Taylor Swift has rereleased her classic album, “Speak Now.” Swifties have been eating them up like crazy. But one song, in particular, “Castles Crumbling” seem to resonate with Taylor’s experience under the limelight more than the others.
Speak Now Taylor’s Version was long-awaited by fans after the pop star announced that it’s her next album to be rerecorded after her lengthy battle with Scooter Braun, the owner of her previous record label. Taylor has been rerecording her albums to make it her property after the traumatic experience she had with Braun.
Along with her iconic songs like the album title Speak Now, Mine, Back to December, and Enchanted, Taylor also release some new music included in the album. Her song “Castles Crumbling” with Hayley Williams of Paramore is one of these songs “From the Vault.”
Hayley and Taylor have been friends since the early days of the latter’s career. They both started their musical journeys in Nashville, Tennessee, with Hayley forming the band Paramore, and Taylor starting out as a country singer.
In later years, the two went in separate directions musically but their friendship became stronger than ever. And now, finally, they have collaborated on a song that talks about their mutual experiences under the spotlight.
Castles Crumbling is a song about reaching the height of fame but finding out it wasn’t the wonderful thing everyone promised to be. It talks about relationships being ruined, and ego and pride driving heated conversations. It’s a song that could only be written by someone who has personal experience with the fame, the promises, the power, and the heartbreak being at the top brings.
The Lyrics
The first two paragraphs of the lyrics already set the tone for listeners that this was something Taylor wrote personally as a reflection on her years in the music industry. It reads,
“Once, I had an empire in a golden age
I was held up so high, I used to be great
They used to cheer when they saw my face
Now, I fear I have fallen from grace,”
“And I feel like my castle’s crumbling down
And I watch all my bridges burn to the ground
And you don’t want to know me
I will just let you down
You don’t wanna know me now,”
In her career, Taylor Swift has been embroiled in quite a few controversies. To this day, people are divided about how they feel about her. Her fans are saying she’s brave for staying strong despite all the haters she has. Others are quick to point out her mistakes and the blunders she had.
These first two paragraphs in the song give us a glimpse into Taylor’s headspace and her relationship with fame. She had experienced it like a roller coaster with all the ups and downs and she has written honestly about it all.
The next parts of the song were sung by Hayley Williams who also rose to fame at an early age with her band. Hayley, like Taylor, went through a lot of things all under the public eye. She and Taylor sang,
“Once, I was the great hope for a dynasty
Crowds would hang on my words, and they trusted me
Their faith was strong, But I pushed it too far
I held that grudge ’til it tore me apart,”
“Power went to my head, and I couldn’t stop
Ones I loved tried to help, so I ran them off
And here I sit alone, behind walls of regret
Falling down like promises that I never kept,”
What Makes Castles Crumbling a Great Heartbreak Song
Castles Crumbling isn’t just a personal testament to what celebrities go through at the height of fame. I think people resonate with it because they see themselves in the lyrics. Life is pretty unpredictable and there are just some circumstances that can break a relationship, whether it’s with your significant other, your friends, or your family.
We all have had relationships that were not meant to be, and sometimes, it is our fault how things end up badly. And Taylor singing that out to her fans validated our feelings. We feel seen, we feel heard. We feel like someone else out there is going through the same thing that breaks our hearts every day.
Sometimes, the situation makes us the bad person in the narrative, and it’s okay to admit our mistakes and learn from them. I think that is what the general message of the song is, to know that you have been wrong, accept it, and never forget the regrets you have so you’ll be a better person in the future. Castles Crumbling may be a song about heartbreak but it also gives us meaningful life lessons we can store in our memories.