Betty, Four Years Later: Taylor Swift’s Folkloric Time Capsule of Teenage Regret

26th August, 2024

Remember 2020? While the world was in lockdown, Taylor Swift was busy weaving the secret diary of an imaginary high school.

“Folklore” dropped like a warm blanket of nostalgia, and nestled within was “Betty,” a song that, even in 2024, still makes us want to hop on a skateboard and make grand gestures on front porches.

A Cardigan, A Dance, and a Broken Heart

“Betty” is the grand finale of Swift’s “Teenage Love Triangle,” a trio of tracks that reads like a John Hughes film screenplay.

It picks up where “August” left off, giving us the aftermath of a summer fling that was doomed from the start.

Our protagonist, James, is trying to win back Betty after a “dance with someone else” that was more than just a dance.

Swift, ever the master of perspective, gives us a James who’s equal parts regretful and clueless.

As she spilled to Billboard: “[James] has lost the love of his life basically and doesn’t understand how to get it back… Everybody makes mistakes; everybody really messes up sometimes, and this is a song that I wrote from the perspective of a 17-year-old boy.”

It’s like Swift handed the mic to every regretful ex who ever stood outside a window with a boombox, hoping for a second chance.

The Sound of Nostalgia

From the first strum of that harmonica, “Betty” transports us to a world of faded Polaroids and mix tapes.

It’s Swift’s musical DeLorean, taking us back to her “Fearless” and “Speak Now” eras, but with a dash of grown-up wisdom.

The production is simple, letting the story take centre stage. It’s as if Swift is sitting on a porch swing, strumming her guitar, and spilling the tea about the latest high school drama. And we’re all ears.

A Love Triangle for the Ages

“Betty” completes the “Teenage Love Triangle” triptych, following “cardigan” and “august.”

It’s like Swift wrote the world’s most elaborate “choose your own adventure” novel, but all the choices have already been made, and we’re just along for the emotional ride.

Interestingly, James’ gender became a topic of fan debate, with some reading it as a sapphic love story.

Swift, however, confirmed on country radio that James is a boy, named after one of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ daughters.

It’s peak Swift, using her friends’ kids’ names to craft a fictional world that feels intensely real.

A Surprise Duet

In a plot twist worthy of her own lyrics, Swift revealed in “folklore: the long pond studio sessions” that her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn (under the pseudonym William Bowery), co-wrote “Betty.”

She shared: “I just heard Joe singing the entire fully formed chorus of ‘Betty’ from another room. And I was just like, ‘Hello.’ It was a step that we would never have taken, because why would we have ever written a song together?”

It’s like overhearing a conversation at a party and turning it into a chart-topping hit. Classic Swift.

The Charts and Beyond

“Betty” didn’t just tug at heartstrings; it climbed charts. Debuting at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on Hot Country Songs, it proved that even in 2020, people were ready for a dose of country Taylor.

But in 2024, “Betty” is more than its chart positions. It’s become a cultural touchstone, a song that makes millennials misty-eyed and Gen Z wish they’d experienced a high school dance in the early 2010s.

The Song That Launched a Thousand TikToks

Four years on, “Betty” isn’t just another track on a playlist. It’s spawned countless TikTok trends, from “If I just showed up at your party” challenges to elaborate “Teenage Love Triangle” cosplays.

It’s the song that makes you text your high school ex (don’t do it), the one that has you practicing your grand apology speech in the mirror.

It’s Taylor Swift at her narrative best, making us deeply invested in the love lives of fictional teenagers.

A Timeless Tale of Teenage Mistakes

“Betty” endures because it captures something timeless: the feeling of messing up so badly you think the world might end, but hoping against hope that showing up and saying “I’m sorry” might just be enough.

As we hit play on “Betty” in 2024, we’re not just listening to a song. We’re revisiting that moment when we were “only seventeen” and didn’t know anything.

We’re James, we’re Betty, we’re the unnamed girl from “August.” We’re every mistake we’ve made and every apology we’ve stumbled through.

In true Swift fashion, “Betty” doesn’t give us a neat resolution. Instead, it leaves us on that front porch, heart pounding, waiting to see if the door will open.

And somehow, four years later, we’re still holding our breath, hoping for a second chance.

Taylor Swift Betty Lyrics

Verse 1
Betty, I won’t make assumptions
About why you switched your homeroom, but
I think it’s ’cause of me
Betty, one time, I was riding on my skateboard
When I passed your house
It’s like I couldn’t breathe

Pre-Chorus
You heard the rumors from Inez
You can’t believe a word she says
Most times, but this time, it was true
The worst thing that I ever did
Was what I did to you

Chorus
But if I just showed up at your party
Would you have me? Would you want me?
Would you tell me to go fuck myself
Or lead me to the garden?
In the garden, would you trust me
If I told you it was just a summer thing?
I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything
But I know I miss you

Verse 2
Betty, I know where it all went wrong
Your favorite song was playing
From the far side of the gym
I was nowhere to be found
I hate the crowds, you know that
Plus, I saw you dance with him

Pre-Chorus
You heard the rumors from Inez
You can’t believe a word she says
Most times, but this time, it was true
The worst thing that I ever did
Was what I did to you

[Chorus]
But if I just showed up at your party
Would you have me? Would you want me?
Would you tell me to go fuck myself
Or lead me to the garden?
In the garden, would you trust me
If I told you it was just a summer thing?
I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything
But I know I miss you

Bridge
I was walking home on broken cobblestones
Just thinking of you when she pulled up like
A figment of my worst intentions
She said, “James, get in, let’s drive”
Those days turned into nights
Slept next to her, but
I dreamt of you all summer long

Verse 3
Betty, I’m here on your doorstep
And I planned it out for weeks now
But it’s finally sinkin’ in
Betty, right now is the last time
I can dream about what happens when
You see my face again

Pre-Chorus
The only thing I wanna do
Is make it up to you
So I showed up at your party
Yeah, I showed up at your party

Chorus
Yeah, I showed up at your party
Will you have me? Will you love me?
Will you kiss me on the porch
In front of all your stupid friends?
If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it?
Will it patch your broken wings?
I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything
But I know I miss you

Outro
Standing in your cardigan
Kissin’ in my car again
Stopped at a streetlight
You know I miss you