By Rachel Lutz
Taylor Swift’s third album, “Speak Now,” has songs that will break your heart, melt it, spark a fire, or just remind you why you started to love her in the first place. “Speak Now” comes out at the perfect time when I was really craving some new Taylor. After two years, I was expecting something they blew my mind, and I was rewarded for my patience.
In a letter to the fans inside the album booklet, Swift says “These songs are open letters. Each is written with a specific person in mind, telling them what I meant to tell them in person.” It’s easy to pinpoint who Swift is probably talking about in each song: John Mayer, Taylor Lautner, Camilla Belle, and Kanye West, as well as others. Interestingly, the entire letter is also reminiscent of Mayer’s song, “Say.”
The songs that were released as singles, “Mean,” “Speak Now,” “Back to December,” and “Mine,” are all great, catchy songs. Each has a message and will leave girls everywhere thinking that Swift is their best friend and the song was written specifically for them.
Another song on the album, “Better than Revenge,” is my absolute favorite. Centrally themed similarly to Paramore’s “Misery Business,” but with a different sound, this song is angry in the right way to make listeners want to not get mad, but get even.
The instrumental on “Haunted” sounds like it’s the final scene in a movie where the protagonist is preparing for the final battle with the enemy. It’s chilling and inspiring at the same time. The lyrics, however, convey a different message. Instead of preparing to do battle, Swift acts as the heroine by being stronger than needing the satisfaction of winning a fight.
From a technical aspect, the songs are generally longer on this album than her previous two. Most songs on “Speak Now” range from four and a half to about six minutes, versus most of Swift’s other songs, which range from about three minutes to about five.
There are two heartbreak songs on the record. “Dear John,” the longest song on the album at an astonishing 6:44, is clearly a rant. This slow song definitely drags out a bit, but if that’s what it takes for Swift to get it off her chest, then so be it. She ignored the warning signals in a “red flag” relationship and didn’t run away fast enough, and ended up getting burned. The other, “Story of Us,” is about the cracks in a friendship’s foundation, and is surprisingly upbeat for such a sad topic. There is no resolve in the song, but I can safely imagine that the two are not friends anymore.