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When Emma Falls In Love (From The Vault)

Speak Now (Taylor's Version) [2023]

“When Emma Falls In Love (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, exploring the journey of one her closest friends, Emma Stone, as she navigates the complexities of love and relationships.

Background and Release

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.

“When Emma Falls In Love” 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 “When Emma Falls In Love”.

Lyrical Theme

With “When Emma Falls in Love”, Taylor wrote a character study of her close friend, actress Emma Stone. The two met in April 2008. The song is a gorgeous tribute to the romantic highs and lows Emma has faced in seeking love. Taylor envies the way everyone gazes at Emma, but she sees Emma clearer than anyone else does, wishing she could be her. In an interview back in 2010, Taylor was asked: “If you could be another person for a day, who would you be?” Her answer:

«I would be Emma Stone. She's one of my really, really good friends. And she's so funny, like I've never met a funnier person, just naturally. And she's got this really raspy voice that just makes everything sound really funny. So, if I could be that funny for a day that would be amazing. So I would be Emma.»

Taylor Swift

Stepping outside of her own heartaches and fantasies, Taylor is a thoughtful observer of Emma’s emotional journey, seeing beneath the “little miss sunshine” exterior. By the time she releases folklore (2020) and evermore (2020), she is a master of this type of incisive storytelling, for both real people and those she has created.

Live Performance

“When Emma Falls In Love” received its first live performance acoustically on piano on July 7, 2023, in Kansas City during one of Taylor’s shows on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). Her future partner, Travis Kelce, was present at said show. Earlier that day, Taylor had released Speak Now (Taylor’s Version). She introduced the song by saying:

«I wrote this about one of my best friends!»

Taylor Swift

Critical Reception

USA Today picked “When Emma Falls in Love” as the best “From the Vault” track from the album. Will Hodgkinson of The Times gave the song four out of five stars, describing it as “catchy and uplifting”. Jonathan Keefe from Slant Magazine called the song “spectacular” and said it brings “some much-needed outside perspectives” to the album.

Commercial Performance

Upon the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), “When Emma Falls In Love” debuted and peaked at No. 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the week ending July 13, 2023.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
When Emma falls in love
She paces the floor
Closes the blinds and locks the door
When Emma falls in love
She calls up her mom
Jokes about the ways that this one could go wrong
She waits and takes her time
‘Cause little Miss Sunshine always thinks it’s gonna rain
When Emma falls in love
I know that boy will never be the same

[Chorus]
‘Cause she’s the kind of book that you can’t put down
Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town
And all the bad boys would be good boys
If they only had a chance to love her
And to tell you the truth
Sometimes I wish I was her

[Verse 2]
When Emma falls in love
It’s all on her face
Hangs in the air
Like stars in outer space
When Emma falls in love
She disappears
And we all just laugh
After seeing it all these years

[Verse 3]
When Emma falls apart
It’s when she’s alone
She takes on the pain
And bears it on her own
‘Cause when Emma falls in love
She’s in it for keeps
She won’t walk away
Unless she knows she absolutely has to leave

[Chorus]
And she’s the kind of book you can’t put down
Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town
And all the bad boys would be good boys
If they only had a chance to love her
And to tell you the truth
Sometimes I wish I was her

[Bridge]
Well, she’s so New York
When she’s in LA
She won’t lose herself in love
I’m learning

[Verse 4]
Emma met a boy with eyes like a man
Turns out her heart fits right in the palm of his hand
Now he’ll be her shelter when it rains
Little does he know his whole world’s about to change

[Chorus]
‘Cause she’s the kind of book you can’t put down
Like if Cleopatra grew up in a small town
And all the bad boys would be good boys
If they only had a chance to love her
And to tell you the truth
Sometimes I wish I was her

[Outro]
Yeah, between me and you
Sometimes I wish I was her