Prompt: "A demo, B-side, or alternate take that just hits better than the official version"
Selected by Maeve
"I Bet You Think About Me"
Taylor Swift ft. Chris Stapleton
Red (Taylor's Version), 2021
This is the third Taylor song I've written about this summer. You all know my opinions on her music versus her persona. It's no shock that this song is also from her album Red that was released in 2012—it screams "I wrote this when I was 21." In fact, fucking Swifties are rabid about details, and if you simply go to the Wikipedia page for the original version of the song, you'll see that she wrote it in Foxborough at the Patriots stadium during her "Speak Now" world tour. Like... Swifties, get a grip.
I remember when the original version of this song came out. It's fun bop, not really reinventing the wheel. When this track was rereleased on Red (Taylor's Version), she brought in Aaron Dessner from the National, slowed down the song, and added Chris Stapleton vocals to amplify the country-ness. The song hits harder than ever before—Chris's vocals are so sultry and give more depth to the lyrics. It takes kitschy lines and makes them feel earnest in the duet. I don't think I ever would have revisited this song if Taylor hadn't rereleased it. Have you seen the video with Miles Teller? It's a top five rewatchable video with my friends on a random post-pool night—I cannot recommend it enough. It stars his real wife and lots of—you'll never guess it based on the album title, but—red.
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