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The Best Day (Taylor Swift song)

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"The Best Day"
Song by Taylor Swift
from the album Fearless / Fearless (Taylor's Version)
ReleasedNovember 11, 2008 (2008-11-11) (original)
  • April 9, 2021 (2021-04-09) (Taylor's Version)
GenreCountry
Length4:05
LabelBig Machine (original)
Songwriter(s)Taylor Swift
Producer(s)
  • Taylor Swift
  • Nathan Chapman (original)
  • Christopher Rowe (Taylor's Version)
Music videos
"The Best Day" on YouTube
"The Best Day (Taylor's Version)" on YouTube

"The Best Day" is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift for her second studio album, Fearless (2008). Produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, "The Best Day" is an understated country song with gentle guitar strums. The lyrics are dedicated to Swift's parents, most of the verses being to her mother. A music video containing home footage edited by Swift was released in May 2009 as part of a special Mother's Day promotion through Big Machine Records.[1]

Music critics praised "The Best Day" for its understated production and tender sentiments. The song peaked at number three on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart, and 56 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in July 2018 certified the track gold, denoting 500,000 units based on sales and stream.

Swift released a re-recorded version, "The Best Day (Taylor's Version)", as part of her re-recorded album Fearless (Taylor's Version), on April 9, 2021. A new music video for "The Best Day (Taylor's Version)", was uploaded onto YouTube on the album's release date. The re-recorded version also charted on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts, and won Best Family Feature at the 2021 CMT Music Awards.

Background and release

Taylor Swift released her second studio album, Fearless, on November 11, 2008, through Big Machine Records.[2] Swift wrote or co-wrote all tracks and co-produced the album with Nathan Chapman.[3][4] Although much of Fearless is primarily about the challenges of love from a teenage girl's perspectives, a few songs are about life lessons and family love.[5][6] Swift wrote "The Best Day" for Fearless while she was touring in summer 2008.[1] She dedicated the track to her family for their support of her music career, the emphasis being her mother.[1][7] Swift recorded "The Best Day" and edited an accompanying home video without telling her mother so as to surprise her on Christmas.[1]

"The Best Day" was produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman. It is track number 12 on Swift's second studio album Fearless, released on November 11, 2008.[8] Swift released her self-edited video for "The Best Day" in May 2009, in celebration of Mother's Day and as part of a special promotion through Big Machine Records.[1][9]

After a masters controversy, Swift released her re-recorded version of Fearless, subtitled Taylor's Version, on April 9, 2021; Fearless (Taylor's Version) features a re-recorded version of "The Best Day", also subtitled "Taylor's Version".[10] The re-recorded version was produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe.[11] On April 30, 2021, Swift released a four-minute music video for "The Best Day (Taylor's Version)", consisting of footage from home movies from Swift's childhood to young adulthood. Her parents Andrea and Scott are featured, as well as her brother Austin Swift.[12] The video won Best Family Feature at the 2021 CMT Music Awards.[13]

Music and lyrics

"The Best Day" was written about Swift's parents, however her mother, Andrea, is the attention of most of the verses, with her father being mentioned in the middle eight.[14] In the liner notes of Fearless, the secret message in the song's lyrics is "GOD BLESS ANDREA SWIFT".[15]

GQ speculated that "The Best Day" may have been written about an incident when Swift was in middle school, where she asked her friends to go to a local shopping mall, and all said they couldn't go. Swift's mother agreed to take her to the mall, where they saw her friends at Victoria's Secret. Swift said that after discovering her friends had gone to the mall without her, "I just remember my mom looking at me and saying, We’re going to King of Prussia Mall. Which is the big, big mall in Pennsylvania, 45 minutes away...My mom let me escape from certain things that were too painful to deal with."[16] The song is set in the key of D♭ major with a moderate tempo of 126 beats per minute. Swift's vocals span from A♭ 3 to A♭ 4.[17]

Critical reception

James Reed of The Boston Globe called "The Best Day" the best song on Fearless, opining that while on first listen, the song is understated enough to be unnoticed, "after an entire album of wide-open choruses, it's refreshing to hear Swift tell her story simply. If the melody doesn't stick in your mind, the message at least speaks to the heart".[18] In a Billboard 2017 retrospective of Fearless, Jennifer Keishin Armstrong wrote that storytelling is used to "tear-jerking, emotionally manipulative effect" on "The Best Day", and that Swift "looks back at scenes from just five years earlier with the nostalgia, wisdom and sap of a 40-year-old", despite her being aged only 18 when writing the song.[19] Slant Magazine's Jonathan Keefe called "The Best Day" one of the most charming songs on Fearless, comparing it to George Strait's 2000 song of the same name.[20]

Charts

Certification

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[23] Gold 500,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Spencer 2010, p. 74.
  2. ^ Spencer 2010, p. 58.
  3. ^ Breen, Joe (March 9, 2009). "Roots". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  4. ^ Wood, Mikael (April 8, 2021). "Review: A Principled Stand, a Bonanza for Swifties and a Shrug from Us: Taylor Swift's Made-over Fearless". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 6, 2021.
  5. ^ Perone 2017, p. 20.
  6. ^ Yahr, Emily (November 1, 2017). "If you think Taylor Swift sings only about her exes, then you don't get Taylor Swift". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  7. ^ Hensel, Amanda (May 8, 2011). "Taylor Swift Recalls That Her 'Best Days' Were Spent With Her Mom". Taste of Country. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  8. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (November 11, 2008). "Taylor Swift Says She 'Owed It' to Her Fans to Be Open About Joe Jonas Breakup". MTV News. Archived from the original on March 12, 2010. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
  9. ^ Strecker, Erin (January 8, 2015). "Taylor Swift Makes Us Cry with 'The Best Day' Video". Billboard. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  10. ^ Lipshutz, Jason (February 11, 2021). "Taylor Swift Announces Re-Recorded Fearless Album: Updated 'Love Story' Out Tonight". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2021.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Credits / Fearless (Taylor's Version) / Taylor Swift". Tidal. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2021.
  12. ^ Star, Regina (April 30, 2021). "Taylor Swift's Mom Appears In Video For 'The Best Day (Taylor's Version)'". iHeartRadio. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  13. ^ Chan, Anna (June 9, 2021). "Taylor Swift Gives Her Mom the Sweetest Shoutout After Winning 2021 CMT Music Award For Best Family Feature". Billboard. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  14. ^ Jones, Nate. "All 126 Taylor Swift Songs, Ranked From Worst to Best". Vulture. Retrieved May 18, 2021. Mom gets the verses while Dad is relegated to the middle eight — even in song, the Mother's Day–Father's Day disparity holds up.
  15. ^ Strecker, Erin (October 24, 2014). "Taylor Swift's 13 Best Liner Note Secret Messages -- So Far". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  16. ^ Klosterman, Chuck (October 15, 2015). "Taylor Swift on "Bad Blood," Kanye West, and How People Interpret Her Lyrics". GQ. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  17. ^ Swift, Taylor (January 8, 2009). "The Best Day". Musicnotes. Retrieved July 7, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ Reed, James (November 11, 2008). "Young country star's 'Fearless' proves she's just that, and more". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  19. ^ Armstrong, Jennifer Keisha (November 7, 2017). "Why Taylor Swift's 'Fearless' Is Her Best Album". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  20. ^ Keefe, Jonathan (November 16, 2008). "Review: Taylor Swift, Fearless". Slant Magazine. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  21. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Taylor Swift Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 18, 2021.
  23. ^ "American single certifications – Taylor Swift – The Best Day". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved May 18, 2021.

Sources

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