Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault] by Taylor Swift

On 27 October 2023, Republic Records put out 1989 (Taylor’s Version), i.e. a re-recording of Taylor Swift’s album 1989, which originally came out in 2014. This is the result of Swift’s relationship with her prior label, Big Machine Records, running afoul upon them selling her masters to Scooter Braun. So the songstress has decided to re-record and re-release all six studio albums she dropped under Big Machine, now with the “Taylor’s Version” subtitle. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is the fourth she has done thus far, being preceded by Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021), Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). And to note, all four of those “Taylor’s Version” albums have proven to be chart toppers, as with their predecessors.

Along with these projects, Swift also includes a few “From the Vault” tracks. These are some of the other songs that were respectively composed during the recording of the original albums but failed to make their playlists. In the case of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), there are five “From the Vault” tracks, of which Now That We Don’t Talk is one. And interestingly, with this piece officially being 2 minutes and 26 second in length, it is the shortest song that Taylor has ever released.

More Facts

Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault] was not issued as a single (as of this writing) but still managed to make it onto conventional music charts in nearly 25 countries. That includes the song coming in at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart, as well as achieving the same on the Billboard Global 200 (which is a streaming chart).

This is another track that Taylor Swift composed, i.e. wrote and produced, in conjunction with Jack Antonoff. Antonoff is a behind-the-scenes’ musician whom Swift has been professionally associated with for over a decade now, and he has obviously contributed greatly to her success. Besides that they are personal friends, with Taylor having attended his wedding earlier in 2023.

The Lyrics

1989 came out shortly after the romantic relationship between Taylor Swift and Harry Styles dissolved. Meanwhile, Swift is an artist who – effectively we may add – tends to incorporate her love life into song. As such, the general consensus, though it has never been officially confirmed, is that many songs on 1989 were inspired by Harry. And that would include a few of these “From the Vault” tracks, as it has also been theorized with Now That We Don’t Talk.

That is to say that there are a few lyrical clues which infer that Styles is indeed the intended addressee. But considering that this song is completely devoid of proper nouns (except for a metaphorical mention of the Red Sea), it has a general applicability.  And what it speaks to is a romance gone awry, being such that the participants no longer even talk to each other. But as those of us who have been in these types of situations can attest to, breaking up and not speaking doesn’t mean that your feelings for the other party magically disappear. So it can also be gleaned that even though they “don’t talk”, the vocalist is still very much keen on what her ex is up to, as in retaining a strong interest in him.

But that said, she has concluded, buttressed by the advice of her mom, that going her separate way is for the best. And what’s being implied in that regard is twofold. One is, as insinuated at the beginning of the outro, the vocalist and addressee being incompatible, having different likes and interests. But more to the point is Taylor inferring throughout basically that her ex was a toxic partner, and therefore mentally deading this relationship is ‘the only way back to her dignity’.

So in the aftermath of breaking up, it is such that she “cannot” even be his “friend”. And if you were to look at the trajectory of Taylor’s relationship with Harry, you will see that their friendship and indeed association did end in fact, until about 2021. In other words, within the context of their relationship, Now That We Don’t Talk may currently be outdated. But when this song was written the lyrics were very much in effect, as it apparently took years for Swift and Styles to start speaking to each other again.