“Come Back… Be Here” is the 18th track of Taylor’s Swift second re-recorded album, Red, that was released in the 12th of November.
On “Come Back…Be Here”, Swift croons about a lover lost to time over a simple production reminiscent of her Speak Now days. Lyrically, the song talks about trying to have a relationship where the guy is always away. Although Swift has not confirmed it, this song is speculated to be about Harry Styles, one of the singers from One Direction. They apparently broke it off after a couple months.
It’s interesting to note the reference to New York in the chorus. Although the production in this song is much more simple than some of the poppier songs on Red, the production on her next album. 1989 was much more poppy than this, and its sound was apparently influenced by her living in New York. Clearly, New York became happier for her when she moved in, while before that it was a place where her lovers went after leaving her.
Taylor told at the release party of the album, in 2012:
"It’s a song I wrote about this guy that I met. You know, you meet someone and then they just kinda happen to go away and it’s, like, long distance all of a sudden. And you’re, like, ‘b-b-but, but, come back, be here!’ So it’s a song that I wrote about having distance separate you, which is something I face constantly."
Taylor never confirmed the identity of the person who inspired the song, but many people assume that the song was written about Harry Styles, her ex-boyfriend.
The only time the song was ever performed is in Reputation Stadium Tour, as an acoustic performance.