No one is working harder than Taylor Swift right now. At this point, that’s a fact rather than opinion. Since 2019, three albums that all belong to the artist herself have been released into the world. What’s different about this next album is that it’s one you might’ve heard before.
On Thursday morning, Swift made the announcement that the long-anticipated re-recordings of her discography were ready to be heard, starting with the multi-platinum single ‘Love Story’. If you’re out of the loop, the masters for Taylor Swift’s music have been sold over to a big corporation – she lost the control of having any say in who could and couldn’t use her music. So, she drew her sword and fought back in the best imaginable way. Eventually, every album cursed by these copyright laws - from her debut through to Reputation - will be re-recorded and released back into the world as hers, and hers only. All the stories that she wrote back then are being lifted off the shelf with a cloud of dust and polished to be new again.
To be able to release a song she wrote over ten years ago and it be met with the same, if not more, excitement and adoration is a testament to how Swift’s music has stood the test of time. A decade later and the passion still sparkles in her voice when she sings ‘Love Story’. In fact, it’s pretty much identical to the original version. ‘Love Story (Taylor’s Version)’ can move straight into the playlists that the 2008 single once made its home in. Those big corporations won’t be getting any extra money for “nostalgia streams”, because all the nostalgia you need is right here in Taylor’s version.
There’s a reason it does sound so impressively similar to the original. In a commendable effort to stay true to the song, the musicians that featured on ‘Love Story’ back in 2008 were welcomed back with open arms to play their parts on the new track. Guitar and violinist Caitlin Bird tweeted that she was “so honoured to, again, be part of this magic we made so long ago."
Of course, there’s no way that they could’ve made it completely identical, even with all the same people involved. If you listen closely, Swift’s voice does have an edge of maturity to it. The original ‘Love Story’ is the teenage girl fantasising about her Romeo; Taylor’s version is the woman closing her eyes and reminiscing on those ideas of romance she once had. They’re singing the same words, but now she knows what love really is.
Back then, she invented a kingdom of ball gowns and kisses in the rain. Nowadays, she weaves her words into intricate tales of infidelity and revenge. Although the subjects of Swift’s poetic musings differ greatly in her recent releases to those from 2008, there’s one thing for sure: her imagination has always been the selling point of her stories.
Having had such a saturated number of new songs from Taylor Swift this past year, there’s something refreshing about being able to revisit the old familiars with a completely new outlook. All twenty-six tracks on ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ album will be available on April 9th, but for now you can listen to ‘Love Story’ on every streaming platform, and soak yourself in the glory of Taylor Swift taking back ownership of her talent.
Caitlin Taff is a writer and Taylor Swift enthusiast from Sheffield, UK. Her love of writing was inspired by obsessing over Fall Out Boy's lyricism in her teens, and she spends most of her time in a nostalgic haze watching reruns of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
You can find her on Instagram and Twitter @caitlintxff.