Taylor Swift changes 'Better Than Revenge' lyrics on 'Speak Now (Taylor's Version)'

Swift's new re-recorded album also features six new songs from the vault.

July 7, 2023, 10:51 AM

"Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" is finally here, and fans have noticed an important lyric change in one of the songs from Taylor Swift's hit 2010 album.

The chorus to "Better Than Revenge" has long been a point of discussion for Swifties, and the singer has been listening. The original lyrics, which some deemed didn't fit Swift's feminist views, read:

"She's not a saint and she's not what you think / She's an actress, whoa / She's better known for the things that she does / On the mattress, whoa."

Swift switches things up a bit for the re-recorded version, singing:

"She's not a saint she's an actress and she's not what you think / She's an actress, whoa / He was a moth to the flame / She was holding the matches, whoa."

Swift shared a post on Instagram early Friday morning about her third re-recorded album, saying, "It's here. It's yours, it's mine, it's ours."

"It's an album I wrote alone about the whims, fantasies, heartaches, dramas and tragedies I lived out as a young woman between 18 and 20," she wrote. "I remember making tracklist after tracklist, obsessing over the right way to tell the story. I had to be ruthless with my choices, and I left behind some songs I am still unfailingly proud of now."

"Therefore, you have 6 From The Vault tracks!" she continued. "I recorded this album when I was 32 (and still growing up, now) and the memories it brought back filled me with nostalgia and appreciation. For life, for you, for the fact that I get to reclaim my work. Thank you a million times, for the memories that break our fall."

"Speak Now" was originally released on Oct. 25, 2010, through Big Machine Records. It includes her hit songs "Back to December," "Mean," "Mine" and "Enchanted."

In a post made to her Instagram account, Taylor Swift shares the album cover for "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" which will be released on July 7, 2023.
Beth Garrabrant and @taylorswift/Instagram

The re-recorded version follows 2021's "Fearless (Taylor's Version)," which is a re-recording of her second studio album "Fearless," originally released in 2008. Swift also re-recorded and released "Red (Taylor's Version)," originally released in 2012, later in 2021.

In May, she announced during the first night of her three-night stop in Nashville for her Eras Tour that "Speak Now" would be her third re-recorded studio album.

"I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing... and living to speak about it," Swift wrote in an Instagram post at the time.

"Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" features six new songs from the vault, including "Electric Touch" featuring Fall Out Boy and "Castles Crumbling" featuring Paramore's Hayley Williams.