16. “BEGIN AGAIN”
BETWEEN THE LINES After her lead single from Red suggested a defection to the pop camp, “Begin Again” was a reassuring second release for country fans, for this soft, sweet ballad complete with banjo and plaintive fiddle is classic Taylor Swift. In the opening scene, Taylor is vulnerable as she reassesses what she likes, trying to free it from the taint of a disapproving boyfriend. When a new guy arrives on the scene, he bolsters her flagging confidence, reminding her she’s funny and has great taste. For Taylor, once she’s through the worst of the breakup, there’s a part of her open to that new beginning. “Even after [a relationship] explodes into a million pieces and burns down and you’re standing in a pile of the ash of what it once was, thinking, ‘Why did I have to meet this person, why did this have to happen?’” Taylor explained to Marie Claire. “But then, when you make eye contact with someone across the room and it clicks and, bam, you’re there. In love again.”
AUDIENCE OF ONE Taylor has said the first and the last songs on the record are about the same person, bookending it with the beginning of that relationship and moving on from it. All signs point to Jake for the heartbreak, but the new love is a little less clear. Conor Kennedy and Parachute frontman Will Anderson have both been put forward as candidates.
FUN FACTS Katy Perry declared “Begin Again” one of her favorite songs of 2012.
DIARY DECODER “I wear heels now” seems to be directed toward Jake Gyllenhaal, her only ex who would be dwarfed by the 5'11" singer when she wore heels.
CHARTING SUCCESS The second single from Red shot to the top of the Hot Digital Songs chart and made it to number four on the Hot 100.
(exerpted from our book on Swifty, Taylor Swift: The Platinum Edition, which is available everywhere books are sold!)
Thanks to @taysminionyo for this beatiful Swift Notes pic!
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Swift Notes: Red (A Guide to Taylor Swift's Songs)
FanfictionA song-by-song analysis of Taylor Swift's RED album, excerpted from our just-released-in-stores Taylor Swift: The Platinum Edition.
