“We’re all bored,” boomed throughout the infamous So-Fi stadium, echoing through the countless rows of fans. The lyrics accompanied the melodic strumming of Taylor Swift’s signature wooden guitar. Fans screamed along to the lines that followed, “We’re all so tired of everything.” To the untrained eye, this moment might not seem like anything special—it’s just a song sung at any random concert, right? Nothing special. But to any devout Swiftie, the name that Swift’s fans have dubbed themselves over the years, this moment was a core memory. For the hundreds of thousands of fans stuffed into that stadium in central Los Angeles, California, this moment would be engraved in their brains for the rest of their lives. Not only was Swift singing a fan-favorite song, she had also just announced the re-release of her most popular album, 1989.
In 2014, at the peak of the Tumblr era, Swift made the smart decision to fully transition from the country genre to pop music. The decision would go on to completely change her life, as 1989 became her single-most popular album. She earned ten Grammy nominations, won the Album of the Year Award, hit #1 on Billboard, and even stayed in the top 10 for a whole year. Her fifth studio album also hosts four of her most popular songs, “Shake It Off,” “Style,” “Blank Space,” and “Wildest Dreams,” all of which are part of the Billions club (collecting an astonishing total of 1 billion streams or more on Spotify).
So, when Taylor announced her re-recording of 1989, she got the attention of everyone. Old fans, new fans, haters, lovers, everyone There were high expectations after she said she was most proud of these re-recordings. People rejoiced. People threw parties. People cried. It revived the historical turning point of Taylor Swift’s career as a pop artist.
However, following its release on October 27th, it was met with a surprising amount of hate. The majority of people, including extremely devoted fans, said that in comparison to the original 1989, “Taylor’s Version” displays little to no emotion in her singing. Additionally, fans with a certain caliber of musical knowledge say that the production is low-quality. But in reality, there is an extremely minute difference, if any. You’d have to be brutally nitpicky to find any “real” issues with the album.
Though pretty much every opinion towards the album is met with unrest and differences of opinion, there’s one thing in agreement: the vault songs are amazing. ‘Vault’ songs are songs that didn’t make it into the original album but are available in the re-record. It’s no secret that Taylor Swift is an amazing storyteller, and through her lyrics, she can set almost any scene she wants as if it were written in a novel. This idea is prominent, especially in these vault tracks. From “You had people who called you on unmarked numbers/ in my peripheral vision/ I let it slide like a hose on a slippery plastic summer” (in “Suburban Legends”) to a more simple “When you lost control/ Red blood, white snow” (in “Is It Over Now?”), Swift’s masterful use of lyrics is put into the spotlight. However, even though the vault songs are amazing on their own, they don’t seem to perfectly fit the album. All five would fit better as a part of Midnights, one of her newer albums, which has a similar artistic style to 1989 but feels more mature.
So, what are the vault songs on the new 1989 (Taylor’s Version)? The first vault track, “Slut!” was expected to be similar to “Better than Revenge” (from Speak Now), a not-so-subtle message to the other woman in a relationship. To fans’ surprise, it turned out to be a beautiful love song. The best lyrics are: “But if I’m all dressed up/ they might as well be looking at us,” and “Everyone wants him, that was my crime/ wrong place at the right time.”
“Say Don’t Go,” the second track, is a heartbreaking break-up song which displays the last moments in a relationship, holding on to the hope for the other person to say, “Don’t go.” The best/catchiest lyrics are: “Why’d you have to make me love you? Why’d you have to make me want you,” and, “I said ‘I love you,’ you said nothing back.”
“Now That We Don’t Talk” is an 80s-pop song disguised in a 2010s uniform. The signature pop synth and catchy drum beat disguise the somewhat depressing lyrics. In this one, the Best lyrics include: “and the only way back to my dignity was a shrouded mystery,” and “remind myself the more I gave, you’d want me less.”
“Suburban Legends,” has arguably the best lyrics, but is the least popular out of the five tracks. Its best lyrics are: “When you hold me, it holds me together,” and, “ I had the fantasy that maybe our mismatched star signs would surprise the whole school.”
Finally, “Is It Over Now?” This song has gained the most popularity through social media and has been widely speculated to be about Harry Styles, a man on Taylor’s list of ex-lovers. The catchiest lyrics include: “Think I didn’t see you? There were flashing lights…” and “ If she has blue eyes, I will surmise that you’ll probably date her.”
As for the future of Swift’s re-release schedule; there are only two albums left to release, Taylor Swift (self-titled), and Reputation. The popular opinion seems to believe that Reputation might be next. I mean, single pieces of black confetti packed in orders of the 1989 cardigan. Delusional? Maybe. Others believe Taylor Swift (self-titled) will come next, (she’s taking back her name, then her Reputation). Overall, the re-release of 1989 has brought Taylor Swift an insurmountable amount of success. It rivals, or even surpasses the success of the original stolen version of the album, and brought her to be the #1 artist, out of over 11 million, on Spotify. Whether you are a huge Swiftie or can simply appreciate her music, do yourself a favor and put 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on the queue.
