Home » Re-Recordings » 1989 (Taylor’s Version) » Suburban Legends

Suburban Legends (From The Vault)

1989 (Taylor's Version) [2023]

“Suburban Legends (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” is the twentieth track on 1989 (Taylor’s Version), Taylor’s fourth re-recorded album. It was released on October 27, 2023. Co-written and produced with her constant collaborator Jack Antonoff, “Suburban Legends” tells the story of two star-crossed lovers who find success beyond their small town but try to stay together against all odds.
Table of Contents

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. “Suburban Legends” is one of the vault tracks Taylor had written in 2014 but excluded from the tracklist of 1989.

Lyrical Theme

Taylor wrote “Suburban Legends” with Jack Antonoff around 2013-2014. She never spoke about the song’s meaning, so the lyrics and it’s high school metaphor can be a bit of a mystery to decode. Taylor typically uses the social dynamics of a high school in reference to Hollywood and bigger platforms (like in “I Forgot That You Existed” or “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince“). Generally speaking, suburban legends are stories and rumors that are passed around within a community, typically spread by word-of-mouth.

Taylor’s “Suburban Legends” tells the story of a woman who thought her teen romance would be one for the ages. It is implied that the two grew up in a small town, where dating the right person in high school can boost your prestige level around town to astronomical levels. Although she and her lover have “mismatched star signs,” she still had hopes their love would beat the odds and be “more than a chapter in my old diaries/With the pages ripped out.” She even fantasizes about being with him long enough to go to their class reunion together and see the shocked reaction of their old classmates in their “1950s gymnasium.” From the start, “Suburban Legends” also drops clues that the relationship does not, in fact, become legendary. The speaker, as voiced by Taylor, admits noticing her boyfriend gets calls from “unmarked numbers.” Eventually, the passage of time is marked by images of a clock ticking and the tide coming in, and the speaker’s ex boyfriend never returns to pick up where they left off.

Considering the high school relationship likely is a metaphor for her public relationship with British singer Harry Styles, “Suburban Legends” fits into the narrative Taylor introduced on other 1989 songs like “Style“, “How You Get The Girl” or “Is It Over Now?“.

Live Performances

Taylor first performed “Suburban Legends” during her sixth headlining concert tour, “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). It was the second surprise song during her show on November 17, 2023, in Rio de Janeiro. She performed it acoustically on piano. On August 1, 2024, she paired it with “New Year’s Day” (2017).

Commercial Performance

Upon the release of 1989 (Taylor’s Version), “Suburban Legends“ debuted and peaked at No. 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, during the chart week ending on November 11, 2023.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
You had people who called you on unmarked numbers
In my peripheral vision
I let it slide like a hose on a slippery on a slippery plastic summer
All was quickly forgiven
You were so magnetic it was almost obnoxious
Flush with the currency of cool
I was always turning out my empty pockets
And when it came to you

[Chorus 1]
I didn’t come here to make friends
We were born to be suburban legends
When you hold me it holds me together
And you kiss me in a way that’s gonna screw me up forever

[Verse 2]
I had the fantasy that maybe our mismatched star signs
Would surprise the whole school
When I ended up back at our class reunion walking in with you
You’d be more than a chapter in my old diaries – with the pages ripped out
I am standing in a 1950s gymnasium
And I can still see you now

[Chorus 2]
I didn’t come here to make friends
We were born to be suburban legends
When you hold me it holds me together
And you kiss me in a way that’s gonna screw me up forever
I know that you still remember
We were born to be national treasures
When you told me we’d get back together
And you kissed me in a way that’s gonna screw me up forever

[Bridge]
Tick tock on the clock
I pace down your block
I broke my own heart ’cause you were too polite to do it
Waves crash on the shore
I dash to the door
You don’t knock anymore, and my whole life’s ruined
Tick tock on the clock
I pace down your block
I broke my own heart ’cause you were too polite to do it
Waves crash to the shore
I dash to the door
You don’t knock anymore, and I always knew it
That my life would be ruined

General Information
ArtistTaylor Swift
Album1989 (Taylor’s Version)
ReleasedOctober 27, 2023
Written2013-2014
StudiosConway (Los Angeles)
Electric Lady (New York)
Rough Customer (Brooklyn)
Sharp Sonics (Los Angeles)
GenrePop
Length2:51
LabelRepublic Records
SongwritersTaylor Swift
Jack Antonoff
ProducersJack Antonoff
Taylor Swift
1989 CHRONOLOGY
Now That We Don’t TalkSuburban LegendsIs It Over Now?
Song Certification
"Gold" certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. Signifying 500,000 units sold in the United States of America.
Instagram Teaser
Song Artwork
Live Performance
Lyric Video
Official Audio