Day 66: I Don't Get This Song

Today's song is about Begin Again, the final song in Taylor Swift's 2012 album Red. Now, I already know what you're thinking. "Two Red songs in a row? What the hell dude, that album stinks!" And yeah, that's fair. Thing is, I've been tallying up which songs I need to talk about in the final month left in this blog and there are way more from Red than I expected, so I need to get started now!

So anyways, Begin Again. Like I said yesterday, the entire Red album is centered around the theme of pursuing relationships with red flags. So how do you end an album like that? Ideally the final song on an album with a strong theme would give a summary of previous events and give some suggestion for what the future holds. After all these toxic relationships, what do you expect Taylor to see in the future? I would guess that her experiences would have soured her and made her more cynical towards love at all.

Begin Again is such a genius song because it gives you the exact opposite while still feeling like it belongs on this album. The song is about Taylor going on a date while being unable to get her ex out of her head. The tone of this song is equal parts downtrodden and hopeful which makes it an interesting listen.

It's a good song on it's own with many lines that make Taylor's paradoxical position more relatable, but here's one that I like a lot. 

"And we walked down the block to my car and I almost brought him up
But you start to talk about the movies that your family watches
Every single Christmas and I want to talk about that
And for the first time what's past is past"

There's a lot going on here for such a short section, so let's break it down. First, let's recognize how bad of an idea it is to bring up your ex on a first date. I'm sure Taylor knows this, so we can infer that she only wanted to do it because it's such a dominating thought in her mind; she can't resist talking about him. She's having trouble fully being present, but then the silliest thing wakes her up. Something as charming and trivial as a family's Christmas traditions for some reason brings her into the moment and lets her move on.

A tiny important details is how she specifically says she wants to talk about it. It's not just distracting her, she actually feels compelled to pursue this conversation instead of internally contemplating her past relationships. The word choice in this song is very particular; every sentence is crafted with a purpose. This means that some sections feel a little overwritten, but it definitely works in it's favor on the whole.

There's also a small bit of dramatic irony here. For all we know this relationship will be just as toxic as the previous ones. Just because this dude is chivalrous and has more similar interests that doesn't mean we can assume it will automatically be a healthy relationship. So is Taylor just falling in the same trap she has over and over again? Maybe so, and that could be where the title comes from. After all, if this was really a new start then wouldn't she choose something implying novelty rather than repetition? Begin Again isn't a very good sign for a song title if you're just repeating something toxic. We can never fully know! It's just as ambiguous to the audience as it is to Taylor herself. She doesn't know how it will turn out, so we don't get to either. All that she can do is try to learn from her mistakes and hope for the best.

See you tomorrow,

-C