Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) Has Major Lyric Change
Taylor Swift is thriving. After she decided to re-record all of her older albums to have ownership over her music, fans have been sitting on the edge of their seats waiting for the “Taylor’s Version” of each album. In this time, Taylor has admitted that some of these songs have made her nostalgic while others are harder to sing because they remind her of previous relationships.
On July 7th, Taylor released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and fans were anticipating a lyric change that they would not be happy about. In her song, “Better Than Revenge,” from the album, Taylor sings about a girl who stole her boyfriend. She compares the girl to a child in the lyrics, “Stealing other people’s toys on the playground won’t make you many friends.” But fans enjoy the song because of the clever insults Taylor hurls at this mystery girl, such as, “no amount of vintage dresses gives you dignity.”
Taylor wrote “Better Than Revenge” when she was about 19 years-old. It’s safe to say that at that age, you say some things you aren’t proud of later in life. Now Taylor is 33 and in interviews over the years, Swift talks about how society won’t give women credit when they are successful and women are quick to put one another down. In Taylor’s case, she writes songs about the men she dated because it’s relatable and how she would rather be applauded for her lyricism than shamed for her relationships.
Over the years, this self-reflection caused Taylor to change a shameful lyric in the re-record.
The original lyric
“She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress.”
The changed lyric
“He was a moth to the flame and he’s holding the matches.”
Is this what maturity looks like?
Listen to the Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) full album below.
