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Foolish One (From The Vault)

Speak Now (Taylor's Version) | 2023

“Foolish One (Taylor’s Version) [From The Vault]” is a song recorded by Taylor for her album Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) [2023], which is a re-recording of her 2010 album Speak Now. She wrote it alone in 2010 about a girl learning to trust her instincts.

Background

Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) marks the third in a series of albums that have seen Taylor re-recording her Big Machine catalog as an alternative for fans to listen to old albums that will not put money in the pockets of parties who purchased the masters to those records along with the label as a whole. Previous re-recordings were Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and RED (Taylor’s Version), both released in 2021.

“Foolish One” used to be one of Taylor’s many unreleased songs, although it had never been in rotation. Taylor revealed the full track list for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) on June 5, including “Foolish One”.

Lyrical Theme

“Foolish One” teeters back and forth between possible optimism about the outcome of a relationship and fatalism. In the verses, Taylor describes the unbalanced dynamics of a relationship. She finds herself caught in a cycle of hope and disappointment, craving attention and longing for confessions of love that never seem to materialize. The chorus echoes the internal struggle, as she grapples with the voices in her head, doubting her worth and fearing the pain of learning her lesson the hard way. Notably, the song still sounds impossibly cheerful, in the way that Taylor’s falsetto tips up at the end of lines, as is so often her trademark, with a final realization: “He just wasn’t the one.”

The line, “It’s delicate” in the second verse is interesting because Taylor decided to save it until she could give it a song all its own, eight years later on “Delicate” (2017). Like a lot of decisions she made in around that time, this was a prescient one.

Commercial Performance

Upon the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), “Foolish One” debuted and peaked at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the week ending July 13, 2023.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
My cards are on the table
Yours are in your hand
Chances are tonight you’ve already got plans
And chances are I will talk myself to sleep again

[Verse 2]
You give me just enough attention
To keep my hopes too high
Wishful thoughts forget to mention
When something’s really not right
And I will block out these voices of reason in my head

[Pre-Chorus 1]
And the voices say,
“You are not the exception
You will never learn your lesson”

[Chorus 1]
Foolish one
Stop checking your mailbox
For confessions of love that ain’t never gonna come
You will take the long way
You will take the long way down

[Verse 2]
You know how to keep me waiting
I know how to act like I’m fine
Don’t know what to call this situation
But I know I can’t call you mine
And it’s delicate
But I will do my best to seem bulletproof

[Verse 3]
‘Cause when my head is on your shoulder
It starts thinking you’ll come around
And maybe someday when we’re older
This is something we’ll laugh about
Over coffee every morning while you’re watching the news

[Pre-Chorus 2]
But then the voices say,
“You are not the exception
You will never learn your lesson”

[Chorus 2]
Foolish one
Stop checking your mailbox
For confessions of love that ain’t never gonna come
You will take the long way
You will take the long way down
Foolish one
Stop checking your mailbox
For confessions of love that ain’t never gonna come
You will learn the hard way
Instead of just walking out

[Bridge]
Now I’m sliding down the wall
With my head in my hands
Saying, “How could I not see the signs?”
Oh, you haven’t written me or called
But goodybe screaming in the silence
And the voices in my head are telling me why

[Verse 4]
‘Cause you got her on your arm
And me in the wings
I’ll get your longing glances
But she’ll get your ring
And you will say,
“You had the best of intentions”
And maybe I will finally learn my lesson

[Post-Chorus]
Never gonna come
You will learn the hard way now

[Outro]
Foolish one
Sitting ’round waiting for confessions of love
They ain’t never gonna come
And thinking he’s the one
You should’ve been walking out
Foolish one
The day is gonna come for your confessions of love
When all is said and done
He just wasn’t the one
No, he just wasn’t the one