Born in West Reading, Pennsylvania, Swift relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 2004 to pursue a career in country music. She broke into the country music scene with her eponymous self-titled debut studio album, Taylor Swift in 2006, which included the singles "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "Our Song". Swift also released the holiday album, Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection, later titled as The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection in October 2007.
Swift rose to mainstream prominence with her sophomore studio album, Fearless (2008), a country pop record with crossover appeal. Aided by the top-five singles "Love Story" and "You Belong with Me", Fearless was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Swift's third studio album, Speak Now (2010), blended country pop with elements of rock and featured the top-ten singles "Mine" and "Back to December".
Drawing inspiration from various pop, rock, and electronic genres, Swift's fourth studio album Red (2012) saw her transcending her country roots. She completely moved to pop with her synth-pop fifth studio album, 1989 (2014), and expanded the electropop sound on her next two studio albums, reputation (2017) and Lover (2019), which respectively embraced urban and retro styles. The four albums spawned a string of international top-five singles, including "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "I Knew You Were Trouble", "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", "Bad Blood", "Look What You Made Me Do", "ME! (feat. Brendon Urie of Panic! at the Disco)", "You Need to Calm Down", and "Lover".
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Swift experimented with folk and alternative rock on her eighth and ninth studio albums, folklore and evermore (both 2020), whose lead singles "cardigan" and "willow" topped charts around the world. She also released the critically acclaimed documentaries Miss Americana and Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions that year. Swift's tenth studio album, Midnights (2022), marked her triumphant return to pop after two folk albums. The album set the record for biggest first day and first week ever on Spotify, spawned the hits Anti-Hero and Lavender Haze, and sold over 1.5 million copies in its first week becoming not only the biggest debut of the decade but also Swift's biggest debut ever. She would make history by becoming the first artist to occupy the entire top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 with tracks from Midnights.
Additionally, Swift began re-recording her back catalog in November 2020 as a result of a publicized dispute with talent manager Scooter Braun and her former label Big Machine, regarding the acquisition of the masters of her back catalog. In April 2021, Swift released a re-recorded issue of her 2008 album Fearless, titled Fearless (Taylor's Version). It debuted at number one in the US. Swift continued releasing re-recorded versions of her back catalog in November, 2021 with the release of Red (Taylor's Version), a 30 track re-issue of her 2012 critical smash. The album debuted at #1 in the US, spawned the #1 hit All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault), and broke the record at the time for biggest first day for a female album on Spotify. Red (Taylor's Version) was a critical and commercial hit, and proved that Swift's ambitious plan to re-record her first 6 albums was well worth it.
Along with the release of Red (Taylor's Version) came All Too Well: The Short Film (2021), Swift's filmmaking debut. The 15 minute romantic drama was based on the lyrical content from Swift's 2012 fan favorite "All Too Well" starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien. It had a limited theatrical release in major cities, and Swift held special screenings of the film throughout 2022 at various film festivals. In December, 2022 Taylor announced that she would be making her feature directorial debut with Oscar-winning studio Searchlight Pictures.
Following the release of Midnights, Swift would embark on her first tour in five years, The Eras Tour.
Swift has released several songs for film soundtracks. She co-wrote two songs for the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack— "You'll Always Find Your Way Back Home" and "Crazier", and contributed two songs to the Valentine's Day soundtrack, including the single "Today Was a Fairytale", which was her first number one on the Canadian Hot 100, and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. She also contributed two original songs to The Hunger Games soundtrack album: "Safe & Sound - from The Hunger Games Soundtrack", co-written and recorded with The Civil Wars and T-Bone Burnett, and "Eyes Open". "Safe & Sound" won the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. In 2013, Swift recorded "Sweeter than Fiction", a song she wrote and produced with Jack Antonoff for the One Chance film soundtrack, which received a Best Original Song nomination at the 71st Golden Globe Awards. Swift and English singer Zayn Malik, mononymously known as Zayn, released a single together, "I Don't Wanna Live Forever", for the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades Darker (2017). She also recorded an original song called "Beautiful Ghosts", which she wrote with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the Cats's soundtrack (2019). In 2020, Swift's documentary Miss Americana featured the song "Only the Young" which was written after the 2018 United States elections. In 2022, she released an original song titled "Carolina" for Where The Crawdads Sing (2022) inspired by the novel written by Delia Owens.
With sales of over 200 million records worldwide, Swift is a best-selling music artist. Her accolades include 12 Grammy Awards (including three Album of the Year wins), two Brit Awards (including a Global Icon award), an Emmy Award, 28 [https://guinnessworldrecords.com/]Guinness World Records, 32 American Music Awards (the most wins by an artist), and 23 Billboard Music Awards (the most wins by a woman). She ranked eighth on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Artists Chart (2019) and was listed on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time (2015). Swift has been included in various power rankings, such as Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world (2010, 2015 and 2019) and Forbes Celebrity 100 (placing first in 2016 and 2019). She was named Woman of the Decade (2010s) by Billboard and Artist of the Decade (2010s) by the American Music Awards.
Better Man
Taylor Swift Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Than lovin' a man who didn't know what he had when he had it
And I see the permanent damage you did to me
Never again, I just wish I could forget when it was magic
I wish it wasn't 4 AM, standin' in the mirror
Sayin' to myself, you know you had to do it
I know the bravest thing I ever did was run
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
A better man
I know I'm probably better off all alone
Than needin' a man who could change his mind at any given minute
And it was always on your terms, I waited on every careless word
Hopin' they might turn sweet again, like it was in the beginning
But your jealousy, oh, I can hear it now
Talkin' down to me like I'd always be around
Push my love away like it was some kind of loaded gun
Oh, you never thought I'd run
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
A better man
I hold onto this pride because these days, it's all I have
And I gave to you my best and we both know you can't say that
I wish you were a better man
I wonder what we would've become if you were a better man
We might still be in love if you were a better man
You would've been the one if you were a better man
Yeah, yeah
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
A better man
(Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again)
We might still be in love if you were a better man
(But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man)
Yeah, yeah
I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
A better man
We might still be in love if you were a better man
You would've been the one if you were a better man
The song "Better Man" by Taylor Swift is about a woman who is reflecting on her past relationship with a man who didn't appreciate her and treated her poorly. The woman acknowledges that she is better off without him, but she misses what they had and wishes he had been a better man. She describes the permanent damage that he caused and the emotional toll it had on her. The woman knows that the bravest thing she ever did was leave him, even though it was hard to do.
The chorus of the song repeats the line, "Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again, But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man." This line conveys the conflicting emotions that the woman feels – she misses him, but she knows that the relationship wasn't healthy and she wishes he had been a better partner.
In the final verse, the woman holds onto her pride and acknowledges that she gave him her best, but he couldn't do the same for her. She wonders what could have been if he had been a better man, and if they could still be together if he had treated her better.
Overall, "Better Man" is a poignant reflection on a toxic relationship and the conflicting emotions that come with a breakup. It highlights the importance of treating your partner with respect and appreciation, and the lasting impact that a bad relationship can have.
Line by Line Meaning
I know I'm probably better off on my own
I understand that being alone is better than being in a relationship where the other person is unaware of what they had.
Than lovin' a man who didn't know what he had when he had it
Being in love with someone who didn't recognize the value of our relationship was a bad choice.
And I see the permanent damage you did to me
You inflicted permanent emotional harm on me that I am still dealing with.
Never again, I just wish I could forget when it was magic
I don't want to go through this again, and I wish I could erase the memories of when things were good between us.
I wish it wasn't 4 AM, standin' in the mirror
I wish I wasn't constantly plagued by thoughts of you, especially when I'm alone with my thoughts in the early hours of the morning.
Sayin' to myself, you know you had to do it
Reminding myself that ending our relationship was the right thing to do, even though it was difficult.
I know the bravest thing I ever did was run
Leaving you was one of the bravest things I have ever done, even though it hurt me deeply.
I know why we had to say goodbye like the back of my hand
I understand completely why we had to end things, it is as familiar to me as the back of my hand.
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
I still miss you, but I wish you had been the person I thought you were and treated me better.
I know I'm probably better off all alone
Being alone is likely better for me than being with someone who can change his mind on a whim.
Than needin' a man who could change his mind at any given minute
Being with a man who could flip on our relationship at any moment was not something I needed in my life.
And it was always on your terms, I waited on every careless word
I always had to conform to your needs, and I hung onto your every word even if it was thoughtless.
Hopin' they might turn sweet again, like it was in the beginning
I hoped that you would go back to treating me well, like you did in the early days of our relationship.
But your jealousy, oh, I can hear it now
Your jealousy was a burden on our relationship, and I can still hear it in my mind.
Talkin' down to me like I'd always be around
You talked down to me like I was always going to be there, as if you didn't value my presence.
Push my love away like it was some kind of loaded gun
You treated my love like it was a dangerous weapon and pushed it away from you.
Oh, you never thought I'd run
You never thought I would have the strength to leave, but I did.
I hold onto this pride because these days, it's all I have
I cling to my pride because it's one of the few things I have left after everything that has happened between us.
And I gave to you my best and we both know you can't say that
I put my best self into our relationship, and we both know you didn't do the same.
I wish you were a better man
I wish you were the kind of person who would have treated me with the respect and love I deserved.
I wonder what we would've become if you were a better man
I can't help but think about what could have been if you had been a better person and partner.
We might still be in love if you were a better man
If you had been a better partner, we might still be together today.
You would've been the one if you were a better man
If you had abided by the qualities of a good partner, I might have seen you as the person I wanted to be with forever.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Taylor Alison Swift
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michelle De La Fuente
Hace muy poco tiempo tuve que alejarme del hombre al que amaba... 💔😞
Amo las canciones de Taylor, pero a decir verdad admito que no había escuchado esta canción, no sé por qué no la conocía pero, llegó justo en este momento que me siento totalmente identificada con ella. 😔
Realmente amar a un hombre que no sabe lo que quiere y que no sabe valorar la mujer que eres cuándo te tiene es totalmente devastador 💔
Tuvimos una hermosa historia de amor al comienzo y a lo largo de nuestra relación, él me daba tanta paz, a su lado me sentía cómo con muy pocos hombres nunca me había sentido en mi vida, con él sentía que no me podría faltar nada más, él era mi lugar seguro y me hacía sentir que yo era el suyo también 😓
Me fui amándolo con todas mis fuerzas, pero en el fondo yo sabía que estaba tomando la decisión correcta, aunque me estuviera desangrando por dentro 😞💔
Lo extraño tanto... 😓
Pero él cambió, dejó de esforzarse, dejó de hacerme feliz, poco a poco me iba sintiendo más y más sola (a pesar de tenerlo a mi lado), con él viví un amor muy bonito y muy diferente, aprendí mucho, y se los juro; yo sí me veía a su lado amándonos por el resto de nuestros días y teniendo un futuro muy bonito, teníamos muchos planes y coincidíamos en tantas cosas.
Me resultó tan doloroso dejarlo.
Pero al mismo tiempo a su lado sólo me estaba sacrificando, yo terminé luchando por los dos y creo que eso es muy egoísta, el amor cuándo ya no es mutuo ya no sirve, uno solo no puede luchar por los dos.
Lo extraño demasiado, me duele que él haya dejado morir lo nuestro, no merecíamos un final así de vacío, sin duda merecíamos más.
Él llegó cómo una luz, una lucecita a mi vida cuándo estaba atravesando por un proceso doloroso, no lo esperaba ni lo buscaba pero llegó y me iluminó la vida de arcoíris 🌈
Ahora esa misma luz se la envío a él, para que ilumine su vida, le hace mucha falta amarse más para que ya no lastime a nadie.
Siempre te querré de una forma muy especial, te lo dije y te lo cumpliré...
Te amé muchísimo, pero cómo te dije una noche: "me amo mucho más a mi misma; y aunque me esté muriendo por dentro sé que lo mejor es que me vaya..."
Te amo Marco, me diste un amor muy bonito, aunque hubiese querido que nuestro desenlace no fuese tan doloroso.
Quizás algún día volvamos a encontrarnos y espero que para ese entonces ya no sienta ningún ápice de amor por ti, para poder tomar tu mano y desearte lo mejor... ❤
Y seguir adelante.
No supiste valorar lo que tuviste a mi lado, espero que enmiendes tu camino para que un día sí puedas hacer la cosas bien.
Mientras tanto yo seguiré adelante, aunque ya sin ti, ya no con el corazoncito lleno de ti, ni de tu amor, ni de tus locuras y sin tu sonrisa de fábula y tus preciosos ojos verdes; pero sí con recuerdos muy bonitos y habiendo preferido que tú hubieses sido un mejor hombre para mi, quizás de ese modo lo nuestro jamás hubiera tenido final... cómo diste esta rolita de Tay. 🤞🏻✨
Juan Pablo García Ayala
I am a rock and metal guy, but last year I started listening to Taylor Swift. I started with Folklore and Evermore, and those were absolutely phenomenal and helped me with my anxiety. Now I know all her songs. Her music and lyrics are beyond beautiful.
Stephanie Jackson
She speaks to people across genres and ages. She has some very beautiful songs.
Saoirse Tully
For me, when she did a song with Bon Iver - She's ethereal. It confirmed my love.
Rubaiya Alam Raiya
I have the same experience as you!
eliz964
My job in 2020 was very stressful and I had a ton of anxiety due to it. Folklore and evermore also helped me calm my mind. It's amazing what music can do.
Ellen Grace
She’s incredibly talented, on many levels - songwriter, musician, businesswoman, performer, and human. I went to her concert in Philly with my niece about 7 years ago. We had great seats and were surrounded by Swifties. It was a blast but what those teenagers didn’t understand yet was how her music is timeless. I’m now 59 and this song really hits home on my last relationship with a 61 year old man. Taylor is a universal force! ❤
Sarah Williams
Left an abusive relationship. The right thing but doesn’t take away the grief. This song has always hit hard. Thank you Taylor.
Steph
Hope you found your better man :)
Amanda Poteet
Same!
S R
Same, girl. This song always hit so very close to home for me. I can't count how many times I've listened. Always strangely comforting.