Taylor Swift’s Version of ‘Fearless’ Decoded: New Songs, Changed Lyrics

Taylor Swift dropped ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ on Friday, April 9 — get a complete breakdown of the new songs and lyrics

What year is it again, Swifties? Taylor Swift has opened the vault — and there’s no going back.

The Grammy winner dropped Fearless (Taylor’s Version), a rerecorded version of her 2008 album, on Friday, April 9, nearly two months after announcing the news.

“When I think back on the Fearless album and all that you turned it into, a completely involuntary smile creeps across my face. This was the musical era in which so many inside jokes were created between us, so many hugs exchanged and hands touched, so many unbreakable bonds formed,” Swift wrote via Instagram in February. “So before I say anything else, let me just say that it was a real honor to get to be a teenager alongside you. This process has been more fulfilling and emotional than I could’ve imagined and has made me even more determined to re-record all of my music. I hope you’ll like this first outing as much as I liked traveling back in time to recreate it.”

Swift took to the studio to rerecord her discography with Big Machine Records — her first six albums — after Scooter Braun purchased the rights to her masters for more than $300 million from label owner Scott Borchetta.

Two days before the entire album, which includes the bonus tracks and six new songs from the vault, dropped, Swift released “Mr. Perfectly Fine.”

“Me in 2020: life is chill, writing songs based in fiction to avoid drama, feeling pretty grown up,” she tweeted, referring to her 2020’s Folklore and Evermore. “My 2008 music from the vault, in a goblin voice: ‘REELEEEEEEASE MR PERFECTLY FIIIIIIINE.’”

Back in 2008, Swift was known for penning tracks about her exes, including Joe Jonas, whom she dated for several months until their October 2008 split.

“[Joe] is not in my life anymore, unfortunately. That’s ouch. … Someday I’m gonna find someone really, really great who’s right for me,” she told Ellen DeGeneres at the time. “When I find that person that is right for me … he’ll be wonderful. And when I that person, I’m not even gonna be able to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18.”

More than a decade later, Swift told the host that she regretted putting Jonas “on blast” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Jonas, for his part, said it was “nice” to hear her apology.

At the time, however, he fired back via a MySpace statement: “For those who have expressed concern over the ’27 second’ phone call, I called to discuss feelings with the other person. Those feelings were obviously not well received. I did not end the conversation. Someone else did. Phone calls can only last as long as the person on the other end of the line is willing to talk. Anytime you are in a relationship for any length of time there are going to be issues.”

The exes have since made amends, with Swift sparking speculation through her song “Invisible String” that she sent Jonas and wife Sophie Turner a baby gift in July 2020. Swift, meanwhile, has been with boyfriend Joe Alwyn since 2017.

Scroll through for a breakdown of the Easter eggs on Fearless (Taylor’s Version):