"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 also received certifications in Australia and the US. Swift sang "Speak Now" during the concerts of her Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012)—where one of its performances was included on the tour's associated live visual album—and occasionally at certain dates of later tours.
In an effort for Swift to acquire new master recordings of her Big Machine catalog following a 2019 masters dispute, a re-recording of the song, 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. It peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Global 200 chart and reached those of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. In reviews of Speak Now (Taylor's Version), the re-recording generally received praise for retaining the original song's appeal and for Swift's vocals.
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] According to her, the album comprises tracks about the things she had wanted to say but was unable to do with the people she had met.[2] She co-produced it with Nathan Chapman,[1] who had worked on her previous releases.[3] 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.[4]
Unlike much of the album's songs that are autobiographical, "Speak Now" is one of the tracks that, as Swift put it, "are an extension of my feelings and hypothetically what I would do."[5] Her inspiration for it originated from a conversation with a friend, where she found out that her friend's former lover is going to marry someone else. The person whom he was engaged with was allegedly "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.[6] Her response became the basis for the song,[6] writing it as the plan of what would have been done if she was placed in her friend's situation.[7]
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.[11][14] 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".[9][15] In the refrain, Swift pleads her ex-boyfriend to not say his wedding vows in order to run away with her.[11][15] 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.[15] 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.[14][16]
Release and commercial performance
Speak Now was released on October 25, 2010,[17] with the title track as fourth on the tracklist.[4] 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.[18]Big Machine Records made the song available on the platform on October 5,[19] following the previous day Swift previewed it.[17]
In its first day, "Speak Now" sold more than 85,600 downloads in the United States,[20] and had reached 217,000 by the end of its first week, resulting in a number-two debut on the Digital Songs chart.[21] 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.[21] It peaked at number 58 on Country Airplay as well.[22] On November 29, 2011, the Recording Industry Association of America awarded the song with a gold certification.[23]
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.[9]Hartford Courant writer Erin R. Danton commended the melody as "irresistible".[12]Ken Tucker, in a radio episode for NPR, commended the track for appealing to casual listeners for its "meticulously detailed" production.[29] 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".[13] 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".[30] In a retrospective review for Billboard, Jason Lipshutz highlighted the track's delicate lyrical details.[16] 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."[31]
"Speak Now" was part of the set list of the North American leg of Swift's Speak Now World Tour.[39] The song's number is staged as a church in the setting of a wedding ceremony,[40] featuring church pews, a preacher, a bride, a groom,[41] and Swift wearing a halter dress and white gloves.[42] She performs a choreography alongside two dancers to emphasize the song.[43] At the end, Swift flees from the wedding with the groom and goes to a different place in the venue, meeting the audience along the way.[41] In other legs of the tour, "Speak Now" was reported to have been featured in those of Germany,[44] New Zealand,[45] the Philippines,[46] and Singapore.[47] One of the song's performances was also included in the tour's associated live visual album.[42]
Over the years, Swift has performed "Speak Now" on certain dates of later tours. She sang it during a New Orleans show as part of her Reputation Stadium Tour on September 22, 2018.[48] On the Eras Tour, Swift performed the track at a Tampa show on April 13, 2023, and again as a mashup with her song "Hey Stephen" (2008) at a Gelsenkirchen show on July 18, 2024.[49]
After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020.[53] 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.[54][55] 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.[56]
Reviews of Speak Now (Taylor's Version) had positive comments for the re-recorded song, the majority of which praised how its content remained engaging. The Manila Bulletin picked the re-recording as an example of Swift's and Rowe's contribution of adding a new layer of "lushness" to the album, opining that it had the same exuberance as the original song.[58] Mark Sutherland of Rolling Stone UK said that its "snarky gown-shaming" continued to be marvelously genuine with the re-recording,[59] while Kate Solomon from the I Paper wrote that it resumed her admiration for the song's "soap operatics".[60] Ranking the re-recording as the eighth best track from the album, Alex Hopper of American Songwriter said that it retained her storytelling's ability of depicting sharp imagery from the original song.[61]
Others commended Swift's vocals. In the Daily Beast, Ilana Kaplan believed that "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" was among the re-recorded tracks that were exemplary of her display of vocal strength on the album, writing that the song became further a "massive-sounding anthem".[62]The Daily Telegraph's Poppie Platt remarked that while Swift's vocals on the re-recording may first come across as "jarring", "her grasp on tone and melody has much improved" that they are still effective when viewing it as a re-imagining.[63]
Commercial performance
"Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" reached the top 30 of the Billboard Global 200 chart (peaking at 24),[64] as well as those of the English-speaking countries Australia (22),[65] Canada (24),[66] and New Zealand (26).[67] In the US, it charted on the Billboard Hot 100 alongside 25 other songs from Swift—debuting at number 33—and helped extend her record of having the second-most chart entries out of any act with 212.[68] The re-recording also debuted and peaked at number 14 on Hot Country Songs.[69]
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