LOS ANGELES (AP) — Taylor Swift, who emerged as a Grammy winner in 2010, unveiled “Speak Now,” her third studio album, signaling her independence as a songwriter without any collaborations. While her earlier albums, the eponymous “Taylor Swift” in 2006 and “Fearless” in 2008, received both praise and criticism for their bold bridges and insightful lyrics, skeptics questioned whether a teenage idol was truly responsible for such artistry. Swift silenced her critics with “Speak Now,” a remarkable album that preceded her transition from country’s rising star to pop’s vibrant voice.
“Speak Now” served as a personal testimony of Swift’s early fame and her future aspirations in the music industry. Now, after 13 years, the album has returned in a renewed form. Released on Friday as “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” it is part of Swift’s ongoing project to re-record her six albums. These re-recorded versions, initia Ahead of the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” The Associated Press engaged Taylor Swift scholars in a discussion about the various perspectives listeners should consider when approaching the album.
One significant aspect to contemplate is the transition from adolescence to adulthood. Initially, the album was titled “Enchanted,” named after the powerful ballad of the same name. The backstory suggests that Scott Borchetta, the CEO of Big Machine Records and Swift’s label president at the time, encouraged her to move away from whimsical and fairytale imagery as she was entering her twenties. Consequently, the album received a more mature title.
This transitional phase provides an intriguing framework for interpreting the album. Composed primarily between the ages of 18 and 20, with its release coinciding with Swift’s 21st birthday, “Speak Now” captures a collection of songs that straddle the precipice of adulthood, fame, and asserting ownership. While the album explores themes and concerns relevant to young adults, such as infatuations (“Superman,” “Sparks Fly”) and poignant breakups (“Back to December,” “If This Was a Movie”), it also reflects Swift’s evolving perspective.
Lily Hirsch, a musicologist and the author of “Can’t Stop the Grrrls: Confronting Sexist Labels in Music from Ariana Grande to Yoko Ono,” points out the youthful essence that resonates in these songs. She notes that the album revolves around romantic relationships, which is characteristic of that age. The re-recordings, however, introduce a more mature voice that reflects Swift’s growth and brings a fresh perspective to her earlier preoccupations.
ted by the sale of her early catalog to music manager Scooter Braun, exemplify Swift’s determination to reclaim ownership of her songs and assert control over their usage. This endeavor is particularly fitting for “Speak Now,” an album crafted entirely from her own vocal prowess.
Elizabeth Scala, a professor at the University of Texas at Austin, offers a course on Taylor Swift’s songbook, using it as an introduction to literary studies and research methods. According to Scala, “Speak Now” continues Swift’s approach of drawing on her limited life experience at the age of 18 and incorporating what she has read and learned from others to create lyrical content. Despite this, the songs manage to transform the messiness and inaccuracy of memories into beautiful and cohesive narratives.
The album also reflects Swift’s engagement with her critics and her exploration of the relationship between her celebrity status and her personal life. Following the infamous incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards where Kanye West interrupted her acceptance speech, “Speak Now” became a turning point in Swift’s career. She began using her fame as a reflection of her inner world.
For instance, the song “Mean” serves as a rebuke to a rock critic, transforming into a banjo-led anthem against all forms of antagonism. Similarly, the blues-infused track “Dear John” delves into a young woman’s tumultuous relationship with an older man, showcasing Swift’s ability to address personal experiences through her music.
Hirsch emphasizes the prevalence of insults in music and the disparity in how they are perceived based on gender. Referring to songs like “Dear John” and “Mean,” Hirsch highlights the double standard where women, in particular, are expected to take the high road and ignore bad behavior, while men are often allowed to engage in more derogatory behavior in their music. This discrepancy results in women being labeled as “catty” when they confront such behavior, as exemplified in “Dear John.”
Swift’s fans often engage in the speculation of uncovering the identities of the subjects of her songs. However, Scala finds this approach to be uninteresting when considering Taylor Swift as an artist, suggesting that her biography is not the most compelling lens through which to view her work.
During a recent performance on her Eras Tour in Minneapolis, Swift seemed to share a similar sentiment. She played “Dear John” live for the first time in 11 years, prefacing it with a statement reflecting her perspective on her past. Swift expressed that, at 33 years old, she no longer cares about the events of her life when she was 19, except for the songs she wrote and the memories created with her fans. She clarified that her intention in releasing the re-recorded album was not to encourage her fans to defend her against perceived individuals she may have written songs about in the distant past.
Scala observes a continuity between “Speak Now” and Swift’s subsequent albums. “Dear John” serves as a precursor to “All Too Well,” while “Mean” foreshadows “Blank Space,” a song that satirizes how she has been portrayed in the media. This connection suggests that Swift’s growth and evolution as an artist can be traced throughout her discography, with each album building upon previous themes and experiences.
Amidst the discussions surrounding the re-recording of “Speak Now,” much attention has been given to “Better Than Revenge,” a pop-punk track that directs its criticism towards another woman rather than the man who wronged both parties involved. The song draws inspiration, both musically and thematically, from Paramore’s 2007 pop-rock hit “Misery Business,” which also explores a similar subject matter. Interestingly, in the re-recorded version of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” Paramore singer Hayley Williams contributes vocals to a previously unreleased song called “Castles Crumbling.”
The original chorus of “Better Than Revenge” contained a rare lyrical misstep in Swift’s career, where she sang, “She’s an actress / She’s better known for the things she does on the mattress.” In the 2023 re-recorded version, Swift altered the lyric to “He was a moth to the flame / She was holding the matches.”
Hirsch points out that the use of slut-shaming rhetoric existed in movies and shows during the time of the song’s original release in 2010. While acknowledging that Swift is not the only artist who engaged in such language at the time, Hirsch also highlights that Swift herself has been subjected to sexist criticism.
Swift’s decision to change the song in her re-recording aligns with a trend seen among other pop stars. Artists like Lizzo and Beyoncé have modified lyrics to songs deemed offensive, and even Weird Al no longer performs his Michael Jackson parodies. As Swift has not performed “Better Than Revenge” live for well over a decade, she hasn’t been required to confront the song in the same way until now.
Scala argues that fans are willing to replace the original version with Taylor’s Versions because they are exact replicas, as much as possible. When an artist introduces changes, it transforms the song into something different. In this case, the re-recorded version allows Swift to claim ownership of a different rendition of the song, ensuring her artistic control and autonomy.
According to Scala, from a literary historian’s perspective, the initial reception of “Speak Now” was influenced by Taylor Swift’s career up until that point. However, now that we have the rest of her discography to compare it to, listening to the album takes on a different dimension. The passage of time and Swift’s artistic growth have transformed the way we perceive the record. Comparisons can still be made to the original recording, but the re-recorded version offers a deeper and richer experience.
Not only has technology changed since 2010, but Swift herself has also evolved. Her voice has matured, shedding the sweet self-restraint that characterized her earlier releases. Additionally, each release includes “From the Vault” tracks, which are unreleased songs from the respective album’s era, reimagined for the present moment. These tracks provide a more comprehensive picture of Swift’s artistic journey.
Beyond the music and cultural considerations, the primary motivation behind Swift’s decision to re-record her albums is to assert ownership of her work. This is particularly significant for “Speak Now,” as it is the only album in her discography that is entirely self-written and celebrated for its dismissals of exploitative male characters and its poetic embrace of girlhood.
One can’t help but draw connections to the song “Could’ve, Would’ve, Should’ve” from her 2022 album, “Midnights,” where Swift sings, “Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first.” This can be seen as a self-reflective statement regarding her “Speak Now” era. That track represents a creative reclamation of the teenage girl who wrote “Dear John” from the perspective of an adult, while “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” is the literal act of reclaiming her own work.
Hirsch appreciates what this act of re-recording communicates, emphasizing that it conveys a message of empowerment and the refusal to passively accept unfavorable situations, particularly when it comes to one’s own voice. Swift’s decision to take control of her masters sends a powerful message to others, highlighting the importance of asserting autonomy over one’s creative output.