Taylor Swift arms herself with lyrics onstage

By Brian Mansfield, Special for USA TODAY

Some singers wear their hearts on their sleeves; Taylor Swift is wearing a jukebox on hers. She's written a song lyric on her left arm with a Sharpie before every show on the North American leg of her Speak Now tour, which hits Detroit's Ford Field on Saturday. USA TODAY speculates why she might have chosen them.

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  By Nati Harnik, AP

  Taylor Swift performs May 27 in Omaha with a line from Andy Grammer's 'Keep Your Head Up' scrolled on her arm.

By Nati Harnik, AP

Taylor Swift performs May 27 in Omaha with a line from Andy Grammer's 'Keep Your Head Up' scrolled on her arm.

Lyric: "I slept in castles and fell in love because I was taught to dream."

Source:Faith Hill's Fireflies

Tour stop: Milwaukee (June 8)

Possible motive: This is the second lyric Swift has quoted from Faith Hill, one of her primary influences. She wrote a line from This Kiss on her arm May 29 in Des Moines.

Lyric: "One life, you got to do what you should."

Source: U2's One

Tour stop: Columbus, Ohio (June 7)

Possible motive: Earlier this year, Swift told Rachael Ray that she'd like to do a duet with Bono.

Lyric: "I guess we're all one phone call from our knees."

Source: Mat Kearney's Closer to Love

Tour stop: Orlando (June 4)

Possible motive: Kearney, who had an adult-alternative radio hit with the song in 2009, is one of Swift's favorite Nashville singer/songwriters, and she's gone to see him play live.

Lyric: "It took a while to understand the beauty of just letting go."

Source: The Dixie Chicks' Let Him Fly

Tour stop: Fort Lauderdale (Friday)

Possible motive: The Chicks' boundary-stretching approach to country music made a big impression on Swift when she was just starting to write songs.

Lyric: "And for one desperate moment there, he crept back in her memory."

Source: Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' American Girl

Tour stop: Fort Lauderdale (June 2)

Possible motive: Swift has named Petty as one of her primary musical heroes, and his recording of the song plays over the sound system just before she takes the stage. She also recorded the song.

Lyric: "Cinderella said to Snow White, 'How does love get so off course?'"

Source: Faith Hill's This Kiss

Tour stop: Des Moines (May 29)

Possible motive: Along with Petty and Shania Twain, Swift lists Hill as one of her main musical heroes.

Lyric: "I recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone."

Source: Alanis Morissette's You Learn

Tour stop: Omaha (May 28)

Possible motive: When Swift showed USA TODAY her iPod in 2008, Morissette's Jagged Little Pill was one of the most-played albums on it.

Lyric: "You gotta keep your head up, and you can let your hair down."

Source: Andy Grammer's Keep Your Head Up

Tour stop: Omaha (May 27)

Possible motive: On May 4, Swift tweeted about singing along to the current hit on the way to tour rehearsal.

Lyric: "You've got every right to a beautiful life."

Source: Selena Gomez's Who Says

Tour stop: Nashville (May 21)

Possible motive: Gomez and Swift have been friends for years.

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