“Sl*t!” (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault] by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift revealed the forthcoming of “Sl*t!” on 20 September 2023, with it eventually being released about a month later, on October 27th. But this song – which was written and produced by Tay Tay alongside Patrik Berger and Jack Antonoff – was originally composed back when Swift was putting together her 2014 studio album, 1989. However, when it came time to decide which tracks to place on the LP, she opted not to include this one, as it was similar in sentiment to Blank Space, which she preferred at the time. Part of that decision also had to do with the fact that she considered “Sl*t!” a “California” song, while perceiving 1989 “as a New York album”. But that said, more recently the songstress did express her elation that this track has finally been made public, as a ‘Taylor’s Version From the Vault’. Those designations entail that the song was eventually featured on the 2023 re-release release of 1989, aka 1989 (Taylor’s Version) and, up until then, was archived in Swift’s musical ‘vault’.
The Lyrics
Taylor Swift, if you will, has been around the block a few times, i.e. being a lady who has dated a number of different guys. Such is more or less common in the modern world, as women getting married in their teens or even in their twenties is no longer the norm in the United States. But for starters, Taylor is famous and secondly, so are many of the guys that she’s dated. Or put otherwise, when she’s romantically involved with someone, the public tends to know. And when you couple that with the aforenoted fact that Swift has caught a few bodies in the field of romance since becoming a celebrity, then of course there’s going to be criticisms that maybe she’s too loose or can’t keep a man or whatever.
This piece is highly poetic, even for a Taylor Swift song. But thesis-sentiment wise, what she is arguing, most fundamentally, is that a person can’t really help being smitten.
In other words, within the context of the addressee at hand, it doesn’t matter how many bodies Taylor may have caught, because she is truly in love with him. Or put otherwise, if it was just a run-of-the-mill smittenness, then what’s being inferred is that Swift wouldn’t entertain it because, given her past romantic history, she wouldn’t want people to think that she’s promiscuous. But since she’s truly head over heels, she’s willing to take those criticisms if doing so is one of the consequences of hooking up with this guy, one who is presented as ‘a gentleman in a world of boys’.
Other Facts
Republic Records issued this particular track as the lead single from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). And on its own it proved to be a notable hit, breaking the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Global 200 and UK Singles Chart, besides charting in nearly 30 countries overall.
Taylor Swift first performed (an acoustic rendition) “Sl*t!” live during her highly-successful Eras Tour and more specifically on 12 November 2023 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
