Long Live

Album: Speak Now (2010)
Charted: 53
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Taylor explained this song's meaning on her website: "This song is about my band, and my producer, and all the people who have helped us build this brick by brick. The fans, the people who I feel that we are all in this together, this song talks about the triumphant moments that we've had in the last two years. We've had times where we just jump up and down, and dance like we don't care how we're dancing, and just scream at the top of our lungs, 'How is this happening?' And, I feel very lucky to even have had one of those moments, nonetheless all the ones that I got to have. 'Long Live' is about how I feel reflecting on it.

    This song for me is like looking at a photo album of all the award shows, and all the stadium shows, and all the hands in the air in the crowd. It's sort of the first love song that I've written to my team."
  • Rolling Stone included Swift on their 2012 "Women Who Rock" list, which detailed "50 of the fiercest albums that female rock & rollers have given the world." Speak Now came #45 in the list, while the magazine called this track, "the best Bon Jovi song Bon Jovi never wrote."
  • Taylor Swift, fueled by a fresh contract with Republic Records, dove headfirst into re-recording her first six studio albums starting November 2020. Released on July 7, 2023, "Long Live (Taylor's Version)" is part of Speak Now (Taylor's Version), Swift's third re-recorded album.

    Let's take a moment to reflect on the original release. Back then, some might argue that Swift's move to drop "Long Live" seemed a tad premature. It was a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported her throughout her rise to stardom, yet it also carried an air of retrospective nostalgia. Fast forward a decade and "Long Live (Taylor's Version)" arrives at the right time to celebrate Swift's extraordinary journey to megastardom.

Comments: 2

  • Megan from Moncton, New BrunswickFor me I interpret this song as a great song for my GRAD Class because for 3 1/2 years we were @ the old Moncton High School which looks like a castle and we are the Purple Knights which represents the whole Kingdom part of the song. Also as knights we faught but our dragons were all the difficult school work and our rival school The Harrison Tremble Trojans during football season. This part of the song:

    "Hold on to spinning around
    Confetti falls to the ground
    May these memories break our fall

    Can you take a moment
    Promise me this:
    That you'll stand by me forever
    But if God forbid fate should step in
    And force us into a goodbye
    If you have children someday
    When they point to the pictures
    Please tell them my name
    Tell them how the crowds went wild
    Tell them how I hope they shine"

    This is pretty much graduation. We will all leave and go on separate paths but we will all have these memories and a yearbook that we will show/ tell our children and grandchildren.
  • Fabio from New Orleans, LaThis is such an amazing song! And so inspirational. Long live Taylor Swift!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."