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"Should've Said No" is the ninth track from the standard edition of American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut studio album, Taylor Swift, released on October 24, 2006, through Big Machine Records. The song became the fifth single from the album on May 18, 2008.

Background[]

Taylor Swift wrote the song when she was sixteen years old. According to Country Weekly magazine, she was inspired to write it after she discovered that her boyfriend at the time had cheated on her. The first line that came to her was the title, and she wrote the chorus in five minutes. Swift has also said that many of the lyrics were based on actual words that she used when confronting her then-boyfriend.[1]

Swift compared this to another one of her songs, "Picture to Burn". Swift said of the song: "'Picture to Burn' has an 'angry and I'm-done-with-him attitude,' while 'Should've Said No' is "more of a moral statement. It's an 'I love you, we were awesome and great together, but you messed this up and I would still be with you' kinda thing. You said yes, and you should've said no." Taylor Swift also performs this song with The Jonas Brothers in their 3-D movie.

Composition[]

The song is an up-tempo in which the central character addresses a former lover who has cheated on her, telling him that he "should've said no" to the female who has taken her place in his life ("You should've said no/You should've gone home/You should've thought twice before you let it all go/You should've known that word 'bout what you did with her would get back to me").

The chord progression in the chorus is Em-C-D-G-D/F#-Em-C-D-Em-C-D-G-D/F#-Em-C-A-C-D-Em.

Hidden message[]

Hidden message: Sam Sam Sam Sam Sam Sam.

Audio[]

Lyrics[]

[Verse 1]
It's strange to think the songs we used to sing
The smiles, the flowers, everything is gone
Yesterday I found out about you
Even now, just looking at you, feels wrong

[Pre-Chorus 1]
You say that you'd take it all back, given one chance
It was a moment of weakness and you said, "Yes"

[Chorus]
You should've said, "No", you should've gone home
You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go
You should've know that word, 'bout what you did with her
Get back to me (Get back to me)
And I should've been there, in the back of your mind
I shouldn't be asking myself, "Why?"
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet
You should've said "No", baby, and you might still have me

[Verse 2]
You can see that I've been crying
Baby, you know all the right things to say
But do you honestly expect me to believe
We could ever be the same?

[Pre-Chorus 2]
You say that the past is the past, you need one chance
It was a moment of weakness and you said, "Yes"

[Chorus]
You should've said, "No", you should've gone home
You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go
You should've know that word, 'bout what you did with her
Get back to me (Get back to me)
And I should've been there, in the back of your mind
I shouldn't be asking myself, "Why?"
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet
You should've said "No", baby, and you might still have me

[Bridge]
I can't resist
Before you go tell me this
Was it worth it?
Was she worth this?
No no, no, no

[Chorus]
You should've said, "No", you should've gone home
You should've thought twice 'fore you let it all go
You should've know that word, 'bout what you did with her
Get back to me (Get back to me)
And I should've been there, in the back of your mind
I shouldn't be asking myself, "Why?"
You shouldn't be begging for forgiveness at my feet
You should've said "No", baby, and you might still have me

Taymoji pack[]

Expand/collapse gallery

Charts[]

Chart (2008) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs 1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 33
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 61
Canadian Radio & Records Country Singles 5
Canadian Hot 100 67
New Zealand Singles Chart[2] 18

Awards and nominations[]

Year
Organization
Award
Result
2009 BMI Country Awards Publisher of the Year Won
Award-Winning Songs Won

Live performances[]

ShouldSaidNoTour

Swift performs "Should've Said No" during the encore of her Fearless Tour.

Swift performed the song at the 2008 Academy of Country Music Awards. The performance began with Swift seated on a chair, wearing a breakaway hooded sweatshirt and jeans, playing and singing the first verse as a solo before being joined by the band on the chorus. The performance gained some notoriety due to its last chorus in which Swift, by this time stripped off the breakaway clothes to reveal a short black dress, stood under an on-stage programmed waterfall, which displayed key words from the song as Swift was drenched beneath it. Footage from this performance has been used as the song's music video.

The performance music video has gone onto reach number one on both CMT's Top 20 Countdown and Great American Country's countdown as well.

When performing this song live during her Fearless Tour in 2009, Swift also performs this song under a waterfall much like her Academy of Country Music Award performance.

This song is also performed as a medley with "Bad Blood" on her Reputation Stadium Tour.

The song was performed twice as a surprise song on the Eras Tour: once on in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on May 19, 2023, and once on February 24, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. The second performance was as part of a mashup with "You're Not Sorry".

References[]

  1. Horner, Marianne (2008-10-20). "Story Behind the Song: Don't Cheat on a Songwriter". Country Weekly 15 (21): 14.
  2. "Taylor Swift - Should've Said No". charts.org.nz. 2009-09-29. http://charts.org.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Taylor+Swift&titel=Should%27ve+Said+No&cat=s. Retrieved 2009-09-29.
Taylor Swift
"Tim McGraw" • "Picture to Burn" • "Teardrops On My Guitar" • "A Place in This World" • "Cold as You" • "The Outside" • "Tied Together with a Smile" • "Stay Beautiful" • "Should've Said No" • "Mary's Song (Oh My My My)" • "Our Song"
Deluxe Edition
"I'm Only Me When I'm With You" • "Invisible" • "A Perfectly Good Heart" • "Teardrops On My Guitar" (Pop remix)
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