Taylor Swift Switches Up ‘Better Than Revenge’ Song Lyrics for ‘Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)’

Taylor Swift is bringing new energy to Speak Now (Taylor’s Version).

While the album marks the Grammy winner’s latest re-recording since 2021’s Red (Taylor’s Version) and includes two previously released bonus tracks with six never-before-heard songs from Swift’s music catalog, fans will also find that the singer has made a change to the track “Better Than Revenge.”

The original song previously featured the lyrics, “She’s not a saint, and she’s not what you think / she’s an actress, whoa / She’s better known for the things that she does / On the mattress, whoa.”

In Swift’s latest release, the latter lyrics were switched to, “He was a moth to the flame / She was holding the matches, whoa.”

Fans have criticized the line in song since its 2010 release, often calling it problematic. Swift spoke publicly about the criticism in 2014, telling The Guardian, “I was 18 when I wrote that. That’s the age you are when you think someone can actually take your boyfriend. Then you grow up and realize no one can take someone from you if they don’t want to leave.”

Swift first announced that Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) would be her next re-recording while onstage at her Nashville concert on May 5.

Speaking about the album’s development on Instagram, she wrote: “I first made Speak Now, completely self-written, between the ages of 18 and 20. The songs that came from this time in my life were marked by their brutal honesty, unfiltered diaristic confessions and wild wistfulness.”

She concluded the post, writing, “I love this album because it tells a tale of growing up, flailing, flying and crashing … and living to speak about it. With six extra songs I’ve sprung loose from the vault, I absolutely cannot wait to celebrate Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) with you.”