Warm up your scroll wheel and bust out your reading glasses, because we have a novel to read. I’m not even going to hit you with a big opener because if you plan on making it to the end with me, we need to get moving.

 

**Fearless Platinum Edition (2008)**

 

I started listening to the Taylor’s Version of this album, but when I flipped back to the original album to compare it felt super different. I learned the reason these Taylor’s Versions exist and I think it’s awesome, but I’ve had a terrible discovery. I want to listen to everything she’s ever done, in as chronological of an order as I can. That means that despite my original intention to replace the OG albums with the Taylor’s Versions wherever possible, I’m actually going to have to listen to the OGs and THEN listen to the Taylor’s Version once I get to that release year on the timeline. If I’m gonna hear her growth through all this, I must do it right. Maximum effort.

 

**Jump Then Fall**

 

Sometimes I make up ridiculously convoluted situations in my head and they mess with my emotions. While listening to this song, I felt bad because I think if some girl had been vulnerable enough to share this song with me when it came out, I’d think some mean things and risk making her feel stupid for sharing it. This music is pretty darn innocent and girly, and my first instinct is to push it away without concern for how that makes someone feel if they like it. And if I did that, I would deserve to have a Taylor Swift song about me. All that really just fell out of my subconscious, thanks Fearless (2008)!

 

**Untouchable**

 

I’m not looking forward to when there are sexier songs. I’m not a very intimate person and even this soft song about wanting to be in bed with someone is bothering me. This exercise is intersecting a lot with my insecurities, personal failings, and emotional shortcomings. Am I the one making this song weird? It might be my fault. But when she says “little taste of Heaven” or that he’s got to “come on, come on,” say that they’ll be together, I gotta get going, get going, say I’m uncomfortable with these lyrics.

 

**Come In With the Rain**

 

Holy country resurgence, Taylor! We’re talking about rain again, I swear this young lady needs an umbrella or some galoshes. If it’s only raining in her bedroom because she’s keeping the window open, this feels like a fixable problem. Does her cool dad from a few songs ago know that she’s spiking the utility bill like this? That water could damage the floor. What do you mean I’m avoiding the subject material by making bad jokes about the surface level contents of the song?

 

**Superstar**

 

If there were only 2 years between these albums, I’m imagining that some of these songs would’ve been written while she was touring for the debut album. This feels like it could be a product of that. I wonder how hard it is to be an artist who writes so much about love and heartbreak, to not become jaded and skeptical in your art over time. Maybe that’ll happen, but she does seem to either be naturally very romantic, or she’s great at maintaining that character in her music.

 

**The Other Side of the Door**

 

As far as barriers go, we’ve upgraded from a window to a door! There’s a window in here too, I wonder what house she’s picturing when she’s writing these. I’ve got one built in my head with a little layout and it’ll gain some character as we keep going. The hook of this song is reminding me of the end of The Parent Trap where the dad chases the mom to the airport. For me personally, I think clear and consistent communication is the most important building block of a good relationship. I wouldn’t want someone to say something and mean something else, I just can’t be that guy.

 

**Fearless**

 

I can already tell she’s grown as a songwriter here. This song starts by describing a location! Not entirely fair, she did do that a little bit on the last album. But this is more immersive and detailed. She is still singing about being inside a car, though, so we have some room to keep growing. I’m having fun now, but I see what song is coming up two tracks from now so I’m bracing for that.

 

The music video is a concert footage montage which I like. Did anyone here ever attend one of these early Taylor Swift concerts? I imagine they were a little less difficult to get tickets for, but they sure look packed still. Lots of kids too but the energy looks pretty bonkers. I want to learn about her production crew because she’s going all out with some of these stage pieces even this early on.

 

 

**Fifteen**

 

Her voice is deeper here. Hey, she’s singing about a concept! The choice of material makes me a little uncomfortable but I appreciate that she’s broadening her focus. Spoke too soon, she’s excited that the boy has a car. We need to get this young lady a driver’s license and a set of wheels so she can stop chasing boys who can drive her around. I’m trying to imagine what it’d be like to be her at this time, but I’m old enough now to wonder what it’d be like to have a daughter her age, and that’s an even weirder feeling.

 

This music video feels personal and uncomplicated. I’m not a big fan of the effects but I understand what they’re going for here. Not all music videos are gonna be big hits, they’re hard and Taylor has a bunch of them. I’ve been impressed overall by their productions and I’m not disappointed that there’s one I’m not into.

 

**Love Story**

 

NOOooOooOOO!

 

…Sorry, reflex. Alright, this song is a huge step forward for her as a writer. I hate it so, so much, but in this context I’m seriously impressed. It’s just really hard to cut through all the memories of rolling my eyes when this song would come on at a Cold Stone or a Starbucks. I’m going to be devastated if I end up liking this song.

 

Post-wiki Alex here. Reading the wiki has me questioning whether I should read about the albums before I listen. The context is so helpful and allows me to be more insightful about a song, but I feel like losing the blind reactions would be a shame. I’m going to continue how I’ve been doing this, but sometimes drop a note into some songs after reading their fan wiki entry because sometimes I have something to say. For example, here in my blind review I stuck to my old perception of this song. But now, (God save me) I like this song a lot more. Taylor described in an interview how she approached writing this song, and I couldn’t get over how academic she was, while still maintaining her creative instincts. That’s something that I’ve spent two decades trying to perfect, and she talks about it here as if she can do both simultaneously without much effort. I take solace in the fact that if I’m able to refine this one single skill, then I too will be a billionaire like her. That’s surely the only thing I’m missing.

 

Unsurprisingly, this is a big budget music video. Also unsurprisingly, period dress isn’t really my thing. I can appreciate the effort and artistry on display here, and the unique mesh of visual and musical aesthetics that I wouldn’t usually put together, but you’re not going to catch me watching this on the bus.

 

**Hey Stephen**

 

This song would’ve fit well on the last album. I wonder how many more songs there will be that are addressed to specific boys? For the record, I couldn’t stand this about the Avett Brothers either, when they’d write songs about specific girls they met in some town or other. I appreciate that love is something Taylor is super fascinated by, and she’s turned it into commercially successful music for two albums now, but it’s reinforcing my biases about her from when these songs came out – there’s no variety here!…look, I said it was a bias which means I’m aware it’s not a fair assessment. Just let me have this one, ok?

 

**White Horse**

 

Oh, I’ve heard this one somewhere. It’s very soft and gentle. By the title I thought Taylor would reveal herself as a horse girl but it’s actually the opposite, she doesn’t want anything to do with that horse! It’s a little plain as a metaphor but, you know, go off. So far, Taylor’s music has been more girly than feminine. Maybe at some point in this process I’ll define that so it actually means something.

 

This music video bums me out so hard. After having a peek at the wiki, it sounds like this song could be about the same person that Love Story is about, which is heartbreaking. I’m realizing that she’s showing some real emotional growth by approaching her material this way and presenting it this way. It’s still pretty young as a whole thing but it feels like a step forward in complexity. Didn’t think I’d get all that from a music video.

 

Apple Music has a behind the scenes video about the music video, and holy cow. It’s very clear that Taylor isn’t just a musician or a songwriter, she’s a creator. The level of clarity in her thoughts and direction about what she wants from her project is striking. She even pointed out that she didn’t want this to be “another guy cheats on Taylor video” which I hadn’t realized was, in fact, a theme! She’s talking about the director here, and the fact Taylor knows what makes her a good director is also telling. She has a strong grasp of what makes things work, and a lot of people aren’t able to cross disciplines and understand WHY someone is good at what they do. Very impressive. This video is 20 minutes long and I’m gonna bail because I’ve got….200? More songs to review?

 

**You Belong With Me**

 

I could sing this one based solely on how often it was played when I was graduating high school and starting college. I WON’T. But I could. Until she started dating Travis Kelce, this is where I thought Taylor Swift peaked as an artist, and her career after this point was a reflection of her fanatical following of girls whose teenage years were defined by this song and Love Story. I have a feeling I’m about to be proven very wrong as I keep going. The fact she put out iconic songs like this at the time is impressive. She’s about a year and a half older than me, and I considered myself to be pretty creatively awakened – but not like this, dang. I’ve got some words to say about young talent in your own age bracket but that’s for another time.

 

Post-wiki Alex here. Taylor’s writing process sounds like so much fun. The way she develops a concept is compelling to me. Her ability to infuse her ideas with energy and fun impresses me. I might be becoming jealous of Taylor Swift.

 

I’ve seen clips from this music video before I think. Wait, wait. Is the goth character she’s dressed as in this video with the dark mascara and hoodie the same one from the Capital One commercials they’ve been playing this year?? Oh my God, she’s playing the nerdy girl and the mean girlfriend, that’s hilarious. And she’s driving the car as the mean girl! In my lore, nice Taylor is a passenger’s seat girl, and mean Taylor prefers the driver’s seat. The only other time she alluded to wanting to be the driver, was on the last album for Picture to Burn, which was definitely angry Taylor.

 

**Breathe (feat. Colbie Caillat)**

 

I wholeheartedly believe something more interesting is going on behind the music here and I’m hoping to see more of what Taylor Swift is when not seen through the lens of young love.

 

Post-post-wiki Alex here. This is when I finally snapped and looked up the fan wiki for the first time. There is plenty of interesting stuff going on behind the music! At this point in her discography, Taylor Swift is more interesting than Taylor Swift’s music to me. In the coming days, I bet I’ll see those two things start to become more evenly matched.

 

**Tell Me Why**

 

I don’t know how to feel when an artist roasts a real person, and this definitely feels personal. At least it sounds like this person deserves it, if they have an anger problem and are taking their issues out on other people. Did she say he took a swing, as in a swing at her? Or did she mean a swing at the relationship? If this dude tried to hit her, he deserves a lot more than a roast track. One thing I’m noticing on this album is that the hooks to each song are stronger and more effective. Definitely improving as a musician. I’m glad she wrote this song, but it really bums me out.

 

**You’re Not Sorry**

 

What does Taylor want out of these relationships? Has she had terrible luck? Are teenage boys just awful? Is she asking too much? Are her expectations set wrong, or is it everyone else who’s the problem? I thought I heard someone say that she has a song where she says she’s the problem. I’m sure I’ll get there eventually.

 

On a second listen, I think this song sounds the least like Taylor musically. Lyrically, sure, it sounds like her construction. But if you told me this was another young country artist I’d never heard before, I’d believe you. Maybe I haven’t spent enough time in her ballads yet but the flow and tone of the music sounds distinctly different.

 

**The Way I Loved You**

 

Oh my goodness, calm down. If Taylor really loved this many people this strongly, she has the biggest most expressive heart I’ve ever heard about. Also this is the third time this album she’s talked about kissing in the rain. Is this all about the same person? Or does she do a lot of kissing and does it rain a lot where she is? I’m starting to understand why the subreddit said that knowing the context around albums is so helpful. Someone said they thought her music was fine until she learned what was going on with Taylor when she wrote these songs, and then she became a super fan. I can see how that could happen now. I might experiment with that as we get further along. Maybe I’ll do a blind listen, get the context, and then write an album review. This is why scientists write ways and means up front and design experiments before performing them. That’s not my style, I like to jump in headfirst and then find out what I’m doing as I go.

 

**Forever & Always**

 

Hey, this song is a little condescending! Lots of attitude. It rains in your bedroom? Is this why she’s always kissing in the rain, because it’s literally raining in the room where she’s hanging out with this guy? Call a roofer, good grief.

 

I later listened to a piano version of this song and it was an improvement. I think I liked how personal it felt as opposed to the first version where it was kind of in your face.

 

**The Best Day**

 

This song is nice and atmospheric. It has the more descriptive nature I’ve been wanting. It feels like she’s singing about her dad but I could be off base there. If I was a dad, I’d want this song to be about me. She’s also singing about being in the car here, which tells me there’s probably a whole analysis someone could to about Taylor’s emotional connection with being a passenger on a drive, but that someone isn’t me – I’m kinda busy here. HEY! In the bridge she says she has an excellent father. I think I was right! I like this song, and I really didn’t expect that from the title.

 

C’mon music video, don’t show me toddler footage of Taylor Swift! That’s cheating! Solid use of home movies to complement a song that’s specifically about her childhood, to be honest. Man, I’m grateful for my family and upbringing. Everyone deserves to have memories like this, and it’s hard to realize that this isn’t everyone’s experience.

 

**Change**

 

For whatever reason, I just don’t have much to say about this song. Sounds like praise and worship music to me.

 

Watching the music video, this director is making her look like Cheryl Crow with these tight shots to the face. Maybe also because she’s saying Hallelujah in the chorus it makes me see her that way. She’s projecting a lot more punk energy with her movements, which I like a lot. It’s clear she’s been performing a lot and is figuring out how she wants to look on stage. She’s also doing the hair flippy pose from the album art which I can appreciate. I’ve been wondering how ‘produced’ Taylor Swift is as a pop star, and I can’t put my finger on it. Enough of her feels like it’s coming through to not feel plastic-y or fake, but her presentation is really clean and put-together. Maybe she just had a rock-solid support structure and people who believed in her from a young age. That’s a huge gift and it seems like the case with her.

 

**Final Thoughts on Fearless**

 

This was like a better version of her first album. Still not for me, but if this was her first album I’d be like, yeah I see why everybody likes her. Having read about how Taylor wanted to be signed at such a young age, and how adamant she was that she needed to record and perform, it’s clear that she understood she wanted to get her reps in and get her name out there. She was right! A lot of the time, trying to rush a process can be a mistake. But Taylor knew what she wanted and the result is a commercially successful, if somewhat weak, debut album followed by a second one that contained some legitimate smash hits and a more refined version of herself, which she couldn’t have become without the experience she gained from her first tour. I understand that many of the songs on her first three albums were written prior to her first recording contract, and I’ve set my expectations that Speak Now is going to be more of this style of music. But I’m enjoying the process of teasing out what she wrote fresh versus what she had pre-written, and catching how she’s maturing as an artist while blending those two sources of material.

 

**Non-Album Songs**

 

**Crazier**

 

This would be a good song to dance to at a wedding. I’m not going to watch the Hannah Montana movie. I’m NOT going to watch the Hannah Montana movie.

 

**Best Days of Your Life (Kellie Pickler)**

 

This song is kind of spiteful! Kellie Pickler definitely has the more demanding voice here but it sounds like a Taylor Swift song, at least as much of one as I can tell so far.

 

**Two Is Better Than One (Boys Like Girls feat. Taylor Swift)**

 

IDK who this guy is but I don’t like the way he says ‘hey’ at the beginning. You make it hard for breathing is a really tough lyrical construction to get behind but the harmony here works well. This is also the second song I can remember with a lyric about coming undone – she also said that in Untouchable. Is that a metaphor for getting vulnerable, losing focus, taking clothes off, or a combo of all that?

 

**Thug Story**

 

Man, I wish I had something funny or clever to say about this. She’s hamming it up and having fun, and T Pain is doing a great job being the straight man for her to work off of. I never knew this is where T Swizzle comes from, but that’s what I had named my document where I write all these reviews when I started. I laughed, I cried, I started the next album.

 

 

**Speak Now Deluxe (2010)**

 

**Mine**

 

When this album came out, I was a junior in college, rounding the first year of dating my eventual wife, and spending most of my time playing video games. My wife was leaving her Taylor Swift phase and I was starting to transition out of listening to music altogether. I wonder if she ever listened to this song and thought of me? I’ll ask her but I’m not going to tell you what she says. Haha, all Mine!

 

Part of the draw of music videos is seeing what the director comes up with for a ‘statement’ shot. The photos hanging in the forest here are that statement for this one, and I think it works well. It’s not complicated but it fits the vibe and Taylor does a good job playing with the set. I think some of the backstory is getting list with the way the vignettes are cut, but it’s a victim of the song’s pacing. There’s a lot of ground to cover in the song, and I imagine this will only become a more significant problem as her storytelling gets more mature.

 

**Sparks Fly**

 

We’re back in the rain! This time though Taylor seems more confident and the music reflects that. She’s also sounding less and less like a country singer. I’m curious if she’s writing music for her audience, for herself, or both. Four years is a long time in your late teens and early twenties – I imagine she’d have to be getting tired of treading the same ground and feeling ready to explore some more with her art. Maybe I’m anticipating it knowing what the future holds, but I feel like I can sense a little bit of mastery and curiosity behind these love songs.

 

I really like the music videos that show Taylor’s live shows. I really get it why these tickets are so expensive and why that big thing happened with Ticketmaster. She’s putting on a hell of a show at this point in her career and I can’t imagine what it’s gonna be like when I get up to modern show footage. Kind of excited to watch the Eras movie now, which is not something I would have anticipated two days ago.

 

**Back to December**

 

Aw man, a song where Taylor’s the bad guy. That’s pretty cool, and a reversal of the norm for sure. I wonder if she’s taking her perspective here, or writing from the perspective of someone else. She’s far enough along that I feel like she could do either. Oh, she’s talking about being on the passenger’s side of a car, it’s definitely from her perspective! That’s her favorite thing. This time, when she says “if we loved again I’d love you right” I don’t feel gross about it. Maybe because she’s gotten older, or because it sounds in context like describing the relationship and not the sexy times.

 

Hot take, music videos that need scenes before or after to help bookend the music are an overreach. I get that the musical artist is probably part of that decision making process, and I should give credit back to Taylor for being part of her art’s vision, but it always feels like when we have scenes ahead of or following the song, it’s because they’re making up for the direction being somewhat aimless. This music video is weaker than all the others, and it’s because the story isn’t the focus of the song, it’s the concepts behind the story that matter here. I don’t need to see a greasy dude in a leather jacket walk down a road in the snow to enhance my experience with the song. I just don’t.

 

**Speak Now**

 

I say boo to this song. No wonder the bride didn’t invite you, if you were fantasizing about breaking up the wedding and thinking the groom wished it was you! I wouldn’t want you at my wedding either, yeesh. This is the one she wanted to name the album after?

 

This is the first song I looked up on the Taylor Swift Wiki to learn the context for, because I was like, no ma’am. After hearing the inspiration for the song – short version, one of her friend’s exes got married to a control freak – I like it a lot more. This is Taylor taking a fantasy to a crazy place. What would it sound like if she was going to break up a wedding to save a guy from a bad marriage. Fun! Creative! Storytelling! This is a good sign, and I’m glad I looked it up. I’ve got to get into the headspace that Taylor’s telling stories here, and fairly review whether the stories were fun or not. I like stories, I’m not a stick in the mud. Why are you giving me that look?

 

**Dear John**

 

This is my first song on day 2 of this adventure. I wonder how my perspective has changed? That’s the beauty of these stream of consciousness, blind song reviews. I’m evolving as I go and get to share that process. This ballad sounds much more like Taylor than You’re Not Sorry from Fearless. I feel the pull of the wiki, I want to know the context for this but I’m going to resist. This song feels like a story about a girl who realized she shouldn’t have been in a relationship with an older guy who was manipulative. Skeevy subject to be sure. This is also the first song since early on with a lyric that hit me hard. “I took your matches before fire could catch me” is a sick turn of phrase and fits the feel of the song really well.

 

**Mean**

 

This is a really simple song and I don’t mind it. Sounds like someone fantasizing about getting out of a small town and escaping someone who treats you wrong. It’s cathartic to fantasize about moving away from your small town and leaving behind the people who will be trapped there forever. It’s a subject I’ve heard a number of artists sing about, but Taylor gives it her own personality and knowing her story, it feels right to hear a song about it from her. It’s listenable.

 

This is a funny one to pick for a music video! I feel like I’ve seen an image of Taylor with the banjo on this set though, and the production has a lot of personality. The song is fun and the way they’re characterizing the audience for the song is super creative. This feels like someone had a vision for what this music video should be right from the jump, and I’m gonna bet that that person was Taylor.

 

**The Story of Us**

 

OK, so as a high schooler I had this habit of thinking that if two people were together now, it meant they were all going to be together forever. It was a concrete thing to me, if you decide to date someone that must mean that you’re going to make it. To an observer, that might make the fact that I married my first serious girlfriend feel a little concerning, but I can assure you that I’m just outrageously lucky to have met my soulmate that quickly. I’m grateful to not be looking back and thinking like Taylor is here, about how a good relationship looks like garbage in hindsight. Lol, she said “the end.” That cracked me up.

 

How did putting her hair up make Taylor look like a completely different person? Man, it feels like you could have done this music video with the cast of Gilmore Girls and shot it at Chilton and it’d land equally well if not better. IDK, I’m just getting Rory and Logan vibes. Yes I know she doesn’t meet Logan until Yale, but the song doesn’t fit for her relationship with Tristan. Fine, set it at Yale, whatever. The set looked like Chilton, sue me.

 

**Never Grow Up**

 

Hey look, a song about a baby! Some of my friends have one of those, and in fact a couple of them have several. Something is broken in my brain, or maybe it’s me being a boy, but I’ve never looked at a baby, a toddler, or a little kid and thought “I hope they stay this cute and little forever.” I’m always thinking, man it’ll be cool when you’re old enough to play video games. Hah! Probably just me being selfish about how I want to spend time with them. Taylor’s pivoting to an idea about how she doesn’t want this kid to grow up because they’re still unscarred, unburned, and living in the innocent times. That’s a nice thought but as a kid who was desperate to grow up, if someone tried to tell me that as a kid I’d probably kick them in the shin. Oh, now she’s saying she wished she was still a kid! Nice turn. I get that she had a great childhood but I feel like this conflicts strongly with her aggressive pursuit of a recording contract and starting her career. She had so much to give the world, and she couldn’t do it until someone else agreed that she had grown up enough. I bet she could write this song from the opposite position and have a lot to say, too. Am I getting good at this? I feel like I’m getting good at this.

 

**Enchanted**

 

This is a fun song but it got me to look forward and see how many tracks were left on the album. Oh boy. I’ve been cruising so far but I’m still so early in this process. I had to start it over.

 

Do you know that tweet that goes, “Guy who has only seen The Boss Baby, watching his second movie: ‘I’m getting a lot of Boss Baby vibes from this.” That’s how I feel about this song. It sounds like something I listened to that was written by my favorite band when I was younger. Missed connections, a spark between strangers, the magic that comes from that person passing in and out of your life so quickly.

 

**Better Than Revenge**

 

Angry Taylor is back! Let’s go! Oh damn, did she just slut shame the hell out of this other woman? “She’s better known for what she does on the mattress?” Wew.

 

OK, hold the phone. I’ve been waiting for Taylor to write something like this line right here: “she thinks I’m psycho ’cause I like to rhyme her name with things.” This is a lyric that I think a lot of young, creative kids would absolutely love. It’s steeped in the rich and angsty attitude of someone who is feeling ‘other’ for being really into their chosen thing. This line could’ve been about a painter: “she thinks I’m psycho cuz I paint her face on everything.” It could be about a theater kid: “she thinks I’m psycho cuz I mock the way she acts and speaks.” How about a D&D kid? “She thinks I’m psycho cuz I charted her as lawful evil and assigned her a dual class designation, I’m pretty sure she’s a level 8 tiefling ranger with some dark paladin homebrew stuff mixed in there.” That last one was a stretch but you get the idea. The line feels a little defensive because it’s clear that Taylor felt isolated at times. She’s bragging here about how the normie is freaked out by the weird rhyming girl, and she’s saying it in a prideful way.

 

So I think the person that she’s singing about is a boyfriend stealer, and she’s taking the role of the vengeful ex, which is fun. This is a super fun song that gets further out of the box than most of her other songs.

 

**Innocent**

 

Lunchbox days is a fine way to describe elementary school, if that’s where we’re at here. IDK when the change happened but she’s getting a lot more figurative and playful with her language. If this is going to be a trend, I’m going to have a great time. Like Never Grow Up, this is a nostalgic glance in the rear-view at what gets lost in a coming of age period. She’s talking about weather again, too, so I know she’s taking this very seriously. I’ve often fantasized about how things could have turned out if I’d changed a few key decisions, the innocence I lost by leading my life the way I did, and mourning the passing of my childhood without fully experiencing it. It’s a really emotional subject and while this wasn’t my favorite piece of art about the subject, I appreciated it.

 

**Haunted**

 

Here’s a song title for Halloween! Oh, it’s not about spooky times, it’s about a missed opportunity with a relationship. That’s fair, there’s plenty to mine out of a ‘what could have been’ situation. Several of the last few songs have been regretful of the past. Melancholy Taylor, can’t we go back to getting excited about what’s happening now and in the future? Am I saying I want to go back because you’re singing about looking back? Oh, the song ended.

 

I later listened to an acoustic version of this song, and unlike the others that I’ve heard, this one doesn’t have the oomph. It’s more emotional, but I don’t think it’s as impactful. Nice to know that not all her songs are improved by pulling back the accompaniment, that would give me complicated feelings.

 

**Last Kiss**

 

Ah man, another ballad about mistakes of the past. I’m sorry for lecturing you during Better Than Revenge Taylor, I didn’t mean what I said. Well, I did, but I’d take it back to return to that kind of energy. Well, that’s not true either. But I’m struggling to keep going with these endless track reviews when you turn the tempo down and talk about sad stuff!

 

To take this seriously for a second, this song really puts her observational writing front and center. She described herself in some early interviews about Debut as a keen observer of details, and the way she’s talking about him putting his hands in his pockets, and about his handshake is really proving that. I like these kinds of details in songs. She’s describing the weather again, and I feel like in addition to the Taylor Analysis of cars and the passenger’s seat, there’s something to be said for performing a Taylor Analysis of rain, sunshine, and the weather.

 

**Long Live**

 

We are firmly entrenched in the nostalgia bog. Everything has been in past tense for dozens of minutes now. We’ve been rear-facing for so long as to forget — wait, hold on, she’s talking about her dreams when she was younger, and how she’s proud of all the things she did. This is the reverse-angle song I was asking for back in Never Grow Up! I almost missed it because I was too busy being saturated in gloom. I get that this song is primarily about a positive past relationship, and growing apart and the wistfulness that comes from leading separate future lives, I’m definitely feeling that this is about her growing into a pop star. When she’s telling this guy to tell his future child how the crowds went wild and how she had the time of her life back then, it really shines through that she’s acknowledging that her future is real. I like it.

 

**Ours**

 

“Elevator buttons and morning air” has a real “moats and boats and waterfalls / alleyways and pay phone calls” feel to it. Google says Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes put that song out the year before Taylor published this album. I am a forensic musicologist and I have definitively proven Taylor’s influence on this lyric.

 

“Don’t worry your pretty little mind / people throw rocks at things that shine” is also a rock solid line. The energy of this song is really freeing. Taylor’s confidence and innocence is beautiful here. I got married young, and a few people backhandedly congratulated me on my ‘starter marriage.’ This song would’ve come in handy in that moment. Big fan of this song and it makes me want to see my wife. Almost done here, and then I’ll sit by the front door and wait for her to walk through it.

 

Taylor does look great in the cold. Scarf season is Taylor season…this project is really twisting my brain into weird shapes. I’m really struggling to connect this cool song that I like with the office setting and gags. I get that it’s a contrasting tone for what Taylor’s character is daydreaming about, but I think I was wanting something more because I liked the song so much.

 

**If This Was A Movie**

 

Here’s a great example of all the things Taylor has improved on. She’s telling a more nuanced story, using the lens of it being a movie, the hook is strong, the country influence is toned way down, but it still sounds as authentically her as those songs from the debut album. Absolute W for Taylor, I hope this one got radio play.

 

**Superman**

 

I wish the album had ended on the last song. I get that it’s hard to close out an album really strong, and this song is fine, but if this song was in the front half of the album and we got to end on Ours and then If This Was a Movie, I’d count the album construction as one of the strongest points of growth for her as a creator. It’s not like it ruins the album, it’s just like when a movie ends on a really impactful scene, and then the end credits song doesn’t fit the mood. I don’t want to watch Infinity War, the crazy ending happens, and then I walk out listening to some Maroon 5 song. No, I’m not saying this is like a Maroon 5 song. I’m saying it’s like if — why are we fighting about this?

 

**Final Thoughts on Speak Now**

 

The first three albums have had a steady upward trajectory. They share common themes, tone, and subject material, they all pulled from a big pool of songs that Taylor had written before getting her record deal, and each built atop the previous one. She illustrated her growth as an artist, supplemented her existing material in some key places, and carved out a place for herself in the landscape of that time period’s pop scene. Pretty impressive! There are a few songs from this album in particular that I’d listen to again, if I were the kind of person that listened to music by choice. Ours, If This Was A Movie, and Mean were my favorites, in that order. I really appreciated the more nuanced storytelling and creative use of language – it sounds like that continues to develop, which is very exciting.