The lyrics to Taylor Swift's song "Long Live" are a clear message to her fans that she is still around for the long haul. It's the closing track on her 2010 album Speak Now, and it features heartland rock with contemporary country elements, chiming rock guitars, loud cymbal beats, and girl group harmonies.
It also features an endearing winsome riff that paints a poignant picture of yuletide heartbreak. It's the kind of plaintive breakup song she could write in her sleep, and a fine choice for this time in her career.
"Long Live" was originally released in October 2010. It was the final track on Speak Now, which went platinum within months of its release and sold over 2 million copies worldwide.
While "Long Live" was a commercial success, critics regarded the song as overly long and lyrically unsophisticated. Rolling Stone's Rob Sheffield compared it to "Hysteria" by Def Leppard, while NME's Hannah Mylrea ranked the song as one of Speak Now's weaker tracks.
In 2012, Swift released a version of "Long Live" in Brazil as a single from her live album Speak Now World Tour Live (2011), featuring Portuguese verses written and performed by Paula Fernandes. The track was a local hit, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Brazil Hot 100 Airplay chart.
Swift's latest music video for "Bejeweled" features a lot of references to her 2010 album Speak Now. In fact, the video's soundtrack includes a string arrangement of "Enchanted" that also appears on Speak Now.
