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Last Kiss

Speak Now (2010) | Speak Now (Taylor's Version) [2023]

“Last Kiss” is track thirteen on Taylor’s third studio album, Speak Now (2010). She describes her feelings surrounding her breakup with Joe Jonas in 2008 and reflects on their time together. She never thought their relationship would end. The re-recording of the song, “Last Kiss (Taylor’s Version)”, was released on July 7, 2023, on Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).

Background and Lyrical Theme

The secret message for “Last Kiss” is “Forever and always”, which is a callback to the song “Forever & Always” that Taylor wrote about her breakup with Joe a few days after he ended the relationship. She put that song on her second album, “Fearless” (2008). While “Forever & Always” focuses on the angry and confused emotions she felt when he left her, “Last Kiss” highlights the sort of melancholic, nostalgic sadness that follows. Taylor explained the meaning of the song in a since-deleted post on her website:

«The song ‘Last Kiss’ is sort of like a letter to somebody. You say all of these desperate, hopeless feelings that you have after a breakup. Going through a breakup you feel all of these different things. You feel anger, and you feel confusion, and frustration. And then there is the absolute sadness. The sadness of losing this person, losing all the memories and the hopes you had for the future. There are just times when you have this moment of truth where you just admit to yourself that you miss all these things. When I was in one of those moments I wrote this song.»

Taylor Swift

The song has a 27 second intro, which could possibly reflect the 27 second break up phone call she had with Joe Jonas. “That July 9th” is also a reference to a day in 2008 when Taylor went to Dallas, Texas, to visit him. She saw his band The Jonas Brothers perform that night.

Taylor was asked during an interview with Jam! Music if she worries about revealing too much in her songs. She replied: “Throughout all of the changes that have happened in my life, one of the priorities I’ve had is to never change the way I write songs and the reasons I write songs. I write songs to help me understand life a little more. I write songs to get past things that cause me pain. And I write songs because sometimes life makes more sense to me when it’s being sung in a chorus, and when I can write it in a verse.”

Last Kiss Day

In the Taylor Fandom, July 9th is known as “Last Kiss Day”. It is tradition to listen to the song at 1:58am. Taylor herself has paid homage to this part of fandom lore, most directly by picking “Last Kiss” as a surprise song during her “Eras Tour” show in Zurich on July 9, 2024. Before she played the song, she said:

«Happy July 9th to those who celebrate!»

Taylor Swift

Live Performances

Taylor performed “Last Kiss” every night on her “Speak Now World Tour” (2011-2012). She played a rare, deep blue “Taylor Living Jewels Koi Guitar” which was a gift from Bob Taylor (owner and co-founder of Taylor Guitars) to Taylor. On July 8, 2023, Taylor chose “Last Kiss” as the first surprise song during her show in Kansas City on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024), a day after the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). She performed the song acoustically on her Koi Guitar, which she temporarily removed from the Taylor Swift Education Center in Nashville (where it is part of the permanent exhibit). On July 9, 2024, Taylor played an acoustic mashup of “Last Kiss” with “Sad Beautiful Tragic” (2012) on piano in Zurich. Apart from acknowledging Last Kiss Day she also introduced the acoustic section by saying:

«So, tonight is our 113th show of ‘The Eras Tour,’ and that’s my favorite number, which I never mention, it’s like a secret, no one knows that. But I just thought, since it’s my favorite number, I’d just do some of my favorite songs for the acoustic set and see if they’re yours too!»

Taylor Swift

During the tour’s final weekend on December 7, 2024, Taylor performed “Last Kiss” together with the show’s opener, Gracie Abrams. They paired the song with Gracie’s song “I Love You, I’m Sorry” (2024).

Critical Reception

“Last Kiss” received critical acclaim from music critics, many calling it a highlight on the album. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone praised the song, saying: “Toward the end of Speak Now, when you’re already wrung out from sad songs and begging for mercy, this six-minute quasi-doo-wop ballad creeps up on you to inflict more punishment. One of those flawless Nathan Chapman productions – so sparse, so delicate, flattering every tremor of her voice.”

Taylor's Version

The re-recording of the song, “Last Kiss (Taylor’s Version)”, was released on July 7, 2023. In the prologue for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), Taylor mentioned that the song still means a lot to her:

«I made sure to say it all in these songs. [...] Some expected a kiss-off breakup song but instead got a hand-on-heart apology, 'Back to December'. It was an album that was the most precious to me because of its vast extremes. It was unfiltered and potent. In my mind, the saddest song I've ever written is 'Last Kiss'.»

Taylor Swift

An acoustic live recording, “Last Kiss (Live From Kansas City)”, was released on July 13, 2023, on the Deluxe Digital Album of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). Upon the release of the album, “Last Kiss (Taylor’s Version)” debuted and peaked at No. 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the week ending July 13, 2023.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I still remember the look on your face
Lit through the darkness at 1:58
The words that you whispered for just us to know
You told me you loved me
So why did you go away?
Away

[Verse 2]
I do recall now, the smell of the rain
Fresh on the pavement
I ran off the plane
That July 9th, the beat of your heart
It jumps through your shirt
I can still feel your arms

[Chorus]
But now I’ll go, sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don’t know
How to be something you miss
I never thought we’d have a last kiss
Never imagined we’d end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

[Verse 3]
I do remember the swing of your step
The life of the party, you’re showing off again
And I’d roll my eyes and then you’d pull me in
I’m not much for dancing, but for you I did

[Verse 4]
Because I love your handshake, meeting my father
I love how you walk with your hands in your pockets
How you’d kiss me when I was in the middle of saying something
There’s not a day I don’t miss those rude interruptions

[Chorus]
And I’ll go sit on the floor
Wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don’t know
How to be something you miss
I never thought we’d have a last kiss
Never imagined we’d end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

[Bridge 1]
So I’ll watch your life in pictures like I used to watch you sleep
And I feel you forget me like I used to feel you breathe
And I keep up with our old friends
Just to ask them how you are
Hope it’s nice where you are

[Bridge 2]
And I hope the sun shines and it’s a beautiful day
And something reminds you you wish you had stayed
You can plan for a change in the weather and time
But I never planned on you changing your mind

[Chorus]
So I’ll go, sit on the floor, wearing your clothes
All that I know is I don’t know how to be something you miss
Never thought we’d have a last kiss
Never imagined we’d end like this
Your name, forever the name on my lips

[Outro]
Just like our last kiss
Forever the name on my lips
Forever the name on my lips
Just like our last