A lot of things happened in 1989. George H. W. Bush was inaugurated, The World Wide Web was invented, and the very first episode of The Simpsons was aired. Although those are pretty incredible events, the most important one (in my opinion) was the birth of Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift named her fifth album of her career ‘1989’ to tribute to her birth year. 

After releasing Fearless (Taylor’s Version), Red (Taylor’s Version), and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Taylor Swift finally announced 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on August 9th (8/9) at her Era’s Tour. Taylor Swift decided to re-record her first 6 albums because they were sold to a private equity firm, so Swift is unable to make any money from them and she no longer owns them. That is why after those albums you see “Taylor’s Version” in parentheses because she now owns those albums again. Her fifth album ‘1989’ was originally released on Oct. 27, 2014, and re-released on Oct 27, 2023, exactly nine years after. On September 17, 2021, Swift re-released her song “Wildest Dreams” from the ‘1989’ album because the song was very popular on TikTok and she wanted to be able to own that song. Swift stated on her Instagram that this album was her favorite re-record and that there would be five songs from the vault. All five vault tracks have zero features which is a first on her re-recordings.

Many people, including myself, thought that this song was gonna be “Vigilante Sh*t” from her ‘Midnights’ album part two, but instead we got a whimsical melody about what it means to be called a sl*t. Being a woman in fame you get a lot of hate for your relationships because you’re in the public eye. Swift is not a stranger to that hate. She writes, “But if I’m all dressed up/ They might as well be lookin’ at us/ And if they call me a sl*t/ You know it might be worth it for once” hinting that she doesn’t care about what people are saying about her because she dressed up nice purposely on her date because she wants people to see her. Swift is a very powerful person and can go out without being seen at all. So when she is photographed with people, it is intentional. 

Situationships can be difficult. Swift really embodies that in this song. Singing “Why’d you have to lead me on?/ Why’d you have to twist the knife?/ Walk away and leave me bleedin’, bleedin’”. The build up to the chorus is so impactful that it just makes me want to run through a field belting this song out to the top of my lungs. The bridge is also one of my favorite parts of this song. “Why’d you have to (why’d you have to)/ Make me want you (make me want you)?/ Why’d you have to (why’d you have to)/ Give me nothin’ back?/ Why’d you have to (why’d you have to)/ Make me love you (make me love you)?/ I said, “I love you” (I said, “I love you”)”. The echoing repetition of the lyrics in this song really emphasize her emotion with these words.

This album being a rerecording means that these vault tracks are from 2014. Swift dated Harry Styles from late 2012 till early 2013 so some of these songs on the album are obviously about him. Swift sings “You grew your hair long” which Styles did after they broke up, so she is obviously hinting to him. She also sings “I called my mom, she said that it was for the best” which reminds me of a lyric from her song “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things” from her ‘Reputation’ album where Swift sings “And here’s to my mama/ Had to listen to all this drama” because we all know and love queen Andrea Swift. Doing stuff for the person you love can sometimes be exhausting Swift sings in the bridge “I don’t have to pretend I like acid rock/ Or that I like to be on a mega-yacht/ With important men who think important thoughts/ Guess maybe I am better off/ Now that we don’t talk”. She obviously misses him but she is glad that she doesn’t have to date him anymore and she gets to be able to do the things that she loves.

This song is definitely the most mellow of the vault tracks. It sounds like an old 80s track that would be played on the soundtrack of Stranger Things. My all time favorite lyric from this song is “And you kiss me in a way that’s gonna screw me up forever” I am a big hopeless romantic and this lyric really reminds me of an enemies to lovers trope that has you sitting on the edge of your seat. Swift talks about a high school reunion in this song and sings “I am standin’ in a 1950s gymnasium” and the way she layers those lyrics together scratches an itch in me and it just sounds so good. 

Swift really saved the best for last on this album. Similar to “Now That We Don’t Talk” this song is also about Styles, because she sings “When you lost control (ah-ha)/ Red blood, white snow (ah-ha)/ Blue dress on a boat (ah-ha)/ Your new girl is my clone”. “Blue dress on a boat” refers to when Swift and Styles took a trip to the British Virgin Islands and it was rumored that she was left sitting there waiting for him for hours in her blue dress. “Your new girl is my clone” refers to Styles dating similar looking girls to Swift after they broke up. Arguably one of the best choruses of her career Swift sings, “Think I didn’t see you?/ There were flashing lights/ At least I had the decency/ To keep my nights out of sight/ Only rumors ’bout my hips and thighs/ And my whispered sighs/ Oh, Lord, I think about/ Jumping off of very tall somethings/ Just to see you come running/ And say the one thing I’ve been wanting/ But no”. She wants his attention and she wants him to notice her but unfortunately she doesn’t get that anymore and she questions to herself is their relationship over now?

Although Swift didn’t change anything about the original songs, the re-recordings sound a lot crisper and you can really hear how much her voice has matured since 2014. This is probably one of my favorite re-recording and I absolutely adore the vault track. Now all that’s left for her to re-record is her name and her ‘Reputation’.