TAYLOR SWIFT - RED (FROM THE VAULT)
This is a deep dive into each ‘new’ song From The Vault, a series of never-before-heard songs that, for whatever reason, did not make the cut for the original album track list.
Swift’s second re-recordings project, Red (Taylor’s Version), dropped last Friday (November 12) – here is a deep dive into each ‘new’ song From The Vault, a series of never-before-heard songs that, for whatever reason, did not make the cut for the original album track list.
‘Better Man’
The first song is ‘Better Man’, a song fans have heard before; originally released by Big Little Town in 2017, it quickly became a fan favourite. There is much speculation as to why it was never released as part of the original album, as it is widely regarded as one of her better breakup songs, and its first (and only) performance live – at an intimate show at The Bluebird Café in Nashville, TN (where she was first ‘discovered’ as an artist) – regarded as one of her best.
BEST LYRIC:
“you pushed my love away like it was some kind of loaded gun / oh, you never thought I’d run”
‘Nothing New’ feat. Phoebe Bridgers
Fans first learned of this song’s existence during the Lover era, in which Swift published a journal entry from a decade ago, with the lyrics: ‘how can a person know everything at eighteen, but nothing at twenty-two? / And will you still love me when I’m nothing new?’ What was unexpected, however, was that Phoebe Bridgers was given the first ever verse on a Taylor Swift feature. Ever. And a chorus.
The song takes on an extra meaning given the events that came later in Swift’s career – the ‘apocalypse’ of 2016 (as she referred to it herself), meaning the drama with Kanye West, Kim Kardashian, and Calvin Harris, resulting in the #1 trending hashtag ‘Taylor Swift Is Over Party’, and the sale of her masters to music mogul Scooter Braun. (‘I wonder if they’ll miss me once they drive me out’). These are themes that resonate through much of Swift’s music on reputation, folklore and evermore, and even Red’s thirteenth track ‘The Lucky One’.
BEST LYRIC:
“how did I go from growing up to breaking down? / and when I wake up in the middle of the night / it’s like I can feel time moving”
‘Babe’
‘Babe’ is another song that was later recorded by another country artist, this time by Sugarland, although this time Taylor appeared as a feature (and in the music video). The song benefits from Antonoff’s pop production, with added marching band drums and a brass riff that gives the track much more energy. Buried in the lyrics are plenty of easter eggs, pointing to other songs such as All Too Well and We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together. (‘kitchen floor’, ‘you call but I won’t hear it’, ‘the sweetest promise’). ‘Babe’ also features another classic Swiftian bridge (bolstered by her improved vocals) that really makes the track shine.
BEST LYRIC:
“since you admitted it I keep picturing / her lips on your neck, I can’t unsee it”
‘Message In A Bottle’
‘Message In A Bottle’ is the first song written by Max Martin and Shellback, with whom she continued to collaborate on with Red, 1989, and reputation. We know Swift wanted to take her music into the pop genre, but record label head Scott Borchetta didn’t want to alienate her country fans and pushed back strongly against it – that would explain why this track, alongside ‘The Very First Night’, didn’t make the track list. ‘Message In A Bottle’ is also lyrically weak compared to the rest of the album, though perhaps can be valued as an important stepping stone to what became the most awarded pop album of all time: 1989.
BEST LYRIC:
“I became hypnotized by freckles and bright eyes / tongue-tied”
‘I Bet You Think About Me’ feat. Chris Stapleton
Having just experienced ‘Message In A Bottle’, this blatant country song comes out of nowhere – laying on a thick country accent dripping with wit, sarcasm and anger, Swift is brilliantly scathing. She holds no sympathy for the intended recipient: ‘you realised, I’m harder to forget than I was to leave’ and ‘I don’t need to be your shrink to know that you’ll never be happy’ being lyrical highlights.
Swift also subsequently released a music video with friend Blake Lively, dropping plenty of easter eggs for fans.
BEST LYRIC:
“does it make you feel sad / that the love that you’re looking for is the love that you had?”
‘Forever Winter’
The sixth vault track feels as though it was cut because it was a better fit for the previous Speak Now era; its Disney-like quality, “3AM pacing” references and high register brings to mind the Speak Now tracks ‘Superman’ and ‘Mine’. Despite its upbeat melody, ‘Forever Winter’ tackles the subject of mental health, and the frustration and desperation of trying to help a loved one who is struggling.
BEST LYRIC:
“if I was standing there in your apartment / I’d take that bomb in your head and disarm it / I’d say I love you even at your darkest / and please don’t go”
‘Run’
‘Run’ was the first song Swift ever wrote with Ed Sheeran, supposedly on a trampoline in her back yard. ‘Run’ begins to explore themes that later resound heavily in 1989 (‘I Know Places’, ‘Out Of The Woods’, ‘Wonderland’) and beyond – the idea of escape from the unfortunate realities of celebrity.
BEST LYRIC:
“The note from the locket / you keep it in your pocket / since I gave it to you”
‘The Very First Night’
Another hint at 1989 and the direction in which she was wanting to go, with pop production and what seems to be the testing ground for something new – collaborating with new faces to try on a different sound – which is perhaps why the track suffers lyrically (although we do get a reference to a Polaroid picture). ‘The Very First Night’ seemed to be a formative first step in the direction of pure pop music, minus the acoustic guitar and fiddle tracks. Even the lyrics, ‘back then we didn’t know / we were built to fall apart’ were essentially recycled for 1989 track ‘Out of the Woods’ (‘we were built to fall apart / then fall back together’).
BEST LYRIC:
“I drive down different roads / but they all lead back to you”
‘All Too Well (10 Minute Version)’
It’s hard to know where to begin with this song – in a sentence, it would seem that this monolith of a song is exactly what the fans have been wanting ever since they found out that All Too Well had a 10-minute version. Gut-wrenching, the listener can’t help but be enthralled by the storytelling masterpiece and emotional rollercoaster this song is. I first listened with fascination as the missing pieces pulled together lines from other songs on the album, such as ‘Begin Again’ (“I was never good at telling jokes”), ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’ (“you never called it what it was / ‘til we were dead and gone and buried”), The Moment I Knew (“it’s supposed to be fun / turning twenty-one”), and State Of Grace (“did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?”). Jack Antonoff’s appearance on this track is much appreciated, from those first electronic synths to the hair-raising thirteen-second outro.
BEST LYRIC:
“I was never good at telling jokes / but the punchline goes / “I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age”
Francesca Dunlop
★★★★☆