On Nov. 12, Taylor Swift made history after re-releasing her fourth studio album Red and renaming it “Red (Taylor’s Version).” The addition of (Taylor’s Version) means Swift is the owner of the recording as opposed to a record label. Swift broke the record for the most-streamed album in a day by a female artist. The album is nearly identical to the original but does include some previously unreleased vault songs. The album consists of 30 songs in total, 21 re-recordings, and 9 vault songs. 

The album opens with ‘State of Grace’, a song that compares new love to being free of mortal sin. The song sets the tone for the album especially with the chorus as shown above. How someone can come into your life and you have no idea what impact they will have. Then they leave and you’re left wounded. The second song is the title track “Red.” Swift’s voice is mature now, and deeper than before. The song is still incredible, but you can hear a slight difference, which makes the song feel more relatable to her now-older audience. 

“You who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes/Sippin’ coffee like you’re on a late-night show/But then he watched me watch the front door all night, willin’ you to come/And he said, ‘It’s supposed to be fun turning twenty-one.’” Taylor Swift- “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version) (ten minute version)”

Prepare your heart to be broken when you listen to the ten-minute version of “All Too Well.” Even if you have never felt this type of love it makes your heart hurt. I just want to talk to Jake Gyllenhaal. The quote above reveals how a man got Swift’s father to really like him. Later on, Swift’s father sees this man for who he really is when he doesn’t show up when Swift really needs him. The song allegedly tells the story of the relationship between twenty-year-old Swift and thirty-year-old Jake Gyllenhaal. As I was listening, I could hear a woman looking back at a relationship where she was used and gaslit. The short film that goes with the song just proved this point. If there is one thing to take away from this song, it is not that we should not keep someone’s scarf, it’s that loving someone does not mean that they will love you. 

“I wish it wasn’t 4 AM, standing in the mirror/Saying to myself, ‘You know you had to do it’/I know the bravest thing I ever did was run” -Taylor Swift “Better Man”

The song I was most excited to hear was “Better Man.” Taylor Swift wrote the song years ago, but the country band Little Big Town ended up recording it. I love Little Big Town’s version of the song, but hearing a song from the writer adds an incredible level of depth. This song makes me want to cry when I hear it. The feeling of wanting someone to be better than they can be. You love them and want them to treat you the way you want to be treated, but they won’t. The fear that leaving means the relationship failed or the hope that they will become the version you believe in keeps you from walking away. Sometimes leaving doesn’t make you a coward or a failure, it makes you brave. You know that they aren’t going to change things so you make them change. You take the power back. 

“Girl at Home” was one of the few songs that left me missing the original recording. The song is much more poppy and doesn’t have the innocence of the original. “Young Swift” has a slight twang in her voice and you could hear how she was a little girl begging a man not to make a homewrecker out of her. The song lost its heart. 

Overall, the album is just as incredible if not more than the original. The drama, the pain and the lessons learned make you understand what it was like to be a girl struggling to be loved. This is not an album simply about a breakup. It is an album about being forced to grow up after having your heartbroken. This is Taylor Swift taking her voice back from all the men who tried to make her seem crazy or stupid. This is a powerful album, especially for women. I give this “Red (Taylor’s Version)” a ten out of ten.