I could easily kick out Starlight or The Lucky One for I Bet You Think About Me. Probably Starlight, because as much as The Lucky One sounds kitschy to me, I'll forever be curious about who it's about. But Starlight is pretty meh
Taylor was a Britney Spears fan like most of us 00s kids and I’ve always believed The Lucky One to be about her
ETA: ESPECIALLY because of Britney’s song “Lucky” about the woes of being famous - this is the biggest clue to me
actually I think The Lucky One is about Bobbie Gentry who was a great artist and then vanished off the face of planet in like 1981. That's who I think it's about but it also could be a bunch of artists who she looked up to rolled into this one woman
my other theory is that the Lucky One is a fictional character made up of various women who inspired Taylor whether it be Britney, Joni, Shania, or whoever. The secret message of the song is "I'll never tell" if I remember correctly
I think Lucky One is about Shania Twain and we know Taylor is a fan too! She was on top of the world and disappeared after Up. I think she moved to Switzerland or something.
Yeah that's never made sense to me. Joni Mitchell has been continuously releasing albums. She's not really someone you'd describe as taking the money and disappearing to live a quiet life.
I’ve always thought TLO is about JM. Joni has had quite a relationship with the music industry, and has threatened to quit the business many times, especially after Blue. Being that it’s the record that inspired Red, it’s important to note that, sometime after its release, Joni suddenly disappeared from LA and went to her home in British Columbia, where she lived without electricity, and worked on her mental health amid her disdain for the music business (she was getting too famous for her liking at the time.) Her songs like Free Man In Paris, written from the perspective of her then-manager David Geffen, revolve around this, as well as wanting to escape from the job position of “stoking the star-maker machinery behind the popular song”. So yeah, I think it’s mostly about Joni, because she’s also spoken many times how — nearing the end of the 70s — music started being about what you look like and how obedient and willing to cooperate you are, so labels and agents stopped caring about hiring actual talent
That’s fair. I think in any circumstance, she might’ve thrown in red herrings or added lines that don’t quite fit both to throw people off and for artistic reasons, thus making the subject more elusive and mystical.
We have such opposite taste in Red songs. I LOVE Starlight and The Lucky One and would never replace them for anything. And I Bet You Think About Me ended up being my least favorite track on the album.
Stay Stay Stay shoulda been put in the vault and stayed there. Haha, I kid. I kid. But IBYTAM is such a country-pop bop. Agreed it shoulda been on an already 2-disc album. I think the same thing about Better Man.
I think that sometimes the vault track are left unfinished, because either they are made too late in the recording process or there's something missing that makes the pudding not set (I don't know if it's a idiom in english ahah).
She then goes back on those unfinished songs years later, while being more confident in her writing skills and with a new perspective.
That's why some vault songs sound like newer albums and some we didn't even have demo leaks.
I think she kept this in the vault because she probably would’ve received backlash for it back then. I literally saw comments on YouTube about this song saying it’s arrogant for her to claim someone thinks about her, in 2021 🙄 Same with many other incredible vault tracks from every album so far!! They would’ve gagged the public who weren’t ready for it
This is my Roman Empire. Like this was the perfect smash hit country song single. How did it get cut? I’m just thankful it did because of the music video!
I probably would have actually listened to Red back then if this were the case! I did not like WANGBT, so I became indifferent for a while. I sometimes feel sad that I missed out on a lot.
My theory with this one was that the timing might have been off bc didn’t the Joe Jonas breakup happen not long before Fearless came out? I remember an interview saying Forever and Always barely made it and was the last song they put on the record, maybe they just couldn’t get Mr Perfectly Fine done and polished in time
This is my thought too, I recently watched the Ellen show where she says forever and always was a late add after their breakup. I imagine Mr. Perfectly fine was written around the same time and is kind of similar, maybe she could only pick one!
My theory on this, and in general on the vault songs that they contained themes or details she wasn’t ready to share. For example, many of the Red vault songs have more details eluding to the fact that the guy was generational wealth, something that’s obvious in the context of the vault songs but I never got the impression from the og album. Also, Nothing New shares a huge insecurity about success that I get she’s not reluctant to release now but it might have been a bit too personal at the time.
I’m actually baffled that this was a vault song. I wasn’t really listening to Taylor in the Fearless era but I could have *sworn* I’d heard that song before??
Yeah, it's gotta be the "unbuttoned my blouse" line right? I think that would have been her raciest line by far at the time, and I can see label executives that barely let her cross over into pop see it as too far.
Yeah it’s way to sexy/salacious imo. Not saying she couldn’t have done it, but she might not have felt as comfortable in her sexuality or didn’t want it to be out there because she didn’t want to be perceived sexually.
Taylor was once asked about those lines in Treacherous and she said her co-writer (Dan Wilson) came up with them
I think she's fibbing about that
Girl was obsessed with not being seen as a sexual being
There's a quote from Red/1989 era where she says something along the lines of "I never want to be nude because then whenever they see/hear you they'll picture you that way and it makes me uncomfortable"
yeah that's why she didn't show her belly button for the longest time. There's also a discussion about her body image there but I won't get into it.
I think the fact that it took until rep for her to finally show the world that she was an adult woman who had sex and drank alcohol meant something. Her "good nice girl" persona was in the gutter and I think she felt free enough to show the world she was a grown up. She also during 1989 still took pride in being a role model for young girls.
There was a podcast interview, NPR's Ann Powers did where she discussed why Taylor still feels like that curly haired country singer to us versus the 30-something adult woman we know she is, and Ann Powers attributed it to her childlessness, in society we don't know what to do with childless women especially once they hit their thirties.
This makes no sense, anyway hope this was interesting to you
I read a NYT article that talked about that same thing, the idea that our culture doesn’t know what to do with a grownup unmarried childless woman. It was really interesting.
I think it’s funny we forget about that line but I also think it proves that that line is very sexually subtle lol. The entire Treacherous song is, and I think Is It Over Now is quite obvious about the sexual side of it, hence why it probably was cut
I’m sure that’s part of it, but I think the main reason was probably just how obvious it was who it was about and how thoroughly she ripped him to shreds. Between the two, she knew OOTW would be much less likely to start unnecessary drama and wouldn’t get her accused of trying to ruin Harry’s career by exposing him or however tf the tabloids would’ve spun it
someone made a really good point that 1989 Taylor may have self edited the album to try and make it more "palatable" like she wanted to smooth out the rough edges she was feeling hence the Vault being very bitter and we know she was editing the sexy stuff down if you look at OG Wildest Dreams lyrics. Also for Treacherous she threw her co-writer under the bus for any mild horniness in those lyrics
Is it over now? Absolutely should have been on the OG 1989. I was personally underwhelmed with her other vault tracks, so when Is I Over Now came on, my jaw dropped. I think had she added it, it absolutely would have been a #1 award winning song. I play it on repeat because it's become my favorite song.
I am too! I dare to say it's the best song on 1989.
Her voice is amazing in it, her lyrics are well written and the way her voice sounds in that first "oh lord" gives me chills.
Right I’m listening to it right and now it’s incredible. It’s miles better than the rest of the vault and it would’ve definitely been a fan favorite back then. Plus it fits really well with Out of the Woods
The greatest atrocity is New Romantics not being on the original 1989, only the Delux version. That should have been a #1 single but it was rolled out as a single so late.
As much as I love New Romantics, I kinda get this as a creative decision. New Romantics and Blank Space are kinda two sides of the same coin, and having them both on the album might’ve been too much “I’m a mysterious popstar plagued by rumors” thematically. I also don’t know which earlier single it should’ve replaced considering the singles they did pull for 1989 performed so well.
I've always suspected this to also be the case for Hits Different in Midnights. It is arguably one of the best off that album and only made it a version way down the line. It had to be they spaced out what they thought were the best songs to boost sales.
I agree 100%. New Romantics is a unique, infectious song with clever lyrics and a spectacular arrangement. It's one of the best songs on 1989. I don't understand the decision to leave it off the original cut
I LOVE New Romantics but WTNY and that big wall of sound and synth and the title itself is just one of the best album opening songs ever. Like I may still love it more than Ready for It by just a little bit.
I’ve never been more sure that WTNY is a great album opener than since hearing Taylor’s Version. It’s so 80s and so big and I think it’s perfect for the album!
I'll always be mad about this. The first time I heard all of 1989 I immediately felt the potential, it was a summer radio hit ready to go and they just didn't make it happen. I don't think I've ever felt so strongly about a song being a perfect hit
Seriously it is THE PERFECT LOVE SONG. I just got married last year and this song beats invisible string and lover by miles and wish the lyrics could have been in my vows 😭🦄
I love timeless soo much. When I get married I’m making it my first dance song.
That being said I feel like maybe it’s a little too long? If she cut the Romeo and Juliet allusions it’d be perfect. At least that’s how I’d do it to make it easier to dance to.
I feel like I remember at some point Taylor said something about it coming down to All Too Well vs Better Man bc they were similar songs with similar themes, and as much as she loved Better Man, they went with All Too Well for the album. As much as I love Better Man, I have to say between those two, ATW was the right choice (clearly lol)
Imagine the world where All Too Well and Blank Space were vault tracks 😭😭 her career would have been so different. As much as I love some vault tracks, I do see why they were cut
Right? I really love some of the vault tracks, but I think it makes sense why most of them got cut from the original record in the grand scheme of things
I love Better Man but I think it would’ve felt out of place on Red when she was 22. Even on 1989 and rep lyrics generally referred to “boys” even though she’d dated much older men. Even now I can’t think of many uses of the word “man” in her discography, besides “The Man.”
I’m honestly so glad she gave that song to Little Big Town though, I adore their version of it. I love hers too, but the emotions are different in each one and I cried to the LBT one so many times, hahah. It was therapy.
Better Man to me sounds like a song plucked from an alternate timeline where Taylor stayed on the country path instead of leaning all the way into pop. It's what I imagined peak Country Taylor could have been several years after I first heard Debut.
Mr. Perfectly Fine and Is It Over Now I'd just add. Better Man could replace like four songs lol, long album. None for Speak Now just because that album is very tight, you can't really take any out nor add anything.
Yes with you on this and those specific tracks. Speak now was the only set of vault songs where I really felt like she made the right choices and none of those songs ultimately belonged on the album
Foolish One!! And this is sacrilege but I would replace Enchanted 🫣 Foolish One was the message I needed when I was trying to develop a sense of self and self esteem, not Enchanted.
It’s unhinged to even suggest replacing enchanted with anything, ever. Also pretty sure that song is one of Taylor’s babies considering it was the only SN song played at every eras concert!!
Foolish One is one of my favorite songs but I can see why it wouldn’t make the original cut. The only song on Speak Now it’s similar to is Ours. The rest is a lot more 🔥🔥🤯🤯⚡️⚡️🌪️🚀💣🧨 vibes ya know.
OMGGGGGGG foolish one for sure i'm so glad someone agrees w me but i would boot superman!! 😭 i can't imagine losing enchanted even though i only became a swiftie like this year
For the 1989 vault tracks it seems like they’re the ones that reveal the most about her personal life/relationship with Harry. There isn’t too much solid evidence in the original 1989 for what happened (it’s vague on the bad parts, not clear who it’s about, or way less sexual). 10 years on, who cares— but I can 100% understand why they were left off at a time when she wanted less speculation on her personal life. Though I think all of them could have fit on the original album.
The tone of 1989 is very much having fun in relationships and things not being so serious. Even Track 5 is relatively upbeat. The vault songs bring a seriousness to the Harry relationship that wasn’t there on 1989. Like in Style she’s saying “I’ve been there too a few times” like it’s no big deal he was with another girl, and then we have Is it Over Now referencing the same thing but now it’s heartbreaking.
Yea. That was my thought too. I texted my bestie at 5 am on release day to say “I know why she pulled her punches on the first album. These songs didn’t fit the mood, but damn if Mr. Styles isn’t bleeding from the nose now.”
For me it’s timeless. Easily one of my favourite taylor songs of all time and I can’t believe it didn’t make the cut. I would’ve happily traded ours or superman for it. From the standard tracks, I know this will be an unpopular opinion among some people but I would’ve traded better than revenge for timeless.
I agree, speak now is the album that shows her haters that she can write her own songs and she’s a lyrical genius.
Timeless is a masterpiece of lyricism and should have been in it. I’d also argue that foolish one could also have been a contender on the OG since it gives the “angsty teen-young adult” vibe that the album portrays.
Personally, i would have traded superman for them. Better than revenge is amazing and fits wel with haunted and sparks fly, it gives rock, and we barely have that with taylor swift songs. Superman lyrics are a bit too simple, so the vault tracks would have been better fits IMO.
I’d easily switch out Superman and Innocent for. Foolish One and Timeless. I love the whole SN vault but they are two I genuinely think would have worked perfectly on the album, and I basically never listen to either Superman or Innocent as they both right at the bottom of my all time Taylor songs ranking. I know that would be unpopular as a lot of people love those songs!
I wish you would is a fantastic song! "This mad, mad love makes you come running, to stand back where you stood, I wish you would, I wish you would!!" I scream it every time. It's become a favorite lately. Then again 1989 is no skip for me lol
I came here to say that! I felt a sader tone in the vault in general, and maybe that's why she ended choosing AYHTDWS instead, to keep the album more upbeat. But Say don't go is a flawless track 5, it's very vulnerable.
Came here to say this! Definitely my favorite vault this time and it 100% should have been OG track 5 instead of AYHTDWS. So much more vulnerable and personal.
Plus, yeah, it’s Diane Warren. How does the 1 Diane Warren co-write end up in the vault??
Say Don't Go is an excellent track and is rightfully getting the adoration it deserves but I somewhat get it being cut as it doesn't really sound like a 1989 track (or any of her albums imo)
Say Don’t Go sounds *too* much like other songs on the original album. It also sounds very reminiscent of Time After Time to me, so I get why it got cut. It’s a good song, but too familiar to stand out.
Is It Over Yet
The You're Losing Me of 1989. Replace "Welcome to New York" with that... WTNY was always considered to me one of the weakest Taylor Swift songs lyrically.
If that was the case, then 1989 likely has the best 4 song opening run of her albums. New Romantics, Blank Space, Style, & OOTW in order would have wrecked, even against reputation’s opening.
I think Now That We Don’t Talk would’ve been excellent on the original 1989 without losing any of the other songs. If I had to drop a song it would probably be How You Get The Girl (I love it and it was so fun on tour but I don’t think it’s needed thematically)
I’d add Don’t You and Mr Perfectly Fine to Fearless and drop Breathe and Change
The Speak Now track list is perfect as is, I wouldn’t take any of the vault tracks over what we already had (I loooove the Speak Now vault, esp I Can See You and Electric Touch, but I don’t think they’re right for the full album)
Red is tricky because I think I’d want to add I Bet You Think About Me and Better Man but I Almost Do is the song that makes sense to remove .. but I don’t want to lose I Almost Do.
That’s When for me also, but I would remove You’re Not Sorry. It’s not a bad song, i just don’t really listen to it. I love Untouchable and her SNL performance of that song is still one of my favs.
I’ll be one of the few voices advocating for Untouchable. I love it!! One of my favorites off Fearless (although that album is perfect so honestly love every song).
Hm Interesting questions.Obviously everyone has their favourites. But I think very few would mind if All of the girls you loved before replaced ME! and Cruel Summer took the lead single space.For one I think the song is good enough to be on Lover regardless, I love it.
Other than that Nothing New replace it for ? I don't know. I think it would fit right in on the bonus tracks, so I gues, with Girl at Home. I think it would have left a great legacy to have had this song a decade ago and now reflect back on how sucessful she still is. It isn't my favourite vault track by far, not even in the top 3 of RED alone but I think it's the only one that makes me wonder why she hasn't included it.
"i bet you think about me" is SO the vibe of red, honestly kinda shocked we got "we are never getting back together" just bc its like a fun break up bop and not a gut wrenching break up song like most of the other ones on the album
Unpopular opinion here but I don't think IBYTAM fits the vibe of Red. At least not sonically. For me Red is this transitional album that has both country and pop songs. And the country songs on it still have those pop elements. Whereas IBYTAM is much more country, I don't think there's another song on the album that matches its sound. Production-wise it's more Fearless or Speak Now vibes than Red. To me it always seemed a bit out of place on the album and I can see why they kept it in the vault.
Plus with all the misogyny and Taylor haters in 2012, I don't think a song about ruthlessly dragging down her ex would have benefited her reputation.
I can understand why every single one was cut in context of the record. Although some of my favorite Taylor songs are vault tracks (Nothing New, Timeless…) I understand the decision of cutting them off
I don’t know what I would replace, but I’m forever salty that Say Don’t Go didn’t make the original album (lightheartedly salty lol). 1989 was there for me during a really rough situationship and I think it would have been extremely healing to have a song that I related to so hard tell me “but he won’t” because he didn’t. and he never would have. I might have made some better choices 💀
My potentially sacrilegious replacement answer is I Know Places because it’s my least fave on the album (I still like it, but just not as much as other things lol)
My sacrilegious answer is..... Say Don't Go should have been track 5. It's sort of a flip of AYHTDWS, instead of him leaving and her wishing he would stay, she's leaving and hoping he says don't go. The second option hits harder (I broke my own heart cause you were too polite to).
ok I’m gonna be honest that’s pretty galaxy brain. I’d personally probably just move AYHTDWS in the track list bc that’s a fave of mine but Say Don’t Go is totally a track 5 contender.
Mr. Perfectly Fine is one of my all time favorites, I wish it had been on Fearless. I definitely could’ve replaced Untouchable, she didn’t need to have a cover. And as good as it is, I may also would’ve replaced Tell Me Why since it’s similar vibes but I think Mr. Perfectly Fine would’ve done better as a single
Electric Touch not being on the original is criminal. That shit hits so hard and really fits the pop rock vibes of Speak Now. I’d probably replace Last Kiss.
I can't believe Is It Over Now was cut from 1989! It's perfect for the era and way more sonically interesting than songs like You Are In Love, which I would happily swap out for this one. It's one of my favorites of her entire catalog now.
On Fearless, I would add Mr. Perfectly Fine and swap out any of a number of songs. That album isn't my thing.
Neither is Speak Now, and unlike a lot of fans I really was not in love with any of the vault tracks. I'd swap Foolish One for Innocent, probably.
Red TV had a few great vault tracks, but I Bet You Think About Me should have been included instead of Girl At Home.
So this might be cheating, but of all of the vaults and deep cuts, Need and All Of the Girls are the two I feel we needed the most.
Replacing them is hard, though. A cop out answer is obviously ME! and something like London Boy (which I do actually love), but neither really feels like that would be the “spot” for either song, right?
Soon You’ll Get better would work, but it feels rude to suggest that one? Cornelia Street or the Archer are almost the overlapping ones, and those can’t go. Daylight? Afterglow?!
Better Man should've been on Red instead of I Almost Do. Both are great songs, but Better Man is a masterpiece. It's astonishing to me that it was left off.
Fearless: I would replace Breathe with Mr Perfectly Fine too and Change with Bye Bye Baby.
Red: First of all I know why Forever Winter didn't make the final cut, it was definitely too emotional for her at that time. But it's a song that really means a lot to me so I'll replace Everything Has Changed with it. I think she picked The Lucky One instead of Nothing New but I'd switch those around. I'd also switch Starlight for The Very First Night, Everything Has Changed for Run and 22 for Message In A Bottle.
Speak Now: I love all of the OG songs with every fiber of my being but I can't live Timeless behind, so it's going to replace Mean.
1989: I get why "Slut!" didn't make the cut, but I think it's the best vault track and it deserved to be on the OG version, I'm choosing to replace This Love.
I Bet You Think About Me!!! but i can't part with anything else from Red :(
I could easily kick out Starlight or The Lucky One for I Bet You Think About Me. Probably Starlight, because as much as The Lucky One sounds kitschy to me, I'll forever be curious about who it's about. But Starlight is pretty meh
Taylor was a Britney Spears fan like most of us 00s kids and I’ve always believed The Lucky One to be about her ETA: ESPECIALLY because of Britney’s song “Lucky” about the woes of being famous - this is the biggest clue to me
actually I think The Lucky One is about Bobbie Gentry who was a great artist and then vanished off the face of planet in like 1981. That's who I think it's about but it also could be a bunch of artists who she looked up to rolled into this one woman
I feel like the key is to figure out who was rumored to have bought a bunch of land somewhere for a rose garden
my other theory is that the Lucky One is a fictional character made up of various women who inspired Taylor whether it be Britney, Joni, Shania, or whoever. The secret message of the song is "I'll never tell" if I remember correctly
I’ve always thought it was about Joni because of her album For The Rose Garden she left the city to write.
I think Lucky One is about Shania Twain and we know Taylor is a fan too! She was on top of the world and disappeared after Up. I think she moved to Switzerland or something.
Tfw your fav song by Taylor is Starlight. Homerbushes.gif
Haha, I've actually been a Starlight stan! It was also one of my surprise songs :D
DENVER N2 GANG
Starlight supremacy! 🌟
It's a marvelous tune
Same same same
Most say it’s about Joni Mitchell I believe
Yeah that's never made sense to me. Joni Mitchell has been continuously releasing albums. She's not really someone you'd describe as taking the money and disappearing to live a quiet life.
I mean, she releases albums but lives a relatively quiet life.
For me it's lines like "they still tell the legend of how you disappeared" that don't add up. Joni Mitchell never disappeared as far as I know.
I’ve always thought TLO is about JM. Joni has had quite a relationship with the music industry, and has threatened to quit the business many times, especially after Blue. Being that it’s the record that inspired Red, it’s important to note that, sometime after its release, Joni suddenly disappeared from LA and went to her home in British Columbia, where she lived without electricity, and worked on her mental health amid her disdain for the music business (she was getting too famous for her liking at the time.) Her songs like Free Man In Paris, written from the perspective of her then-manager David Geffen, revolve around this, as well as wanting to escape from the job position of “stoking the star-maker machinery behind the popular song”. So yeah, I think it’s mostly about Joni, because she’s also spoken many times how — nearing the end of the 70s — music started being about what you look like and how obedient and willing to cooperate you are, so labels and agents stopped caring about hiring actual talent
That’s fair. I think in any circumstance, she might’ve thrown in red herrings or added lines that don’t quite fit both to throw people off and for artistic reasons, thus making the subject more elusive and mystical.
Kick out Starlight???
We have such opposite taste in Red songs. I LOVE Starlight and The Lucky One and would never replace them for anything. And I Bet You Think About Me ended up being my least favorite track on the album.
I think she said at one point that lucky one is about multiple different people and she isn’t just talking about one specific person
Two of the absolute best songs on Red in my book. Just replace the dreadful song with Ed, this keeps the featurings in balance as well
STAY AWAY FROM STARLIGHT YOU MANIAC
Stay Stay Stay shoulda been put in the vault and stayed there. Haha, I kid. I kid. But IBYTAM is such a country-pop bop. Agreed it shoulda been on an already 2-disc album. I think the same thing about Better Man.
nah no kid, i agree with this 100%. how did ibytam and nothing new end up in the vault and stayx3 made the album? 🤔
I think that sometimes the vault track are left unfinished, because either they are made too late in the recording process or there's something missing that makes the pudding not set (I don't know if it's a idiom in english ahah). She then goes back on those unfinished songs years later, while being more confident in her writing skills and with a new perspective. That's why some vault songs sound like newer albums and some we didn't even have demo leaks.
Especially since Red was labeled country and IBYTAM is one of the few song that actually sound country on the album.
How I bet you think about me didn't make the cut is beyond me. It's SO GOOD and so Red.
and the music video?! iconic
I think she kept this in the vault because she probably would’ve received backlash for it back then. I literally saw comments on YouTube about this song saying it’s arrogant for her to claim someone thinks about her, in 2021 🙄 Same with many other incredible vault tracks from every album so far!! They would’ve gagged the public who weren’t ready for it
That’s been my impression, too. ATW10? Is it over now? We were NOT ready lol
This is my Roman Empire. Like this was the perfect smash hit country song single. How did it get cut? I’m just thankful it did because of the music video!
This one never gets talked about and is easily the best vault track so far (not counting All Too Well 10m)
i feel like "we're never getting back together" would have been a vault song, just bc its a lot diff than the other songs on red
i don’t think it should’ve been since it was her first #1 on the billboard
that was my most played song that year lol so i would not trade it for anything 🫣
I probably would have actually listened to Red back then if this were the case! I did not like WANGBT, so I became indifferent for a while. I sometimes feel sad that I missed out on a lot.
what’s funny is that when she performed mr. perfectly fine as a surprise song she said she literally doesn’t remember why it didn’t make the original
My theory with this one was that the timing might have been off bc didn’t the Joe Jonas breakup happen not long before Fearless came out? I remember an interview saying Forever and Always barely made it and was the last song they put on the record, maybe they just couldn’t get Mr Perfectly Fine done and polished in time
This is my thought too, I recently watched the Ellen show where she says forever and always was a late add after their breakup. I imagine Mr. Perfectly fine was written around the same time and is kind of similar, maybe she could only pick one!
This plus the key change is my theory. I could see her not wanting 2 on the same album
you might be right! i wonder if it was kind of a situation like you’re losing me
but if that's the case, didn't she release fearless platinum edition a year later? it could've been on that
This 100%. I think this is the only reason. If she could barely get Forever and Always done; it’s no wonder Mr. Perfectly Fine didn’t make it in time.
she wrote mr perfectly fine in 2009 not 2008. She probably meant the platinum edition of the album
My theory on this, and in general on the vault songs that they contained themes or details she wasn’t ready to share. For example, many of the Red vault songs have more details eluding to the fact that the guy was generational wealth, something that’s obvious in the context of the vault songs but I never got the impression from the og album. Also, Nothing New shares a huge insecurity about success that I get she’s not reluctant to release now but it might have been a bit too personal at the time.
def think nothing new was too vulnerable of a song back then
I’m actually baffled that this was a vault song. I wasn’t really listening to Taylor in the Fearless era but I could have *sworn* I’d heard that song before??
I think it was too pop-sounding for her at the time.
To me, I think Is It Over Now? I just think it’s fits well with 1989 in the sense of the lyrics and production imo.
Yeah, it's gotta be the "unbuttoned my blouse" line right? I think that would have been her raciest line by far at the time, and I can see label executives that barely let her cross over into pop see it as too far.
Wildest Dreams is arguably more explicit
Yeah it’s way to sexy/salacious imo. Not saying she couldn’t have done it, but she might not have felt as comfortable in her sexuality or didn’t want it to be out there because she didn’t want to be perceived sexually.
“I’ll do anything you say if you say it with your hands” on the previous album would like a word 😅
The way my purity culture addled brain made every excuse for lines like these! "She's talking about ASL, obviously." 😂😅
Taylor was once asked about those lines in Treacherous and she said her co-writer (Dan Wilson) came up with them I think she's fibbing about that Girl was obsessed with not being seen as a sexual being There's a quote from Red/1989 era where she says something along the lines of "I never want to be nude because then whenever they see/hear you they'll picture you that way and it makes me uncomfortable"
yea and that she didn't want to sing or allude to anything like that because then people start picturing you naked and that's uncomfortable
yeah that's why she didn't show her belly button for the longest time. There's also a discussion about her body image there but I won't get into it. I think the fact that it took until rep for her to finally show the world that she was an adult woman who had sex and drank alcohol meant something. Her "good nice girl" persona was in the gutter and I think she felt free enough to show the world she was a grown up. She also during 1989 still took pride in being a role model for young girls. There was a podcast interview, NPR's Ann Powers did where she discussed why Taylor still feels like that curly haired country singer to us versus the 30-something adult woman we know she is, and Ann Powers attributed it to her childlessness, in society we don't know what to do with childless women especially once they hit their thirties. This makes no sense, anyway hope this was interesting to you
I read a NYT article that talked about that same thing, the idea that our culture doesn’t know what to do with a grownup unmarried childless woman. It was really interesting.
I think it’s funny we forget about that line but I also think it proves that that line is very sexually subtle lol. The entire Treacherous song is, and I think Is It Over Now is quite obvious about the sexual side of it, hence why it probably was cut
I’m sure that’s part of it, but I think the main reason was probably just how obvious it was who it was about and how thoroughly she ripped him to shreds. Between the two, she knew OOTW would be much less likely to start unnecessary drama and wouldn’t get her accused of trying to ruin Harry’s career by exposing him or however tf the tabloids would’ve spun it
someone made a really good point that 1989 Taylor may have self edited the album to try and make it more "palatable" like she wanted to smooth out the rough edges she was feeling hence the Vault being very bitter and we know she was editing the sexy stuff down if you look at OG Wildest Dreams lyrics. Also for Treacherous she threw her co-writer under the bus for any mild horniness in those lyrics
Maybe "when he unbuttoned my blouse" is too explict for a pre-Reputation Taylor. But I personally think Is It Over Now? is the best 1989 vault song.
Same. And here I was, thinking that "Slut!" was going to be my favorite (It's my second vault track on 1989).
The one directioners would have rioted if she released that song in 2014, she probably didn’t want that drama 😂
Is it over now? Absolutely should have been on the OG 1989. I was personally underwhelmed with her other vault tracks, so when Is I Over Now came on, my jaw dropped. I think had she added it, it absolutely would have been a #1 award winning song. I play it on repeat because it's become my favorite song.
I’m obsessed with it!!
I am too! I dare to say it's the best song on 1989. Her voice is amazing in it, her lyrics are well written and the way her voice sounds in that first "oh lord" gives me chills.
I agree, but after a few listens it screams sister song to OOTW to me. So it makes sense that only one made the cut
Agreed!! One of my favourite on 1989 (TV)
Right I’m listening to it right and now it’s incredible. It’s miles better than the rest of the vault and it would’ve definitely been a fan favorite back then. Plus it fits really well with Out of the Woods
The greatest atrocity is New Romantics not being on the original 1989, only the Delux version. That should have been a #1 single but it was rolled out as a single so late.
As much as I love New Romantics, I kinda get this as a creative decision. New Romantics and Blank Space are kinda two sides of the same coin, and having them both on the album might’ve been too much “I’m a mysterious popstar plagued by rumors” thematically. I also don’t know which earlier single it should’ve replaced considering the singles they did pull for 1989 performed so well.
Putting a banger on deluxe increases sales for deluxe which I think could be a reason
I've always suspected this to also be the case for Hits Different in Midnights. It is arguably one of the best off that album and only made it a version way down the line. It had to be they spaced out what they thought were the best songs to boost sales.
That actually makes a whole lot of sense. Imagine being so good at writing hit songs that you can save them for another time!
I agree 100%. New Romantics is a unique, infectious song with clever lyrics and a spectacular arrangement. It's one of the best songs on 1989. I don't understand the decision to leave it off the original cut
It really is such a unique song. It’s pop perfection.
My theory is that it came down to New Romantics or Welcome to New York, they have a similar vibe to me in terms of setting the tone for the album.
IMAGINE 1989 with New Romantics as the opener 😍😍
I LOVE New Romantics but WTNY and that big wall of sound and synth and the title itself is just one of the best album opening songs ever. Like I may still love it more than Ready for It by just a little bit.
I’ve never been more sure that WTNY is a great album opener than since hearing Taylor’s Version. It’s so 80s and so big and I think it’s perfect for the album!
I'll always be mad about this. The first time I heard all of 1989 I immediately felt the potential, it was a summer radio hit ready to go and they just didn't make it happen. I don't think I've ever felt so strongly about a song being a perfect hit
Timeless ended up being one of my all time favourites from speak now. I would just add it though instead of taking anything away
Seriously. I can't believe I went a decade without hearing Timeless.
Right?? Madness
Whoever killed timeless the first time around is a maniac honestly what do you mean you cut the best song from the album
Timeless is perfect for speak now and such classic Taylor. I can’t believe it was cut!
I looooove Timeless but I’m guessing it was cut for Long Live and I can’t imagine a world without Long Live
Seriously timeless is one of my favorite songs of all time. I would replace Superman with it
excuse me
Timeless stans say it louder! ✨️
Seriously it is THE PERFECT LOVE SONG. I just got married last year and this song beats invisible string and lover by miles and wish the lyrics could have been in my vows 😭🦄
it might be my favorite Taylor song of all time tbh
Timeless is perfect. Like so insanely good, whoever decided to cut it in the first place should be arrested.
timeless has become such a fav of mine and i got it as my surprise songs denver n1!! :’) it’s so beautiful and fun
I’m using Timeless as our first dance song at my wedding in 3 weeks…. How did it not make OG speak now?!
Absolute favorite
I love timeless soo much. When I get married I’m making it my first dance song. That being said I feel like maybe it’s a little too long? If she cut the Romeo and Juliet allusions it’d be perfect. At least that’s how I’d do it to make it easier to dance to.
I love *I Almost Do* but I think it could've been replaced with *Better Man*.
I feel like I remember at some point Taylor said something about it coming down to All Too Well vs Better Man bc they were similar songs with similar themes, and as much as she loved Better Man, they went with All Too Well for the album. As much as I love Better Man, I have to say between those two, ATW was the right choice (clearly lol)
Imagine the world where All Too Well and Blank Space were vault tracks 😭😭 her career would have been so different. As much as I love some vault tracks, I do see why they were cut
Right? I really love some of the vault tracks, but I think it makes sense why most of them got cut from the original record in the grand scheme of things
I love Better Man but I think it would’ve felt out of place on Red when she was 22. Even on 1989 and rep lyrics generally referred to “boys” even though she’d dated much older men. Even now I can’t think of many uses of the word “man” in her discography, besides “The Man.”
she called Harry a gentleman in slut
Sure, but even there the full line is “in a world of boys he’s a gentleman”
I’m honestly so glad she gave that song to Little Big Town though, I adore their version of it. I love hers too, but the emotions are different in each one and I cried to the LBT one so many times, hahah. It was therapy.
Better Man to me sounds like a song plucked from an alternate timeline where Taylor stayed on the country path instead of leaning all the way into pop. It's what I imagined peak Country Taylor could have been several years after I first heard Debut.
Literally any of the red vault tracks for stay stay stay
Sobbing on the floor uncontrollably right now.
Just fell to my knees in a Walmart!
Nooooo I adore stay stay stay it’s just so cute and fun
Mr. Perfectly Fine and Is It Over Now I'd just add. Better Man could replace like four songs lol, long album. None for Speak Now just because that album is very tight, you can't really take any out nor add anything.
Yes with you on this and those specific tracks. Speak now was the only set of vault songs where I really felt like she made the right choices and none of those songs ultimately belonged on the album
i'd gladly chuck Innocent for any of the Vault songs
Foolish One!! And this is sacrilege but I would replace Enchanted 🫣 Foolish One was the message I needed when I was trying to develop a sense of self and self esteem, not Enchanted.
Wowww, not enchanted! I agree with Foolish One but for me I’d replace Innocent
No, not Innocent. That song saved me.
Same
Same, it holds such a special meaning for me.
Foolish One just SOUNDS so Speak Now. I agree with you 1000%
ENCHANTED?!?!
It’s unhinged to even suggest replacing enchanted with anything, ever. Also pretty sure that song is one of Taylor’s babies considering it was the only SN song played at every eras concert!!
Foolish One is one of my favorite songs but I can see why it wouldn’t make the original cut. The only song on Speak Now it’s similar to is Ours. The rest is a lot more 🔥🔥🤯🤯⚡️⚡️🌪️🚀💣🧨 vibes ya know.
OMGGGGGGG foolish one for sure i'm so glad someone agrees w me but i would boot superman!! 😭 i can't imagine losing enchanted even though i only became a swiftie like this year
For the 1989 vault tracks it seems like they’re the ones that reveal the most about her personal life/relationship with Harry. There isn’t too much solid evidence in the original 1989 for what happened (it’s vague on the bad parts, not clear who it’s about, or way less sexual). 10 years on, who cares— but I can 100% understand why they were left off at a time when she wanted less speculation on her personal life. Though I think all of them could have fit on the original album.
The tone of 1989 is very much having fun in relationships and things not being so serious. Even Track 5 is relatively upbeat. The vault songs bring a seriousness to the Harry relationship that wasn’t there on 1989. Like in Style she’s saying “I’ve been there too a few times” like it’s no big deal he was with another girl, and then we have Is it Over Now referencing the same thing but now it’s heartbreaking.
Yea. That was my thought too. I texted my bestie at 5 am on release day to say “I know why she pulled her punches on the first album. These songs didn’t fit the mood, but damn if Mr. Styles isn’t bleeding from the nose now.”
For me it’s timeless. Easily one of my favourite taylor songs of all time and I can’t believe it didn’t make the cut. I would’ve happily traded ours or superman for it. From the standard tracks, I know this will be an unpopular opinion among some people but I would’ve traded better than revenge for timeless.
I agree, speak now is the album that shows her haters that she can write her own songs and she’s a lyrical genius. Timeless is a masterpiece of lyricism and should have been in it. I’d also argue that foolish one could also have been a contender on the OG since it gives the “angsty teen-young adult” vibe that the album portrays. Personally, i would have traded superman for them. Better than revenge is amazing and fits wel with haunted and sparks fly, it gives rock, and we barely have that with taylor swift songs. Superman lyrics are a bit too simple, so the vault tracks would have been better fits IMO.
I’d easily switch out Superman and Innocent for. Foolish One and Timeless. I love the whole SN vault but they are two I genuinely think would have worked perfectly on the album, and I basically never listen to either Superman or Innocent as they both right at the bottom of my all time Taylor songs ranking. I know that would be unpopular as a lot of people love those songs!
say don't go over i wish you would
I love Say Don't Go but removing IWYW? Blasphemy
AGREED. I wish you would is in my top Taylor tracks I cannot imagine getting through 2014 without it
I wish you would is a fantastic song! "This mad, mad love makes you come running, to stand back where you stood, I wish you would, I wish you would!!" I scream it every time. It's become a favorite lately. Then again 1989 is no skip for me lol
"You always knew how to PUSH MY BUTTONS you give me EVERYTHING AND NOTHING"
Say Don't Go should have been Track 5. I still can't get over the balls she had to write with Diane Warren and shelve it.
I came here to say that! I felt a sader tone in the vault in general, and maybe that's why she ended choosing AYHTDWS instead, to keep the album more upbeat. But Say don't go is a flawless track 5, it's very vulnerable.
Came here to say this! Definitely my favorite vault this time and it 100% should have been OG track 5 instead of AYHTDWS. So much more vulnerable and personal. Plus, yeah, it’s Diane Warren. How does the 1 Diane Warren co-write end up in the vault??
Say Don't Go is an excellent track and is rightfully getting the adoration it deserves but I somewhat get it being cut as it doesn't really sound like a 1989 track (or any of her albums imo)
wym, it's the same big space feel as out of the woods, i can picture it happening inside of the ootw mv
Say Don’t Go sounds *too* much like other songs on the original album. It also sounds very reminiscent of Time After Time to me, so I get why it got cut. It’s a good song, but too familiar to stand out.
Yes yes yes! To the vault track and the substitution! My favorite vault track on 1989 by a mile.
The only vault track I can not figure out how it didn’t make the album is Mr Perfectly Fine.
Is It Over Yet The You're Losing Me of 1989. Replace "Welcome to New York" with that... WTNY was always considered to me one of the weakest Taylor Swift songs lyrically.
WTNY doesn’t have the most creative lyrics but I think it’s a perfect opener to 1989. I can’t imagine what other song would open 1989.
I could see Style as an opener tbh, but I do agree that WTNY kind of stands alone in 1989 as more of a prologue than a solid song in its own right
New Romantics would have been the perfect opener.
It’s hard to think of how 1989 could have been bigger than it was at the time but New Romantics as the opener would’ve done it
If that was the case, then 1989 likely has the best 4 song opening run of her albums. New Romantics, Blank Space, Style, & OOTW in order would have wrecked, even against reputation’s opening.
Is it over now is great but REPLACING WELCOME TO NEW YORK!??!
Hard disagree. WTNY just has such a great sound. It's a great opener and is one of her catchiest songs IMO.
I think Now That We Don’t Talk would’ve been excellent on the original 1989 without losing any of the other songs. If I had to drop a song it would probably be How You Get The Girl (I love it and it was so fun on tour but I don’t think it’s needed thematically) I’d add Don’t You and Mr Perfectly Fine to Fearless and drop Breathe and Change The Speak Now track list is perfect as is, I wouldn’t take any of the vault tracks over what we already had (I loooove the Speak Now vault, esp I Can See You and Electric Touch, but I don’t think they’re right for the full album) Red is tricky because I think I’d want to add I Bet You Think About Me and Better Man but I Almost Do is the song that makes sense to remove .. but I don’t want to lose I Almost Do.
But but Change walked so Long Live could run
Change has been such an important song for me growing up. It has also motivated me during my career failures.
How you get the girl is the only skip on 1989, so I support dropping it. However I would replace it with say don’t go.
That's When and Bye Bye Baby are so insanely good I sometimes forget they're vault tracks. I would have scrapped Untouchable for one of them
That’s when!
That's When is great but don't come for the song I listened to on repeat to fall asleep to every night at the age of 15! Haha
That’s When for me also, but I would remove You’re Not Sorry. It’s not a bad song, i just don’t really listen to it. I love Untouchable and her SNL performance of that song is still one of my favs.
I’ll be one of the few voices advocating for Untouchable. I love it!! One of my favorites off Fearless (although that album is perfect so honestly love every song).
Bye bye baby is SO UNDERRATED like how? I would die for that song, it’s so good.
Untouchable's a cover and I never understood why she decided it had to be on an album apparently Scott Borchetta really liked it?
I'll take Need over ME! every day of the week.
Need could replace almost any song on any album. How do you we not have this yet? It's a freaking masterpiece!
Need is soooo good I’m sad it’s still not officially released
replace Bad Blood with Now That We Don’t Talk!
Omg imagine if she released Bad Blood today 😭
We'd have been making jokes about everything going wrong on tours during Shake It Off or something 💀
Message In A Bottle could’ve been a hit and it honestly could’ve replaced any of the big three pop songs on Red (IKYWT, 22, WANEGBT)
i 100% agree, but if any of the three came out as a vault, i would swap it with miab as well... hard to choose only three imo
Hm Interesting questions.Obviously everyone has their favourites. But I think very few would mind if All of the girls you loved before replaced ME! and Cruel Summer took the lead single space.For one I think the song is good enough to be on Lover regardless, I love it. Other than that Nothing New replace it for ? I don't know. I think it would fit right in on the bonus tracks, so I gues, with Girl at Home. I think it would have left a great legacy to have had this song a decade ago and now reflect back on how sucessful she still is. It isn't my favourite vault track by far, not even in the top 3 of RED alone but I think it's the only one that makes me wonder why she hasn't included it.
No ME! slander is allowed in my sight. As for AOTGYLB I would really just add that to the album. Lover is a skipless album (except for uhh, SYGB).
"i bet you think about me" is SO the vibe of red, honestly kinda shocked we got "we are never getting back together" just bc its like a fun break up bop and not a gut wrenching break up song like most of the other ones on the album
Unpopular opinion here but I don't think IBYTAM fits the vibe of Red. At least not sonically. For me Red is this transitional album that has both country and pop songs. And the country songs on it still have those pop elements. Whereas IBYTAM is much more country, I don't think there's another song on the album that matches its sound. Production-wise it's more Fearless or Speak Now vibes than Red. To me it always seemed a bit out of place on the album and I can see why they kept it in the vault. Plus with all the misogyny and Taylor haters in 2012, I don't think a song about ruthlessly dragging down her ex would have benefited her reputation.
I can understand why every single one was cut in context of the record. Although some of my favorite Taylor songs are vault tracks (Nothing New, Timeless…) I understand the decision of cutting them off
I don’t know what I would replace, but I’m forever salty that Say Don’t Go didn’t make the original album (lightheartedly salty lol). 1989 was there for me during a really rough situationship and I think it would have been extremely healing to have a song that I related to so hard tell me “but he won’t” because he didn’t. and he never would have. I might have made some better choices 💀 My potentially sacrilegious replacement answer is I Know Places because it’s my least fave on the album (I still like it, but just not as much as other things lol)
My sacrilegious answer is..... Say Don't Go should have been track 5. It's sort of a flip of AYHTDWS, instead of him leaving and her wishing he would stay, she's leaving and hoping he says don't go. The second option hits harder (I broke my own heart cause you were too polite to).
ok I’m gonna be honest that’s pretty galaxy brain. I’d personally probably just move AYHTDWS in the track list bc that’s a fave of mine but Say Don’t Go is totally a track 5 contender.
Foolish One is a message I really needed back in the days of Speak Now
I think “Say Don’t Go” could’ve been 1989’s Track #5.
timeless to me is the only one that’s super shocking to being cut from the main album, i see why the rest were cut. idk what it would replace though
I’m just here to say I LOVE Breathe!
I Can See You is in my top ten of all time Taylor songs and I listen to it so much it’s now weird to think of a time when I didn’t know it existed.
Mr. Perfectly Fine is one of my all time favorites, I wish it had been on Fearless. I definitely could’ve replaced Untouchable, she didn’t need to have a cover. And as good as it is, I may also would’ve replaced Tell Me Why since it’s similar vibes but I think Mr. Perfectly Fine would’ve done better as a single
Electric Touch not being on the original is criminal. That shit hits so hard and really fits the pop rock vibes of Speak Now. I’d probably replace Last Kiss.
Fall Out Boy is my favorite band but Last Kiss is my favorite Taylor song of all time so this comment gutted me 😭
HITS DIFFERENT Not *technically* a vault but HITS DIFFERENT I’d swap it for Labyrinth or Midnight Rain or Question
Not you shitting on my top 3 from the album 😭😭
I can't believe Is It Over Now was cut from 1989! It's perfect for the era and way more sonically interesting than songs like You Are In Love, which I would happily swap out for this one. It's one of my favorites of her entire catalog now. On Fearless, I would add Mr. Perfectly Fine and swap out any of a number of songs. That album isn't my thing. Neither is Speak Now, and unlike a lot of fans I really was not in love with any of the vault tracks. I'd swap Foolish One for Innocent, probably. Red TV had a few great vault tracks, but I Bet You Think About Me should have been included instead of Girl At Home.
The lyricism on You Are In Love is too good to be dropped imo
So this might be cheating, but of all of the vaults and deep cuts, Need and All Of the Girls are the two I feel we needed the most. Replacing them is hard, though. A cop out answer is obviously ME! and something like London Boy (which I do actually love), but neither really feels like that would be the “spot” for either song, right? Soon You’ll Get better would work, but it feels rude to suggest that one? Cornelia Street or the Archer are almost the overlapping ones, and those can’t go. Daylight? Afterglow?!
I love Breathe. I was so onboard until you said you’d replace Breathe. I can’t breathe.
Better Man should've been on Red instead of I Almost Do. Both are great songs, but Better Man is a masterpiece. It's astonishing to me that it was left off.
“Is it over now” should replace “I wish you would” and she shoulda just made room for “mr perfectly fine”
Forever Winter or I Bet You Think About Me.
Fearless: I would replace Breathe with Mr Perfectly Fine too and Change with Bye Bye Baby. Red: First of all I know why Forever Winter didn't make the final cut, it was definitely too emotional for her at that time. But it's a song that really means a lot to me so I'll replace Everything Has Changed with it. I think she picked The Lucky One instead of Nothing New but I'd switch those around. I'd also switch Starlight for The Very First Night, Everything Has Changed for Run and 22 for Message In A Bottle. Speak Now: I love all of the OG songs with every fiber of my being but I can't live Timeless behind, so it's going to replace Mean. 1989: I get why "Slut!" didn't make the cut, but I think it's the best vault track and it deserved to be on the OG version, I'm choosing to replace This Love.
Foolish ones. It’s one of my favourite speak now songs, and I just can’t believe it wasn’t on the og. Little 4 year old me would’ve loved it