The long awaited arrival of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is upon us, and Swifties are loving almost every second of Taylor Swift’s latest re-recording. The third album from the pop superstar, this album also boasts the achievement of being the only one completely penned by Swift alone. In her announcement post on Instagram back on May 5, she wrote “I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, beetween the ages of 18 and 20.”
So the fact Swift chose to change the lyrics is hitting fans too close to home. On the 10th track on the album, “Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version),” Swift changed a controversial lyric from “She’s better known for the thing that she does on the mattress” to “He was a moth to the flame, she was holding the matches.”
Since announcing Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), fans were discussing whether or not the original lyric should be changed. While the fandom was split regarding which choice was correct, a lot of Swifties are less than thrilled with Swift’s decision. TikTok is filled with the hate towards the change, as Swifties are deciding if they should abandon “Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version)” altogether for the “stolen” version.
The whole reason behind Swift re-recording her first six albums is to make sure she owns the masters of those works. The original masters of her first six albums were bought by Scooter Braun, who purchased the catalog of Swift’s former record company Big Machine Records back in 2019. Currently, the masters are owned by Shamrock Holdings, an equity firm owned by Roy E. Disney and his family.
It’s safe to say Swifties are definitly in mourning of the change. The original “Better Than Revenge” was around for nearly 13 years with the lyrics many claimed to be misogynistic. Allegedly about Camilla Belle, the first person to date Joe Jonas after he broke up with Swift, the song has gained a cult following in recent years on TikTok.
A large part of the conversation is revolving around the double standard the public has for female-written lyrics vs male-written lyrics. The majority of Swifties recognize the lyric from “Better Than Revenge” is misogynistic in nature. But many point to how several popular male artists, including Drake, Future, Metro Boomin’, and 21 Savage, all have fairly similar lyrics but never receive nearly as much criticism for them.
The homemade friendship bracelets are a key part of the culture around the Eras Tour. So it’s no surprise attendees at the shows following the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) can expect bracelets similar to this one made by TikTok user @madelineharter.
Say a prayer for anyone friends with/dating a Swiftie at this time. It’s going to be a very long weekend for them hearing endless rants about why this lyric change matters to them so much.
Then again, maybe Taylor has a point with choosing this metaphor to replace the mattress lyric.