The release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) on Oct. 27 brought with it new content for anxious Swifties everywhere: specifically, five “From the Vault” tracks. In the re-recording of Swift’s unforgettable 2014 pop album, she included songs that didn’t make the original production.
Taylor announced the re-record on the last night of her Eras Tour concert in Los Angeles on Aug. 9. The excitement continued on Tuesday, Sept. 19 when Google put out a set of 89 animated puzzles meant for the fans to try to guess the names of the new tracks. According to today.com, once the fans as a collective solved 33 million puzzles (33 for Taylor’s current age), Taylor herself announced the song titles.
The track names are as follows: “‘Slut!,’” “Say Don’t Go,” “Now That We Don’t Talk,” “Suburban Legends,” and “Is It Over Now?”
“Slut!” is the first of the vault tracks and it caused quite the commotion when it was revealed. The name and its connotations left fans anxious to hear if it would be a satirical pop piece similar to the album’s sister-song “Blank Space,” or if it was more downcast in temperament.
Although the track more closely aligns with the concepts of “Blank Space,” the song’s message is deeply romantic. The song tells the story of falling so in love with another person that you forget about society’s judgments, especially those placed on women.
She hints at this hypocrisy with the line, “I’ll pay the price, you won’t.” At this point in her career, Swift has faced relentless scrutiny regarding her dating life and her image as a perceived “crazy ex-girlfriend,” hence the satire of “Blank Space.”
However, “Slut!” portrays a different side of the media criticism in which she decides, “If they call me a slut you know it might be worth it for once.” The relationship’s intensity and its genuine nature are beautifully conveyed through her moving lyrics, including “Got lovestruck, went straight to my head” and “In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman.”
Sydney York (12) comments that her favorite vault track is “Slut!” because “it sounds so dreamlike and majestic. Also, I love how she’s just accepting that the media will bash her no matter what she does, so she might as well have fun and enjoy it.”
The next track, “Say Don’t Go,” takes a more melancholic shift, telling the story of being abandoned by someone you are still hopelessly devoted to, regardless of their empty promises.
The song is desperate and accusatory through its chorus’ repeating questions, demanding to know why the perpetrator betrayed and left her. Yet still, she pleads over and over, “Say, ‘Don’t Go,’” letting on how she is defenseless against the prospect of their love.
The song sparks an immediate connection with anyone who has been in a relationship where they felt they were more invested than the other person. Its relatability is driven home when Taylor sings her ultimate resolution that she would “stay forever” if this person asked her not to leave.
AJ Gutierrez (11) shared that his favorite song is “Say ‘Don’t Go” because “the simple sentence of it over and over again like ‘why’d you have to lead me on’ is so catchy. Also, in general, the lyrics are just so strong and beautiful, to more it relates more and tells more of a story than some of the songs on ‘folklore.’”
The third vault song, “Now That We Don’t Talk,” most accurately mirrors the pop masterpieces of 1989 that the Swiftie fan base has come to love. Whether interpreted as a romantic or platonic relationship, the song hits deep for anyone who has lost a relationship with someone once close to them.
The song has playful and mocking undertones with the cheeky lines “And from the outside, it looks like you’re trying lives on” and “Now that we don’t talk I don’t have to pretend I like acid rock.”
When analyzed more seriously, Swift comments on the overlooked maturity and growth that comes from letting someone go, despite the high price and overwhelming sense of loss that accompanies the decision. She sums up her dissatisfaction but inevitable acceptance by saying, “Guess maybe I am better off now that we don’t talk.”
Next up on the list is “Suburban Legends,” a track that took a lot by surprise, but eventually grew on the listeners. After the first listen, many fans concluded the song gave off a similar sound to Taylor’s songs on her last original recorded album, “Midnights,” particularly one entitled “Mastermind.”
The song paints the tale of a couple from a small town who, although predicted to be an epic love, or “suburban legend,” did not make it in the end. The song has an air of whimsicality and imaginativeness for the listener as it seems to be a work of fiction rather than anything inspired by Taylor’s life at the time.
The listener gets lost in the tragedy that is this couple’s shortcomings as Swift sings how they would somehow defy the odds, that they would surprise the whole town by getting back together at their high school reunion. Yet in a different light, the ending lines reveal the narrator’s secret knowledge that they were never truly destined as she sings, “You don’t knock anymore, and I always knew it and my life had been ruined.”
The song seems to embody the feelings of being frozen in the past by what could have been, the most telling line of the chorus, “and you kissed me in a way that’s gonna screw me up forever.” This storyline strikes strong emotion for anyone still pained by a great love that failed in the face of life’s trials.
Last and certainly not least is the final track, “Is It Over Now?” The song was immediately recognized to be inspired by Taylor’s infamous relationship with musician Harry Styles circa late 2012 and 2013.
The first of the telling lines that gave away that the song is about Harry was “Red blood, white snow,” a clear reference to the couple’s snowmobile accident that Swift had previously alluded to in another 1989 song, “Out of the Woods.” The following line also boldly confirms Harry as the inspiration when she sings “Blue dress on a boat.” The line was immediately identified to connect to a famous picture of Taylor wearing a blue dress alone on a boat in the British Virgin Islands shortly after a supposed fight or even breakup with Styles.
She goes on to shade the One Direction singer with the line “You search in every model’s bed for something greater,” toying with the fact that he is historically known to date models. Overall the story very personally depicts a strung-out breakup where neither party had seemed to officially end the relationship on proper terms. Extremely bitter in its tone, the song holds a feeling of holding out foolish hope for this person, asking “Is It Over Now?” despite the clear expiration of any love that once existed.
Ever mischievous, Taylor offered one final surprise on Oct. 29, announcing on social media the final bonus track called “Sweeter than Fiction.” The song is exclusively available at Target on the tangerine vinyl.
