Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans mult… Read Full Bio ↴Taylor Alison Swift is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her narrative songwriting, which is often inspired by her personal life, has received widespread media coverage and critical praise.

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.

Speak Now
Taylor Swift Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Interesting Facts ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I am not the kind of girl
Who should be rudely bargin' in on a white veil occasion
But you are not the kind of boy
Who should be marryin' the wrong girl

I sneak in and see your friends
And her snotty little family, all dressed in pastel
And she is yelling at a bridesmaid

Somewhere back inside a room
Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry
This is surely not what you thought it would be
I lose myself in a daydream
Where I stand and say

"Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door
Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out"
And they said, "speak now"

Fond gestures are exchanged
And the organ starts to play
A song that sounds like a death march
And I am hiding in the curtains
It seems I was uninvited by your lovely bride-to-be
She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen
But I know you wish it was me
You wish it was me, don't you?

Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door
Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out
And they said, "speak now"

Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door
Don't wait or say a single vow
Your time is running out
And they said, "speak now"

I hear the preacher say
"Speak now or forever hold your peace"
There's a silence, there's my last chance
I stand up with shaking hands
All eyes on me
Horrified looks from everyone in the room
But I'm only lookin' at you

I am not the kind of girl
Who should be rudely bargin' in on a white veil occasion
But you are not the kind of boy,
Who should be marryin' the wrong girl

So don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door
Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out
And they said, "speak now"

And you say, "let's run away now
I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door

Oh baby, I didn't say my vow
So glad you were around when they said, "speak now"

Overall Meaning

In "Speak Now," Taylor Swift tells the story of a woman who sneaks into her ex-boyfriend's wedding because she knows he's making a mistake. She sees her ex's bride, who is wearing a gown shaped like a pastry, and her snotty family, who are all dressed in pastel. The woman daydreams of standing up and telling her ex to run away with her instead. Eventually, during the ceremony, the preacher asks if anyone has any objections to the wedding, and the woman stands up with shaking hands and speaks up. In the end, the ex-boyfriend realizes his mistake and runs away with the woman.

Swift's "Speak Now" is about love and heartbreak, and the lengths that people go to try and win back someone they love. This song is about taking the chance to say what you need to say before it's too late, rather than holding back your feelings because you're afraid of what others might think. The song emphasizes the power of speaking up and being brave in the face of heartache, and how sometimes taking a risk can lead to a happy ending.

Interesting facts about "Speak Now":

Interesting Facts
Note: This section uses generative AI, which can be inaccurate.

Line by Line Meaning

I am not the kind of girl Who should be rudely bargin' in on a white veil occasion
I am surprised to be found hatching a plan to crash your wedding ceremony, as it goes against proper etiquette.

But you are not the kind of boy Who should be marryin' the wrong girl
I cannot fathom why you would choose to marry someone who is clearly not right for you.

I sneak in and see your friends And her snotty little family, all dressed in pastel And she is yelling at a bridesmaid Somewhere back inside a room Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry This is surely not what you thought it would be
I surreptitiously make my way into your wedding venue and witness chaos among your bride-to-be's family and friends. The bride herself throws tantrums so outrageous that I cannot imagine this is the wedding you had envisioned.

I lose myself in a daydream Where I stand and say "Don't say yes, run away now I'll meet you when you're out Of the church at the back door Don't wait or say a single vow You need to hear me out" And they said, "speak now"
As I get lost in my fantasies, I picture myself standing up and urging you to flee from this marriage. I want you to listen to me before you make a lifelong commitment. The audience, meanwhile, encourages me to speak up if I have something to say.

Fond gestures are exchanged And the organ starts to play A song that sounds like a death march And I am hiding in the curtains It seems I was uninvited by your lovely bride-to-be
As the ceremony proceeds, with music and pleasantries, I continue to hide myself behind the drapes. I realize that I was uninvited by your delightful bride-to-be, who seems to delight in causing trouble.

She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen But I know you wish it was me You wish it was me, don't you?
As your bride-to-be makes her grand entrance, looking like a beauty pageant winner, I realize that deep down you wish it were me standing there in her place. You must regret not following your heart when you had the chance.

Don't say yes, run away now I'll meet you when you're out Of the church at the back door Don't wait or say a single vow You need to hear me out And they said, "speak now"
I reiterate my plea for you to escape the wedding while you still can, promising that I will be waiting for you outside. I implore you to listen to me before committing yourself to another person, while the congregation asks me to speak my mind.

Don't say yes, run away now I'll meet you when you're out Of the church at the back door Don't wait or say a single vow Your time is running out And they said, "speak now"
Repeating myself, I urge you once again to leave the ceremony as soon as possible. Time is of the essence, and I don't want you to regret spending your life with the wrong person. Others in the room tell me to speak now if I have something to confess.

I hear the preacher say "Speak now or forever hold your peace" There's a silence, there's my last chance I stand up with shaking hands All eyes on me Horrified looks from everyone in the room But I'm only lookin' at you
The preacher asks the guests if there is anyone who objects to the marriage, and everything comes to a standstill. This is my final opportunity to reveal my feelings to you, and I reluctantly rise from my hiding spot with trembling hands, causing everyone to stare at me in astonishment. Despite the looks I'm getting from the crowd, I can only focus on you.

So don't say yes, run away now I'll meet you when you're out Of the church at the back door Don't wait or say a single vow You need to hear me out And they said, "speak now"
After I gather the courage to confess my true feelings to you, I repeat my plea for you to leave the ceremony with me. Let me explain to you what you're about to give up. Others in the room urge me to come clean now.

And you say, "let's run away now I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door Oh baby, I didn't say my vow So glad you were around when they said, "speak now"
To my surprise, you agree to flee the ceremony with me, even though you're still wearing your tuxedo. You reveal that you hadn't uttered your vows yet, and you're relieved I showed up in time to rescue you from a disastrous marriage.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Taylor Swift

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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