Never in fans’ wildest dreams did they think Taylor Swift would re-record the iconic album “1989.”
Yet, after shocking fans with “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” Swift announced “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” on August 9 – after closing out her Eras tour in LA. The album was beloved by so many fans, many of whom may have felt pangs of guilt listening to those songs after Scooter Braun became the owner of Swift’s first six albums with Big Machine Records. With hits like “Style”, “Blank Space”, “Bad Blood”, and “Shake it Off”, listeners became attached to the “1989” album. When the re-record was announced so soon after the release of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” fans went ballistic.
In each rerecorded album, Swift offers about five songs that did not make it to the track list of the original. “1989(TV)’s” consists of songs titled “Slut!,” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends,” and “Is It Over Now?”, which are all super unique, but fans were initially suspicious of these tracks due to their similarities to the ones on her album “Midnights.”
The first track, from the vault, “Slut!” is honestly a ballad, which is not at all what fans were expecting. With lyrics like, “And if they call me a slut you know it might be worth it for once,” honestly just means that, yes, she dates a lot, but she is not giving up on trying to find “the one.” From singers like Joe Jonas and Harry Styles to tight ends like Travis Kelce, she just wants someone to love her with no judgment of her career.
“Say Don’t Go” stayed in the vault for nine years for a reason. This song spoke to so many fans, emphasizing heartbreak and longing perfectly. As Swift croons, “Halfway out the door, but it won’t close. I’m holding out hope for you to say, ‘Don’t go.'” Swift is the perfect singer-songwriter for this song because of her previous experiences, and the way she presents fighting for a relationship to stay alive and last is something many fans will find relatable.
“Now That We Don’t Talk” centers around the idea of a friendship breakup. The speaker is more ashamed than she is heartbroken. She previously wrote a song titled “dorothea” about Selena Gomez and their friendship, which did not quite end, but definitely drifted, according to reports. In the song, Swift portays two people in a friendship who have changed, for the better, but possibly the worst. She sings, “I miss the old ways, you didn’t have to change”. Both people have different friends now, but questions about “what happened?” still linger.
Swift was born to be a “Suburban Legend(s)” according to the lyricism of the fourth track from the vault. “We were born to be national treasures,” is just another way of saying “we’re meant to be”, despite every way that the person hurt her. The person she loves is too gentle: “I broke my own heart ’cause you were too polite to do it.”
Harry Styles – allegedly – is attacked in “Is It Over Now?” because Swift literally says, “Your new girl is my clone”, meaning that Styles has a very distinct type. In a metaphorical way, Swift is singing about another breakup. When it hurts, she wants to do something crazy just to see what he [Styles?] will do or say. “And say the one thing I’ve been wanting, but no” just says it all.
The final, sort of, vault track is “Sweeter Than Fiction” which is exclusively on the CD found at local Targets. There is not much to say about this one; it is honestly just a cute love song. “Your eyes are wider than distance, this life is sweeter than fiction” is sung throughout the track.
Swifties are so fulfilled to have almost every stolen album from Big Machine Records, and so is Swift. “reputation” and her debut self-titled album are the last to be rerecorded and released from the vault, but this iconic gem, “1989”, lives up to fans’ expectations.
