Just this past Friday, Taylor Swift granted us a brand new album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version). While I could go on (and on, and on, and on…) about every single track, the songs from this release that I have on repeat are the five vault songs. If you’re in the process of moving on from a college “situationship” or relationship and heading into a new era of self-love and healing, the lyrics of three of these vault songs will grant you with some newfound wisdom and important reminders.
“Say Don’t Go (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
Not only does this tune bless our ears with Swift’s angelic lower register, but the words hit home for anyone who’s experienced an unreciprocated affection for somebody. It explains that feeling of wanting somebody so badly to ask you to stay and it’s a perfect song for when you feel like you’re being strung along. It can be hard to walk away from someone you’re into, even if you know they’re not right for you. But, it’s even more painful when all you want is for them to beg you to stay, and you know, deep down, that they won’t.
“I would stay forever if you say, ‘don’t go,’ but you won’t.”
Taylor Swift
I hear this song from the point of the view of the one who got away. This song serves as a reminder that even though you may want to stay, you also have to realize that you deserve better than to stay with somebody who is okay with losing you.
“Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
This song has skyrocketed in popularity for its’ hinting lyrics at Taylor Swift and Harry Styles’ 2012 relationship, but no matter the context, I think the message is so important for anyone trying to get over somebody. Taylor Swift reflects on the good parts in the relationship, then to where it became disastrous, and finally to the relationship being over but not being able to fully let it go. The lyrics explain that gut-wrenching feeling of your mind spiraling, trying to pinpoint exactly when the relationship became too damaged to come back from.
“You search in every model’s bed for something greater, baby. Was it over when she laid down on your couch? Was it over when he unbuttoned my blouse?”
Taylor Swift
What I love most about this song is the realness portrayed in every word. At one point, things were magical, until they weren’t. Before you know it, you’re both physically moving on with other people, even if it doesn’t feel the same. Plus, she acknowledges a common experience for many of us to go to dramatic lengths to get that person to come back to us, to miss us, and to love us.
“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.”
Taylor Swift
This song can give you that sense of validation that you need to get through the moving on process. It’s okay to reflect, it’s okay to be hurt when they move on, and it’s okay to allow yourself to feel everything. I personally believe that you can’t fully let go until you’ve given yourself the space to move through the entire array of emotions. That being said, it’s also important to acknowledge that it didn’t work out and that eventually, when you do let go and accept that it IS over, you’ll be making room for the right person to come along. For this person, you won’t ever have to go to extremes just to keep them in your life.
“Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)”
The amount of times I’ve blasted this song in my car is debatably concerning, but it has quite literally made its way up to one of my all-time favorite Taylor Swift tracks. I’m the type of person who genuinely cannot get over someone unless I go full on no-contact, and it’s a LOT easier said than done (my best friends can vouch for me). This song comes with so many layers that truly can help you if you’re trying to stay strong in a no-contact phase.
“I call my mom, she said that it was for the best. Remind myself, the more I gave you’d want me less. I cannot be your friend, so I pay the price of what I lost and what it cost, now that we don’t talk.”
Taylor Swift
This chorus is like my holy grail. Jokes aside, when it comes to the ending of relationships or “situationships,” it’s easy to look back with a rose-colored lens and only remember the good things. That’s why it’s so important to talk to the people you love, whether it’s your mom, your best friend, whoever, so that they can remind you from an outside perspective, that it will be okay and that it truly is for the best that it’s over.
At some point, though, you also have to be able to remind yourself. Write out a list of everything that you DIDN’T like, or times when you were treated far from what you deserved. And as Swift mentions, the more you give, the less they’ll want you. They can’t miss you if they know they still have you. People don’t realize what they had until it’s gone, so allow yourself to be gone from their life. There’s somebody out there who won’t let you slip away.
Speaking from experience, it’s also valid to not be able to be someone’s friend after being romantically involved. At least for me, it can be really hard to separate those feelings and I find it a lot more difficult to detach from somebody I have feelings for if I’m still talking to them or constantly around them.
“I don’t have to pretend I like acid rock, or that I’d like to be on a mega yacht with important men who think important thoughts. Guess maybe I am better off now that we don’t talk.”
Taylor Swift
Plus, look at the bright side, now that you DON’T talk, you get to let go of all those things that you weren’t a huge fan of. Open your mind to the possibility that maybe, just maybe, you actually are better off not talking and moving on.
No matter what stage of moving on you’re in, these tracks are the perfect additions to your healing era soundtrack. Remind yourself that it’s okay to go through the emotions and even miss that person, yet at the same time, know that you’re worth it and that you deserve someone who WILL stay and will want you to do the same. Letting go of that person who doesn’t value you opens up the door for someone who will.