Taylor Swift dominated 2020 with her two surprise albums ‘folklore’ and ‘evermore’ but, 2021 will take a look back and capture the magical world of Swift we once got to know in our blissful youth. ‘Love Story (Taylor’s Version)’, the iconic hit that made her a star around the world in 2008 premiered first and ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’s era was lauded in.
With the release, a statement came a surprise mention of six songs from her vault. The first one to grace our ears is ‘You All Over Me’. The track that some of her fans only knew as a rare recording somewhere found on the back pages of the internet now gets a bigger recognition as the first of a series of “new” songs to be brought to light by ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’.
Unlike ‘Love Story (Taylor’s Version)’, ‘You All Over Me’ taps into her mature singing voice which blends well with a tale that seemed to be a reflective statement of someone who has lived a full life. “And wasted time, lost tears – Swore that I’d get out of here – But no amount of freedom gets you clean – I’ve still got you all over me”, as per usual the lyrics live out on their own and makes it clear that Swift has always been wise beyond her years. The harmonising hums of Maren Morris take ‘You All Over Me’ to the next level and make it another country track for the ages.
With ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ the 31-year-old artist turns back to her roots and proves to us that even after all of her musical innovations you never fully forget your first love, which in this case seeps through in an ever-so-beautiful soft rendition of Taylor Swift’s own version of the country genre.
‘You All Over Me’ symbolises the old and the new. It has snippets of 19-year-old Swift whilst having the maturity of someone who had to go through a whole lot of trouble. ‘You All Over Me’ is not just the end of everything that ‘Fearless’ ever represented but the beginning of all the things Taylor Swift is yet to do.
Written by: Lauren Dehollogne
GEM Magazine 