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, yet ongoing 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—a retrospective tour covering the entirety of her discography. During her ongoing tour, Swift would release her next two re-recorded albums, Speak Now (Taylor's Version) in July and 1989 (Taylor's Version) in October of 2023. The former of which would land Swift as the woman with the most number-one albums (12) in Billboard 200 history, surpassing Barbra Streisand. The latter was her sixth album to sell one million copies in a single week in the US, her largest album sales in a week span. “Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version)”, the lead single for 1989 (Taylor's Version), would peak at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
At the 66th annual GRAMMY Awards, Taylor Swift surprised viewers by announcing her eleventh studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. On April 19, 2024, the album was released globally, breaking records: it became the first ever to amass 1 billion Spotify streams in a week and sold 2.6 million units in its first week in the US. Swift dominated the charts, monopolizing the top 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 and securing the top 10 positions on Australia’s ARIA Singles Chart. The lead single, Fortnight, featuring Post Malone, quickly soared to the number-one position on the Hot 100. Additionally, just two hours after the album’s release, Swift surprised fans with a reissue titled THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY, which included 15 extra songs.
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 14 Grammy Awards, including four Album of the Year wins, which makes Swift the artist with the most awards for that category in history, two Brit Awards (including a Global Icon award), an Emmy Award, 28 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, Artist of the Decade (2010s) by the American Music Awards, and Person of the Year (2023) by Time Magazine.
Vigilante Shit
Taylor Swift Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You did some bad things but I'm the worst of them
Sometimes I wonder which one'll be your last lie?
They say looks can kill and I might try
I don't dress for women, I don't dress for men
Lately I've been dressing for revenge
I don't start it but I can tell you how it ends
So on the weekends, I don't dress for friends
Lately I've been dressing for revenge
She needed cold hard proof, so I give her some
She had the envelope, where you think she got it from?
Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride
Picture me, thick as thieves with your ex-wife
And she looks so pretty
Driving in your Benz
Lately she's been dressing for revenge
She don't start it but she can tell you how it ends
Don't get sad, get even
So on the weekends, she don't dress for friends
Lately she's been dressing for revenge
Ladies always rise above
Ladies know what people want
Someone sweet and kind and fun
The ladies simply had enough
Well he was doing lines
And crossing all of mine
Someone told his white collar crimes to the FBI
And I don't dress for villains
Or for innocence
I'm on vigilante shh again
I don't start it but I can tell you how it ends
Don't get sad, get even
So on the weekends, I don't dress for friends
Lately I've been dressing for revenge
In the song "Vigilante Shit," Taylor Swift sings about someone seeking revenge on their ex-partner, wanting to get even for the things that they have done wrong. The lyrics of the song suggest that the singer has been wronged by their ex and is out for revenge. They draw a cat-eye sharp enough to kill a man, showing their willingness to go to great lengths to achieve their goal. The singer speaks of dressing for revenge, no longer dressing for men or women but dressing specifically to get back at their ex.
The singer describes how they have given proof to someone who needed it, leading to their ex's downfall, losing their house, kids, and pride. They also mention being "thick as thieves" with their ex's ex-wife, suggesting that they have teamed up to get back at their former partner. They also talk about not dressing for villains or innocents but being on their "vigilante shit again." This suggests that they see themselves as a vigilante taking matters into their own hands to right the wrongs they have faced, where they don't start the fight but can end it.
Interestingly, the chorus of the song takes on a feminist tone, with the line "Ladies always rise above" and "Ladies know what people want." The song suggests that women have had enough of being wronged and are done with being the victim of the situation. Additionally, the song takes up an empowering theme about seeking revenge on someone that has wronged you. Taylor Swift's "Vigilante Shit" is a song about revenge, giving a sense of what it's like to fashion yourself into a detective who's ruthlessly seeking justice.
Line by Line Meaning
Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man
I'm putting on makeup that is so fierce it has lethal power
You did some bad things, but I'm the worst of them
I'm admitting that I've done things wrong too, but I plan on getting even
Sometimes I wonder which one'll be your last lie
I'm unsure when you will stop being dishonest with me
They say looks can kill and I might try
I'm using my appearance as a weapon to seek revenge
I don't dress for women
I'm not dressing up to impress other women
I don't dress for men
I'm not dressing up to impress men either
Lately, I've been dressing for revenge
I am using my fashion choices to show my desire for revenge
She needed cold, hard proof, so I give her some
I provided her with undeniable evidence
She had the envelope, where you think she got it from?
I helped her obtain the envelope with evidence
Now she gets the house, gets the kids, gets the pride
She is receiving everything that you lost due to your actions
Picture me thick as thieves with your ex-wife
Imagine me and your ex-wife as close allies seeking revenge on you
And she looks so pretty
Your ex-wife is looking great after taking everything you had
Drivin' in your Benz
She is driving your luxury car and enjoying the fruits of your labor
Lately, she's been dressing for revenge
She is also using her clothing choices to show her desire for revenge
Ladies always rise above
Women have a strength and resilience to overcome any obstacle
Ladies know what people want
Women are perceptive and understand what motivates others
Someone sweet and kind and fun
People are often attracted to qualities such as kindness and a sense of humor
The ladies simply had enough
Women have reached a breaking point and are taking action
While he was doin' lines and crossin' all of mine
He was being unfaithful and crossing boundaries in our relationship
Someone told his white-collar crimes to the FBI
Someone reported his illegal activities to the authorities
And I don't dress for villains
I'm not dressing up to appeal to criminals
Or for innocents
Nor am I dressing up to please innocent people
I'm on the vigilante shit again
I'm taking matters into my own hands and seeking revenge
I don't start shit, but I can tell you how it ends
I'm letting you know that I'm not confrontational, but I will still get revenge
Don't get sad, get even
It's better to seek revenge than to let injustices go unpunished
So on the weekends
I'm using my free time to plot and plan for revenge
I don't dress for friends
I'm not worried about impressing my friends with my clothing choices
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Taylor Swift
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nyurma_eden
It’s the “Don’t get sad, get even” for me. Done with people stepping all over my peace of mind. What a powerful line there!
@tamrawai8986
I don’t understand what it means..?
@kxnari7430
@@tamrawai8986 It means to not get sad, and get down into business
@deisycervantes9092
Ufff this songs describes what I did, and I savored every second of my revenge. Don’t get sad, get even indeed🎉
@magnesiumswift
@@tamrawai8986 it means don't be sad when they harm you, revenge them
@doglover4734
No but I read this comment when she sang that….
@sssadprose1751
“Ladies always rise above
Ladies know what people want
Someone sweet and kind and fun
The lady simply had enough”
@WhisperinAngel
Overused cliché, but it's simply iconic.
Editing to add that by overused cliche I mean the word iconic, not this song, which I love.
@theovergrownbookshelf7801
@@WhisperinAngel how is this overused?
@meraytu4467
Yes