We are not being even slightly dramatic when we say that, definitively, RED Taylor’s Version RUINED US in the best way. We have been listening to that album in the shower, in the car, while we work, in our office, on vinyl, in our apartments, and while we work-out. (Well while Ariel goes for her “walks”). We cannot get enough of the QUEEN. We decided to rank an assortment of her RED songs from best to not best (can we even say that any of them could be labeled as “worst?”) Most of these are the From the Vault selections, because, while we do love a dance party to We Are Never Getting Back Together-the song has been around for ages. We love it. It’s iconic, but the song did not, necessarily, change much from its original recording. Same goes for several of her other re-releases. We love them. We always will, but this blog is about, mostly, her new additions. We are also including some of the most ICONIC lyrics from these songs. We are also, as a special treat, going to include some of our past *tRAuMa* and explain why the lyrics hit us so damn hard. To avoid giving away too much-this post will jump back and forth between the “I” and “We” pronouns. We like to keep it fun, and you guys can just keep guessing who is writing when.
1. All Too Well 10 Minute Version + All Too Well
I know, I know. This isn’t surprising and it might be the most *basic* answer ever. But we promised to be honest. We are going to include both versions in this number 1 spot.
“And I was thinking on the drive down/any time now he’s gonna say it’s love/you never called it what it was”
These lyrics hit hard because I can remember being in some “situationships” in the past where I was falling hard, and the other person seemed to be too but they wouldn’t commit or admit how they felt. College was a difficult time, man. Which leads me to another heartbreaking lyric in this song…
“And there we are again when nobody had to know/You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath.”
I would have been screaming this lyric at the top of my lungs if this version had been out when I was a teenager. Nothing would have applied more to my high school experience with an ex.
“You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine/ And that made me want to die.”
And what round up would be complete without her iconic new line
“And I was never good at telling jokes, but the punch line goes/I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age”
Sis likes to serve her tea SCALDING. I audibly gasped when I first heard that line, and my sleeping husband almost woke up and ended my listening session.
2. I Bet You Think About Me
“When you realized I’m harder to forget than I was to leave/And I bet you think about me”
I think I can speak for a lot of people when I say that we have experienced the end of a relationship where we hope that this is the case. People might end things, but we hope that we stay with them. That they feel us in their soul.
“Does it make you feel sad/That the love that you’re lookin for/Is the love that you had?”
3. Better Man
Let us start by saying that there should have never been any other version other than this one. The way she navigates the emotion of those lyrics is pure genius. That is all. Little Big Town doesn’t hold a candle to emotional Taylor.
4. Girl At Home
Song is just so damn catchy. Song is a bop. She’s calling out someone, and we really want to know who. There aren’t any specific lyrics that stuck out at us, but this is the song we choose to dance to when we get ready in the morning.
5. I Almost Do
ICONIC. This song puts me in the feels faster than almost anything else Taylor Swift writes. I dated this guy, off and on, for most of high school and part of college. We dated officially for a year in 9th grade. Then we were in this ridiculous off and on “talking” thing where he never actually acknowledged whatever we were. He would ignore me for weeks at a time only to hit me up when he was “loNEly* It was devastating. And this song was my go-to for him with lyrics like
“I bet you think I either moved on or hate you/ Cause each time you reach out there’s no reply/ I bet it never ever occurred to you/ That I can’t say Hello to you/ And risk another goodbye”
“And asking me if I wanna try again with you/ And I almost do”
6. The Moment I Knew
“As I say hopelessly/ He said he’d be here.”
“You called me later/ And said, I’m sorry, I didn’t make it And I said, I’m sorry too/ And that was the moment I knew”
This song brings a lot of emotions. I can remember dating/talking to a few different boys in my high school and college days, and I was always let down by them. The EX was especially good at missing important events in my formative years. He wouldn’t text on my actual birthday, but he would text a few days later with a “You Up? Oh, btw sorry I missed your birthday” message. I know, intimately, the feeling of being crushingly disappointed by someone you are in love with.
7. Nothing New
Wow. The lyrics of this song are incredible. It feels like a visceral and honest diary entry by a Taylor who understands the world that she now lives in. It writes like a heartfelt plea to her fans and the music industry where she is asking us how long we will find her relevant. I think that it was smart of her to wait and release this now. I don’t know that it would have been received the same way at the time of Red’s initial release. I also have a much easier time of relating to it as a woman nearing her 30’s and asking myself some of the same questions.
“How long will it be cute/ All this cryin’ in my room/ When you can’t blame it on my youth”
“And someone else lights up the room/ People love an ingenue”
“And will you still want me when I’m nothin new?”
8. Forever Winter
“Too young to know it gets better/ I’ll be summer sun for you forever”
“I pull at every thread, tryna solve the puzzles in his head/ Live my life scared to death he’ll decide to leave instead”
9. Run
We STAN a new Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift duet. Always. This is like the love ballad that seems to follow “Getaway Car.” It’s the calm after the storm. It’s the story of what being in love looks like after two people have chosen each other and forsaken everyone else.
10. Come Back…Be Here
“And this is when the feeling sinks in/ I don’t want to miss you like this”
“If I had known what I’d know now/ I never would’ve played so nonchalant”
“This is falling in love in the cruelest way/ This is falling for you and you are worlds away”
The story of new love separated by distance. Any person who has been in a long-distance relationship can identify with these feelings. This can be the new anthem for LDR’s everywhere.
