Mine – “This love is difficult, but it’s real” – Taylor Swift has spent a significant portion of the past decade adding dimension to this line. “Mine” was “Love Story”’s first evolution, where instead of ball gowns and secret garden rendezvous she’s worried about bills and not becoming her parents. What Taylor preserves however are the images in her head; over the course of the song, the story behind “You made a rebel of a careless man’s careful daughter” plays out in full color. Much of Speak Now documents the journey from the grand fantasy of her earlier work towards a simpler, more grounded reality. “Mine” shows the best of what this transition looks like while still managing to reach every pop checkpoint Big Machine threw at her. [10]
Sparks Fly – Speak Now sold over a million copies in its first week of sales, a remarkable feat on its own, but even more significant considering this album was released in 2010, well after online piracy had changed the face of the industry. Taylor Swift was set for a huge release that year regardless of the album’s content; Fearless had established her as a global artist with crossover appeal, and the 2009 VMA incident created her public image (i.e. made her famous). Persona aside, however, “Sparks Fly” makes a compelling case for why this album would’ve been a success even without the theatrics and thinkpieces. While lyrically it’s not too unique of a tale, between the bouncing guitar licks and a wonderfully coy “give me something that’ll haunt me when you’re not around” line, Taylor sounds effortless behind the microphone, as if even at half capacity she can still manage to churn out an earworm. [8]
Back to December – Feelings change with the seasons; a summer fling turns into a whirlwind autumn love until the leaves turn, and a winter heartbreak bites into skin (or maybe “howls at night”, since this is unfortunately about Taylor Lautner which I try not to think too much about). This narrative device sets the tone of the song well, and its result is a rare instance of Taylor (Swift) as the bad guy (at this point in her career of course, her reputation has yet to wreak havoc). The track hits many of the same notes as the previous year’s country-pop crossover “Need You Now”, so much so that I’m surprised “Back to December” didn’t chart higher (#6 on the Hot 100), especially considering that Taylor picked up a sharper pen than Lady A. Throughout Speak Now Taylor routinely throws in lines that haunt me when she’s not around, but in a sad way, not a sexy one. “Back to December”‘s contribution is of course “It turns out freedom ain’t nothing but missing you” which at risk of sounding redundant at this point says a lot in just a few words. The regrets are killing me. [9]
Speak Now – The vocal delivery on “Speak Now” is so youthful and bright-eyed that I’m not sure how Taylor will re-record it. Her voice suits the song, possibly her most submerged-in-fantasy track to date. It’s a surprisingly playful number for a title that comes off as much more demanding when placed on an album cover. [7]
Dear John – Taylor’s nearly seven minute letter to John Mayer unwinds in painful detail as she stitches her wounds shut. Each measure opens with a heavy, resigned downstrum; the drums are sparse and murky, wading through mud at an excruciating pace. The story is sadly too familiar – ask Billie Eilish how she felt about an older man leveraging his control over her and she’ll say: “She said you were a hero / You played the part / But you ruined her in a year / Don’t act like it was hard”. It hurts to hear both women grapple with their guilt in having ended up where they did, ignoring calls to “run as fast as you can” or simply thinking “I should’ve known”. Ironically, both songs explore coming to terms with your relative innocence, naivety, and vulnerability in a very mature manner, navigating how to acknowledge past feelings of love and their current state of distress as valid despite the invasive power discrepancy that now sinks into each memory. It’s all the more triumphant then, when at the tail end of the bridge Taylor loudly declares “I’m shining like fireworks / Over your sad empty town”. [10]
Mean – Critics are physically incapable of not think-piecing this song because it forces us to confront a constant fear: “And I can see you years from now in a bar … But nobody’s listening / Washed up and ranting about the same old bitter things / Drunk and grumbling on about how I can’t sing”. So instead of opening Pandora’s Box I’ll leave with two thoughts: this is the only good fuck-the-haters song Taylor will ever write, and does this count as bluegrass? Because if it does, this is possibly the highest charting bluegrass song in recent memory (#11 on the Hot 100), and I think that’s pretty neat. [7]
The Story of Us – If “Dear John” is Speak Now’s “All Too Well”, then “The Story of Us” is the album’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (this is an accurate analogy, but writing it out made me realize I might be a bit too deep into the lore). Uptempo pop-rock was a fitting choice for what’s a comparatively light-hearted retrospective on the John Mayer saga. A strong pop chorus pays dividends, as I recently discovered this track goes over surprisingly well in a club. My only real gripe is that in the legacy of extended storybook metaphors that can be spotted throughout her discography (“Our Song”, “Love Story”, “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince”), the song’s contemporaries provide more than what “The Story of Us” attempts. The framing here feels like an afterthought rather than central to the narrative. [7]
Never Grow Up – Nostalgic songs about lost innocence can be sweet and should, in theory, work with Taylor’s persona… but it’s difficult to pull off without sounding trite. I can see the appeal to the track, but it’s the first low point on the album for me. [5]
Enchanted – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBk0P27QGmc&ab_channel=Lucas [10]
Better Than Revenge – Taylor’s take on “Misery Business” isn’t as exciting as you might imagine. “Better Than Revenge” gives us worse guitar riffs, weaker melodies, and a mediocre vocal performance (the last one might be an unfair comparison because Hayley Williams is, well, Hayley Williams). The track does choose to amp up the misogyny, though, so I guess there’s that. [5]
Innocent – I would just like to point out that in her “I forgive you, Kanye” song, Taylor sings, “You’re still an innocent” which sounds eerily close to “You’re stealing innocence.” It’s in both parts extremely petty and so well placed that I can’t knock it. The song is notable as an adequate response to the whole VMA fiasco, but I don’t find myself going back to it beyond that context. [6]
Haunted – The way she enunciates in this song reminds me that there are more vocal trends than “indie girl voice” and “Rihanna”. Aside from that, I almost wish there was more melodrama on the track; she doesn’t quite sell me here. [6]
Last Kiss – At just over six minutes, “Last Kiss” is one of Taylor’s longest songs. Unlike her other extended tracks however, she takes a more meditative approach here, and for as much as I love her Radiohead-esque climactic builds (listen to “Enchanted” and tell me it doesn’t give you the same feeling as “No Surprises” or “Exit Music (for a film)”), I can appreciate how the increasingly longing lyrics are delivered with a quiet resignation, never quite resolving or amounting to much. [7]
Long Live – A song that will appeal to the Swifties in the crowd more so than a general audience, but it’s well constructed nonetheless. The last track on the standard version of “Speak Now” celebrates Taylor’s meteoric ascension, and after an album like this, she deserves to celebrate a bit. [7]
Ours – The chorus is so DAMN CUTE; you’re telling me this is a bonus track? Baffling. [8]
If This Was A Movie – This would actually fit really well into a, well, movie. Imagine this scene from New Moon, except with this song playing in the background. [7]
Superman – This barely has anything to do with the song, but I always thought the whole “tall, dark, and handsome” thing white people say was odd. Haven’t you ever only dated white men, Taylor? [6]
