Suburban Legends (From The Vault)
1989 (Taylor's Version) [2023]
Table of Contents
Background and Release
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’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
Commercial Performance
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
Artist | Taylor Swift | |||
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Album | 1989 (Taylor’s Version) | |||
Released | October 27, 2023 | |||
Written | 2013-2014 | |||
Studios | Conway (Los Angeles) Electric Lady (New York) Rough Customer (Brooklyn) Sharp Sonics (Los Angeles) | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 2:51 | |||
Label | Republic Records | |||
Songwriters | Taylor Swift Jack Antonoff | |||
Producers | Jack Antonoff Taylor Swift | |||
1989 CHRONOLOGY | ||||
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