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I Heart ?

Taylor Swift (2006) | Beautiful Eyes EP (2008)

“I Heart ?” (pronounced “I Heart Question Mark”) is Taylor’s first promotional single. It was first made available as an exclusive digital download for her debut album, Taylor Swift (2006), when purchased at Best Buy during the first week of release. The song was later re-released on June 23, 2008, as a song from Taylor’s second EP, Beautiful Eyes.

Background and Lyrical Theme

Taylor originally wrote “I Heart ?” in 2003, when she was 13 years old, but the first recording of the track appeared on one of her demo albums in 2004, along with two other songs, “Your Face,” and “The Outside,” the latter of which would later go on to the standard edition of her first album, Taylor Swift.

Lyrically, “I Heart ?” speaks of a recent break up. It seems to have been unexpected, so the question mark could stand for Taylor’s lingering love. She isn’t sure why the breakup happened, so she is angry and frustrated. Notably, Taylor was clearly serious when writing this song as a teenager. When she participated in a photoshoot for Abercrombie at age fourteen, she actually had “I <3 ?" written on the back of her hand!

Release

A recording of the song first appeared as a digital download bonus track for Taylor Swift, when purchased at Best Buy during the album’s first week of release. “I Heart ?” was later released as a promotional single on June 23, 2008, as part of her Beautiful Eyes EP, with the intent of keeping her fans tied over until the release of her second full-length album, Fearless (2008). As a result, the single was not heavily promoted.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Wish I had concentrated
They said love was complicated
But it’s something I just fell into
And it was overrated
Just look what I created
I keep my life in black and blue
Before you ask me if I’m all right
Think about what I
Had to do

[Chorus 1]
Wake up and smell the breakup
Fix my heart, put on my makeup
Another mess I didn’t plan
And I’ll bet you thought you beat me
Wish you could only see
I got an I heart question mark written on the back of my hand

[Verse 2]
I’ll be fine if you just walked by
But you had to talk about why
You were wrong and I was right
But I can’t believe you made me
Sit at home, cry like a baby
Wait right by the phone every night
And now you ask about you and I
There’s no you and I
Remember what you put me through

[Chorus 2]
I had to wake up and smell the breakup
Fix my heart, put on my makeup
Another mess I didn’t plan
And I’ll bet you thought you beat me
Wish you’d could only see
I got an I heart question mark written on the back of my hand

[Bridge]
And when you’re home all alone at night
You’ll still wonder why you took everything I had, oh baby
I haven’t thought about you and I
There’s no you and I
And I know someday you will

[Final Chorus]
Wake up and smell the breakup
Realize that we won’t make up
It didn’t go the way you planned
And you’ll know you didn’t beat me
When you look down and see
I got an I heart question mark written on the back of my hand
Written on the back of my hand
I heart question mark, yeah
Written on the back of my hand

Taylor Swift by Taylor Swift (Big Machine Records, 2006)
General Information
ArtistTaylor Swift
AlbumsTaylor Swift
Beautiful Eyes EP
ReleasedOctober 26, 2006
Written2003
StudioThe Tracking Room (Nashville)
GenreCountry
Length3:17
LabelBig Machine Records
SongwriterTaylor Swift
ProducerRobert Ellis Orrall
BEAUTIFUL EYES CHRONOLOGY
A Perfectly Good HeartI Heart ?
Song Artwork
Taylor Swift by Taylor Swift (Big Machine Records, 2006)
Taylor Swift (2006)
Beautiful Eyes by Taylor Swift (Big Machine, 2008)
"Beautiful Eyes" Cover (2008)
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