Taylor Swift Song Meanings [ON HOLD]

Begin again

Took a deep breath in the mirror
He didn't like it when I wore high heels
But I do
Turn the lock and put my headphones on
He always said he didn't get this song
But I do, I do

Walked in expecting you'd be late
But you got here early and you stand and wave
I walk to you
You pull my chair out and help me in
And you don't know how nice that is
But I do

And you throw your head back laughing like a little kid
I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did
I've been spending the last eight months
Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again

You said you never met one girl
Who had as many James Taylor records as you
But I do
We tell stories and you don't know why
I'm coming off a little shy
But I do

But you throw your head back laughing like a little kid
I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did

I've been spending the last eight months
Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again

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

'Cause you throw your head back laughing like a little kid
I think it's strange that you think I'm funny 'cause he never did
I've been spending the last eight months

Thinking all love ever does is break and burn and end
But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again

But on a Wednesday in a cafe I watched it begin again.

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Taylor's point of view:

On the Good Morning America preview of the song, Taylor said "It's actually a song about when you've gotten through a really bad relationship and you finally dust yourself off and go on that first date after a horrible break-up, and the vulnerability that goes along with all of that."
This song talks about two relationships. The first one is an ex boyfriend who "didn't like it when I wore high heels", "didn't get this song", and never thought she was funny. The second relationship is her new interest. It is the first date she goes on after 8 months of getting over her ex-boyfriend. He is very sweet to her "But you got here early/You pulled my chair out and helped me in."

*******

Taylor's point of view (2):

'Begin Again' is a song that I wrote about um getting through a break-up and and really
being still kinda sad about it and feeling a little insecure about all the things that
that relationship made you feel were wrong with yourself. And after months and months
and months, having the courage to stand back up and dust yourself off and ... and go on
that first date. And it's about kind of the vulnerability involved with that and the idea
that you realize that ... 'Wow, this this could be... this could be great and maybe I don't
have to be hurt anymore.'

**********
Documentary:

Taylor told Randy Lewis of LA Times, "There were a few track list choices I knew I was going to make way in advance. I knew I wanted to bookend the album with 'State of Grace' and 'Begin Again' because they're inspired by the same person who inspired a few songs on the record. I wanted to start and end the album with the first and last song I ever wrote about that relationship."
We know that "State of Grace" is about Jake Gyllenhaal, so this song must be about him too! He is the first guy, the exboyfriend, and the second guys is Will Anderson the lead singer of Parachute. They started hanging out at the end of 2011 and were spotted together in December. Jake and Taylor's relationship got over sometime in February 2011 (after they had broken up and gotten back together a few times) and her first date with Will must have happened sometime in November 2011, "I've been spending the last 8 months thinking all love ever does/Is break and burn and end." This would fit the time frame of 8 months.
For whatever reason things didn't work out or progress further with Will, but I'm glad "on a Wednesday in a cafe [Taylor] watched it begin again" and she was finally able to get over Jake and "what's passed is past".

******

Song meanings:

This song is about someone who has been hurt very badly and wants to give up on love, but they finally get up and go on a first date with someone and realize that it isn't all bad and that love can work.

This is about being hurt by love and being scarred by what your previous lover has told you or the way you were treated.
It's about standing up for the first time in a while, brushing yourself off and going on that first date, expecting the worst but recieving the best.
It means, don't give up.

Taylor Swift's single "Begin Again" from the Red album captures the emotion of a first date and the beginning of new love. The context of this first date is significant; it comes after the ending of a significant relationship. Swift has had an appropriate amount of time to mourn and grieve the loss of the previous relationship - eight months.

The tone of the song is serious, heartfelt, solemn, and hopeful. Swift uses beautiful and specific images to unpack the emotion that takes place during this new date. She offers vivid imagery which elicits for the hearer the very emotion that she is feeling herself.

The opening of the song names pieces of the previous relationship that had left something to be desired. They weren't deal breakers but she is able to name them as she has gotten some perspective over the last eight months. She is talking to herself but imagines a conversation with the ex, "You didn't like it when I wore high heels." She quickly shifts to the third person, "he always said he didn't get this song" and moves from the intimacy of talking with the ex to talking about the ex. For the rest of the song, the 2nd person is reserved for the object of her new affection.

Swift thens shows up for her date at a café. She is pleasantly surprised to find that he has already arrived (her ex was always late). Swift then vividly paints her date offering several gestures that are fresh and welcomed, "you pull my chair out and help me in."

The chorus then paints the playful picture of great chemistry, "you throw your head back laughing like a little kid." Swift is surprised by how she is being appreciated because this person is seeing something in her that "he never did." In this moment she realizes that her assessment on love as something that "breaks and burns and ends" must shift as it "begins again."

She is then appreciated for having numerous James Taylor records. For the first time there isn't a comparison with her ex but now she is now being compared with her date's previous relationships. Their feeling that the othr is special is mutual and this further establishes their connection. Nevertheless, this is hard for Swift. She doesn't explain to her date why she is being shy but it is directly related to the loss and grief that she has been experiencing over the last eight months.

The bridge offers a vivid image of a conversation that takes place at the end of the date when she is finally able to bring closure to her previous relationship, "for the first time what is past is past."

More than a song about heartache and the
excitement of new love, this is a song at
its core about hope. Specifically, Swift artistically alludes to her renewed hope for lasting love by repeating throughout the song "I do" "I do." It elicits the "I do" that she might say when standing next to him on their wedding day.

This is about finding love again and "beginning again" Her heart gets broken and she just wants to stop and thinks that love is pointless. But then she meets someone in a cafe and she falls in love again and the cycle probably starts again until she finds that one guy.