Swiftmas Review: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

Hello and welcome back to my Swiftmas series where I review each of Taylor Swift’s albums this month. Today I will be reviewing Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) which to me was a bit underwhelming, but hey that is entirely my opinion. At least some of its songs are popular among Swifties, and has its fair share of accolades as well.

Taylor Swift’s third album, Speak Now was released on October 25, 2010 by Big Machine Records at 20 years old as a direct follow-up to Fearless. This was also the album where she wrote all the songs without any co-writers. The “Taylor’s Version” of this album was released on July 7, 2023 by Republic Records which was actually announced during the Eras tour in Nashville on night one. The album title was inspired by the wedding phrase, “Speak now or forever hold your peace” which acts as a metaphor for waiting until it is too late to say something. Taylor also said that the overall message is to use your woods for good because the only words you’ll regret are the ones left unsaid. Originally this album was going to be named, Enchanted but the CEO at the time, Scott Borchetta, said to her that this album is no longer about fairytales and high school reminding Taylor she has grown out of that phase. This album does have similar themes to its predecessor such as love, romance, and heartbreak, but on a more mature level.

Following on the success of her Fearless album, Speak Now had its own achievements and accolades. It debuted at #1 on the US Billboard 200 chart which was the second consecutive chart-topper for Taylor Swift along with opening week sales of one million copies. It won 2 Grammy awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Solo Performance for “Mean.” It was also nominated for Best Country Album, but it lost to Lady A. The album also won 2 American Music Awards for Artist of the Year and Favorite Country Album. It even received two Guiness World Records for fastest-selling digital album by a female artist with 278,000 downloads in a week and 10 of its tracks debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 being the first female to achieve it. Taylor also won Songwriter/Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Association, Entertainer of the Year by the Academy of Country Music and CMA, and Billboard’s 2011 Women of the Year. All six singles on the album received either a platinum or multi-platinum certification from the RIAA. Specifically, “Sparks Fly” and “Ours” were US country number-one hits, along with “Speak Now” becoming an international success. The album also launched Taylor Swift’s second tour of the same name which made over $123 million where she also released her first live album of this tour.

There are a total of 16 songs in this album which are listed below, including 6 songs from the hidden vault.

1.    Mine (Taylor’s Version)

2.    Sparks Fly (Taylor’s Version)

3.    Back to December (Taylor’s Version)

4.    Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

5.    Dear John (Taylor’s Version)

6.    Mean (Taylor’s Version)

7.    The Story of Us (Taylor’s Version)

8.    Never Grow Up (Taylor’s Version)

9.    Enchanted (Taylor’s Version)

10. Better Than Revenge (Taylor’s Version)

11. Innocent (Taylor’s Version)

12. Haunted (Taylor’s Version)

13. Last Kiss (Taylor’s Version)

14. Long Live (Taylor’s Version)

15. Ours (Taylor’s Version)

16. Superman (Taylor’s Version)

17. HIDDEN VAULT TRACK Electric Touch ft. Fall Out Boy

18. HIDDEN VAULT TRACK When Emma Falls in Love

19. HIDDEN VAULT TRACK I Can See You

20. HIDDEN VAULT TRACK Castles Crumbling ft. Hayley Williams

21. HIDDEN VAULT TRACK Foolish One

22. HIDDEN VAULT TRACK Timeless

Speak Now: Taylor’s Version has the same instrumental elements as Fearless since it is a direct follow up. However, I could argue there is some rock elements with a couple of songs with the electric guitars being the dominant instrument. Each song in this album is meant to be an open letter for a specific person in mind while delivering the theme of speaking out. The main difference you can hear in these songs is that you won’t hear any element of teenage girl anymore as Taylor Swift is now becoming a young woman which explains why the CEO did not like her original idea of the album being called “Enchanted.” However, “Enchanted” still has that whimsical and fantasy element and it was probably left on the album because deep down Taylor still romantics that magical fairytale that she will (hopefully) finally have now that she is engaged. Plus, I believe that element carried on in her future albums down the line thought she is now considered a “showgirl.”

Just like the first two albums, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) continues the trend of having the 5^th song be the most vulnerable and emotional in the entire album. In this case, it would be “Dear John” which reflects on her short relationship with singer, John Mayer. Personally, because this song is for a specific person, I don’t think it was emotional and vulnerable to me. I mean, it might sound emotional for Taylor, but I just didn’t have that same feeling when listening to that song so I couldn’t relate. There are some others songs on this album that would’ve made a better 5^th song such as “Back to December”, so it is interesting as to why she would make “Dear John” the 5^th song. To me, it sounds like a bunch of her other songs that talk about ending a relationship with some guy.

My two favorite songs from this album are going to be “Enchanted” and “Long Live.” I mentioned it earlier, but I love how “Enchanted” has that whimsical fantasy element even though the CEO of the record company disliked how it originally was going to be the title of this album. I think it was the Eras Tour performance of this song that elevated my interest in it because of the flowing dresses the dancers wear and that big dress Taylor wears during that segment. I wished there was a music video for this song as I am sure Taylor would have depicted that same fairytale magic that is illustrated through the music and the lyrics. “Long Live” is a bit different as it is not only a love letter to her fans, crew, and everyone involved in her career, but also an anthem to take those in those memorable moments in life and live it to the fullest. It also makes me a little emotional when listening to the song in the both the album, and Eras Tour. It reminds me of like a finale moment, like graduation. This song was in the original Eras Tour setlist, but was sadly removed to make time for the Tortured Poets Department section. However, in the trailer for the upcoming Eras tour: Final Show film on Disney Plus, there will be a new surprise song set which teased Taylor singing an altered version of “Long Live,” where she sings, “It was the end of an ERA, the start of an age.” This song was also the inspiration for my final re-published study abroad post.

There are a few good hidden vault songs from this album, but my favorite one has got to be “I Can See You.” This song is so different out of the entire album, and what elevated it was actually the music video. It didn’t matter what the lyrics were about, I was only interested in the video the entire time. It has a lot of Easter eggs and a few cameos while trying to depict freeing Taylor Swift and her master album in a heist scenario. Again, I really appreciate Taylor finally releasing this song “out of the vault” as it belongs with the rest of her iconic songs. This song was also featured as a surprise song in the original Eras Tour film: Taylor’s Version.  

My personal thoughts on this album are that although it has a powerful message, it sounds too similar to Fearless (Taylor’s Version). I would prefer for each album to be unique from each other to reflect the growth of Taylor Swift and her music career progressing. Just like how you try to make a sequel to a movie different from the first one. I know she said each song in this album was an open letter to someone specific, but I feel like that almost happens in every album. I do like how the hidden vault songs elevate this album and had they not been released, then this would made the album sound mediocre. I also wished that the Speak Now section of the Eras tour would have been longer. I mean the set and costumes of that section were beautiful, and I would’ve love to see how the other songs on the album would be performed at that level rather than be played on acoustics. It would have given the “Taylor’s Version” of that album higher potential. My criticism might sound harsh to some of you, but that does not mean I entirely hate this album. Overall, I feel like Taylor played it safe with similar instrumental elements and themes.

My overall rating of this album is an 8/10. It is a far better album than debut, but not nearly as good as Fearless (Taylor’s Version). Thank goodness for the hidden songs to back up this entire album in the re-released version. And that is also reflected in the overall ranking below:

Ranking of Taylor Swift Albums:

1.    Fearless (Taylor’s Version)

2.    Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)

3.    Taylor Swift (Debut)

As per usual at the end of every Swiftmas review, I am going to show a crochet of a symbol from each album. For Speak Now, (Taylor’s Version), I crochet an amigurumi butterfly since they are whimsical and magical while also symbolizing growth which ties back to the message of this album of speaking out before it’s too late. The wings are also purple to match the color of the album.

"Speak Now" crochet butterfly

And that is the latest review in the Swiftmas series. Stay tuned for the next album review that I think was a major evolution for Taylor Swift. And remember, if you really need to say what has been on your mind, SPEAK NOW!