Flashback Friday: "Back to December" - Taylor Swift (2010)

Well, it’s only a matter of time before I cover Taylor Swift, right? You all know Taylor Swift. That girl that keeps on dumping guys and writing songs about them? I bet you can’t wait for me to dig deep into her exhausted landfill of songs!

Well, see, those songs are Taylor Swift at her worst. But Taylor Swift at her best is actually quite tolerable. And today, I’m going to review one of her more tolerable songs, “Back to December”.

Now, this isn’t vindictive Taylor Swift at all. Rather, this is remorseful Taylor Swift at full blast. A Taylor Swift that admits her own faults. A genuinely heartbroken Taylor Swift. Most importantly, a Taylor Swift I can get behind.

The Taylor Swift in the above song is false, cloying, and well distanced from emotion. I don’t believe that this flavor-of-the-week guy’s words hurt her for a second, because in the chorus, she starts bragging about this “big ol’ city” she’s gonna live in, away from him. She’s not brought down by this guy; she can kick him down with this scathing song at any time. Look at this.

All you are is mean
And a liar, and pathetic, and alone in life

He’s the mean one?

Okay, I get it, girl power. But Taylor Swift doesn’t have enough clout to pull it off. Someone like Beyoncé, though I greatly dislike a number of her songs, is at least believable when she’s taking down a man. Taylor’s got too many lovey-dovey, almost childish songs to be taken seriously when she’s standing up for herself. It’s kind of sad, really.

But enough Taylor Swift bashing, because I picked a Taylor Swift song I kind of like. Now, I’m not saying that girls are always to blame in the relationship. I fall for songs like this all the time, guy or girl. Bruno Mars had a song like this earlier this year, and it may be one of my favourites of the year. Call me a sap.

I’m not trying to say that I dislike revenge-on-ex songs either. But they have to be angry for me to like them, not smug like “Mean”. Here’s an example:

Now this is a song with pure, unadulterated, fire-in-the-belly anger. I almost feel the nails when Alanis scratches them down someone else’s back.

Man, I’m really getting off track here, aren’t I? Okay, how about we start talking about the song I was planning to talk about?

The song starts off with Taylor Swift greeting this ex-flame (who is rumoured to be Taylor Lautner, but I really couldn’t care less) and telling how they engage in small talk. Then we get to this line:

Your guard is up and I know why.

and that’s when we figure out that this isn’t going to be a “Mean”-esque song at all. In fact, Taylor Swift’s the one to blame. And that’s what makes it work. I can get behind feelings like guilt, and regret, and empathy. I can’t get behind a breakup song full of smug.

So the song continues, and it’s refreshing to hear from Taylor Swift. I kind of want to know a little backstory (like why would Swifty dump this guy in the first place?) but at the same time, I think it would ruin the message of guilt that she’s sending. So it’s just fine that we have little to no explanation behind the breakup. In fact, it makes it better. It makes more sense why she feels remorseful. I feel like anyone who’s regretted a breakup can instantly relate to this song.

So, there’s my opinion. Maybe I’ll get a chance to tear into a bad Taylor Swift song, but for now, it’s a happy ending. Almost a love story. I just said “yes”.

Agree? Disagree? Comment below!