From Speak Now, Taylor seems to be moving away from her original country sound and into a more country-pop/pop-rock sound, with some tracks having an Avril Lavigne-esque sound.
Speak Now is said to be Taylor's most "personal" album, similar to a diary that everyone can read. The premise of the album was explained in the prologue in the album booklet:
"'Speak now or forever hold your peace', the words said by preachers at the end of wedding ceremonies all over the world, right before the vows. It's a last chance for protest, a moment that makes everyone's heart race, and a moment that I've always been strangely fascinated by."
Also in the prologue, each song in Speak Now are "open letters", "written with a specific person in mind, telling them what I meant to tell them in person".
Another trait of Taylor's, which I find ultimately intriguing, is that she gives hints of whom each song might be written for - in each song lyric found in the album booklet, she capitalizes random letters which form hidden messages, which she has done before in her previous albums. Let us analyze each song to find out what they really mean...
(bold italics=excerpts from the prologue)
"Mine" - TOBY. For the hidden message, Taylor may be thinking of British actor Toby Hemingway, who played Taylor's love interest in the music video for the song. There were rumours that she and Toby clicked IRL and became a couple, but no word became official.
"Sparks Fly" - PORTLAND, OREGON. According to fan lore, the first time "Sparks Fly" was performed was in a Portland show in 2008. Then why is the song in her 2010 album?? Also, no clue of whom this song is targeting toward.
"Back to December" - TAY. From this clue it's pretty obvious who Taylor had in mind when writing this "apology song" - Twilight actor, Valentine's Day co-star and former flame Taylor Lautner, "the beautiful boy whose heart I broke in December".
"Speak Now" - YOU ALWAYS REGRET WHAT YOU DON'T SAY. Hmm, I have no clue at all. Wow, she's intriguing.
"Dear John" - LOVED YOU FROM THE VERY FIRST DAY. The ballad is said to be written about John Mayer and his "dark, twisted games". Mayer may be the "someone who made my world very dark for a while" from the prologue.
"Mean" - I THOUGHT YOU GOT ME. This "anti-hater song" is said to be targeting blogger Bob Lefsetz, who once praised Taylor over the roof, only to turn on her after her performance at the 2010 Grammys, saying, "Now, everybody knows Taylor Swift can't sing...". Proof in song: "... drunk and grumbling on about how I can't sing...". In the prologue, Taylor describes Lefsetz as a "mean man I used to be afraid of".
"The Story of Us" - CMT AWARDS. This song is said to be about Taylor awkwardly avoiding an ex at an awards ceremony.
"Never Grow Up" - I MOVED OUT IN JULY. Taylor felt alone when spending her first night in a new apartment in July.
"Enchanted" - ADAM. The song could be (if not, definitely) talking about Adam Young, founder of Owl City. Need further proof? Taylor once said that she "deliberately" used the word "wonderstruck" in the song. Why? Because Adam is said to be a fan of the word "wonderstruck", having used it at least twice in his blog.
"Better Than Revenge" - YOU THOUGHT I WOULD FORGET. The song is said to be targeting Camilla Belle, the actress whom first love Joe Jonas left for in 2008. In the prologue, Belle was "a girl who stole something of mine". Jonas and Belle eventually broke up in July 2009.
"Innocent" - LIFE IS FULL OF LITTLE INTERRUPTIONS. Taylor performed "Innocent" in the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. In the previous year's ceremony, rapper Kanye West infamously interrupted Taylor's speech when receiving her Best Female Video award for "You Belong With Me". "Innocent" may be written as a "forgiveness song" for Kanye, "someone I forgive for what he said in front of the whole world". However, Kanye West seem to still be a douche and blasts Taylor once again in late 2010, saying that she never came to his defence at any interview, and "rode the waves and rode it and rode it."
"Haunted" - STILL TO THIS DAY. Could be about a haunting relationship from the past.
"Last Kiss" - FOREVER AND ALWAYS. Hardcore Taylor fans should know that "Forever and Always" is the "heartbreak song" from her 2008 album Fearless inspired by first love Joe Jonas., the "first love who I never thought would be my first heartbreak".
"Long Live" - FOR YOU. The album ender is written about "a band of thieves in ripped up jeans" who "got to rule the world" - her tour band.
Musically and lyrically, each song is either cute ("Mean", "Speak Now") or emotional ("Dear John", "Haunted"), beautifully written by Swift, whose single-handedly wrote every song in the album. Is it worth checking out, even if it makes you slowly analyze each song for hints. It sure did make me play word games with the album. Thus, I give Taylor Swift's Speak Now...
4/5
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