February is a month that is exciting for some and a dread for others. For many people, melancholy is an emotion that arises during this time and lingers. A song that I believe presents a different facet of melancholy is “Nothing New (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]” by Taylor Swift featuring Phoebe Bridgers.

Phoebe Bridgers is an artist that I have followed since 2020 when her quarantine album Punisher was released. Punisher oozes with melancholy, the relatable feelings Bridgers conveys combined with poignant lyrics have made her an artist to watch. When I found out Phoebe would be featured in a song on Taylor Swift’s Red (Taylor’s Version), I was very excited, to say the least.

Taylor Swift originally penned “Nothing New” in 2012, which was originally supposed to be released on her album Red. She ended up releasing the song, which is produced by her and Aaron Dessner (another one of Swift’s talented collaborators, and part of The National as well as Big Red Machine) on Red (Taylor’s Version) in November 2021. The song “Nothing New” is inspired by the song “A Case of You,” another sentimental ballad by Joni Mitchell, with James Taylor on guitar.

The first verse of “Nothing New,” sung by Swift, hints at the blatant sexism women face in the music industry, specifically while they are starting their careers. Phoebe Bridgers’ feelings of struggling with fame as an emerging artist are also referenced in the opening lines. The first chorus, sung by Swift, alludes to her fear of aging in her career as a singer-songwriter. The line “How can a person know everything at eighteen but nothing at twenty-two” is echoed in Swift’s other songs that reference age and how it can correlate to gaining knowledge. In the second verse, sung by Bridgers and Swift, the theme of loss is explored; a loss of fame as well as a loss of the love of onlookers and listeners, a topic that isn’t frequently brought up in songs. The bridge, sung by Swift and Bridgers, pulls you into what goes through an artist’s head as they see new talent coming over the horizon and are watching these new artists coming to take the place of those that can be disposed of. Taylor Swift’s 2020 Netflix documentary Miss Americana delves into this topic further. In the last chorus, sung by Swift and Bridgers, there is a final reflection where Swift ponders about the possibility of critics and fans missing her once she is “discarded.”

I think that “Nothing New” is most like poetry than other songs on Red (Taylor’s Version) because of the way that the lyrics are organized, and as I continue to read through those lyrics, I’ve realized that there are layers upon layers of meaning in the song that I hadn’t originally noticed. Even though this song is not autobiographical, it feels like Swift and Bridgers are reminiscing on their earlier years and wondering about what is to come.

If you end up listening to “Nothing New” and enjoy it, two few other songs that I recommend with a similar tone to “Nothing New” are “A Case of You” by Joni Mitchell, which I previously mentioned, and “1 step forward, 3 steps back” by Olivia Rodrigo, which samples “New Year’s Day” by Swift.