Revisiting Red.
I have followed Taylor Swift’s journey from self-titled to self-discovery, but even with every incredible release that she has had from 1989 to Lover I have to say that my favorite album is Red. There is undoubtedly no other album that I revisit and remember as vividly as Taylor Swift 4th studio album.
Off the top of my head, there is one thing that stand out from this project for me. Red was the premiere of Taylor’s breakaway almost entirely from the country music scene. Although you can argue that Speak Now had already sparked debate with the twang-driven genre, I believe it is this follow-up that really solidified that Taylor was on the move.
This was one of the many ways that I related to Taylor during this time. As someone who grew up with a mixture of country and late 80s hip hop and rock, and really kicked it with the scene and pop punk culture in middle school and the beginning of high school, it was around 2010s where I started to really dive into and enjoy pop music.
It was also during this time that I was really digging into the idea of fantastically love. I started reading and watching a lot more romantic comedies, wrote my own and began to daydream about what exactly was out there for me in terms of romance. Sure, I understood and related with the earlier cutesy tracks that Taylor wrote about crushes and heartbreak (You’re Not Sorry and Hey Stephen hold a special place in my heart) but I think that there was definitely a major shift in the way that Taylor spoke about emotion throughout this album.
Instead of just writing songs from the perspective of a broken and upset teenage heart, she began to describe the concept of love in more of a nuanced and mature fashion. She really allows herself to feel and there are very vivid and heart-wrenching lyrics that we really hadn’t heard from the singer-songwriter at this point.
Red starts out with the track “State of Grace” which explains a love so bright that you cannot prepare yourself for it and a aftermath that is explainable. The track hints at the fact that something incredible or at least incredibly dismal happened during this relationship, however Swift doesn’t give much away. It is this cliff-hanging effect through the song that has listeners pleading more context.
The next track ‘Red’ introduces us to said love interest. We get to see the honeymoon stage. You can feel the infatuation within the earnestness within the lyrics and the carelessness in nuance. Taylor seems to just gush about this person, showing us how easy it is to fall in love with every aspect of a person “Touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you, memorizing him was a easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song.” Although later lyrics allow you to see that the breakup had already occurred at this point, you can tell that Taylor is still in the rush of the love that burned to quickly to extinguish.
“Treacherous” allows us to see Taylor’s hesitance in moving forward with a new lover, but her inability to stop from pushing forward. “I can’t decide if its a choice, getting swept away, I hear the sound of my own voice, asking you to stay” Taylor seems to have an out-of-body experience, leading her to enter a relationship while in an uncomfortable state of mind. Teenage Missy would have been mesmerized by the glorious true love unfolding, no matter the obstacle. Using a more reflective lens eight years later, I see this as a warning track. A track that we should use while listening to the next few that follow.
“I Knew You Were Trouble” and the elusive longer track “All Too Well” discuss the destruction of a lover after a relationship that couldn’t hold on in two different ways. Where the first seems like an anger anthem created to describe the heat and frustration that comes right after the break-up, All Too Well begins to carefully categorize memories somberly while looking back. It is here that Taylor allows the listener to understand the validity in both moments and that there isn’t one emotion that really encapsulates an entire break-up. Taylor Swift’s ability to create a track for several different states of mind within one album is something that I have always been floored by. She is able to stamp her mark on any portion on a fan’s life, down to the gritty details so that anyone going through heartbreak at the time can create a connection with a different song throughout the journey.
Taylor often discusses how this album was way more disjointed that previous and future creations, and I think it’s easy for a fan to agree when they see the quick pivot from winding “All Too Well” to the sprightly track “22.” However, I think that this turn works for me as a listener. Although a heartbreak can sting and effect you for months or even years, I don’t think that it’s possible for it to be the only thing on your mind, especially if you have caring friends. I see the change in pace as a moment away from the doom and gloom of the previous half of the album and a quick exhale for the next stack of exhausting narrative pieces to come.
The next song “I Almost Do” seems to pair well with All Too Well. I think that this song lives as a reminder that heartbreak doesn’t go away, even if you try to dance it out and surround yourself with lively and caring friends, but it doesn’t always sting as painfully as it does in the beginning. You grow stronger with time, and it becomes harder to just relapse. Taylor seems to fight with her own brain when it comes to reaching out to that ex lover with lyrics like “I just want to tell you, it takes everything me not to call you. I just want to run to you and I hope you know that everytime I don’t, I almost do.” This song definitely describes a love hangover that is dizzying to even think about.
I think that as a younger person, I definitely overlooked this track. I hadn’t really been exposed to heartbreak at that moment, so the projection of those lyrics onto my life might have well have been my best performance to date. Looking on now, I think that this is one of my favorite Taylor Swift songs ever created. I think that Taylor, even being as young as she is here, perfectly encapsulated the regret and the panic that one feels when they lose someone important in their life. Your emotions are heavy and they have a mind of their own, so you seem to have a hard time quieting them down with the reality of the matter: That this relationship is over.
This longing continues in the following track “Sad, Beautiful, Tragic” which is just an extension of the depressive mood, also allows us to begin to see the reflective possibilities that come with sadness. Although the heavy lyrics don’t hesitate, you can tell that Taylor is looking more fondly on the relationship even if the ending was melancholy. This track is a perfect transition into the ending of Red, which is seen as more of an uplifting and hopeful conclusion.
This is when I begin to smile again, because you see hopeless romantic Taylor come back into place. The last three tracks on the album really bring back The Lucky One has us watching Taylor paint a picture of her redemption arc. Focused on her music and herself, you are able to see her begin to acknowledge the past but look forward to the future with bright eyes and excitement.
The second to last track, Starlight, gets a lot more flack than I think it deserves. I think that this is a perfect track to expose how incredible Taylor is at story-telling. Although you can’t tell if Taylor is really the star “barbie on the boardwalk” ala Love Story, or if the story is based on someone she met, you can begin to see her innate lovers’ mind return to it’s normal infectious and elated state.
I cannot tell you how much of a PERFECT ending track Begin Again was for this album. It perfectly completes the story that began with lust, fell into heartbreak and ended in daydreamed hope. Begin Again stands as a perfect track for someone who has finally began to fall in love with the concept of love again, and has met someone to share it with.
I love revisiting this album, because time and time again Taylor convinces me that love is out there. It is messy, it doesn’t always work out and it can be exhausting, but it is never too late to pick yourself up, choose yourself first and begin the process of creating it again.
