This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s summer editorial intern Maggie Lardie. Find her on Instagram at @maggielardie If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.

Since the release of Red (Taylor’s Version) in 2021, Swifties have had their hands full theorizing as to when each of Taylor Swift’s albums would get the rerecording treatment next. Taylor has been busy herself since Red TV, creating new music videos like “All Too Well: The Short Film” and releasing her tenth studio album Midnights in late 2022. Currently, the singer is halfway through the American portion of her Eras Tour, where she announced the release date for her long-awaited album, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). If you’ve been following Swift’s career since 2010, you probably know why this particular album is worth the wait, but if not, keep reading! Here’s everything you need to know.

The Backstory

Taylor Swift originally released Speak Now in October of 2010 as her third studio album. Her previous albums Taylor Swift and Fearless had already brought the singer mass amounts of critical acclaim, including the Album of the Year award given to Fearless at the 2010 Grammys. For her third album, Taylor switched things up a bit. While her previous albums featured songs that she had a large part in writing, Speak Now was the very first that Swift wrote entirely on her own. The main reasoning behind this decision was the critics’ insistence that Swift did not write her own songs – a claim that Speak Now instantly put to rest. For this reason, Speak Now is one of the most beloved albums by both Taylor and her fans.

Taylor’s Version

In case you missed the deal on why Taylor Swift is re-recording her music, check out our article to learn more about it! To condense the entire situation, Taylor Swift wanted to own her music that she wrote under her old label, Big Machine Records, but wasn’t given the opportunity to buy it. Without her knowledge, her songs were sold to Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. Swift was then blocked from performing or utilizing her old music, which set in motion the re-recording process. She released her version of Fearless and Red in 2021, both of which shattered records and thrilled her fans. The re-release of Speak Now has the opportunity to perform even better than its predecessors, as fans are well aware of the fact that Swift wrote the album completely by herself. The tracks featured on Speak Now entirely belonged to Taylor in a songwriting sense, so it’s about time that they belong to her in a legal sense as well!

Easter Eggs

In typical Taylor Swift fashion, she let us know well ahead that this album was coming. One of the most obvious collections of Speak Now Easter eggs appears in the “Bejeweled” music video, which came out in October. Some of the clues the music video provides are:

• Instrumentals of “Enchanted” and “Long Live” (both of which are Speak Now tracks) playing during the beginning and end of the video, respectively
• Laura Dern’s character emphasizing her line “Speak NOT”
• Taylor’s character pressing the purple number three elevator button
• The S and N hair clips Taylor wears in one scene

Taylor’s reach extends beyond the “Bejeweled” music video when it comes to her Easter eggs, however. In her music video for “Anti-Hero,” Taylor can be seen playing a guitar with koi fish on it. Fans wasted no time, quickly identifying the guitar as the same one Taylor used during her Speak Now tour. The fish can also be seen swimming throughout the “Lavender Haze” music video and in the stained-glass windows of the “Bejeweled” castle. What no one saw coming, however, was the announcement that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) would be released July 7 (AKA National Koi Fish Day). The hints know no limits.

The Songs

The first three singles released off of Speak Now were “Mine,” “Back to December” and “Mean,” the last of which earned Taylor Swift two more Grammys. While these songs are fantastic and worth the attention they’ve been given, here are some more underrated songs (that weren’t singles) off the album that I think deserve a listen:

• “Haunted”: an absolutely gut-wrenching pop/rock breakup anthem that will have you immediately putting it on repeat. Did I mention that she brought out a huge bell for the live performance of this song on the Speak Now tour? 
• “Last Kiss”: a slower song, but much more lyrically powerful. Swift abandons the loud drums and electric guitar for a softer, more acoustic sound.
• “Long Live”: dubbed the unofficial anthem for Swifties, this song is one Taylor dedicates to her fans whenever she plays it. Many of the imagery she describes in her lyrics can also be found at the end of the “Bejeweled” music video.

From The Vault

As always, the re-recorded tracks from the original album will be accompanied by multiple songs “from the vault.” These songs were written by Taylor around the same time as the others, but didn’t quite make it onto the album. In the past, Taylor has brought in other artists to collaborate on vault songs (Maren Morris and Phoebe Bridgers, just to name a few) and it’s no different now. Taylor recently announced that her collaborators on Speak Now TV are Hayley Williams of Paramore and Fall Out Boy, a combo that almost seems to be meant for Zillennials.

What vault track are you most excited to hear? How many of the Easter eggs did you notice? Let us know in the comments below!

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