“Red” is the most recent album by Taylor Swift. It was released on Oct. 22, 2012. Taylor is now getting ready to release her 5th studio album and I’m very excited to see how she continues to evolve with each new record. On her first three albums, she improved, and her sound changed and grew more mature, but “Red” was a breakthrough. It was a completely new sound for her, but she still managed to remain true to her country roots and her confessional songwriting technique. I think “Red” was kind of an experimental album in a way. It includes songs that are just more grown-up, mature country songs (All Too Well, Begin Again, Stay Stay Stay), it includes songs that are complete pop songs (22, We are Never Ever Getting Back Together) and it includes songs that are just completely different from anything Taylor has ever done before (I Knew You Were Trouble).
“State of Grace” is the introduction to “Red.” It’s a warning that love can be amazing and devastating at the same time. It talks about how love is a very complicated “game” and the song does a very good job of explaining that. Making this the first song on the album was a smart choice, because it showcases the fact that this album was different.
“Red” is a song about the mixed emotions relationships bring and how sometimes when thinking about them in retrospect, your mind can connect certain colors to certain emotions. The whole song is basically a series of genius metaphors and similes (‘Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street,’ ‘Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there’s no right answer’). In the chorus, Taylor compares different feelings to colors (‘Losing him was blue,’ ‘Missing him was dark grey,’ ‘Loving him was red’).
“Treacherous” is about how sometimes you’re attracted to someone even though you know they’re dangerous. The beat is soft and steady for the first part of the song, and then it flares up making the bridge big and emotional.
“I Knew You Were Trouble” is probably the most different out of all the songs on “Red.” It has a dub-step feel and it was shocking to hear it for the first time. It’s about knowing someone is going to break your heart, but falling for them anyway and being angry at yourself afterwards. Taylor said that she wanted the song to sound as chaotic as the feeling itself when going through that situation, and I think she was pretty successful at doing so.
“All Too Well” is an extremely emotional and detailed song that tells a story more than it explains how Taylor felt about it. It talks about being with that person and feeling at “home somehow.” It talks about learning about that person’s past and thinking they're the one (‘You tell me about your past thinking your future was me’). It explains that after a deep relationship ends, you can’t forget about it (‘Time won’t fly it’s like I’m paralyzed by it,’ ‘I’m a crumpled up piece of paper lying here cuz I remember it all too well,’ ‘You keep my old scarf from that very first week...you can’t get rid of it cuz you remember it all too well.’)
“22” is a simply a song about being 22. It talks about how when you’re 22, you feel “happy, free, confused and lonely at the same time.” It’s a really fun pop song about being young and still being able to be carefree.
“I Almost Do” is about missing someone that you feel like you shouldn’t be missing. It also talks about wanting to talk to someone again, but being scared of getting your heart broken again (‘I bet it never ever occurred to you that I can’t say hello to you and risk another goodbye,’ ‘It takes everything in me not to call you.’) While a lot of songs on “Red” are more heavily influenced by pop music, this is one of the songs that are more influenced by country.
“We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” is a fun pop song about promising to never get back together with your ex. It’s a fun song to sing along to and Taylor does a good job making sure it gets stuck in your head! It’s definitely catchy!
“Stay Stay Stay” is a song about asking someone to “stay” and comparing them to your “self-indulgent” exes. It’s a very fun, upbeat, positive song that’s fun to listen to! It talks about a very sweet, happy relationship and the song does a good job describing a great relationship, where even when you fight with each other, you still love eachother no matter what!
“The Last Time” is a duet between Taylor Swift and Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol. It tells a story of two people standing on opposite sides of a door and promising that it’s “The Last Time.” The girl is promising that it’s the last time she’ll take the boy back again and give him another chance, and the boy is promising that it’s the last time he’ll hurt her. It’s a slow song, but it doesn’t drag on at all. The harmonies are beautiful and between the second chorus and the bridge, there’s an overwhelming orchestral swell. It’s a beautiful song!
“Holy Ground” is about thinking back on a past relationship and realizing that even though it’s over, it was a good time in your life. It was cool that Taylor decided to reflect on her time spent with an ex, and realize that it was a good time instead of just trashing them constantly.
“Sad Beautiful Tragic” is a very slow, somber song about the tragic loss of a “sad, beautiful love affair.” Taylor’s voice is very breathy in the song and she uses a lot of different vocal techniques that I haven’t heard her use before. I love how she sings with such emotion in this song. The way she sings allows you to almost feel what she was feeling in the situation.
“The Lucky One” tells the story of a star that moves to Hollywood thinking it will be a dream come true, but soon finds out that it isn’t all that it seems to be. Taylor has said that she wrote the song about her “greatest fear” which is not being able to think of her job as fun anymore. It does a good job talking about how outsiders looking in on the lives of stars may think that if you’re a celebrity, you’re “the lucky one.” She explains that that isn’t really always the case.
“Everything Has Changed” is the other duet on “Red.” This one features Ed Sheeran. It has a lot of harmonies that work really well. Ed and Taylor’s voices go really well together. It’s the kind of duet that goes back and forth between who’s singing and it shows what both people were feeling. It has a very young, innocent, childish mood.
“Starlight” was written after Taylor saw a picture of Bobby and Ethel Kennedy when they were younger at some sort of dance or event. It inspired her to write a song about how she imagined they felt that night (young, energetic, free, carefree, etc.). It’s an upbeat song that manages to make you feel happy, but it also cleverly incorporates subtle lyrics that hint towards Ethel and Bobby (“I met Bobby on the boardwalk, summer of ‘45.”) It tells a great story!
“Begin Again” is a song about going on your first date after going through a bad breakup and “spending the last eight months, thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end.” It describes being nervous as you’re leaving your house and not being able to think of anything else but your ex putting you down (“Took a deep breath in the mirror, he didn’t like it when I wore high heels but I do,” “He always said he didn’t get this song, but I do.”). As the song progresses, it describes the feeling of surprise and relief as you begin to realize that maybe relationships aren’t all bad (“Walked in expecting you’d be late but you go here early and you stand and wait, I walk to you,” “And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid, I think it’s strange that you think I’m funny cuz, he never did,” “for the first time, what’s past is past.) It does a great job explaining that even after going through a bad breakup, you need to have the courage to go on dates again and you’ll see that it can turn out great. Taylor did and “on a Wednesday, in a cafe (she) watched it begin again.”
Sidenote: I think it was so clever of Taylor to put this song at the very end of the album. The whole album contains songs about all different kinds of emotions, and situations and thinking about it all together can make it seem chaotic and overwhelming. Ending the album with “Begin Again” kind of says that when you start a new relationship after ending a hectic, toxic relationship, you can just feel it all beginning again.
*Click on the links attached to all of the titles and they’ll bring you to the audio of the song
I loved “Red” and I think it’s Taylor’s best album so far. If you listen to some of the songs on this album, and then go back and listen to some of the songs on Taylor’s first and second album, you can see how much she has evolved and grown. Her lyrics are better written, her voice had developed, and she is trying so many new things with her music. It’s overwhelming to see how far she has come since she was 2006 when she was a 16 year old girl that moved to Nashville and did everything she possibly could to get her dreams to come true.
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We’re so proud of you Taylor!!
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