It’s hard to believe that its been over a month since Red (Taylor’s Version) changed my life irreversibly. Hyperbole aside, the release of Taylor Swift’s re-recorded masterpiece provided the perfect foil for a wet November rife with gloomy forest hikes. While my preferred Taylor Swift autumn tastes lie elsewhere, its impossible to deny the association Red has with the season. And rightfully so. The range of emotions the album covers is tremendous. It may well be the perfect breakup album, covering not only painful heartbreak but ecstatic forgetting, yearning relapses, and tremulous renewal. As such, you can imagine the excitement of fans upon learning that the new album would include nine songs “from the vault”. Nine songs that didn’t make the album in its initial release would be included on this iteration. After talking a month to reflect and listen to the album on repeat, I have come to the definitive tiered ranking of the vault songs from Red (Taylor’s Version). Enjoy!
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| Photo by Omid Armin on Unsplash |
Tier 4: Rightfully Left Off Red
9. Babe
Déjà vu? We first heard Babe in 2018 when Taylor lent the song to country duo Sugarland, copping backup vocal duty and a music video cameo. Taylor attempts to make Babe (Taylor’s Version) her own with a lighter, upbeat production that gives Babe a poppier feel compared to its predecessor. However, the song loses a bit of its punch as a result. At its core, Babe is saying we’re done here. You had your chance and ruined it. The Sugarland version—with simpler production and the sharp twang of Sugarland singer Jennifer Nettles—has an edge befitting the song’s subject matter. Babe is a good song, but the simple fact that Taylor’s Version isn’t the best iteration places it at the bottom of my ranking.
8. Run ft. Ed Sheeran
Everything Has Changed was the first, and perhaps best, collab between Taylor and Ed (sorry End Game), and while Run has its moments, there’s a reason the song was left off Red. Best enjoyed on an overcast afternoon drive with your significant other, Run speaks to the safety inherent in a relationship. Finding that place with someone else where you feel yourself, and escaping into that place, into that person, when everything feels against you. In dulcetly layered harmonies, Taylor and Ed convey a sentimental youthfulness that suits the song’s subject matter. However, while sweet, Run risks being anodyne. It lacks the punch great songs have, both emotionally and musically.
7. The Very First Night
Bubbly and effervescent, The Very First Night combines breezy guitar and Swift’s soaring vocals to create a bop perfect for wild lyric screaming and tipsy kitchen dancing. Taylor sings of the giddy rush at the beginning of a relationship. The intense exhilaration of those first few weeks and the longing for that time of blissful perfection after the relationship’s end. The song is reminiscent of Speak Now—its upbeat guitar-driven melodies would feel right at home among Mine, The Story of Us, or the eponymous Speak Now. However, I felt the song didn’t have the lyrical impact of Taylor’s other work on Red. The Very First Night is rife with catchy ebullience but thin on lyrical substance. Also, I will never not be annoyed by Taylor singing “they’ll never know how much I miss you” instead of “ya”.
Tier 3: Songs You Love To Listen To
6. Forever Winter
A Taylor Swift special of sad lyrics disguised by upbeat production (I see you Death By A Thousand Cuts and All You Had To Do Was Stay), Forever Winter is an underrated vault song in my eyes. It’s an awful feeling—watching someone you care about struggle and not knowing how to help. Taylor packs all the helplessness, fear, and grief of that feeling into Forever Winter. Jittery, almost frustrated verses, tinctured with thinly veiled terror, and pleading choruses with her voice seemingly on the verge of breaking, actualize Taylor's distress to the listener. Fans have theorized that the song was written about a close friend of Taylor’s who died of a drug overdose, making the song even more painful to listen to. An important reminder about the unseen troubles many face and our responsibility to do our best to help, Forever Winter is one of my favourite vault songs.
5. I Bet You Think About Me ft. Chris Stapleton
You know, I was wondering at what point in this list I’d get around to mentioning Jake Gyllenhaal. And I Bet You Think About Me seems about as good a place as any. Doing away with all pretence, dude got absolutely dragged in this song. Taylor gives us the answer to the question, “how many ways can you call someone a pretentious douche?” (The answer is: a lot). What the song may lack in catchiness, it more than makes up for with hilariously anecdotal lyrics. I Bet You Think About Me is a throwback to the witty, country-based boy-bashing bops of Fearless or Speak Now, while grounded in a poppy sensibility that demonstrates Taylor’s evolution as an artist. While I Bet You Think About Me would have been very fun to see on Red in 2012, it benefits from hindsight and Taylor’s fully matured vocals. Love the harmonicas, love Chris Stapleton, love the music video—I Bet You Think About Me is a winner.
4. Message In A Bottle
Message in a Bottle is similar to The Very First Night in the simplicity of its lyrics but with vastly superior production and a rapturously catchy chorus. And in this case, I think the song's simplicity works in its favour. At its core Message in a Bottle is a song of hope. Realizing you have feelings for someone and maybe they have feelings for you and how perfect your life could be if they would just admit it too. Message in a Bottle is a daydream that makes you feel warm inside. An ear-splitting grin that manifests at random throughout the day. The giddiness that puckers your lips in a whistle on a sunny afternoon walk. The title itself personifies hope—a shot in the dark—a “what if?”. The production—defined by coursing synth and silvery guitar—caps off a delightfully happy song. Message in a Bottle may not be the “best” song per se, but it’s definitely my favourite after #1 on this list. I can’t stop listening to it. Please help.
Tier 2: Lyrical Masterpieces
3. Better Man
Déjà vu part two? Better Man is the second Red vault song we’ve heard before. Written by Taylor, the country music group Little Big Town recorded and released the song in 2016. Better Man gained much acclaim upon its release, winning Song of the Year at the 2017 Country Music Awards and Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 2018 Grammy’s. Nevertheless, with Better Man (Taylor’s Version), Taylor takes what was already a great song and elevates it. I found Taylor’s version to be acutely heart wrenching, rawer than the more wistful and poignant original. Taylor’s lonely, wounded voice gives the pain of Better Man a freshness that the original doesn’t quite have. I especially love the way Taylor redid the second verse; between the added inflections and the higher octave, my ears thank her. When someone has a hold on you, reconciling who they are with who you want them to be can be formidable. But having the courage and self-worth to break free of that hold, despite how painful the process is, should be commended.
2. Nothing New ft. Phoebe Bridgers
In a world where our youth are expected to have everything figured out by the end of high school, and the future seems increasingly uncertain, Nothing New is especially relevant and relatable. Releasing her first album when she was 16, Taylor speaks to her own experience entering the music industry as a young woman. Nothing New is lyrical magic, painting the picture of an industry in constant pursuit of "the next big thing". Growing up in such an environment, where your successes are glossed over and failures condemned, the future can seem excruciatingly unstable and scary. The usual insecurities that accompany growing up are exacerbated tenfold. Phoebe Bridgers was an excellent choice as a co-star; her silky, indie-style vocals perfectly complement the song’s melancholic melodies. Her inclusion also bridges the gap to a younger generation. Nothing New gives us two generations of women in the music industry singing about the existential self-doubt that stems from treating young stars as expendable.
Tier 1: All Too Well Is The Best Song Ever
1. All Too Well (10 Minute Version)
All Too Well. The heart-rending Track Five that evolved from Swiftie-beloved deep cut to breakup song staple. There were whispers as far back as 2012. Rumours chattered about on Tumblr forums and made the subject of Swifties’ fantasies worldwide. But never, not in my wildest dreams, did I ever think I would hear the ten-minute version of All Too Well. (Lowkey, thank you Scooter Braun). I am beyond happy to say that the song not only met my high expectations but somehow exceeded them.
All Too Well (10 Minute Version) is eminently singable—more so than the original—trading ranting, beautifully rhymed verses with belting lines meant to be sung with precise accentuation. It really is unbelievable how much fun I have singing this song. The whole ten minutes through. Its length is never excessive; there is nary an overextended line or wasted syllable. Swift uses the extra time to further craft the song’s, at this point almost-mythic, story. Flowing from verse to chorus; from blissful high to agonizing low; from walking through the door to standing alone in the snow; the song is comprehensive, narrative, complete.
If the song wasn’t enough, we were also blessed with All Too Well: The Short Film. The film spotlights an aspect overlooked in the original: gaslighting. The midway kitchen scene alone was a jarringly authentic depiction of gaslighting at its finest. Taylor sings not just about the painful memories of a failed relationship; but, about how despite whatever denials, trivializations, or twisted recollections were thrown at her, she remembers the reality of the relationship. And that reality—that story—is the heart of All Too Well.
All Too Well (10 Minute Version) is a great song (duh), but all the ancillary tidbits accumulated over the years: the self-references, easter eggs, and stories of inspiration that have become lore to dedicated Swifties—that is what makes this song, this album, so impactful and relatable. It is not just a collection of songs but a story that has become entwined with our own. Call it shrewd marketing, call it nostalgic manipulation, call it what you want, the fact remains that Red (Taylor’s Version) is a tour de force of songwriting, reimagination, and reminiscence, with All Too Well (10 Minute Version) as its centrepiece.
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