Uproxx reports that Taylor Swift fans, or Swifties as they are known, have allegedly found proof that Swift will be changing a contentious line in her song “Better Than Revenge” when she releases her updated Taylor’s Version of Speak Now on July 12. This is reportedly the most obsessed with mystery since the early days of Westworld (when the show was actually good and not just “trust me it’s still good”)
The original song, in which Swift accuses a rival (likely Joe Jonas and Camilla Belle) of stealing her guy, has been criticised for being anti-feminist or outright misogynistic because it appears to pit women against one another. Additionally, it is notable for the lyrics, which go like this: “She’s not a saint and she’s not what you think, she’s an actress, she’s better known for the things that she does on the mattress,” which, yeah. Not good, especially in light of Swift’s more frequently displayed more feminism-friendly attitude (or even “persona,” depending on how cynical you are) over the course of the 10 years since the release of the original Speak Now.
But getting back to the Swif-tectives, they discovered that the new recording of “Better Than Revenge” on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) is three seconds longer than the previous one, suggesting that something has changed. Swift fans were able to access the iTunes page for the new Taylor’s Version release by searching for the first line, the “not a saint” one, but when they searched the old lyrics, they could only access the original song, seemingly indicating that the old lyrics are not in the new song!
If that is the case, it would seem that Swift has been trying to do some preemptive damage control as she is fully aware that the Taylor’s Version project (where she is rereleasing all of her old albums to regain the rights) is going through a very volatile time right now. She pleaded with the audience to refrain from harassing the various famous men she wrote songs about on Speak Now (including, allegedly, John Mayer and Taylor Lautner) a few weeks ago, noting—though not exactly saying this verbatim—that she is much more famous and wealthy than all of them and appears to be doing just fine.
Except if this whole thing is a false flag and Taylor Swift genuinely wants to unite everyone to fight everyone who has ever hurt her? She could probably complete it fairly quickly.
7/6/23 11:16 p.m. update: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), which is currently available, is keeping Swift fans everywhere busy with their inferences, and it has been rapidly established that: The mattress line has been replaced with the less poetically flawless (but more visually appealing) rhyme, “He was a moth to the flame, she was holding the matches.” Amazing work, gumshoes!