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“Shake It Off” is the sixth song on Taylor’s fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). It was released as the lead single and officially marked her genre transition from country to pop. It is an upbeat song that encourages listeners to let go of their problems. To this day, it is one Taylor’s biggest hits. The re-recording of the song, “Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)”, was released on October 27, 2023.
“Shake It Off” is the sixth song on Taylor’s fifth studio album, 1989 (2014). It was released as the lead single and officially marked her genre transition from country to pop. It is an upbeat song that encourages listeners to let go of their problems. To this day, it is one Taylor’s biggest hits. The re-recording of the song, “Shake It Off (Taylor’s Version)”, was released on October 27, 2023.
Background
Background
Taylor had been known as a country singer-songwriter until her fourth studio album, RED (2012), which incorporates various pop and rock styles, transcending the country sound of her previous releases. The collaborations with Swedish pop producers Max Martin and Shellback introduced straightforward pop hooks and new genres, including electronic and dubstep, to Taylor’s discography. She and her then-label, Big Machine, promoted it as a country album. But the album’s diverse musical styles sparked a media debate over her status as a country artist, to which she replied in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, “I leave the genre labeling to other people.” Taylor began recording her fifth studio album, 1989, while on her “The RED Tour” in mid-2013. Inspired by 1980s synth-pop, she conceived 1989 as her first “official pop” record that would transform her image from country to pop. Martin and Shellback produced seven out of thirteen tracks for the album’s standard edition, including “Shake It Off”.
«I've had every part of my life dissected – my choices, my actions, my words, my body, my style, my music. When you live your life under that kind of scrutiny, you can either let it break you, or you can get really good at dodging punches. And when one lands, you know how to deal with it. And I guess the way that I deal with it is to shake it off.»
Taylor Swift
The release of “Shake It Off” and its parent album 1989 had been highly anticipated, given Taylor’s announcement that she would abandon her country roots to release an “official pop” album. The magazine Drowned in Sound described the single as “undoubtedly the most significant cultural event” since Radiohead’s 2011 album The King of Limbs. While noting that “Shake It Off” was not Taylor’s first “straight-up pop” song, Billboard‘s Jason Lipshutz considered it a sign of a “bold foray into the unknown”, in which Taylor could experiment beyond her well-known formulaic country pop songs that had been critically and commercially successful.
The release of “Shake It Off” and its parent album 1989 had been highly anticipated, given Taylor’s announcement that she would abandon her country roots to release an “official pop” album. The magazine Drowned in Sound described the single as “undoubtedly the most significant cultural event” since Radiohead’s 2011 album The King of Limbs. While noting that “Shake It Off” was not Taylor’s first “straight-up pop” song, Billboard‘s Jason Lipshutz considered it a sign of a “bold foray into the unknown”, in which Taylor could experiment beyond her well-known formulaic country pop songs that had been critically and commercially successful.
Lyrics
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I stay out too late
Got nothing in my brain
That’s what people say… (Mmm)
That’s what people say… (Mmm)
I go on too many dates
But I can’t make them stay
At least that’s what people say… (Mmm)
That’s what people say… (Mmm)
[Pre-Chorus]
But I keep cruising
Can’t stop, won’t stop moving
It’s like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, “It’s gonna be alright”
[Chorus]
‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off
Shake it off (Hu, hu, hu!)
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off
Shake it off (Hu, hu, hu!)
[Verse 2]
I never miss a beat
I’m lightning on my feet
And that’s what they don’t see… (Mmm)
That’s what they don’t see… (Mmm)
I’m dancing on my own (Dancing on my own)
I make the moves up as I go (Moves up as I go)
That’s what they don’t know… (Mmm)
That’s what they don’t know… (Mmm)
[Pre-Chorus]
But I keep cruising
Can’t stop, won’t stop grooving
It’s like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, “It’s gonna be alright”
[Chorus]
‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off
Shake it off (Hu, hu, hu!)
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off
Shake it off (Hu, hu, hu!)
[Post-Chorus]
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off
[Interlude]
“Hey, hey, hey!
Just think, while you’ve been
Gettin’ down and out about the
Liars and the dirty, dirty cheats of the world…
You could’ve been gettin’ down
To this! Sick! Beat!”
[Bridge]
My ex man brought his new girlfriend
She’s like, “Oh my God!”
But I’m just gonna shake
And to the fella over there
With the hella good hair
Won’t you come on over?
Baby, we can shake, shake, shake…
Yeah, oh, oh, oh
[Chorus]
‘Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play
And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate (Haters gonna hate)
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off
Shake it off (Ha!)
Heartbreakers gonna break, break, break, break, break (Mmm)
And the fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake (And fake, and fake, and fake)
Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake
Shake it off
Shake it off (I, I, I)
[Post-Chorus]
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off (Hu, hu, hu!)
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I (Yeah!)
Shake it off
Shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I (You got to)
Shake it off, I shake it off, I, I, I
Shake it off
I shake it off
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