Remember When: Taylor Swift Changed What Some Considered a Homophobic Lyric in Her 2006 Single “Picture to Burn”

On “Picture to Burn,” the second single from Taylor Swift‘s self-titled debut in 2006, she’s singing about her former classmate at Hendersonville High School in Tennesse, who she briefly dated then left her for another girl.

Out of anger, Swift took out her frustrations over the situation in pen during an after-school songwriting session with early collaborator Liz Rose and wrote a song about her the boy and exposed his narcissistic ways:

State the obvious, I didn’t get my perfect fantasy
I realize you love yourself more than you could ever love me
So go and tell your friends that I’m obsessive and crazy
So go and tell all your friends that I’m obsessive and crazy
That’s fine, I’ll tell mine you’re gay

After releasing the song, some people criticized the last line in the opening, calling it homophobic as if being gay was a negative thing. Swift also felt the same about the line and rewrote the lyric.

“I had this song called ‘Picture to Burn,’ that’s talking about how ‘I hate your truck,’ and ‘I hate that you ignored me,’ ‘I hate you,’” said Swift of the lyric change in a 2011 interview. “Now, the way that I would say that and the way that I would feel that kind of pain is a lot different.”

“You won’t mind if I say, by the way…’

Swift’s new lyrics made no reference to anyone’s sexuality.

State the obvious, I didn’t get my perfect fantasy
I realize you love yourself more than you could ever love me
So go and tell your friends that I’m obsessive and crazy
That’s fine, you won’t mind if I say
By the way

The song still went on to list all the other things she realized she hated about her crush and how she didn’t have time to cry over him.

I hate that stupid old pickup truck you never let me drive
You’re a redneck heartbreak who’s really bad at lying
So watch me strike a match on all my wasted time
As far as I’m concerned, you’re just another picture to burn

There’s no time for tears
I’m just sitting here planning my revenge
There’s nothing stopping me
From going out with all of your best friends
And if you come around saying sorry to me
My daddy’s gonna show you how sorry you’ll be

[RELATED: The Song Taylor Swift May Have Regretted and Rewrote It 13 Years Later]

“Better Than Revenge”

Years after “Picture to Burn,” Swift had another change of heart with her lyrics after the release of “Better Than Revenge” from her 2010 album Speak Now. In the song, Swift sings about a woman who “stole” her boyfriend and references an actress who is better know for her skills on the mattress, a line which led to some criticism since Swift considers herself a feminist.

She’s not a saint and she’s not what you think
She’s an actress, whoa
She’s better known for the things that she does
On the mattress

Instead of lambasting her ex-boyfriend—at the time, she had broken up with Joe Jonas—Swift attacked the other woman (presumably actress Camilla Belle), who was now dating him in the song and continued to knock the lifestyle choices and call out the lack of sophistication of the antagonist in her song.

In 2023, 13 years after the original release of and “Better Than Revenge,” Swift recorded the song for Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and switched up the controversial mattress line in the chorus.

She looks at life like it’s a party and she’s on the list
She looks at me like I’m a trend and she’s so over it
I think her ever present frown is a little troubling
And, she thinks I’m psycho

Photo: Peter Kramer/Getty Images