We finally reveal all of our thoughts about Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) including what we really thought about Taylor’s third recreated album, our opinions on the Better Than Revenge lyric change, and the infamous Last Kiss shaky breath. We go over which songs have grown on us and which may have been completely changed throughout the rerecording process. Then we breakdown and discuss the From The Vault tracks, the pop-rock sensibilities present in the Fall Out Boy collab track Electric Touch, the storytelling of When Emma Falls In Love, the bittersweet memories of Foolish One, the unexpectedly sultry lyrics of I Can See You, the devastating Hayley Williams feature on Castles Crumbling, and the poetic closer that is Timeless. Join us as we dissect why we believe these songs were not included in the original album and the insight into Taylor’s life, worries, and outlook at the time.
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00:00 Intro
00:54 Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) General Reactions
09:26 Better Than Revenge Lyric Change
13:00 The Emotions of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Last Kiss
17:42 Electric Touch ft. Fall Out Boy
24:37 When Emma Falls In Love
30:16 I Can See You
36:07 Castles Crumbling
44:09 Foolish One
49:25 Timeless
52:44 Final Thoughts and Rankings
55:21 We’re Going To The Eras Tour!
56:54 Outro
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Aaron Dessner is such a diversive musician. You should listen to the songs of his band The National ( their most amazing album First Two Pages Of Frankenstein ) and then you’ll understand that Aaron has that rocky vibes in him. I don’t know how you don’t like the song Electric Touch. I love it so much because I love rock, I love rock vibes of this song, their beautiful harmonies, their voices blend so well, they fit perfectly. And I also love all the other vault tracks – can’t decide the favorite because they are all superior. And Speak Now ( Taylor’s Version ) is my favorite album ever 💜💜💜
I loved Electric Touch
Is it just me who think Speak Now is the weakest re-recording so far? All songs sounds more or less the same or slightly worse than originals or something's missing. Like i really miss the anger in both Better Than Revenge and Haunted. Red TV had lower lows (22, WANEGBT, IKYWT) but they also had much bigger highs that destroyed their originals (Starlight, Sad Beautiful Tragic, Girl At Home…). Fearless is the best re-recordings because all songs sound much better of at least same as the originals.
Here's my opinion on vault tracks:
Electric Touch – i love this pop-rock sound. Fall Out Boy are amazing feature. I love Patrick's voice, he's one of best male vocalists in the music industry and his voice blends amazingly with Taylor's. I quite wish in that blank space between bridge and last chorus they had a little riff off over each other, show their vocals. I think Enchanted and Electric Touch talk about the same subject. I think this was scrapped because Sparks Fly and Enchanted already said this same story but better. I also think without Fall Out Boy it wouldn't be that cool.
When Emma Falls In Love – it's a very cute song about her admiration but also slight jealousy of her friend learning a lesson by watching her. I think it's confirmed by Taylor it's about Emma Stone cause when she was performing it as a surprise song she said it's about one of her best friends and in Speak Now era she said Emma Stone and Selena Gomez are her best friends. I think there were some reasons why she scrapped it. It's a song about learning life lessons and album already had Mean, Back To December and Never Grow Up so that might've played the role. Also it's about her friend and her name is even in title so probably she didn't wanted to invade her privacy
I Can See You – it's a banger. I love this 80's rock sound, it's fits her so well and i'd love to hear more of that. I think it's very clear why it didn't make the cut. For some people Sparks Fly already crossed the line if she released this i can't imagine public's reaction. At that time she still kept that good girl, american sweetheart, innocent princess image. It's pretty visual, like i had a music video playing in my head while listening. I love sexy bops like this but i really wouldn't expect something like this from 19 year old Taylor. My favorite SN vault track.
Castles Crumbling – i like the song, Hayley was a great feature. I always wanted a song about how she felt after VMA's incident and now she got it. She thought her career might me already ending. That's really heartbreaking she felt this way so early. I love the lyrics but i wish it sounded more like Haunted and was more up-tempo song with strong instrumental and powerhouse vocals filled with sadness, anger and frustration. Still a great job. Again i think there were numerous reasons for her to scrapped this. I think most evident is that she didn't feel comfortable to sharing these type of thoughts will people at the moment. Another is that Innocent is also talking about this and i feel she might've chosen Innocent instead of Castles Crumbling because she wanted to take the narrative and make herself look like the bigger person who forgave him and it being a way for her how to close this page forever.
Foolish One – this is my song. I feel like if she was talking about me in this. Another interesting look inside Taylor's mind and how she feels about herself being hopelessly romantic. In the outro when she switched from this higher younger fake voice to her normal deeper voice it felt like older sister talking to younger sister that it'll be ok. My 2nd favorite, absolutely adore this. Is it just me or it sounds more like a Fearless song? It was probably written very early after Platinum Edition. Who knows why she scrapped it, probably she had other favorites and that's why.
Timeless – cutest most romantic song ever. Timeless owns my heart, it's so sweet. From what we know it is a mixture of real story about her grandparents and some fiction. This definitely should've been on the album instead of Superman. I think the reason why she scrapped it is as you said the similarities with Mine and that there already was a stripped down cure guitar song, Ours.
I love how 3 songs were more country (WEFIL, FO and Timeless) and 3 were different kinds of rock influenced songs (ICSY, ET, CC) I also think a reason why she scrapped them might've been with the theme of the album. Non those songs really feel like something you need to speak now or hold in yourself together like others on the album, so maybe that's why,
Am so glad I claimed Electric touch & I can see you before the release ITS SOOO DOPE + an INSTANT CLICK!
Electric touch: The flow after superman to the the fall out boy collab rly revive that early 2010 sort of emo rock era and could've been a SMASH alongside artists like Avril Lavigne! What you guys said was true too! Taylor was still seen as country sweetheart and these rock side of the genre were probly shelved by her/old record label
WEFIL: It honestly has Fearless vibe imo, reminds me of Jump then fall! I think in one of her interview during the original Speak Now release day, she was asked what person she would be for a day & she said Emma Stone! Cute song <3
ICSY: Can you imagine 19 yr old Taylor writing this song?? THIS FEELS LIKE DRESS/SO IT GOES BEFORE THE REPUTATION INTIMATE KINDA VIBE! Kansas City Night 1 rly won that night with the MV Premiere & seeing Joey King + Taylor Lautner GOT US ALL GAGGED IN A CHOKEHOLD. THE LIVERPOOL SHOOTING WAS CONFIRMED TO BE THIS ONE!!!
Castles crumbling: Its giving Hunger game vibes and the harmonizing before the bridge reminds me of Safe & Sound! This song would've been part of a Hunger game soundtrack but it was abt her VMA Hijack so maybe it was too personal for Taylor to consider putting this on the record? Innocent sort of express the narrative better she feels like? Remember in Miss Americana, she thought people were booing her and I think some of the lyrics link to that moment in time. I can view Castles as in her “breakthrough moment” since she won Best video award for You belong with me in the Fearless era, so her hearing the boos demolish that idea of “having the people to clap for you”
Foolish one: The production reminds me so much of Fifteen from Fearless, just the innocence of anticipating that person to reciprocate their love to you constantly checking your mailbox, its a missing part of the Speak now theme since its all abt diaristic confessions, letters, emails etc
Timeless: This feels like Mary's song/Starlight storytelling wise in the lyrics! A reminiscent of old couples when they were younger & something breaking their fate of being together since the man was doomed as a military man! Beautiful melody and bittersweet, rly helped to expand that storytelling from her grandparents in different time periods & represent their youthfulness too alongside Mary's song & Starlight!
Possibly it might've been too long yeah not until folklore came with the “love triangle perspective” since this song expands that level of songwriting
Rly appreciate the efforts she’s poured into photoshoots for Speak Now TV too! We finally got the zoomed out dress and other pictures of the speak now pose without the uncurled piece of hair too! More ballerina pictures too especially the one she was twirling the dress giving “I am hiding in the curtains”
I was so shocked but lowkey knew she was gonna change BTR line & initially it didnt grow on me until later. that's when I saw someone interpret the new line as roasting both the guy & the girl (we know moths are attracted to light so the guy was blinded by the girl's light on the matches). Matches feel eerily similar to mattress so I wasn't that mad abt it LOL! HEY sometimes i even sing the original mattress line too I FEEL U GUYS!
The whole album re-recorded feels 99% improvised production-wise & vocals ! My favorite is currently BTD, title track, last kiss, long live, enchanted, innocent, ours, superman . The only thing that got me was Haunted's production where the strings were a little quieter and drums more louder?
I am a lyric change supporter and propagandist not only for feminism reasons, but also because it makes my life easier personally. I think my one friend has moved past criticizing that lyric (and idk how they even heard about it when they've never been a TS fan, Better Than Revenge was never a single, and even Speak Now singles tend to fly under the radar–I think they found out through Tumblr), but if it ever comes up again, I have CONCRETE EVIDENCE that Taylor no longer stands by it! CONCRETE EVIDENCE! returns to badly editing Joe Jonas's face onto moths
Among the vault tracks, my immediate favorites were When Emma Falls in Love, I Can See You, and Timeless.
I love her reference to the antique shop in timeless, I’m around the same age as Taylor so I recall her getting quirky stuff for her new apartment and I had moved into my first place alone between the speak now and red albums and I was SUPER into thrifting and decorating. I feel super nostalgic listening to this album and these vault tracks 🤩 sntv is my favorite reeecording and that’s saying a lot, red was my all time fav bc I grew up with it. Turned 22 the summer after it came out 🫶
💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
13/13!!!!!!!!!!!
I’m from South Africa – I’ve been a swiftie for 15 years – and I got Eras Tour Tickets for the UK!!!!!! ❤ happy you guys also survived the Great War!
We had 13 days from SN (TV)’s release
I felt like Castles Crumbling was influenced by the sentiment towards her after the 2010 Grammys more than the VMAs incident… because even though she thought she was being booed in the moment there (as opposed to people booing Kanye), she actually got a wave of support after it. Support that then waivered after her disastrous Grammys performance and the criticism that followed. And Hayley’s verse to me sounds very much influenced by the troubles that Paramore was dealing with then that led to the Farro brothers leaving the band in 2010. A lot of the strife was over a lyric in “Careful”, which the Farro brothers (or mostly Josh) felt was anti-Bible (“the truth never set me free so I did it myself”), and they publicly stated they thought the band was seeming very anti-Christian at times. This all seems reflected in the lyric in Castles Crumbling, “their faith was strong, but I pushed it too far.” And of course, the reference to “the great hope” recalls John Mayer dubbing Hayley “the great orange hope”.
I think it probably was left off in that it doesn’t really fit the “Speak Now” thesis.
I also immediately noticed a similarity between Mine and Timeless. I think you can see that connection reflected in the Mine music video where she is surrounded by a bunch of pictures hanging from trees and the whole MV is video snapshots of an imagined life. The lyrics in Timeless are a bit more literal, a bit more pedestrian in my mind, in illustrating this idea or concept. Mine seems to push it to the next level.