How Taylor Swift fills in her own ‘Blank Space’ on the new 1989 song ‘Slut!’
Lauren Huff is a writer at Entertainment Weekly with over a decade of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry. After graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook ’em, Horns!), Lauren wrote about film, television, awards season, music, and more for the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, Us Weekly, Awards Circuit, and others before landing at EW in May 2019.
When Taylor Swift unveiled the names of the vault songs on her just-released re-recorded album 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in the most unhinged way yet — those 33 million Google puzzles?! — one track in particular stood out: “Slut!”
After the initial shock of it wore off, Swifties did what they do best: theorize and ponder and debate what the song could be. The general consensus, thanks largely to the crassness of the title and that aggressive exclamation point, was that it would be uptempo, a little angry, and maybe a bit punk — and arrive with a whole lot of snark. You know, like a long-lost sister to “Blank Space.”
Fans may be surprised, then, now that 1989 (TV) has dropped, that “Slut!” is none of those things. For starters, it’s firmly mid-tempo. Also, the closest Swift comes to angry or snarky is maybe the tongue-in-cheek emphasis she uses to deliver that titular word. The song is actually quite dreamscape-y.
However, it’s impossible to hear “Slut!” and not think of it as a foil to “Blank Space.” The latter track famously featured Swift bringing to life the boy-crazy serial dater the public painted her as at the time of 1989‘s original release in 2014. By writing the song from the perspective of that character, she reclaimed the narrative. It was the most Reputation-y moment on a Taylor Swift album not named Reputation.
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Taylor Swift performing during her Eras Tour. KEVIN WINTER/TAS23/GETTY
With “Slut!,” though, it’s as if Swift is experiencing a newfound catharsis, like she’s come full circle and landed in a place of acceptance. The entire song is sweet and romantic — she’s head over heels, and she doesn’t care who knows it. She’s acutely aware of what people will say and think of her new romance (“I’ll pay the price, you won’t”), yet she’s going to own her happiness. “But if I’m all dressed up, they might as well be looking at us,” she proclaims.Swift uses similar imagery in the songs. In “Blank Space” she refers to herself as a “rose garden filled with thorns”; in “Slut!” she’s got “love thorns all over this rose.” In “Blank Space,” she’s a “nightmare dressed like a daydream”; in “Slut!” she’s “all dressed up” and ready to go out with her man. In “Blank Space,” she sings about rumors flying; in “Slut!” the “sticks and stones they throw froze midair.”
She even seems to directly refer to her “Blank Space” character on “Slut!,” telling a lover, “Half awake, taking your chances, it’s a big mistake. Might blow up in your pretty face.” By contrast, “Blank Space” features a boy-crazy Swift telling the guy, “So it’s gonna be forever, or it’s gonna go down in flames. You can tell me when it’s over, if the high was worth the pain.”
“Blank Space” basks in wink-faced snark, while “Slut!” settles on the other end of the spectrum. With a cheery lilt to her voice, Swift declares that if people are going to judge and mock you anyway, you might as well just keep on living and take the plunge. “If they call me a slut, you know it might be worth it for once,” she sings. “And if I’m gonna be drunk, might as well be drunk in love.” In other words, with “Slut!” Swift has announced that when it comes to that blank space, she’s writing her own name in it.
