Taylor Swift’s new album, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version),” recently dropped to the excitement of fans everywhere. However, Taylor Swift fans also noticed that she changed some lyrics in her re-recording of “Better Than Revenge.”
Fans recall that Swift, who wrote the song when she was only 18, wrote it about a woman that apparently stole her boyfriend. Of course, she began to look at the song differently, especially as people pointed out just how misogynistic the lyrics happened to be. After all, a woman can’t really steal her boyfriend, it was her boyfriend’s decision to leave for someone else.
Now, the original lyrics which were, “She’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress,” have been changed to the following line by Taylor Swift:
“He was a moth to the flame, she was holding the matches.”
Obviously the lyrics still emphasize that the woman was involved with Swift’s boyfriend leaving her. But now they seem to have also changed the meaning to incorporate the boyfriend’s own role in his departure. In the same way that a moth chooses to fly towards a light, he chose to go towards a different woman.
Of course, some fans are disappointed that the lyrics were changed. After all, they’ve become familiar with the song, and it’s difficult to accept a new version with a somewhat different meaning. But other critics will no doubt be happy to see the original misogynistic lyrics changed to something a little more mature. Likewise, Swift must feel the same way, especially considering the changes are of her own volition.
Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional Taylor Swift updates as we have them. For now, fans can still listen to both the original release of the song “Better Than Revenge,” and the new version included with other re-recordings on her newly-released album, “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version.)“