These songs take on a bitter irony having them now. Taylor discusses these anxieties in her 2020 documentary, Miss Americana, and portrays them in a hauntingly beautiful way here, aided by Phoebe Bridger’s vocals. ‘Nothing New’ specifically addresses Taylor’s worries about growing older in the spotlight, wondering if her audience will be just as dedicated to her when the shine wears off and she’s no longer fresh or exciting. Swift asks if pursuing her lifelong dream was worth it in the end, questioning if she was indeed, “the lucky one.” The re-recorded version of the supremely underrated ‘The Lucky One’, and a new song from the vault, ‘Nothing New’, both show Taylor’s deep anxiety about the fleeting nature of fame and the pressure which comes from keeping up in a game designed to kick women out. It would be lovely if we could leave sexist jokes about the dating habits of a woman (who was in her early 20s) in the past, but it seems we can’t have everything, can we? Not that she misses the opportunity to call out hypocrites who “tell you while you’re young, ‘Girls, go out and have your fun’, only to then ‘hunt and slay the ones, Who actually do it”.Īmongst the broken romances and butterflies, Taylor drops some truths about the fading sparkles of stardom and her worries about how long her dreams will last. I suppose there are few easier punching bags than Taylor Swift, even now. Because they were just hilarious the first time around, right? Jokes like “has she considered that she’s the problem” and “watch out, she’ll write a song about you” have crawled back from the depths of the Internet once again. Unfortunately, the resurgence of the Red era means we also seem to have reverted to 2012’s misogyny towards her. So watching fans revisit and fall in love with it again – and being able to do it myself- is more than welcome. I’ve personally always found Red to be one of her most underrated albums, especially after it was snubbed at the Grammys. And now the lyrics you once screamed at the top of your lungs are felt a little bit more deeply whether it’s the bitter resentfulness presented by ‘I Knew You Were Trouble’, the melancholic desperation of ‘The Last Time’, or the aching loneliness found in ‘Sad Beautiful Tragic’. While I may not have fallen for a man ten years my senior who stole my scarf and didn’t come to my birthday (seriously, jerk move, Jake), your early 20’s guarantee you at least one real heartbreak. But now, as is the case for many Swifties, life experience means I hear these lyrics very differently. When Red first came out, I was almost too young to understand it, being just 14. It’s interesting to revisit this album now, being more or less the same age Taylor was when she recorded the original. Swift’s feelings come primarily from her whirlwind disaster romance with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, as well as the beginnings of her brief fling with Connor Kennedy (yep, those Kennedy’s). Red tackles the most severe and dramatic emotions, from passion and love to hate and anger. I’ll be honest I haven’t felt the same since. So, 11th November felt more akin to Christmas Eve as we waited for this fated album to grace our Spotify. Not to mention, it was the album that signified her conversion to pop music and which solidified her superstar status.

There was a long, arduous wait since the announcement was made five months ago, and it’s easy to understand why.Įven before acknowledging Red’s critical success or its raw, powerful lyrics (and oh boy, we’ll get to that), Red holds a lot of nostalgia for casual fans and diehard Swifties alike.

This time she has turned her 2012 album Red into Red (Taylor’s Version).

As a part of her quest to own her music (after celebrity talent manager Scooter Braun bought her catalogue out from under her), Taylor Swift has dropped the second of her re-recordings.

Paint the town red game music