You're Not Sorry

Taylor Swift wrote songs for her second studio album, Fearless, while touring as an opening act for other country musicians during 2007–2008, when she was 17–18 years old; she was promoting her first album, Taylor Swift (2006). Continuing the romantic themes of Taylor Swift, Fearless is about love and heartbreak from the perspective of a teenage girl, using autobiographical narratives embedded with high-school and fairy-tale imagery. According to Swift, this was a deliberate choice to ensure her fans could relate to her album, and nearly every track had a "face" that she associated with it. She and the producer Nathan Chapman recorded over 50 songs for Fearless, and "You're Not Sorry" was one of the 13 tracks that made the final cut. Swift wrote "You're Not Sorry" alone and produced the track with Chapman. It was recorded by Chad Carlson and mixed by Justin Niebank, assisted by Steve Blackmon, at Blackbird Studio in Nashville. == Release ==

Big Machine Records released "You're Not Sorry" for download exclusively via the iTunes Store on October 28, 2008, as part of the campaign "Countdown to Fearless". Fearless was released by Big Machine on November 11, 2008; "You're Not Sorry" is track number nine on the standard pressing. An electronic remix, made available for download via the iTunes Store on March 5, 2009, featured in the episode "Turn, Turn, Turn" of the television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in which Swift made a guest appearance. On the US Billboard Hot 100, "You're Not Sorry" debuted and peaked at number 11 in November 2008, and the CSI remix helped it re-enter at number 67 in March 2009, spending five weeks in total. On the Pop 100 chart, the track peaked at number 21. The song was certified gold in 2009 and platinum in 2017 by the Recording Industry Association of America, The track peaked at number 11 on the Canadian Hot 100. Re-recording them would enable her to have full licensing rights of her songs for commercial use. The re-recording of "You're Not Sorry", titled "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)", was released as part of the re-recorded album ''Fearless (Taylor's Version)'' on April 9, 2021, by Republic. Produced by Swift and Christopher Rowe, "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)" peaked at number 165 on the Billboard Global 200 and number 90 on the Canadian Hot 100. In the United States, it peaked at number 11 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart and number 40 on the Hot Country Songs chart. ==Music and lyrics==

At 4 minutes and 21 seconds long, with elements of country Composed in the key of E-flat minor, the track features piano and cello that constitute its verses, and its refrains are instrumented by loud, dynamic electric guitars, and heavy drums accentuated by a tambourine on each snare beat. and dramatic. Electric guitars are prominent: in the instrumental part that precedes the second verse, they are played in double stop on the tonic and the upper third; in the solo, they are played in arpeggios on the upper part of the neck. The critic Annie Zaleski characterized the song as a "thundering ballad" and attributed this quality to what she described as melodramatic piano, mournful fiddle, and crescendoing electric guitars. Jordan Levin of the Miami Herald deemed it a "rebellious" tune, and Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine wrote that the refrains feature prominent pop hooks. Swift sings with dramatic vocals that span over two octaves; Scott Mervis of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette described her delivery as "chanteuse a la Tori Amos". The re-recording, "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)", features an identical arrangement as the original, but some critics commented that its production features Swift's richer and deeper vocals; according to the commercial music professor Michael A. Lee, her voice is less nasal and comes more from the chest, the background vocals are more subdued, and the strings are recorded in a closer proximity to the microphones. Swift grouped "You're Not Sorry" among the breakup songs on Fearless, alongside "White Horse" and "Forever & Always". According to her, "You're Not Sorry" expresses dissatisfaction at a romantic failing from an angry perspective. The song's narrator resents the fact that her ex-boyfriend betrayed her trust, This ex-boyfriend does not take accountability for his mistakes, so the narrator ends the relationship for her own good. Rob Sheffield, writing for Blender, thought that the lyrics contained "tingling pheromones". MTV's Kyle Anderson remarked that the lyricism was "surprisingly heavy" and the slow-burning arrangement made the emotional tension more palpable. ==Critical reception==

Music critics gave "You're Not Sorry" mixed reviews. Sheffield labeled the track "drippy" and opined that it was not as effective as other upbeat Fearless tracks. and unflinching. The musicologist James E. Perone found the lyrics empowering for females, but he found the message repetitive given the track's placement on the album, because it reprises the themes of the preceding tracks like "White Horse" and "Tell Me Why". Positive reviews that complimented the production were from Keefe, who highlighted the prominent pop hooks, Nick Catucci of New York said that he could come up with better songs in the last ten years, but he admitted that "this bittersweet bit of pop fluff succeeds splendidly" and remarked that Swift operated "on her own terms". Some reviews were fond of Swift's singing. Brittany Spanos of Rolling Stone wrote about how her voice "pierces through the sound of her band for one of her first truly dramatic vocal deliveries", Strecker in 2014 selected "You're Not Sorry" as one of Swift's 10 "most underrated" songs. Joe Coscarelli from The New York Times said he had admired Swift's songwriting but felt the original production "[plods] a little", and the "fresh and refined" re-recording made him more appreciative of the track. ==Live performances==

Swift performed "You're Not Sorry" live for the first time at the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards on April 5, 2009. She entered the stage with a magic trick by David Copperfield that made her appear in a seemingly empty cage suspended in the air. Swift then played a piano to sing "You're Not Sorry" and towards its conclusion, she was supported by a string section. in 2010|alt=Taylor Swift singing on piano, on the Fearless Tour The song was part of the regular set list for Swift's first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour (2009–2010). During each performance, Swift donned a black cocktail dress with sparkly ornaments along the stomach. She began by singing "You're Not Sorry" while playing a black baby grand piano and then covered snippets of Justin Timberlake's 2006 single "What Goes Around... Comes Around" while whipping her hair. Towards the number's conclusion, Swift intermingled between the two songs as stage lights flashed, smoke swirled, and backup dancers performed hip-hop acrobatics. Jon Pareles of The New York Times deemed this performance a highlight of the show, Alice Fisher of The Observer found Swift's theatrics and acting unconvincing, although she found her piano performance "fantastic". For the set list of the Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012), Swift included "You're Not Sorry" as part of a mashup with her 2010 single "Back to December" and OneRepublic's 2007 single "Apologize". The performance began with snowy stage graphics and tuxedo–wearing dancers performing a choreography on a bridge that was lowered onto the stage. Dressed in a long gown, Swift sang the mashup while playing a baby grand piano, backed by nine violinists. Swift occasionally performed "You're Not Sorry" on her later tours. On the Red Tour, she sang the track during the show in Tacoma, Washington, in March 2013. On the Eras Tour, she performed "You're Not Sorry" on piano during the show in Houston, Texas, on April 21, 2023, and as part of a guitar mashup with her 2006 song "Should've Said No" during the show in Sydney, Australia, on February 23, 2024. == Personnel ==

'''"You're Not Sorry" (2008)''' • Taylor Swift – producer • Nathan Chapman – producer • Chad Carlson – recording • Justin Niebank – mixing • Steve Blackmon – assistant mixing '''"You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)" (2021)''' • Taylor Swift – lead vocals, producer • Lowell Reynolds – assistant recording engineer, additional engineer • David Payne – recording • Christopher Rowe – producer, lead vocals recording • Derek Garten – additional engineer • John Hanes – engineer • Serban Ghenea – mixing • Amos Heller – bass • Matt Billingslea – drums • Max Bernstein – electric guitar • Mike Meadows – electric guitar, background vocals • Paul Sidoti – piano • Jonathan Yudkin – strings ==Charts==

"You're Not Sorry" "You're Not Sorry (Taylor's Version)" ==Certification==