1989 (Taylor’s Version) was released on October 27, 2023. It is the fourth re-recorded and re-released album Taylor Swift has put out. 1989 is known for having some of Taylor’s most popular songs including: “Blank Space”, “Style”, “Wildest Dreams”, “Shake It Off”, and “Bad Blood”.
The original release of 1989 was on October 27, 2014. It was Taylor’s fifth studio album. Here is a little backstory of the “re-releasing process.” When Taylor Swift was 16 she signed a contract that allowed her ownership of the actual music, but her producer got control of the album and title.
A few years ago, Taylor’s producer sold the albums. Thankfully, Taylor found the loophole of the “re-release.” Since she owned the music, it was her’s to perform and record. She started with Fearless (Taylor’s Version) in 2021. It has now been two years and she has also re-recorded and re-released Red (Taylor’s Version) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).
Meanwhile, she has also produced another brand-new studio album: Midnights. She has two other albums, Taylor Swift and Reputation, that she still needs to re-record in order to have full ownership of all of her albums.
The re-recording of 1989 will feature five new vault tracks. Vault tracks are songs Taylor originally wrote during the initial recording process. Taylor introduced the idea of vault tracks with Fearless (Taylor’s Version), and she has since released multiple bonus tracks for each re-release.
“Wildest Dreams” and “This Love” are two of the most popular songs from 1989’s original release. Taylor re-released these both as a single in 2022 so they could be used in the production of a new television series. This release was only a small preview to the upcoming re-release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
Good things stay the same, “Welcome to New York” started off the re-released album with the familiar intro. It was followed by 20 other tracks, but here are some we think need a little more recognition:
“Style”: While it was not featuring Harry Styles, it was still as good as it has always been. It’s a hit for a reason. It’s perfect.
“Out of the Woods”: This song is a fan favorite and contains one of Taylor’s best bridges ever created. Thank goodness Harry Styles is a bad driver.
“Looking at it now … it all seemed so simple.” Is probably one of the best introductions ever created. I can hear the lyrics, and that says something.
“All You Had To Do Was Stay”: “Hey.” Track five. It is widely known that track fives are the saddest songs on Taylor albums. “All You Had To Do Was Stay” does not give off a sad instrumental base, so a lot of people say that it is not a sad song. However, if you listen to the actual lyrics, it is an incredibly sad song. For example:
“People like you always want back the love they gave away.”
“Why’d you have to go and lock me out when I let you in?”
Just two strongly impactful lyrics, from a song full of heart wrenching lines.
“I Wish You Would”: This song is the ultimate hype song, even though the lyrics are pretty sad. Taylor is begging for the bare minimum in this song, and she’s not getting it. However, the sadness of the lyrics doesn’t take away from how much of a pop hit it is.
“How You Get The Girl”: Every single person’s dream. They have a big fight with their person and then they come to their door (IN THE RAIN) to apologize. A literal play-by-play for every man on the planet, detailing exactly how to get back their girl. Sadly for Taylor, her man still couldn’t do it. The closing of the song brings a twist towards a more sad ending. The lyrics change from “How you get the girl” to “How you lost the girl”. While it is a subtle change, it represents a very large shift in the relationship.
“Clean”: Underrated. No one talks about this song enough and how heart wrenching it really is. This is easily one of Taylor’s saddest songs to date.
“Wonderland”: From the original deluxe edition, this song is everything. One of the album’s most crucial and defining tracks, “Wonderland”, tells the story of any truly impactful romance. It starts perfect, it falls apart, and both people are left broken and scared. This track is one of the best places to see Taylor’s ability to tell a story through music.
“You Are in Love”: This track makes me feel so many emotions every time I hear it. It is such a pure moment of love, and it shows such a realness to Taylor. While there is a wind chime moment that I don’t really understand, this song remains in the album’s top few.
“New Romantics”: This song closed out the original 1989 on a high note. It is an underrated pop masterpiece. It holds some of the most iconic “Swiftie” lyrics that have ever existed. This song is universally loved by pretty much everyone.
“Say Don’t Go”: The second vault track is so beautifully Taylor. The lyrics “say don’t go” and “but you won’t” add to the beautiful juxtaposition represented in the song. Taylor is holding on to the relationship, hoping her boyfriend will just ask her to stay, but she is hurt by the realization that it’s already too far gone.
“Now That We Don’t Talk”: Probably one of the most directly pointed songs towards her former ex, this song perfectly portrays the aftermath of Harry and Taylor. The lyrics show how hard it is to move on from someone after you get to truly know them.
“Suburban Legends”: Such an intimate track between Taylor and her former person. It lays out the thought she has in her head that they were destined to be together. As well as how they are destined to always be remembered.
“Is It Over Now?”: Closing out Taylor’s Version is this perfect song. Even the title is a perfect outro. Symbolic of an ending relationship and representative of the mind’s thought process when being heartbroken, this song is so real.
1989 was Taylor’s best-selling album. Taylor’s Version is likely to do the same…if not better.
