I am not the kind of girl
Who should be rudely bargin' in on a white veil occasion
But you are not the kind of boy
Who should be marryin' the wrong girl

I sneak in and see your friends
And her snotty little family, all dressed in pastel
And she is yelling at a bridesmaid
Somewhere back inside a room
Wearing a gown shaped like a pastry
This is surely not what you thought it would be
I lose myself in a daydream
Where I stand and say

"Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door
Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out"
And they said, "speak now"

Fond gestures are exchanged
And the organ starts to play
A song that sounds like a death march
And I am hiding in the curtains
It seems I was uninvited by your lovely bride-to-be
She floats down the aisle like a pageant queen
But I know you wish it was me
You wish it was me, don't you?

Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door
Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out
And they said, "speak now"

Don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door
Don't wait or say a single vow
Your time is running out
And they said, "speak now"

I hear the preacher say
"Speak now or forever hold your peace"
There's a silence, there's my last chance
I stand up with shaking hands
All eyes on me
Horrified looks from everyone in the room
But I'm only lookin' at you

I am not the kind of girl
Who should be rudely bargin' in on a white veil occasion
But you are not the kind of boy,
Who should be marryin' the wrong girl

So don't say yes, run away now
I'll meet you when you're out
Of the church at the back door
Don't wait or say a single vow
You need to hear me out
And they said, "speak now"

And you say, "let's run away now
I'll meet you when I'm out of my tux at the back door
Oh baby, I didn't say my vow
So glad you were around when they said, "speak now"


Lyrics submitted by its4amandimclumsy

Speak Now Lyrics as written by Taylor Swift

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Speak Now song meanings
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34 Comments

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  • +3
    My Opinion

    You guys hating this song are SAD! I dont perticulay think Taylor has ever crashed somebodys wedding and its catchy. And secondly this song was not autotuned, I saw it live! Plus I am a musician myself so I would hope I could tell. And its not "fun gustures" its "fond gestures" And the part about her standing up or sitting down WHO CARES. Plug in baby (Muse) made no sense what so ever, but it was still awsome! +This page was for the meanings and posotives of the song, Why would you log in, type in Speak Now, Then write an essay on how much you hate it!

    HATERS GET OVER IT AND STOP SPAMMING UP THIS PAGE!!!

    SeargentGooon March 09, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    Love it! I find the lyrics funny, in a good way of course! ♥

    MusicLover23on October 06, 2010   Link
  • +1
    Lyric Correction

    I have some corrections.. The chorus is actually

    Don't say yes, run away now I'll meet you when you're out of the church at the back door Don't wait, or say a single vow You need to hear me out And they said speak now

    musicislife11on October 06, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Opinion

    I've been a fan of Taylor since her first album came out, but in my opinion this is by far the worst piece of writing she has ever released.

    Honestly, the first time I heard this song I started laughing because it's just... so bad. It's just awful. It ended up having the opposite effect on this listener to what Taylor intended - mainly that I hate her, and feel sorry for the bride-to-be instead.

    "I am not the kind of girl Who should be rudely barging in on a white veil occasion But you are not the kind of boy Who should be marrying the wrong girl"

    Is she implying that there are kinds of people who should be doing these things? Also, 'White veil occasion" is really, really awkward wording. Couldn't Taylor do better?

    "And her snotty little family all dressed in pastel And she is yelling at a bridesmaid Somewhere back inside a room wearing a gown shaped like a pastry"

    This is one of the things I hate the most about the song- it actually says more about her "reasons" for hating the bride than any actual reasons why she's in love with the man she's fighting for. And quite frankly, it's even ruder that she's dissing the bride at her own wedding, which she's almost about to ruin. Also, I love how she can't find a better insult other than that she doesn't like the dress.

    "Fun gestures are exchanged And the organ starts to play a song that sounds like a death march And I am hiding in the curtains It seems that I was uninvited by your lovely bride-to-be"

    Wait... 'fun gestures'? like what? What's even the point of that lyric? The organ death march. Again with the pissy insults towards the wedding. I know you love this guy and all, but it's not the bride-to-be's fault he's stupid enough to nearly marry someone he doesn't actually want to be with. Also, here it says she's hiding in the curtains. Who in real life wouldn't notice that? Secondly, later on it says she stands up when they say 'speak now or...', but how could she have been sitting down behind the curtain? It would stick out and her presence would be apparent. We know she's not in the seats because she's not supposed to be there and the bride would flip shit if she was there, so where the hell IS she? Also, that last line is really dumb. Can she seriously BLAME the the bride for not inviting her, since 1) It would probably be up to the man to invite her since it's not like she was the bride's friend and 2) SHE'S INTERRUPTING THE WEDDING. No WONDER she didn't want her around!

    "I hear the preacher say speak now or forever hold your peace There�s the silence, there�s my last chance I stand up with shaking hands, all eyes on me Horrified looks from everyone in the room But I�m only looking at you"

    okay, at least this verse makes logical sense and isn't just plain stupid. But I hate the ways she sings it, like she's trying to make 5 syllables out of one. It wouldn't bother me so much if I knew her voice could actually hit those notes in real life, but it's so obviously edited that it's painful. Taylor, you can't do that in real life, so singing as if you're bragging that you can do that DOESN'T WORK WHEN IT'S AUTO-TUNED.

    But seriously, how can you not feel bad for the bride here? Taylor never said anything about why the bride's actually apparently a bitch. On the other hand, the narrator herself is barging in and ruining what's supposed to be one of the best days of the bride's life, stealing her near-husband from her and embarrassing her in front of all her close friends and family, not to mention revealing that her near-husband never loved her at all. I think she's got more than enough reason to be a little bitchy. Also, the guy sounds like an asshole. How dumb do you have to be to ALMOST MARRY someone you obviously don't love? Wow. Not to mention it's really inconsiderate that he didn't consider how hurt the bride-to-be would be.

    Yeah, this couple were meant for each other.

    robunehon October 08, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    @robuneh There are a few things disagreeable with your post.. 1."This is surely not what you thought it would be And I loose myself in a daydream" This would seem to imply that the whole thing didn't really happen.. it was all a daydream.. plus this kind of thing happens a lot in movies, who says it can't happen in a song

    1. Its not fun gestures.. its FOND gestures.

    2. She could have sat down in the back once the whole thing actually started.

    3. The man probably did invite her the lyrics say UNIVITED. Meaning the BRIDE took her off the guest list.

    4. If you go listen to the interview with the story Taylor gave about this song you would understand the reasoning behind it better.

    hedwig1121on October 08, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    At first, I didn't really like it... but it has grown on me. It is really catchy. Obviously it's about a girl objecting to the boy she loves marrying someone else.

    I love the "Horrified looks from everyone in the room, but I'm only looking at you" part.

    xxmodernloveon October 24, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    It's really obvious she wrote this about Hayley Williams and Josh Farro, and I love the song. Sometimes people go into relationships just because they can't survive without one, or can't bear to live without attention from the opposite sex, and I think this song definitely channels that when she says he is marrying the wrong girl...a girl he is just desperate to marry instead of one he actually loves.

    Sapphiresqueon November 04, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Adored this song from the start. The first time I ever heard about it was on a message board or something where someone said (this is all hearsay) that she wrote it about Hayley Williams and Josh Farro. I don't really believe the story seeing as the timeline wouldn't make to much sense, but it also sort of fits. When Taylor explained the story behind it in an interview, she said that she was inspired from what a friend had told her about a guy she'd been in love with since they were young and all of a sudden, he's getting married. Taylor put herself in the girl's shoes and thought about how it would be if she were in love with someone who was getting married and couldn't do anything about it. No matter who the friend was who she was speaking for, I still love it.

    anythingelseon October 26, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    oh what are you guys on about!! This is sooo cute! Go Taylor. I get from it that they've probably mocked her "snotty little family" and the pastry dress. This song is just too cute. SO CUTE

    taytayswizzlewizzeon November 10, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    I understand that Taylor Swift had another meaning in mind when writing this song, but as a soon-to-be English major, I can't help but interpret this song differently.

    For me, this song has a double meaning; yes, it is whatever everyone is saying about watching your childhood sweetheart marry another person, but it can also be about going for a dream or goal or just saying something that needs to be said even if you know there are going to be obstacles and people who want to push you down/away from achieving whatever it is you're seeking to achieve. You might not be the type of person who is assertive when dealing with what you want, but there comes a time where you need to stand up and say "Hey, this is wrong," or "This is what I want". The title of the song (and album) is "Speak Now". That definitely means more than just interrupting a wedding for a childhood love. It means making a change or taking a stand.

    ohpotteryourotteron November 13, 2010   Link

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