"Picture to Burn" is an angsty breakup song about Jordan Alford, who went on to date, and later marry, one of Taylor's former friends named Chelsea. Chelsea told Daily Mail:
[Jordan and I] just thought it was funny. [Jordan] was like, 'I'm not a redneck! She makes me look like some redneck!' but other than that we just thought it was kind of funny. [...] [After I began dating him, Taylor and I] exchanged a few words over a locker fight. We were 14, we were just being girly, snarky.
The song is the fourth single from Swift's debut album and peaked at #3 on Billboard's US Hot Country Songs. The track's music video featured Taylor's high school best friend Abigail Anderson, who she wrote "Fifteen" about.
The song :
[Verse 1]
State the obvious, I didn't get my perfect fantasy
I realize you love yourself more than you could ever love me
> Swift wrote "Picture to Burn" in high school—a time when many girls fixate on the idea of fairytale romance or finding Prince Charming. She touches on this subject again on "Fifteen."
Fortunately, she became aware of his narcissistic nature before it was too late:
The guy I wrote this song about, I didn't really ever 'officially' date. We almost dated. It really bothered me that he was so cocky and that's where that song came from<
So go and tell your friends that I'm obsessive and crazy
That's fine, you won't mind if I say
By the way
[Chorus]
I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive
You're a redneck heartbreak who's really bad at lyin'
So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time
As far as I'm concerned, you're just another picture to burn
> The song's subject, Jordan Alford, dated and eventually married a woman named Chelsea after he and Swift fizzled out. Regarding the incendiary chorus, Chelsea said:
We were kind of good friends at school, later not so much. She dated him, that's why. We just thought it was funny. [Jordan] was like, ''I'm not a redneck! She makes me look like some redneck!'' but other than that we just thought it was kind of funny.
Chelsea also confessed that she was sure "Picture to Burn" was about Jordan "because he's always had big old trucks and stuff."<
There's no time for tears, I'm just sittin' here planning my revenge
There's nothing stoppin' me from goin' out with all of your best friends
And if you come around sayin' sorry to me
My daddy's gonna show ya how sorry you'll be
> Taylor's heartache and anger spill out in this verse. At the time, this vengeful reaction was acceptable, but as she matured, Taylor realized it wasn't the best way to get over her pain. In a 2011 interview with MTV News, she explained:
I had this song called 'Picture to Burn'" that's talking about how 'I hate your truck,' and 'I hate that you ignored me,' 'I hate you.' Now, the way that I would say that and the way that I would feel that kind of pain is a lot different.
Additionally, the demo of "Picture to Burn" appeared online in 2015, revealing that Swift had a different idea for the last line of this second verse, which originally was:
I want you to be aware of daddy with his new automatic's gonna let you know how sorry you'll be<
[Chorus]
'Cause I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive
You're a redneck heartbreak who's really bad at lyin'
So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time
As far as I'm concerned, you're just another picture to burn
[Bridge]
And if you're missing me, you'd better keep it to yourself
'Cause coming back around here would be bad for your health
[Chorus]
'Cause I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive
You're a redneck heartbreak who's really bad at lyin'
So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time
In case you haven't heard
I really, really hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive
You're a redneck heartbreak who's really bad at lyin'
So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time
As far as I'm concerned, you're just another picture to burn
[Outro]
Burn, burn, burn, baby, burn
You're just another picture to burn
Baby, burn
Score: 7.4/10
(Bridge: 6, overall lyrics:7/10, sonically: 8/10)
Opinion: this song shows she always had it in her. This was a really small peak into what to come with reputations and bad blood and blank space). I really the like the playfulness off it all. The pettiness. The fact that all she cared about is how he didn't let her drive this stupid truck. Bridge is fine. But in the Taylor swift world a fine bridge is not enough.
