Note: This review is number three in a series looking back at Taylor Swift’s first 10 albums.
In 2010, later re-recorded in 2023, the songs and messages behind “Speak Now” highlight Swift growing up and maturing through her music.
The original version was so sacred to Swifties that the re-recording had high expectations and standards to meet.
Once it was released, some fans were not pleased about how different Swift sounded in each song, and how some songs sounded less passionate and emotional than in the original version.
One major controversy was the changing of lyrics in “Better Than Revenge.” This song exposed an ex-boyfriend (speculated to be Joe Jonas) immediately getting into a new relationship after breaking up with Swift.
The new relationship was rumored to be Joe Jonas and his girlfriend after Swift, Camilla Belle. In the song, the original lyric, “She’s better known for the things that she does/On the mattress, whoa,” was changed.
In the re-released version it now is, “He was a moth to the flame, She was holding the matches, woah.” This lyric change showed Swift’s maturity and growth about the situation.
Swift noted to The Guardian in 2014, “I was 18 when I wrote that,” foreshadowing how Swift wants to move past this lyric and not prolong unnecessary drama.
However, many fans disagree with the lyric change and believe Swift should be proud of her past lyrics and not erase the impact it has made on her fans.
When a past album of Swift is rereleased, a common trend is for the Swifties to immediately direct their attention toward the ex-boyfriends that Swift criticized and give them hate.
This was especially apparent with “Speak Now,” where one of the songs is titled “Dear John,” alluding to her questionable relationship with John Mayer. This relationship from 2009 to early 2010 was especially problematic due to their age gap since Swift was 19 while Mayer was 32.
Swift acknowledged these issues in the lyric, “Don’t you think nineteen’s too young/To be played by your dark, twisted games when I loved you so?”
After the hateful comments and posts that were popular after the release of “Red (Taylor’s Version),” surrounding Jake Gyllenhaal, Swift made a point to address “Dear John” at an Eras tour show in Minneapolis on June 24, prior to its release.
Swift said that night, “I’m not putting this album out so you should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 million years ago.”
She has moved past the drama surrounding their relationship and wishes for her fans to focus on the overall release of the new album, not the past.
Additionally, Swift added “Long Live” to the Eras Tour setlist during the announcement of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” but it was later removed earlier this month, leaving only one song, “Enchanted” remaining on the setlist of the Eras Tour from “Speak Now.”
Previous Album Fearless (2021) | Next Album “Red (Taylor’s Version)” (2021)