ever tell, yeah

And I could see you being my addiction

You can see me as a secret mission

Hide away and I will start behaving myself

And we've come to the good part! In book 2, the students have a formal exam where they literally have to be in formal wear. Of course, Zach is in a suit.

Sometime after the formal he sends Cammie a handwritten note asking her to hang out with him!

At the end of the book he does one of the most swoon worthy things I've read, which is dip Cammie in the foyer and kiss her.

After his semester at the Gallagher Academy he starts to show up mysteriously when Cammie is out of her school. It's implied in the series that he's trying to help her. Later on in the series, we see that he is on her team and will do anything to protect her. She is literally his secret mission.

This song is LITERALLY them!

Thank you Ally Carter for writing my favorite series of all time, and thank you Taylor Swift for writing the soundtrack to not only my life but to all my favorite books.

Now, it's time to anxiously await the release of Ally Carter's newest book, and listen to Speak Now TV on repeat.