Fifteen
Single | Fearless (2008) | Fearless (Taylor's Version) [2021]
Table of Contents
Background and Recording
Lyrical Theme
«I wrote this around the story line of my best friend from high school, Abigail. I started everything with the line, ‘Abigail gave everything she had to a boy who changed his mind’ and wrote everything else from that point, almost backwards. I just decided I really wanted to tell that story about our first year of high school because I felt in my freshman year, I grew up more than any year in my life so far. The thing about high school is, you don’t know anything. You don’t know anything, but you think you know everything.»
Taylor Swift
Music Video
«Well, I think I really wanted this video to kind of be an evolution for Taylor. I mean, obviously it's a high school song, but the last thing I wanted to do was shoot it in a high school. So I wanted to try something different, and I actually said to her, 'I don't think we should shoot in a high school.' And I don't think she wanted to either. I kind of came up with this idea like, let's take the literal meaning of this song and watch it evolve in front of us...almost as a memory in your head. And create this world, so you walk in on this desolate desert and you start to sing about all these great memories you have, of everything you love [blooming] around you. So we literally grew this garden around her. But also we added these surreal elements that came from the memory. It's kind of this cross between this surreal garden and this memory, and she's at the heart of this memory.»
Roman White
Live Performances
Critical Reception
Commercial Performance
Taylor's Version
«The song 'Fifteen' is one I wrote on my own and I wrote it about the journey of my best friend Abigail and I (we're still tight). We met in freshman year of high school and we both had these trials and tribulations; lessons, and adventures, and mishaps, and heartbreaks, glorious excitements, and letdowns. So I wanted to tell the story of being fifteen through the lense of a friendship and you see what these two people go through, together as friends and on their own. Yeah, this song still get's me because those were all real insecurities of walking in your freshman year and thinking, 'Where am I gonna fit in this massive ocean of people? Where's my locker? Like, who am I gonna be?' That's a question we ask ourselves a lot through the course of life, but I think never more than when we're fifteen.»
Taylor Swift
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
You take a deep breath and you walk through the doors
It’s the morning of your very first day
You say hi to your friends you ain’t seen in a while
Try and stay out of everybody’s way
It’s your freshman year and you’re gonna be here
For the next four years in this town
Hoping one of those senior boys will wink at you and say,
“You know, I haven’t seen you around before”
[Chorus 1]
‘Cause when you’re fifteen and
Somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
And when you’re fifteen, feeling like
There’s nothin’ to figure out
Well, count to ten, take it in
This is life before you know
Who you’re gonna be
Fifteen
[Verse 2]
You sit in class next to a redhead named Abigail
And soon enough, you’re best friends
Laughing at the other girls who think they’re so cool
We’ll be outta here as soon as we can
And then you’re on your very first date and he’s got a car
And you’re feeling like flying
And your mama’s waiting up and you’re thinking he’s the one
And you’re dancing ’round your room when the night ends
When the night ends
[Chorus 2]
‘Cause when you’re fifteen and
Somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
And when you’re fifteen and your first kiss
Makes your head spin around, but
In your life you’ll do things greater than
Dating the boy on the football team
I didn’t know it at fifteen
[Bridge]
When all you wanted was to be wanted
Wish you could go back
And tell yourself what you know now
Back then, I swore I was gonna marry him someday
But I realized some bigger dreams of mine
And Abigail gave everything she had to a boy
Who changed his mind
And we both cried
[Chorus 3]
‘Cause when you’re fifteen and
Somebody tells you they love you
You’re gonna believe them
And when you’re fifteen, don’t forget to look before you fall
But I’ve found time can heal most anything
And you just might find who you’re supposed to be
I didn’t know who I was supposed to be
At fifteen
[Post-Chorus]
Lalalalala
Lalalalala
Lalalalala
[Outro]
Your very first day
Take a deep breath, girl
Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors
Artist | Taylor Swift | |||
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Albums | Fearless Fearless (Taylor’s Version) | |||
Released | November 11, 2008 | |||
Re-Released | April 9, 2021 | |||
Studios | Black Bird (Nashville) Kitty Committee (London) Prime Recording (Nashville) | |||
Genre | Country Pop | |||
Length | 4:54 | |||
Labels | Big Machine Records Republic Records | |||
Songwriter | Taylor Swift | |||
Producers | Nathan Chapman (original) Christopher Rowe Taylor Swift | |||
FEARLESS CHRONOLOGY | ||||
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