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You're Not Sorry

Promotional Single | Fearless (2008) | Fearless (Taylor's Version) [2021]

“You’re Not Sorry” is track nine on Taylor’s second studio album, Fearless (2008). The ballad was inspired by an ex-boyfriend of hers who revealed himself to be the opposite of what he had promised. The re-recording of the song, “You’re Not Sorry (Taylor’s Version)”, was released on April 9, 2021, on Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

Background and Lyrical Theme

“You’re Not Sorry” was written by Taylor in April 2007 and produced by Nathan Chapman alongside her. It was inspired by an ex-boyfriend who was later revealed to be opposite of what Taylor had originally thought. She recalled that, at first, “He came across as Prince Charming.” As the relationship continued, Taylor was informed of numerous secrets about her boyfriend she was not aware of. “And one by one, I would figure them out. I would find out who he really was,” she said. She wrote “You’re Not Sorry” in an emotional state, which she described as “the breaking point:”

«It is about this guy who turned out to not be who I thought he was. He came across as Prince Charming. Well, it turned out Prince Charming had a lot of secrets that he didn’t tell me about. And one by one, I would figure them out. I would find out who he really was. I wrote this when I was at the breaking point of, ‘You know what? Don’t even think that you can keep on hurting me.’ It was to a point where I had to walk away.»

Taylor Swift

“You’re Not Sorry” was first released as a promotional single from Fearless on October 28, 2008, as part of “Countdown to Fearless,” an exclusive campaign by the iTunes Store. The song was reissued on March 5, 2009, as a remix, the same day Taylor made her guest appearance on the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in the episode “Turn, Turn, Turn”. The remix was featured in the episode.

Live Performances

Taylor performed “You’re Not Sorry” during every show of her first headlining concert tour, the “Fearless Tour,” which ran from April 2009 to June 2010. She began the performance by sitting on a bench, playing black grand piano. Midway through “You’re Not Sorry”, Taylor ceased playing the piano and started singing a cover version of Justin Timberlake’s “What Goes Around…/…Comes Around.” Throughout the remainder of the performance, she intermingled between the two songs as smoke swirled and lightning was projected on the stage. Jon Pareles of The New York Times referred to the performance as one of the night’s highlights at the August 27, 2009, concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Taylor also performed the song at an exclusive performance, hosted by 95.8 Capital FM, the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards, and the 2009 CMA Music Festival. During her “Speak Now World Tour” (2011-2012), she used elements of “You’re Not Sorry” and OneRepublic’s “Apologize” while performing “Back to December“. She also performed the song twice on “The RED Tour” (2013-2014). Ten years later, she sang “You’re Not Sorry” again, this time acoustically on piano on “The Eras Tour” in Houston on April 21, 2023. Before playing it, Taylor said:

«I've been re-recording my first six albums. That's a thing that's happened since I saw you last. And I've been genuinely loving it so much because you go back and you revisit things and you kind of remember how proud you were of something. And also, re-recording my first six albums, that was an idea that pretty much everyone was like, 'That's not gonna work, right? Like, fans aren't gonna be into that. What's she thinking?' And you guys were like, 'No. We got you.' So for your support on these projects that I've been re-recording, I will thank you forever. And I'm sorry if you get sick of it. It's just never gonna stop. But this was a song that I really, really kind of re-fell in love with when I was re-recording Fearless, my version.»

Taylor Swift

Taylor also sang “You’re Not Sorry” again on February 24, 2024, during her second “Eras Tour” show in Sydney. It was part of an acoustic guitar mashup, together with “Should’ve Said No” (2006).

Critical Reception

“You’re Not Sorry” received moderately positive reviews from critics. Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine believed “You’re Not Sorry” was one of the songs on Fearless that expanded on the success of Taylor’s eponymous debut album, Taylor Swift (2006), because of how prominently its hook stands out. Craig Rosen of The Hollywood Reporter said “You’re Not Sorry” was ostentatious in regards to Taylor’s crossover potential. Nick Catucci of The New York Times wrote that Taylor “quickly established herself as the most remarkable country music breakthrough artist of the decade”, and said, “And indeed, we think we got a little fairy dust in our eyes listening to ‘You’re Not Sorry’ [… It] isn’t the stuff of redneck women but earnest suburban princesses.”

Commercial Performance

“You’re Not Sorry” entered Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs Chart at No. 2, which led to an appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending November 15, 2008. Thes song debuted and peaked at No. 11 on the chart, becoming the week’s top debut. Upon the release of the “CSI Remix,” it re-entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 67. “You’re Not Sorry” is one of 13 songs from Fearless that charted within the top 40 of the Hot 100, breaking the record for the most top 40 entries from a single album at the time. As of 2017, it has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for the shipment of 1,000,000 units. Internationally, the song debuted and peaked at No. 11 on the Canadian Hot 100.

Taylor's Version

On February 11, 2021, Taylor announced on Good Morning America that a re-recorded version of “You’re Not Sorry”, titled “You’re Not Sorry (Taylor’s Version)”, would be released on April 9, 2021, as the ninth track from Fearless (Taylor’s Version), the re-recorded version of Fearless. Once the re-recording got released, it became clear that “You’re Not Sorry” seems to be connected to another Fearless song, “Mr. Perfectly Fine“, which was first released as part of Fearless (Taylor’s Version).

The song debuted at No. 40 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart on the week ending April 15, 2021.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
All this time I was wasting, hoping you would come around
I’ve been giving out chances every time
And all you do is let me down
And it’s taken me this long baby, but I figured you out
And you’re thinking we’ll be fine again but not this time around

[Chorus 1]
You don’t have to call anymore
I won’t pick up the phone
This is the last straw
Don’t wanna hurt anymore
And you can tell me that you’re sorry
But I don’t believe you, baby
Like I did before
You’re not sorry…no, no, no, no

[Verse 2]
You’re looking so innocent
I might believe you if I didn’t know
Could’ve loved you all my life
If you hadn’t left me waiting in the cold
And you got your share of secrets
And I’m tired of being last to know
And now you’re asking me to listen ’cause it’s worked each time before

[Chorus 2]
But you don’t have to call anymore
I won’t pick up the phone
This is the last straw
Don’t wanna hurt anymore
And you can tell me that you’re sorry
But I don’t believe you, baby
Like I did before
You’re not sorry…no, no, no
You’re not sorry…no, no, no

[Bridge]
You had me crawling for you, honey
And it never would’ve gone away, no
You used to shine so bright but I watched all of it fade

[Final Chorus]
So you don’t have to call anymore
I won’t pick up the phone
This is the last straw
There’s nothing left to beg for
And you can tell me that you’re sorry
But I don’t believe you, baby
Like I did before
You’re not sorry…no, no, no
You’re not sorry…no, no, no

[Outro]
No, no, no, no
No, no, no, no
No, no, no, no