Ryan Adams recently compared Taylor Swift to William Shakespeare.

The 40-year-old rock singer likened the 25-year-old pop star to the poet in a recent interview with The Guardian. The interview came after Adams released his song-for-song cover of Swift's "1989" on Sept. 21.

He confessed the first song of Swift's he fell in love with was "White Horse" from her 2008 album "Fearless."

"The first time I heard it I got chills head to toe," Adams said. "I remember feeling shocked by her voice, shocked at how clean that song was. I like stuff that sort of penetrates through my regular consciousness and hits me where I'm not looking. That's usually stuff that's a little darker."

Adams described his experience of covering Swift's "1989" album as that similar to an actor "in 'Ghostbusters' or something, and then all of a sudden I have to go do Shakespeare."

He first announced the cover album on Twitter in August along with his bandmates, saying, "Taylor Swift 1989 full album cover night 1. As played by the Smiths." Swift excitedly responded, "is this true??????? I WILL PASS OUT."

Adam's rendition of "1989" has generated interest from some critics, who claim that, by re-imagining Swift's songs and taking them to a "dark, different place," he had somehow revealed her genius. However, Adams maintains his main reason for the project was his sincere love of Swift's music.

So far Adams' version of the "1989" has peaked at No. 7 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.

Swift released the original version of "1989" on Oct. 27, 2014. The album produced the singles "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," "Style," "Bad Blood" and "Wildest Dreams." "1989" topped several music charts, including the U.S. Billboard 200 and U.K. Albums charts.

Before dropping "1989," Adams last released his self-titled album in 2014.

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