Mark your calendars, folks! On Oct. 27, Taylor Swift’s fifth studio album will rightfully be hers. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) will be Ms. Swift’s fourth re-recorded album, and even though it has yet to come out, it has already caused a stir. Her five vault tracks already have much hype surrounding them, solely off of track names. 1989 was initially released in 2014 when Taylor Swift was trying to shift her musical focus from country to pop. Being that 1989 was the year Taylor was born, she saw this album as a way to let her fans peek into her personal life. 1989 had singles such as “Shake It Off,” “Bad Blood,” and “Blank Space,” all of which led to solidifying Swift’s place as a pop icon. With the highly anticipated re-release right around the corner, I figured now was a good time to revisit her Grammy-award-winning album, as a way to say “goodbye” to the old and welcome in the new.
*Disclaimer* This is how I have interpreted the songs and music videos throughout the years! While what I say may not be what Taylor Swift intended, it is how I perceive and choose to view them.
1. Welcome to New York
The opening track starts with an upbeat pop-synth sound, accompanied by claps that almost seem to be welcoming the listener to New York, in addition to the new era Swift was about to enter. Wanting the album to have a more authentic 80s pop sound, she worked with producer Max Martin who helped create 90s/2000s hits we know and love today, such as Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time” and NSYNC’s “It’s Gonna Be Me.” Swift’s optimism shines through in her vocals, as she describes how New York has been waiting for her, and anyone for that matter. Anyone can be whomever they want to be, and it seems as if Swift is singing about how she wants to be a pop musician. She even said it better herself: “It’s a new soundtrack, I could dance to this beat.”
2. blank SPACE
“Nice to meet you, where you been?” Swift asks listeners as they are ushered into the second track. While still keeping the same synth claps from “Welcome to New York,” “Blank Space” has a noticeable shift in tone. Instead of a bright pop sound, “Blank Space” has a more clipped, brisk pace. Lyrically, Swift was able to pull from media headlines about her dating life, and how she appears to be quite the flirt, which starkly contrasted her good-girl reputation from Fearless and Speak Now. The music video stars Taylor at a gorgeous estate in the countryside, with a seemingly harmless suitor coming to visit. However, never forgetting what is said about her, Swift self-sabotages and believes that her lover has cheated. Are the men the problem, or is she? She questions whether this will end well, or if it will end the same way it always has in the past.
3. STYLE
The third track draws the listeners in with a catchy guitar riff and a hypnotizing beat. The song, as I’ve interpreted it, is about a relationship that is quite toxic, but toxic to the point where it is intoxicating. The relationship is extremely on and off, but when it’s “on,” it’s so good that you cannot live without it. Every fault about your partner and relationship can be temporarily ignored whenever you’re in their presence. The bassline of “Style” is carried throughout the entire song, sort of how this relationship is a staple in these two people’s lives and will never go out of style, regardless of the state the two of them are in. It’s a funky, almost disco-esque beat that you just can’t quit, similar to how the two people in the relationship feel about each other. This relationship will never officially be over, as there will always be something drawing you back to it, similar to Swift’s music.
4. OUT OF THE WOODS
While still on the topic of romance, “Out Of The Woods” focuses on one of Swift’s former failed relationships and the emotions that come with it. Due to her being in the public eye and her every relationship being highly scrutinized, she makes her moves carefully. While the excitement from a new relationship sparks joy in her life, it also creates anxiety. She is constantly worried about making the wrong move, and how it’ll affect not just her public persona but also her personal life. The song starts with a steady beat, signifying the steadiness of her relationship, with it soon picking up the tempo and rushing, alluding to its downfall. While the love was fierce and passionate, it was not enough to withstand the pressures of life. She describes a love that was not meant to last, singing “We were built to fall apart/Then fall back together.” She keeps running, questioning whether she and her relationships will ever last, and if she’ll ever be in the clear from scrutiny.
5. All you had to do was stay
Taylor Swift’s fifth tracks have been pointed out to be her most personal and emotional. “All You Had To Do Was Stay” describes a lover’s indecision to stay with Taylor, and how this caused her pain. The peppiness of the tempo hides Swift’s pain, as she expresses that her partner “had [her] in the palm of [his] hand” but decided to go when she let him in, detailing her frustration in how it could have been easier for him to stay initially, and how coming back to her is harder, and frankly, not worth it. She illustrates how people like her former lover always want what was once theirs when it’s out of their hands, but people like Swift stand their ground and stay away once that bond is broken. It seems to sort of contrast with “Style,” with “All You Had To Do Was Stay” giving Taylor the stance of someone decisive and strong-willed in their decisions, while “Style” makes her feel a little less confident in her choices due to her and her partner having the same sort of personality.
6. Shake it off
I can say with confidence that I’ve always been a fan of “Shake It Off.” The uptempo beat and rhythm of the song encourage listeners to shake off and forget their problems, as they’re so irrelevant to daily life. What one person thinks or says about you will not matter in the long run, so it only makes sense to shake it off and leave it be. The backing saxophone and horns, in addition to the drum beat, keep the song moving, driving home the pop nature of the song, and the album in general. In the music video, Swift plays a more clumsy version of herself, as she tries to fit in with professional dancers. Naturally, she doesn’t succeed in fitting in, but nevertheless, she has a good time trying.
Her vocals and expressions throughout the video have a carefree attitude to them, showing how she’s going to shake off what anyone says because she wants people to know it’s okay to not initially succeed. The Players are going to play, the Haters are going to hate, so what’s the harm in shaking it off?
7. I wish you would
Once again relating back to the theme of love, “I Wish You Would” describes Taylor Swift’s feelings towards a former partner. While the relationship might be over with, she harbors no hard feelings towards her ex. In the chorus, she explains how she wishes that the relationship didn’t end on such a sour note. He thinks that he hates her and she feels quite the opposite: she wants him to come back. She flirts with the idea of getting back together, as she would gladly have him back, or even perhaps just see him occasionally on the down low. Her layered vocals create a sense of urgency in her voice, expressing how much she wants him back and how she would be willing to do anything for him. Swift brings back the pop-synth sound by using snare drums to drive the beat home, with the use of a synthesizer adding to the dream-like idea of getting back together with her former love.
8. BAD BLOOD
If there’s one thing Taylor takes seriously, it’s her relationships. Whether it be romantically or platonically, she takes these relationships to heart, and when they go sour, she takes it hard. “Bad Blood” focuses on the betrayal of one of her close friends, and how Swift is handling it. Someone she initially thought to be a confidante slowly turned into a backstabber. Swift describes her pain throughout the song, saying how once you cause this much pain and pretend like nothing ever happened, it’ll haunt you forever. The song’s booming bassline is accompanied by Swift’s lower register for the verses, and a use of a cry on the pre-chorus. The music video, made for the remix featuring Kendrick Lamar, features a star-studded cast of powerful women whom Swift considered to be her friends or inspirations. The futuristic theme of the video perhaps alludes to the fact that no matter how far along we grow and progress, there will always be bad blood.
9. WILDEST DREAMS
There really is nothing like a doomed relationship. “Wildest Dreams” depicts Taylor Swift desperately wishing for her lover to remember her and their relationship before its impending doom. With Swift’s own heartbeat driving the beat of the song, there is a real sense of urgency for Taylor to express her love to her partner before time runs out. While the song is quite dreamy and soft, string instruments in addition to the heartbeat create an overarching theme of suspense, as both the listener and Swift know that this love will not last, and it’s going to be agonizing. Taylor paints an intimate look at the relationship, illustrating how her lover’s hands are in her hair and his clothes are strewn about her room noting how “nothing lasts forever, but [it’s] getting good,” and how “he’s so bad, but he does it so well.” To the surprise of many Swifites, Taylor dropped “Wildest Dreams (TV)” unannounced in 2021 after it gained traction on TikTok, giving fans the first real glimpse at 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
10. HOW YOU GET THE GIRL
One of the more upbeat and optimistic tracks on the album, “How You Get The Girl” is pretty self-explanatory: Taylor gives advice to a man who wants to get his girl back, and she advises using more efficient approaches compared to those that have presumably been used on her. She recommends that the man remind his former lover of all the kisses they shared, the wanting he has for her, and outright profess his love for her, stating that’s how he’ll get her back. One of the more straightforward tracks on the album, Swift recommends laying it all on the line to show how you truly feel in order to get the outcome you most desire.
11. THIS LOVE
Another surprise release from Ms. Swift, “This Love (TV)” was released in May 2022, and was prominently featured in the trailer for season one of the Amazon Prime Original series The Summer I Turned Pretty.
With one of the slowest tempos on the album, Swift sings about life in a relationship, using imagery of the ocean to describe its cyclical nature. As the ocean ebbs and flows, so does a relationship. Singing about how the “high tide came and brought you in,” Swift reminisces about her lover floating into her life, acknowledging how she could go on and on about her partner, soon noting that the “skies grew darker” and he was soon pulled away. She then explains how love is good and bad, and can even come back from the dead after it ends. Regardless of the condition of the relationship, it’s still love. If the love is meant to stay, it will. If not, it won’t. But, love is a cycle, so it always comes back around.
12. I KNOW PLACES
As one of the largest faces in music and pop culture in general, Taylor Swift understands the territory that comes with fame. Throughout most of 1989, Taylor discusses the theme of love and everything that comes with it. In “I Know Places,” she describes her relationships in the public eye through the metaphor of a fox hunt. Taylor and her respective partner are the foxes, and the paparazzi are the hunters, always willing to do anything for a kill. She describes how she’ll keep running in order to feel a sense of privacy, and reassures her partner that whatever people are saying should be ignored because it does not matter. Telling their secrets to the mass media can be dangerous, but she won’t allow it to happen. Her cries alert her partner, and the listener, about the seriousness of the matter, and how she will do everything in her power to keep this relationship safe. The echoing vocals also reiterate her willingness to keep her love safe and private, reminding her partner that they are both in this together, and can get through it.
13. Clean
The thirteenth track and final track (in addition to being Swift’s lucky number) of 1989 is a soft rock ballad about learning to let go. “Clean” starts out with a simple synth beat, with Swift singing in a quiet tone, almost admitting these lyrics to herself. She uses lots of water-related imagery throughout the piece, describing how the initial “drought” of not being with her partner was painful, and how the “flowers,” or relationship that they once had, died after their separation. During the relationship, while the “flowers” bloomed, Swift herself felt lost, saying how he became her everything and she didn’t realize who she was anymore. Once the relationship and the drought ended, Taylor began to find herself again, despite the difficulty. Still using the imagery of water, she describes her sense of relief once she began her journey of self-discovery, singing “Rain came pouring down/When I was drowning, that’s when I/Could finally breathe.” After her introspective journey, she reflects on how staying clean can be difficult but firmly states how it is not worth the risk of going back and getting harmed again. As soft as the track is, it carries an extremely powerful message about love, and perhaps how the best love of all can be found in yourself. “Clean” is a wonderful way to end 1989, as it perfectly encompasses the emotional journey that the album takes listeners through.
And so, our musical journey through Taylor Swift’s fifth album 1989 comes to an end. While the original recording is held near and dear to my heart, I am quite excited for 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and to be able to support Taylor Swift on an artistic level by listening to the recordings that will soon be rightfully hers once again!