“The Best Day” by Taylor Swift

The lyrics of “The Best Day” are an ode to Taylor Swift’s mom, Andrea Swift. And the songstress uses the occasion to also give a shoutout to her entire nuclear family, which in total consists of four individuals. And as Taylor tends to do, instead of just saying something like ‘I love you mom’ she relays her emotions via a storyline.

First Verse

The first verse centers on the reflections of a five-year old Swift. And there’s really nothing deep going on therein, considering that once again she is portraying the role of a small child. And simply put that period was highlighted by her not only living on a farm but more notably leaning on her mom for loving support.

Second Verse

And such is fundamentally the same sentiment being expressed in the second verse. However, this time around Taylor is a more-mature child as she is now 13 years of age. And it isn’t a simple matter of her recollecting days hanging out with her mom on the farm, as with the first. Rather this time around she is being mistreated by friends at school. 

And it is her mother who comforts her when she comes home crying. And how does Andrea do so? By taking her way outside of town to do some serious, mom/daughter window shopping. And yes, by the time all is said and done Swift has verily ‘forgotten all the names’ of her tormentors.

Chorus

And both of the tales above are the types of “best day” scenarios Taylor wishes to impart on the audience. They represent specific incidents or periods which depict her mom as being a genuinely loving factor in her life. And as the chorus indicates, Swift appreciates these moments the most when she is feeling down, as in the second verse.

Third Verse

However, this isn’t all about her mom being a shoulder to cry on. Instead the third verse is more like the first, where we bear witness to the songstress watching a home video from when she was three years old. Logically she wouldn’t actually remember the incident she is beholding. But still, as always, she is sharing a loving experience with her mother. So the thesis sentiment would be something like mom’s love never failing or wavering.

Narrator is blessed with a loving Family

In the third verse Taylor also gives a shoutout to her pops (Scott Kingsley Swift), who she notes as being “smart”. And this isn’t the first time he’s mentioned in the song, as in the bridge he is also referred to as “an excellent father”. 

Moreover she considers her “little brother”, Austin Swift, to be blessed by God. In fact under her estimation, he is “better than” she is. And overall it can be easily gleaned that the songstress feels privileged having had the opportunity to grow up with this unit. 

Indeed the vocalist observes that she “grew up in a pretty house and… had space to run”. And on the surface that may read like the only part of the lyrics where she alludes to her family’s wealth, as Taylor definitely didn’t grow up poor. But symbolically it represents the fact that, due to her family life she actually had an enjoyable childhood. This is an aspect of her history which Taylor seems to truly appreciate. For this is a song she seemingly put together in her late teens. 

And by that stage in life, she would have also been mature and knowledgeable enough to know that a pleasurable, loving childhood is not something which we all experience.

But it can also be said that more so than anyone, she appreciates her mom. After all, the primary experience which this song is based on is the aforementioned one concerning Taylor being shunned by her peers. And the way her mom responded, by going out of her way to make Taylor feel good, in the vocalist’s mind exemplifies her mother’s love and dedication.

Writing Credits for “The Best Day”

For the record, Taylor did spend her early days on a farm – a Christmas tree farm to be exact – in New England. And apparently it wasn’t until she was a teenager that her family permanently moved to Nashville to help her pursue her musical ambitions.

The way that aforementioned story goes concerning Taylor friends is as so. Swift was in junior high at the time. And she called up different buddies, asking if they wanted to go to the mall. They all said no, giving their various excuses as to why they could not. 

So Andrea Swift herself took Taylor to the mall herself. While there, they saw the selfsame buddies all together, chillin’. Or simply put, they had intentionally ostracized Swift. So when Andrea caught wind of this, she decided to take Taylor to an even more-impressive shopping center, referred to as the King of Prussia mall, even though it was a considerable distance away. In other words, noticing that her daughter was hurt, she went out of her way to make her feel good. 

And yes it did work, considering that incident served as the foundation of this song.

Taylor wrote “The Best Day” by herself. She did so while on tour, being accompanied by Andrea. So she went through great lengths to keep the track a secret from her mom, recording and all. She eventually surprised her with it (accompanied by synchronized home videos) one Christmas. And of course Andrea got emotional. 

In fact she was so touched by the song that, despite it being featured on Fearless, Taylor opted not to continue playing it on the Fearless Tour. And that’s because her mom, who was backstage throughout, would ‘break down’ every time.

Production and Released of “The Best Day”

It is worth highlighting that Swift also produced this very emotional track. She worked alongside Grammy-winning record producer Nathan Chapman in that regard.  

“The Best Day” was formally released by Big Machine Records on 11 November 2008 as part of Fearless, Taylor’s Grammy-winning second album.

Also, 2021 bore witness to a re-recorded version of “The Best Day” being dropped. Said Taylor’s Version is featured on the entire re-recorded Fearless project, which in its entirety is referred to as Fearless (Taylor’s Version).