"Speak Now" is a song written and recorded by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift from her third studio album, Speak Now (2010). Before the album's release, Big Machine Records issued the track on the iTunes Store on October 5, 2010. Swift conceived "Speak Now" after learning that her friend's former lover would marry someone else. In the lyrics, a protagonist interrupts a wedding in an attempt to win her ex-lover back. Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, it is a country rock and pop song led by acoustic guitar, and incorporates a 1950s rock chord progression in its refrain.
Music critics lauded the narrative lyrics and production of "Speak Now"; some picked it as an album highlight. Commercially, the song reached charts in Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea and peaked within the top ten of those of Canada and the United States. It received certifications in Australia and the US. A re-recorded version, titled "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)", was released as part of her third re-recorded album Speak Now (Taylor's Version) on July 7, 2023. The song peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Global 200 and entered on the charts in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the US.
Background and writing
After the release of her second studio album Fearless in 2008, Taylor Swift wrote her next one, Speak Now, alone for two years.[1] She described the album as a collection of tracks about the things she had wanted to say but was unable to do with the people she had met.[2] According to her, each track had a "confession" to a different person, ranging from what everyone knew to what nobody had known.[2] There were as many as 25 songs Swift wrote for the album,[2] and "Speak Now" was among the 14 tracks that made it into the final track listing.[3]
Swift's inspiration for the song originated from a conversation with a friend, where she found out that her friend's former lover is going to marry someone else. She recalled that the person whom he was engaged with was "horrible", convincing him to depart from his family and friends and making him feel lonely. This made Swift say, "Oh, are you going to speak now?" and imagine what she would have done in the perspective of her friend.[4] Her response became the basis for "Speak Now",[4] writing it as the plan of what would have been done if she was placed in her friend's situation.[5]
Composition
"Speak Now" is a country rock[6] and pop song.[7] The song is set in common time and has a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. It is written in the key of G major and Swift's vocals span from A3 to D5.[8] Swift's vocals begin in a hushed tone, then gradually grow until, at one point, she belts out the song's title.[9] The song features different twangy, up-and-down vocal hooks might, in similarity to "You Belong with Me".[7] It follows the chord progression G–D–Am–C.[8] The track is driven by acoustic guitar and features a guitar solo in the break.[9][10] The refrain incorporates the '50s rock progression.[11]
In the lyrics of "Speak Now", the narrator crashes her former love's wedding in attempt to win him back because she thinks he is marrying an unsuitable woman.[9][12] The opening lines acknowledge that, although out of character, Swift is still in love with her ex-boyfriend and wants to make sure he does not marry the wrong girl. Throughout the song's verses, Swift sneaks in the wedding and describes her observations, such as the bride-to-be's wearing of a poofy wedding gown shaped like a pastry, her cumulative family, and an organist playing "Bridal Chorus".[7][13] In the refrain, Swift pleads her ex-boyfriend to not say his wedding vows in order to run away with her.[9][13] The bridge has Swift responding to the priest's calling of "Speak now or forever hold your peace" before repeating the opening lines. The last refrain is altered, with Swift narrating from the groom's perspective and inform Swift they will indeed run away together.[13] Some critics compared the storyline of "Speak Now" to that of Swift's 2009 single "You Belong with Me"; both protagonists yearn for a love interest who is in love with another woman.[12][14]
Release and commercial performance
Speak Now was released on October 25, 2010,[15] with the title track as fourth on the tracklist.[3] Prior to that, Swift would preview a song from the album in each of the last three weeks before the week of the album's release, and it would be issued on the iTunes Store the day after; "Speak Now" was planned as the first one for release.[16]Big Machine Records made the song available on the platform on October 5,[17] following the previous day Swift previewed it.[15]
In its first day, "Speak Now" sold more than 85,600 downloads in the United States,[18] and had reached 217,000 by the end of its first week, resulting in a number-two debut on the Digital Songs chart.[19] On the Billboard Hot 100, the track entered at number eight and became Swift's sixth top-ten debut, which was a new record for most top-ten debuts among acts on the chart, surpassing that of Mariah Carey.[19] It peaked at number 58 on Country Airplay as well.[20] On November 29, 2011, the Recording Industry Association of America awarded the song with a gold certification.[21]
Simon Vozick-Levinson of Entertainment Weekly deemed "Speak Now" a catchy song and opined that Swift's lyrical delivery makes up for her shortcomings as a vocalist.[7]Hartford Courant writer Erin R. Danton commended the melody as "irresistible".[10]Ken Tucker, in a radio episode for NPR, commended the track for appealing to casual listeners for its "meticulously detailed" production.[27] In The Morning Call, John J. Moser said that "Speak Now" was one of the album's most interesting songs because it features "a jaunty lilt, '50s-rock chorus and over-the-top snotty lyrics that are interesting precisely because they’re new for Swift".[11] On a less positive side, Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine found that "Speak Now", with its theme about love and romance, proved Swift's lack of songwriting material other than "how great boys are or how much boys suck or how dreams about boys will take her somewhere better than where she is now".[28] In a retrospective review for Billboard, Jason Lipshutz highlighted the track's delicate lyrical details.[14] Nate Jones from Vulture described the narrative as "nonsense" but praised the production, especially the "admittedly charming chorus", and remarked: "it's hard not to smile at the unabashed silliness."[29]
Swift debuted "Speak Now" live during a party celebrating the album's release, which took place at the Metropolitan Pavilion in Manhattan and was broadcast live by websites of American television shows on October 25, 2010.[30] She reprised her performance on two television shows—The Today Show and Late Show with David Letterman—the next day.[31][32] On November 14, Swift included the song as part of the set list for the 2010 BBC Radio 1's Teen Awards.[33] She sang it on NBC's Taylor Swift: Speak Now, which was a Thanksgiving television special that premiered on November 25.[34][35]
"Speak Now" was included in the set list of the North American leg of Swift's Speak Now World Tour.[36] The song's number is staged as a wedding, featuring church pews, a preacher, a bride, a groom,[37] and Swift wearing a halter dress and white gloves.[38] She performs a choreography alongside two dancers to emphasize the song.[39] At the end, Swift flees from the wedding with the groom and goes to a different place of the venue, meeting the audience along the way.[37] One of the song's performances was recorded and featured in the tour's accompanying live visual album.[38]
Over the years, Swift performed "Speak Now" in certain dates of her later tours. She sang it during a New Orleans show as part of her Reputation Stadium Tour on September 22, 2018.[40] On the Eras Tour, Swift performed the track two times: she sang it at a Tampa show on April 13, 2023, and combined it with her song "Hey Stephen" (2008) at a Gelsenkirchen show on July 18, 2024.[41]
After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[45] The decision came after the public 2019 dispute between Swift and talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of Swift's albums the label had released.[46][47] By re-recording her catalog, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, including the copyright licensing of her songs, devaluing the Big Machine-owned masters.[48]
Three critics had positive comments for the re-recorded track in their reviews of Speak Now (Taylor's Version). Katy Solomon of the I Paper wrote that it resumed her admiration for the song's "soap operatics".[50]The Daily Telegraph's Poppie Platt remarked that while Swift's vocals on it may first come across as "jarring", "her grasp on tone and melody has much improved" that they are still effective when viewing the re-recording as a reimagining.[51] In Rolling Stone UK, Mark Sutherland said that the track's "snarky gown-shaming" continued to be marvelously genuine with the re-recording.[52]
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