Nobody seems to have cracked the code behind the order of Taylor Swift’s ‘Taylor’s Version’ re-recordings (and Swifties being Swifties, many have tried). Swift started the project by releasing her second album, Fearless, skipping over her self-titled debut. And she followed that one with 2012’s Red, her fourth studio album.
Red is a fan favorite, and the album where Swift started shedding the “country” part of her signature country-pop sound. The album features a few songs that would have fit comfortably on Fearless, but it also contains three dance-pop tracks co-written with Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback.
Taylor’s version of Red featured six new vault tracks, including the much-anticipated “10 Minute Version” of the brilliant ‘All Too Well.’ That song lived up to the hype, piling even more painfully specific details into its stream-of-conscious storytelling and leaving behind the bloodied corpse of Jake Gyllenhaal.
My favorite vault track, however, is ‘Nothing New,’ a mournful look at the music industry’s treatment of young women. There are a half dozen songs on Red I would have gladly swapped out to get this beauty in the original lineup.
Of course, had that happened, we might not have been treated to the pairing with Phoebe Bridgers we got on this vault track. Swift has been called out for rarely featuring other women on her songs (and never giving them a verse when she does). This release made up for that in spades.
They tell you while you’re young
“Girls, go out and have your fun”
Then they hunt and slay the ones who actually do it
Criticize the way you fly
When you’re soaring through the sky
Shoot you down and then they sigh
And say, “She looks like she’s been through it”
[Pre-Chorus: Taylor Swift]
Lord, what will become of me
Once I’ve lost my novelty?
[Chorus: Taylor Swift]
I’ve had too much to drink tonight
And I know it’s sad, but this is what I think about
And I wake up in the middle of the night
It’s like I can feel time moving
How can a person know everythin’ at eighteen
But nothin’ at twenty-two?
And will you still want me
When I’m nothing new?
[Verse 2: Phoebe Bridgers]
How long will it be cute, all this cryin’ in my room?
When you can’t blame it on my youth
And roll your eyes with affection
And my cheeks are growing tired
From turning red and faking smiles
Are we only biding time ’til I lose your attention?
[Pre-Chorus]
And someone else lights up the room (Ah)
People love an ingénue (Ah)
[Chorus: Both]
I’ve had (I’ve had) too much to drink tonight
How did I go from growin’ up to breaking down?
And I wake up (Wake up) in the middle of the night
It’s like I can feel time movin’
How can a person know everything at eighteen
But nothing at twenty-two?
And will you still want me
When I’m nothing new?
[Bridge: Both]
I know someday I’m gonna meet her, it’s a fever dream
The kind of radiance you only have at seventeen
She’ll know the way and then she’ll say she got the map from me
I’ll say I’m happy for her, then I’ll cry myself to sleep
Oh, woah, oh (Oh)
Oh, woah, oh, woah, oh (Oh)
[Chorus: Both]
I’ve had (I’ve had) too much to drink tonight
But I wonder if they’ll miss me once they drive me out
I wake up (Wake up) in the middle of the night
And I can feel time moving
How can a person know everything at eighteen
But nothing at twenty-two?
And will you still want me
Will you still want me
Will you still want me
When I’m nothing new?
Meet Me In Montauk 
Well, given the year Taylor has had, the answer to the question posed in the song is an emphatic “yes!” Meanwhile, the lyrics might certainly be about younger artists like Lorde and Olivia Rodrigo who have been influenced by Taylor and benefitted from the trail she blazed.
Red being a top tier Taylor album for me – I can’t agree with taking “a half dozen” songs away!! But I do love the Red vaults.
Also – I think the key with the Taylor release schedule was so she could claim back her name and reputation last. Which is iconic 😌