Taylor Swift’s songs are finally hers

Elizabeth Letkiewicz, Staff Reporter

Taylor Swift’s songs are finally hers.

Taylor Swift has taken back ownership of her music with plans to re-record six of her previous albums. She has already begun this with “Fearless” and now with the most recent release “Red,” her fourth studio album. 

Swift did not own her music until she signed with Universal Music Group in early 2020. Her previous record deal with Big Machine Records put restraints on Swift, and it got to the point where even her music had been taken out of her ownership.

As someone who grew up playing the “Red” album on repeat, listening to the recently re-recorded “Taylor’s version” brought up feelings of nostalgia. I’m happy Swift is finally getting ownership of her music back. 

The “Fearless” re-recording felt magical to me and now moreover, this version made me feel like I’m in a fairytale with the way Swift sings so angelically. The immense joy I felt listening to “Love Story” again just can’t be matched.

Another noticeable change in the recordings is that Swift’s voice has certainly matured over the years and it makes the song even better. 

Swift also produced a short film centered on her song “All Too Well,” which is a 10-minute version of the same song. Starring actors Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien, the film is about a couple whose relationship started out strong but fizzled out.

All Too Well is thought to be about Swift’s previous relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal. To those who don’t know, the relationship was allegedly toxic, as red flags in the music video indicate the tension Swift and Gyllenhaal faced as a couple. 

For instance, when the couple is arguing, you can see him piling the dishes as she cleans them. It is metaphoric because he kept adding to the problem while she tried to fix it, which shows the strong vision Swift has for these re-recorded versions of her songs. 

Right now there is speculation of which re-recorded album Swift will release next. Personally, I hope the next album will be either “1989” or “Speak Now.” But in all honesty, for a Swift fan like myself, anything that is “Taylor’s version” will be worth a listen.