Taylor Swift's 5 new 'From the Vault' songs on '1989 (Taylor's Version)': Listen here
Like other re-recordings of her old albums, Taylor Swift's new version of "1989" has new songs for fans to listen to, dissect lyric by lyric, and blast in the car at maximum volume.
In addition to hits like "Shake It Off" and "Blank Space," "1989 (Taylor's Version)" features five tracks labeled "From the Vault," which were written around the time of the original album and are making their debut for the first time nearly a decade later.
Swift opened up about these new songs in a social media post back in August, writing, "To be perfectly honest, this is my most FAVORITE re-record I've ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane."
"I can't believe they were ever left behind," she added at the time. "But not for long!"
Below, let's dive into the "From the Vault" tracks off "1989 (Taylor's Version)."
"'Slut!'"
"'Slut!'" appears to be a direct response to the slut-shaming Swift has opened up about receiving over her dating habits throughout her career. In the song, she appears to be singing about a relationship so special that it doesn't matter what people say about her, singing, "If they call me a 'slut!' / You know it might be worth it for once / And if I'm gonna be drunk / Might as well be drunk in love."
That doesn't mean she's OK with the double standard -- that men aren't referred to in these same terms -- as she also sings, "Love thorns all over this rose / I'll pay the price, you won't."
"Say Don't Go"
"Say Don't Go," which Swift wrote with Diane Warren, is about a breakup in which one person in the relationship isn't ready to throw in the towel, but the other has already given up. "I'm standing on a tightrope alone / I hold my breath a little bit longer / Halfway out the door but it won't close / I'm holding out hope for you to say don't go," she sings. "I would stay forever if you say don't go."
"Now That We Don't Talk"
In "Now That We Don't Talk," Swift sings about a breakup and all the things she wishes she could ask her former love about their relationship and how he's changed, if only they still spoke. She references her mom multiple times throughout the song, singing "I call my mom, she said that it was for the best / Remind myself the more I gave, you'd want me less" and "I call my mom, she said to get it off my chest / Remind myself the way you faded 'til I left."
At multiple times she tells her former partner, "I cannot be your friend / So I pay the price of what I lost and what it cost / Now that we don't talk."
"Suburban Legends"
"Suburban Legends" sees Swift seemingly reminiscing about a relationship, one that should have been perfect, but one that wasn't meant to be.
"I didn't come here to make friends / We were born to be suburban legends / When you hold me, it holds me together / And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever," she sings, fantasizing that she and her lover might prove everyone wrong despite their "mismatched star signs," and wishing that he would prove to be "more than a chapter in my old diaries."
Swift eventually takes matters into her own hands, singing, "I broke my own heart / 'Cause you were too polite to do it."
"Is It Over Now?"
"Is It Over Now?" is a brutal breakup song from Swift about a relationship that doesn't seem to have ended on the best of terms. "You dream of my mouth before it called you a 'lying traitor' / You search in every maiden's bed for something greater," she sings, later calling her former flame's new girl "my clone."
Swift flirts with the idea of wanting this lover to come back to her -- and the lengths she might go to in order to make that happen -- before coming to her senses, singing, "I think about jumping / Off of very tall somethings / Just to see you come running / And say the one thing I've been wanting / But no."
"1989 (Taylor's Version)" is out now.
