by Aleena Khan

Taylor Swift recently released her version of her album 1989 which includes 21 songs, five of which are from her ‘vault’. The first 16 tracks included on 1989 (Taylors Version) are re-recorded songs from her original 1989 album released in 2014. 

The first song released from her vault was “Slut!”. Many people had speculations about the motive of this song and whether it was going to be a self-love type song or self-loathing song. However, this song was written for the purpose of embracing the image the media has created for her over the years. Taylor Swift has been criticized many times over the years for her choices in boyfriends and this song highlights her acceptance of that identity. This song highlights the importance of not caring about what others think of you and to pursue any relationships you might think is ‘the one’. 

The second vault track released was “Say Don’t Go”. This song shows Taylor Swift’s vulnerability and her wanting her partner to stay despite feeling ignored. This song correlates with the song “All You Had To Do Was Stay” as “Say Don’t Go” seems to be moments before the breakup and “All You Had To Do Was Stay” was the aftermath. 

The third vault track released was “Now That We Don’t Talk”. Similar to the previous vault track,  “Now That We Don’t Talk” correlates with “Style” as “Style” is depicted as during the relationship and  “Now That We Don’t Talk” is the aftermath of the relationship. The fourth vault track, “Suburban Legend”,  correlates with “Now That We Don’t Talk” and the process of watching the person from a distance after the breakup knowing there will be no return. 

The final vault track, “Is It Over Now?” is a sister track to the song “Out Of The Woods” and are much more confrontational compared to the other songs on the album. This song is Taylor Swift remembering the relationship and the manipulation she went through during this specific relationship. Ths song asks many specific questions and ties into the themes in “Out Of The Woods”. 

Overall, the new album has been a great success and was the most streamed album within 12 hours of its release. The new album is amazing as are all of the vault tracks.