It’s no surprise that Taylor Swift is all people can talk about lately. With the re-release of one of her most popular albums, 1989, many people are hearing the phrases “Taylor’s Version” and “vault tracks” being tossed around without really knowing what they mean. Today we will be uncovering the significance behind this re-release and dissecting the meaning of the four vault tracks.
Taylor’s Version: What is it?
Back in 2019, the record label with which Taylor Swift was working—Big Machine Records—was purchased by Scooter Braun. Through a series of legal issues related to this purchase, Swift completely lost the rights to all of the 6 albums she had released by then. The manipulation hit her hard, but she fought to get the rights to her music back.
In 2020, the first “Taylor’s Version” album was released. This was a re-recording of the original album that legally belonged to her and included a few additional tracks that didn’t quite make the final cut the first time. “Fearless [Taylor’s Version]” was the first of these albums. Many of the new songs (vault tracks) would grow to become widely popular in not just “Fearless [Taylor’s Version]” but also “Red”, “Speak Now”, and eventually “1989” (Today).
1989 [Taylor’s Version]
An album that holds special significance to Swift, “1989” broke the charts with its re-release on October 27, 2023, nearly breaking her own record. The original “1989” album was a career-changing release for Swift; it marked her genre switch from country to pop. This fall, she included five vault tracks in the re-release: “‘Slut!’”, “Say Don’t Go”, “Now That We Don’t Talk”, “Suburban Legends”, and “Is It Over Now?” Four of those five would go on to be top hits and make up two-thirds of the entire album’s most streamed songs on Apple Music.
“Slut!”, the first vault track, is a song about Swift’s ability to embrace and accept the typically demeaning word. She has a history of experiencing backlash because of her dating habits; in this song, she turns that scrutiny into something she is proud of. She claims to be too in love to even care about the word, having bigger priorities.
“Say Don’t Go,” the second vault track, represents a cry for help in a relationship where she feels the other person pulling away and wants them to make an effort to keep the couple afloat. It relates to an experience many people have had in which the other person is already emotionally checked out. It features lyrics such as “Now your silence has me screaming” and “I’m holding out hope for you to say ‘don’t go,’” further driving home her point.
“Now That We Don’t Talk,” comparatively upbeat to the previous two vaults, is a song about Swift looking back on a relationship and realizing the newfound freedom she has. She specifically mentions no longer having to pretend to have interest in things the other person liked. It is a song about growth and moving on as well as realizing some changes are for the better.
“Suburban Legends,” the second to last track, dives into the complexities and complications that come with a relationship that is in the public eye. Swift uses high school relationships and the pressure of putting up a perfect facade as a symbol for the relationships she has had as a celebrity. In the end, it is the rumors that kill such relationships. She indicates that even though the idea of the couple may be worthy of being a household name and discussion topic, it was “built to fall apart” because of the previously mentioned pressures.
The final vault track, “Is It Over Now,” has obvious undertones of infidelity. Rumored to be about previous boyfriend Harry Styles, the song talks about rumors of cheating that flooded and eventually ruined their relationship. Swift hints at this with lyrics such as “At least I had the decency to keep my nights out of sight” and “Was it over when she laid down on your couch?” Overall, the song sparked many speculations about what significance it has to Swift’s relationships at the time of its writing.
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