Over time, Taylor Swift, possibly one of the most prominent singers of the generation, has changed her rhetoric through her song writing.
The former country singer, originally from Pennsylvania, wrote songs about the unabashed intensity of love as a teenager, releasing album after album detailing the magical, magnetic power of true love.
The original “Love Story” was one of these classic romantic songs, where Swift sang about the unconditional love between Romeo and Juliet and chose to give the Shakespearean drama a happier ending. With the strum of banjos and her country twang, she created a classic that would end up as a TikTok sound almost 13 years later.
In the summer of 2019, Swift took to social media to announce that her producing company, Big Machine Records, was planning to sell all of her original music to another company backed by media entrepreneur and music executive Scooter Braun. While she held her publishing rights, Swift lost the ability to make important decisions about her music, like whether it can be used in advertising or media.
Just after releasing two major surprise albums, “folklore” and “evermore,” in 2020, Swift has made the decision to re-record the first of her stolen albums — this time, with full control over her music.
In February, Swift announced the re-recording release date of Fearless, her second album originally recorded in 2008. A cryptic message posted on her Instagram has led fans to believe that the rest of the album will be out Friday, April 9.
The first single from her new recording, “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” is a refreshing yet faithful take on the wildly popular classic. The lyrics are the same, and she even hired the same fiddle player and backup singer that are heard in the original. The difference, here, is that audiences are given an opportunity to revisit Taylor’s old work from a new perspective and see how much she has grown and changed as a singer. Her voice no longer has that country twang, and the change in enunciation breathes life into the song.
While the song was originally written by a brash teenage girl exploring the depths of love and placing herself in a Shakespearean fantasy, this new single is written by an adult woman choosing self-empowerment and self-agency.
In the cover art of this album, she is seen wearing Romeo’s shirt, speaking to the ownership and independence she has grown to cherish.
“Love Story (Taylor’s Version)” provides a stark contrast to her recent albums, “folklore” and “evermore.”
Swift’s newer work peers into the concept of love with skepticism and remorse — a far cry from the Romeo and Juliet inspired romanticism of “Love Story.”
It is exciting to see Taylor Swift take charge of her own music. Such an influential artist revisiting past work will likely have an interesting impact on new releases as audiences get to relive the experience of listening to the song on the radio.