Taylor Swift Debuts ‘Speak Now’ Vault Songs: Clues, Lyrics

This night is sparkling. Taylor Swift broke the internet with her release of her rerecorded third studio album, Speak Now. The album – which was first announced during night one of her “Eras Tour” stop in Nashville in May – includes six songs from the vault.

“It fills me with such pride and joy to announce that my version of Speak Now will be out July 7 (just in time for July 9th, iykyk),” Taylor, 33, shared via Instagram at the time. “I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, between the ages of 18 and 20. The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness. I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing … and living to speak about it.”

Fans and celebrities alike have been on the edge of their seats awaiting the arrival of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), including some of Taylor’s famous exes.

“I think it’s a great album. Yeah, I feel safe,” Taylor Lautner – who dated to “Enchanted” songstress in 2009 – told TODAY.com on May 16. “Praying for John,” he added, referring to another of Taylor’s ex-boyfriends, John Mayer, who has reportedly been the subject of some of Taylor’s heartbreaking ballads.

Following the Twilight star’s comments – as well as Swifties’ onslaught of hate towards Jake Gyllenhaal after the 2021 release of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) – Taylor took to the stage to ask her loyal fans to be kind to her former flames ahead of the album’s release.

“I get to stand on this stage every single night of this tour and watch some of the most beautiful things happen,” she told the crowd at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium last month. “I see so many beautiful interactions happen, and I hear so many stories about friends that were made at these shows. I watch it happen, and it’s the most unbelievable thing to watch.”

Deal of the Day

This ‘Slimming’ Suit is Just $16 Today! View Deal

She continued, “I’m 33 years old. I don’t care about anything that happened to me when I was 19. … I’m not putting this album out so that you can go and should feel the need to defend me on the internet against someone you think I might have written a song about 14 billion years ago.”

While Taylor didn’t name names, her gentle scolding came ahead of her performance of “Dear John,” which is widely believed to be about her relationship with the “Gravity” singer.

Keep scrolling for all the clues hidden in the lyrics of each of Taylor’s new songs.

‘When Emma Falls In Love’

Just moments after Taylor dropped SNTV, fans immediately took to social media with theories on who her new hit “When Emma Falls In Love” is about, with many pointing to longtime pal Emma Stone.

“When Emma falls in love, she calls up her mom / Jokes about the ways that this one could go wrong / She waits and takes her time / ‘Cause Little Miss Sunshine always thinks it’s gonna rain,” Taylor sings in her vault track, which Swifties are convinced is referring to her a scene from Emma’s film Easy A.

‘Better Than Revenge’

While not a vault song – “Better Than Revenge” was originally released on Taylor’s 2010 album – fans have pointed to Joe Jonas’ relationship with ex Camilla Belle as the subject of this hit piece for more than a decade. However, for her rerelease Swifties had mixed feelings about Taylor changing up one of the song’s most famous lines.

“She’s not a saint, and she’s not what you think / she’s an actress, whoa / She’s better known for the things that she does / On the mattress, whoa,” Taylor belts in the original lyrics. Thirteen years later, Taylor now sings, “He was a moth to the flame / She was holding the matches, whoa.”

‘I Can See You’

The subject of “I Can See You” may not be as obvious to some listeners as say “Dear John” is, however, fans think they’ve decoded Taylor’s message in her new hit.

“But what would you do if I went to touch you now? / What would you do if they never found us out? / What would you do if we never made a sound?” she sings, seemingly about crossing lines for love, which led some fans to speculate if Taylor was singing about exes Lautner or Mayer whom she met through work.

‘Foolish One’

Another of her vault hits that is seemingly pointing to her romance with the “Your Body Is a Wonderland” singer is “Foolish One.” Similar to “Dear John,” the song talks about missing the signs.

“You give me just enough attention to keep my hopes too high / Wishful thoughts forget to mention when something’s really not right / And I will block out these voices of reason in my head,” Taylor sings. “And the voices say, ‘You are not the exception / You will never learn your lesson.'”

‘Castles Crumbling’

Taylor’s original Speak Now album was released the year after her and Kanye West’s infamous VMA fiasco, which some fans believe is what she is singing about in her vault song “Castles Crumbling.”

“Once, I had an empire in a golden age / I was held up so high, I used to be great / They used to cheer when they saw my face / Now, I fear I have fallen from grace,” Taylor sings.

This is not the first time the “Long Live” artist has sung about her fears of falling from grace, however. She also addresses the subject in songs like Red (Taylor’s Version)’s “Nothing New” and Midnights’ “Anti-Hero.”