Behind the Meaning of Taylor Swift’s “Speak Now”

In just a few short days, we will have Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Swift’s third studio album, Speak Now originally came out in 2010 and saw the singer/songwriter start to take a shift toward pop music.

The 14-track album is home to some of the Swifties’ favorite songs and the re-recorded version boasts even more soon-to-be beloved tunes. While waiting for Swift to share the revisited version of the record on July 7, we’ve decided to take a look back at the meaning behind the title track, “Speak Now.” Why did Swift choose to record this wedding-themed anthem? Find out below.

Behind the Meaning

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

In one of her more contemporary albums, Folklore, Swift delivers a number of songs that are written about experiences that are not her own, flexing her storytelling skills. But with “Speak Now” in mind, it seems that ability was honed right from the start of her career.

“Speak Now” was inspired by one of Swift’s friends telling her about her high school sweetheart. After the pair broke up, the friend thought it was understood that they would one day get back together. The old flame however decided to marry someone else who had “completely isolated” him from his friends and family.

“I just, kind of randomly, was like, ‘So, you gonna speak now,’” Swift once explained. “She was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And I was like ‘Oh, you know, like storm the church, speak now or forever hold your peace? I’ll go with you. I’ll play guitar. It would be great.’”

Though the friend didn’t end up going through with the interruption, the idea latched itself onto Swift’s psyche so much that she dreamt of an ex-boyfriend getting married to someone else.

“It just all came together that I needed to write this song about interrupting a wedding,” she continued. “For me, I like to think of it as good versus evil, and this girl is so completely painted as the evil one.”

In the lyrics, Swift sings from the perspective of a girl who has to watch her true love prepare to marry “the wrong girl.” Like in her friend’s story, the bride-to-be is an uptight, aggressive woman with a snotty little family.

As the verses roll on, Swift’s character prepares to “speak now” in front of all the attendees. Don’t say yes, run away now / I’ll meet you when you’re out of the church at the back door, she sings.

The groom ultimately comes to his senses and decides to run away with Swift. Toward the end of the song, Swift pulls her classic POV shift, singing So glad you were around / When they said, “speak now” from the groom’s perspective.

Even in her early 20s, Swift proved herself to be an expert storyteller with “Speak Now.” Few people can create such a robust narrative in just a few minutes.

(Photo by VALERIE MACON / AFP) (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)