On December 12, 2023, Taylor Swift captivated fans by introducing revised lyrics to two songs from her 2017 album, Reputation. The updates were discovered by attentive listeners after an update to Apple Music included all of Swift’s albums in Dolby Atmos sound.
Changes were noted in “I Did Something Bad” and “Delicate.” The original line in “I Did Something Bad” read, “But if he drops my name, then I owe him nothin’ / And if he spends my change, then he had it comin’.” The new version states, “If a man talks s***, then I owe him nothin’ / And if he calls me a bitch, then he had it coming.” Meanwhile, in “Delicate,” the lyrics shifted from “Oh, damn, never seen that color blue” to “Goddamn, never seen that color blue.”
Swift’s dedicated fan base quickly took to social media, speculating about the implications of these changes. Some fans theorized that the updated lyrics might hint at the long-anticipated “Taylor’s Version” of Reputation, which originally debuted in November 2017. One fan expressed on X, “My clown theory is that we’re getting Reputation vault tracks and originally written/unedited lyrics updated on album tracks.”
The speculation surrounding these lyric revisions comes in the context of Swift’s ongoing efforts to reclaim her music. She has rerecorded all of her albums except Reputation and her self-titled debut album after her former label, Big Machine, sold the masters to a third party. Swift regained control of her music in May 2023. In a letter to fans, she shared, “Full transparency: I haven’t even re-recorded a quarter of it.”
Swift reflected on the challenges of revisiting Reputation, describing it as a significant time in her life. She noted, “That defiance, that longing to be understood while feeling purposefully misunderstood… I thought couldn’t be improved upon by redoing it.” She also hinted at a future release of unreleased vault tracks from the album, stating, “There will be a time… for unreleased vault tracks from that album to hatch.”
In addition to the lyric revisions, December 12 marked the release of Swift’s new Disney+ docuseries, The End of an Era. The series offers an intimate look at her record-breaking Eras Tour, capturing behind-the-scenes moments of her performances. That same day, she also released a concert film titled Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour: The Final Show, filmed in Vancouver in December 2024. This film serves as a sequel to her earlier release, The Eras Tour, showcasing her revised set list after the launch of her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, in April 2024.
Swift’s artistic evolution continues to engage and surprise her audience, as both her lyric updates and recent projects reflect her dynamic approach to music and storytelling. As fans eagerly await further developments regarding her vault tracks and potential new releases, Swift remains a formidable figure in the music industry, constantly redefining her narrative.