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Now That We Don't Talk (From The Vault)

1989 (Taylor's Version) [2023]

“Now That We Don’t Talk (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” is a song written by Taylor and Jack Antonoff that appears on 1989 (Taylor’s Version), her fourth re-recorded album. It was released on October 27, 2023. To date, it is the shortest song in Taylor’s discography.

Background and Release

After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Taylor began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. The decision followed a public dispute in 2019 between Taylor, her old record label Big Machine Records and its CEO Scott Borchetta as well as talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine, including the masters of Taylor’s albums which the label had released. By re-recording the albums, Taylor had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to control the licensing of her songs for commercial use and therefore substituted the Big Machine–owned masters. From April 2021 to July 2023, she released three re-recorded albums of her earlier releases: Fearless (Taylor’s Version), RED (Taylor’s Version), and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version); each album also featured several unreleased “From the Vault” tracks that she had written but left out of the original albums’ track listings.

Republic Records released Taylor’s fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), on October 27, 2023, on the ninth anniversary of her fifth original studio album, 1989 (2014). The original album was Taylor’s first “official pop” album after she had marketed her first four albums to country radio, and it transformed her artistry and image from country to pop. As with her other re-recorded projects, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) features five newly-recorded “From the Vault” tracks that she had written but left out of the original track listing. “Now That We Don’t Talk” is one of the vault tracks Taylor had written in 2014 but excluded from the tracklist of 1989.

«To be perfectly honest, this is my most FAVORITE re-record I’ve ever done because the 5 From The Vault tracks are so insane. I can’t believe they were ever left behind.»

Taylor Swift

Lyrical Theme

Taylor wrote “Now That We Don’t Talk” in 2014 together with Jack Antonoff. The song summarises the peculiar part of a breakup after the sharp edges of heartbreak dull down—the realisation that your ex can go on and live lives you’ll never know or be a part of, and the sting of that particular reckoning. On a brighter note, it’s a narrative of mourning and growth, elegantly acknowledging that every end is not the conclusion of a story but the beginning of understanding yourself anew. Upon the song’s release, Taylor shared on Tumblr Music:

«'Now That We Don't Talk' is one of my favorite songs that was left behind. It was so hard to leave it behind but I think we wrote it a little bit towards the end of the process and we couldn't get the production right at the time. But we had tons of time to perfect the production this time and figure out what we wanted the song to sound like! I think it's the shortest song I've ever had, but I think it packs a punch. I think it really goes in. For the short amount of time we have I think it makes its point.»

Taylor Swift

As far as the inspiration for the song goes, it is believed that Taylor wrote “Now That We Don’t Talk” about her split from English singer Harry Styles. They publicly dated from December 2012 to January 2013 but remained in contact after their “official” breakup. Several 1989 songs, including “Out Of The Woods,” “Style,” “All You Had To Do Was Stay” and “Is It Over Now?” are believed to be about the aftermath of their romance.

Live Performances

“Now That We Don’t Talk” received its first live performance acoustically on guitar on November 24, 2023, in São Paulo (Brazil) during one of Taylor’s shows on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). She sang it again on May 24, 2024, in Lisbon, this time as a mashup with “The Tortured Poets Department” (2024).

Critical Reception

Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said the song showcased Taylor’s “acerbic wit”. Paste critic Elizabeth Braaten described the song as “an inevitable instant classic in Swiftian lore”, and The Line of Best Fit critic Kelsey Barnes praised Taylor’s falsetto on the track as being “deliciously infectious”. NME‘s Hollie Geraghty deemed “Now That We Don’t Talk” the best “Vault” tracks from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). Uproxx writer Josh Kurp complimented the track’s 1980s musical sensation and said it has radio hit potential.

Commercial Performance

After 1989 (Taylor’s Version) was released, “Now That We Don’t Talk” debuted at No. 2 on the singles charts of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. It debuted at No. 4 in Ireland and No. 9 in the Philippines. The track also charted in the Top 100 of singles charts in several European territories including Norway (No. 33), the Netherlands (No. 35), Lithuania (No. 44), and Sweden (No. 51). In the United States, “Now That We Don’t Talk” debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart dated November 11, 2023, with first-week streams of 28.2 million, trailing behind the week’s chart topper “Is It Over Now?“, another track from 1989 (Taylor’s Version). This chart achievement extended Taylor’s record for the most Top 10 singles (49) and most top-five singles (31) on the Billboard Hot 100 among women. On the Billboard Global 200, it also debuted at No. 2 behind “Is It Over Now?”, with global first-week streams of 55.9 million.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
You went to a party
I heard from everybody
You part the crowd like the Red Sea
Don’t even get me started
Did you get anxious though
On the way home?
I guess, I’ll never ever know
Now that we don’t talk

[Verse 2]
Your grew your hair long
You got new icons
And from the outside it looks like your’re trying lives on
I miss the old ways
You didn’t have to change
But I guess I don’t have a say
Now that we don’t talk

[Chorus 1]
I called my mom
She said that it was for the best
Remind myself the more I’d give, you’d want me less
I cannot be your friend
So I pay the price of what I lost
And what it cost
Now that we don’t talk

[Verse 3]
What do you tell your friends,
We shared dinners, long weekends with?
Truth is, I can’t pretend it’s platonic
It’s just ended

[Chorus 2]
So, I called my mom
She said to get it off my chest
Remind myself the way you faded ’til I left
I cannot be your friend
So I pay the price of what I lost
And what it cost
Now that we don’t talk

[Bridge]
I don’t have to pretend I like acid rock
Or that I’d like to be on a mega-yacht
With important men who think important thoughts
Guess maybe I am better off
Now that we don’t talk
And the only way back to my dignity
Was to turn into a shrouded mystery
Just like I had been when you were chasing me
Guess this is how it has to be
Now that we don’t talk