Picture to Burn
Encyclopedia
"Picture to Burn" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift
. It was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose
, and produced by Nathan Chapman
. It was released on January 29, 2008 by Big Machine Records
as the fourth single
from Swift's eponymous studio album, Taylor Swift
(2006). It was inspired by the narcissistic and cocky nature of a male who Swift never established a formal relationship with. In retrospect, Swift has stated she has evolved on a personal level and as a songwriter, claiming she processed emotions differently since "Picture to Burn". The song was chosen as a single based on the audience's reaction to it in concert. Musically, the track is of the country rock
genre with prominent usage of guitar
, banjo
, and drums. The lyrics concern igniting flames on photographs of a former boyfriend.
"Picture to Burn" was praised by music critics, some who supported the feminist message. The single was commercially successful, peaking at number twenty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100
and at number three on the country-genre chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) and has sold over one million downloads. In Canada, it charted within the top fifty and was certified gold. The music video
for "Picture to Burn" was directed by Trey Fanjoy
and features Swift fantasizing about seeking revenge on her ex-boyfriend, after she discovers him with another woman. The video also has Swift and her band performing with pyrotechnics
as a backdrop. Swift promoted "Picture to Burn" via live performances, including numerous while supporting as opening act for various country artists' concert tours. It was also performed on her first headlining tour, the Fearless Tour
(2009–10).
on guitar
, and given a comedic edge (an idea of Swift's). Swift found herself sitting, playing her guitar, and saying, "I hate his stupid truck that he doesn't let me drive. He's such a redneck! Oh my God!', a line the was ultimately developed into the song's chorus. Swift described it as brutally honest,
and cited it as an example of how she expresses herself if someone leaves her heartbroken, offends her, or is hostile towards her. Furthermore, she said "Picture to Burn" became the only song driven by anger on Taylor Swift
, a topic she felt most teenage females could identify to. "It's OK to be mad after a breakup or after something goes wrong with a relationship", Swift said. The subject of "Picture to Burn" remains unaware that he is the inspiration behind the song. The song was chosen as a single
based on the reactions it garnered at concerts. Swift recalled that, although "Tim McGraw
" (2006) was her only single at the time she began opening for Rascal Flatts
' Me and My Gang Tour (2006–07), "Picture to Burn" was the performance in which the crowd seemed to be the most enthusiastic with most screaming it "at the top of their lungs".
In retrospect, Swift has stated that the song was something typical of her to say in her teenage years and that it exemplified how she processed emotion at the time, adding "I didn't know anything then." She explained, "I had this song called 'Picture to Burn,' that's talking about how 'I hate your truck,' and 'I hate that you ignored me,' 'I hate you.' Now, the way that I would say that and the way that I would feel that kind of pain is a lot different." Despite her evolving on a personal level and as a songwriter, she claimed not to be regretful of "Picture to Burn", rather happy she was able to "those emotions that when you're so angry, you hate everything. It's like recording your diary over the years, and that's a gift", she said.
song with a length of two minutes and fifty-five seconds. It draws influences from traditional elements of country music, resulting in an uptempo country rock
number. Written in the key
of G major
, the song is set in common time
and has a tempo
of 106 beats per minute with a strong beat. Swift's boasts with "big vocals" that span two octave
s, from the note of G3 to C5. It follows the chord progression
G–Am7–C–D. The verses are driven by banjo
s and drums, meanwhile the refrain
s' instrumentation is marked by distorted guitars.
Lyrically, "Picture to Burn" is an evisceration of a no-good adolescent male, and is directed towards an ex-boyfriend. About the song's theme, Sean Dooley of About.com
commented, "Swift takes no prisoners in her quest to make a former flame feel her wrath for doing her wrong." In the first verse, Swift introduces relationship by stating she acknowledged the fact that her former boyfriend was more in love with himself than with her. The second verse has Swift plotting retaliation: "There's no time for tears / I'm just sitting here planning my revenge / There's nothing stopping me / From goin' out with all of your best friends." For the refrains, she speaks of igniting fire
on photographs of her ex-boyfriend, concluding them with a musical punch line
, "As far as I'm concerned / You're just another picture to burn". Critics have found the song to a symbol of feminism
.
believed "Picture to Burn", along with "Should've Said No
", were the most immediately striking songs on Taylor Swift. Jack Lowe of About.com said the song was fun, and that females would specially enjoy it. Kate Kiefer of Paste
magazine selected the track as one of Swift's six best singles, and stated, "She really shows her age in this one". Roger Holland of PopMatters
commented that the song was the epitome of how, according to him, Swift was more given in uptempo tempos, and that it served as indication to the nature of Swift's debut album. Holland added, "'Picture to Burn' is two parts Ashlee Simpson
to one part Amy Dalley
, with an overly familiar guitar melody that could have been lifted directly from the latter." Top music critic Robert Christgau
selected "Picture to Burn" as a highlight on Taylor Swift. Josh Love of The Village Voice
attributed the song to be one of the reasons how the singer rose to stardom. He called it a "bluntly relatable composition [...] that connected [Swift] with teens from across the spectrum." Patrick McDonald of The Seattle Times
called it a "clever, sassy, upbeat song" Alison Bonaguro of the Chicago Tribune
said the song was a "clean-but-still-rowdy" number for Swift. Kevin Courtney of The Irish Times
mentioned "Picture to Burn" among powerful revenge songs and noted the lyric "Go ahead and tell your friends I'm obsessive and crazy / That's fine / I'll tell mine you're gay
." He supported the feministism behind the song and wrote, "You go girl".
. The following week it ascended to number eighty-three, and, ten weeks later, on the week ending May 17, 2008, it reached its peak at number twenty eight. The song's final appearance on the chart was on the week ending July 12, 2008 at number eighty-nine, after spending a total twenty weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. On the week ending January 26, 2008, the track debuted at number fifty-two on the US Hot Country Songs
chart. Seventeen weeks later, on the week ending May 17, 2008, it peaked at number three on the chart. It spent a total of twenty weeks on Hot Country Songs. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) for the shipment of over 1,000,000 copies. As of February 2011, "Picture to Burn" has sold over 1.3 million copies in the United States. On the week ending March 15, 2008, "Picture to Burn" debuted at number eighty-five on the Canadian Hot 100
. On the week ending May 3, 2008, it reached its peak at number forty-eight on the chart. "Picture to Burn" spent a total of sixteen weeks on the Canadian Hot 100. The single was certified gold by Music Canada
for sales of 40,000 digital downloads.
for "Picture to Burn" was directed by Trey Fanjoy
, who directed all three of Swift's prior music videos. Swift decided to collaborate with Fanjoy once again because she felt that since Fanjoy directed her prior videos, she knew how to deviate from it and what new grounds to cover. As oppose to their previous collaborations, the video was conceptualized to be edgy and comical. Swift herself was styled edgier than usual, sporting clothing, hair, and jewelry she was not accustomed to. She was intended to wear thigh-length boots, but was not able to find a pair to correspond with her height. Instead, her stylist sewed black fabric to strap onto black high heels to give the illusion of thigh-length boots. The video's plot was conjectured to involve rampaging and seeking revenge on her ex-boyfriend. Swift chose football player Justin Sandy
to portray her ex-boyfriend in the video, believing he had a classic and suspiciously perfect demeanor; she described him as "real like Ken". Swift desired to portray her backup band's sense of humor, and thus enlisted them for the video. Swift's real-life best friend Abigail Anderson also made a cameo appearance
in the video.
The video was filmed over the course of two days in Nashville, Tennessee
. On the first day, performance scenes were filmed inside the Sommet Center (now named the Bridgestone Arena), and involved pyrotechnics. Swift was at first nervous about the shoot, as it was her first experience with pyrotechnics. "There are some things I'm nervous about. My hair could very well catch on fire", she said. She was later assured of its safety and explained to about the discrepancy in the distance of the fire in reality than on camera: on camera, it appears to be quite close to her, whereas, in actuality, it was placed far behind her. On the second day, the remaining scenes were filmed at a suburban house in Nashville. Props were provided by the video personnel. On the set, Fanjoy suggested using a binocular
s for the primary scenes, but Swift disagreed, believing it could come across as cheesy depending on how it was filmed. She ultimately succumbed to the idea due to Fanjoy explaining how it would translate on camera.
The video premiered on March 14, 2008 on AOL
's The Boot. It commences with Swift and her best friend in a grey 2009 Ford Mustang GT 45th Anniversary Edition, parked behind a tree. Swift reminiscences, looking at a photograph of her and her ex-boyfriend together, and states, "Would you look at how happy we were back then? I can't believe he turned out to be such a jerk." Anderson is then seen ogling outside the window with binoculars, and spots Swift's ex-boyfriend and another woman arriving in a black pick-up truck. She notes the other woman in driving the truck, and Swift states angrily he never allowed her to drive it. As Swift's ex-boyfriend and the woman start frolicking inside the truck, and the music begins and the music video transcends to a concrete room where the singer (clothed by a grey, one-shoulder mini-dress and black leather, thigh-length boots) is playing an electric guitar, alongside her backup band. During "Picture to Burn"'s chorus, fire ignites behind them. Afterwards, the band is depicted entering a house furtively, using flashlights. Swift is sitting on a brown couch, sporting a black tank top, black leather pants, and beehive
hair, as the band ransacks the house. They throw darts at photographs of him, envelop his furniture with toilet paper, lick his utensils, spit into his mouthwash, etc. Suddenly, the ex-boyfriend and the woman are shown approaching the house, and, seeing this, Aderson informs them of it via handheld transceiver
. He enters the house and discovers it was ransacked, and repeats the word "Taylor". The video then transitions to Anderson and Swift inside the Ford Mustang, with Anderson also repeating "Taylor". She then suggests leaving, and Swift says, "You know what? I'm over it." The video concludes with the photograph of Swift and her ex-boyfriend in flames, thrown in the sidewalk. Cut-scenes feature Swift and her band performing in the concrete room, Swift singing on the couch, or Swift dancing affront a shower of sparks
.
headquarters in 2006. She then performed "Picture to Burn" as she opened for Rascal Flatts
on several dates, from October 19 to November 3, 2006, included on the Me and My Gang Tour (2006–07). Swift performed the song dressed in a black, knee-length dress and red cowboy boots with a design of a scull and cross bones across it, as she roamed around the stage. She also performed the song when she served as opening act on twenty dates for George Strait
's 2007 United States tour, and selected dates for Brad Paisley
's Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour in 2007. During mid-2007, Swift embarked as the opening act on several dates for Tim McGraw
's and Faith Hill
's joint tour, Soul2Soul II Tour (2006–07), where she again performed the song. Swift performed "Picture to Burn" to close while she was again opening for Rascal Flatts for their Still Feels Good Tour in 2008. While promoting another single from Taylor Swift, Swift executed her first televised performance of "Picture to Burn" was on October 10, 2007 on Regis & Kelly. She then performed the song a concert at the Apple Store in SoHo, New York, which was recorded and released as a live extended play (EP), iTunes Live from SoHo, exclusively sold through the iTunes Store
. Commencing promotion for it in early and mid-2008, Swift performed "Picture to Burn" on Studio 330 Sessions, Good Morning America
, the 2008 CMT Music Awards, and Nashville Star
. Since completing promotion for Taylor Swift and its corresponding singles, the singer has performed the song on Clear Channel Communications
's Stripped, at the 2009 CMA Music Festival
, at the 2009 V Festival
, and at the Australian charity concert Sydney Sound Relief
.
Swift performed "Picture to Burn" to close the main set, before commencing the encore
, on all venues of her first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour
(2009–10). During 2009 performances, Swift donned a black cocktail dress with sparkly ornaments along the stomach, as she roamed throughout the stage, which was projected with images of searing flames, singing the song. In the 2010 extension, Swift bared a spangly, violet mini-dress. Jim Harrington of the San Jose Mercury News
believed "Picture to Burn"'s performance on April 11, 2010 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California
demonstrated how versatile Swift was as a performer, feeling equally at gusto with tender ballads and uptempo rockers. Of the performance at the tour's final concert on June 5, 2010 at Gillette Stadium
in Foxborough, Massachusetts
, Jay N. Miller of The Patriot Ledger
said, "She strutted down the catwalk chastising another hapless ex-boyfriend". Attending the same concert, Molly Trust of Billboard deemed the performance one of the most energized moments of the night, while Susan McDonald of The Sun Chronicle
deemed it simple, yet the most powerful.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
. It was co-written by Swift and Liz Rose
Liz Rose
Liz Rose is an American country music songwriter best known for her work with Taylor Swift. She has co-written several of Swift's songs and singles, including "White Horse," "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "You Belong with Me," which won her and Swift a Grammy Award in 2009.-Biography:Liz Rose was...
, and produced by Nathan Chapman
Nathan Chapman (record producer)
Nathan Chapman is an American record producer who works in the field of country music. He is known primarily for working with Taylor Swift, having produced her albums Taylor Swift, Fearless and Speak Now. The former was also the first album that he produced...
. It was released on January 29, 2008 by Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records
Big Machine Records is an Independent American record label specializing in country music artists. It was launched in 2005 by former DreamWorks Records executive Scott Borchetta. The label was part of a joint venture between Borchetta and country singer Toby Keith, although Keith dropped his...
as the fourth single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
from Swift's eponymous studio album, Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift (album)
Taylor Swift is the eponymous debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The album was released on October 24, 2006 by Big Machine Records. Swift wrote songs for the album during her freshman year of high school and has writing credits on all of the albums' songs including those...
(2006). It was inspired by the narcissistic and cocky nature of a male who Swift never established a formal relationship with. In retrospect, Swift has stated she has evolved on a personal level and as a songwriter, claiming she processed emotions differently since "Picture to Burn". The song was chosen as a single based on the audience's reaction to it in concert. Musically, the track is of the country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
genre with prominent usage of guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, and drums. The lyrics concern igniting flames on photographs of a former boyfriend.
"Picture to Burn" was praised by music critics, some who supported the feminist message. The single was commercially successful, peaking at number twenty-eight on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
and at number three on the country-genre chart. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) and has sold over one million downloads. In Canada, it charted within the top fifty and was certified gold. The music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Picture to Burn" was directed by Trey Fanjoy
Trey Fanjoy
Trey Fanjoy is a country music and pop music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH-1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV.-Music videos:...
and features Swift fantasizing about seeking revenge on her ex-boyfriend, after she discovers him with another woman. The video also has Swift and her band performing with pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics
Pyrotechnics is the science of using materials capable of undergoing self-contained and self-sustained exothermic chemical reactions for the production of heat, light, gas, smoke and/or sound...
as a backdrop. Swift promoted "Picture to Burn" via live performances, including numerous while supporting as opening act for various country artists' concert tours. It was also performed on her first headlining tour, the Fearless Tour
Fearless Tour
The Fearless Tour was the first concert tour by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The tour was in support of her second studio album, Fearless. On the tour, she was joined by guests Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Teen singer, Justin Bieber joined her for the tour when she went to...
(2009–10).
Background
"Picture to Burn" was inspired by a male who Swift did not establish a formal romantic relationship with. She was frequently frustrated by his narcissistic and cocky nature, and decided to write a song about how she felt at her after school job, writing songs for Sony/ATV Music. It was co-written with Liz RoseLiz Rose
Liz Rose is an American country music songwriter best known for her work with Taylor Swift. She has co-written several of Swift's songs and singles, including "White Horse," "Teardrops on My Guitar" and "You Belong with Me," which won her and Swift a Grammy Award in 2009.-Biography:Liz Rose was...
on guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, and given a comedic edge (an idea of Swift's). Swift found herself sitting, playing her guitar, and saying, "I hate his stupid truck that he doesn't let me drive. He's such a redneck! Oh my God!', a line the was ultimately developed into the song's chorus. Swift described it as brutally honest,
and cited it as an example of how she expresses herself if someone leaves her heartbroken, offends her, or is hostile towards her. Furthermore, she said "Picture to Burn" became the only song driven by anger on Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift (album)
Taylor Swift is the eponymous debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The album was released on October 24, 2006 by Big Machine Records. Swift wrote songs for the album during her freshman year of high school and has writing credits on all of the albums' songs including those...
, a topic she felt most teenage females could identify to. "It's OK to be mad after a breakup or after something goes wrong with a relationship", Swift said. The subject of "Picture to Burn" remains unaware that he is the inspiration behind the song. The song was chosen as a single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
based on the reactions it garnered at concerts. Swift recalled that, although "Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw (song)
"Tim McGraw" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and Liz Rose, and produced by Nathan Chapman. It was released on June 19, 2006 by Big Machine Records as Swift's debut single and the lead single from Swift's eponymous debut album, Taylor Swift...
" (2006) was her only single at the time she began opening for Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
' Me and My Gang Tour (2006–07), "Picture to Burn" was the performance in which the crowd seemed to be the most enthusiastic with most screaming it "at the top of their lungs".
In retrospect, Swift has stated that the song was something typical of her to say in her teenage years and that it exemplified how she processed emotion at the time, adding "I didn't know anything then." She explained, "I had this song called 'Picture to Burn,' that's talking about how 'I hate your truck,' and 'I hate that you ignored me,' 'I hate you.' Now, the way that I would say that and the way that I would feel that kind of pain is a lot different." Despite her evolving on a personal level and as a songwriter, she claimed not to be regretful of "Picture to Burn", rather happy she was able to "those emotions that when you're so angry, you hate everything. It's like recording your diary over the years, and that's a gift", she said.
Composition
"Picture to Burn" is a countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song with a length of two minutes and fifty-five seconds. It draws influences from traditional elements of country music, resulting in an uptempo country rock
Country rock
Country rock is sub-genre of popular music, formed from the fusion of rock with country. The term is generally used to refer to the wave of rock musicians who began to record country-flavored records in the late 1960s and early 1970s, beginning with Bob Dylan and The Byrds; reaching its greatest...
number. Written in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
, the song is set in common time
Common Time
"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
and has a tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 106 beats per minute with a strong beat. Swift's boasts with "big vocals" that span two octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
s, from the note of G3 to C5. It follows the chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
G–Am7–C–D. The verses are driven by banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
s and drums, meanwhile the refrain
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
s' instrumentation is marked by distorted guitars.
Lyrically, "Picture to Burn" is an evisceration of a no-good adolescent male, and is directed towards an ex-boyfriend. About the song's theme, Sean Dooley of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
commented, "Swift takes no prisoners in her quest to make a former flame feel her wrath for doing her wrong." In the first verse, Swift introduces relationship by stating she acknowledged the fact that her former boyfriend was more in love with himself than with her. The second verse has Swift plotting retaliation: "There's no time for tears / I'm just sitting here planning my revenge / There's nothing stopping me / From goin' out with all of your best friends." For the refrains, she speaks of igniting fire
Combustion
Combustion or burning is the sequence of exothermic chemical reactions between a fuel and an oxidant accompanied by the production of heat and conversion of chemical species. The release of heat can result in the production of light in the form of either glowing or a flame...
on photographs of her ex-boyfriend, concluding them with a musical punch line
Punch line
A punch line is the final part of a joke, comedy sketch, or profound statement, usually the word, sentence or exchange of sentences which is intended to be funny or to provoke laughter or thought from listeners...
, "As far as I'm concerned / You're just another picture to burn". Critics have found the song to a symbol of feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
.
Critical reception
Chris Neal of Country WeeklyCountry Weekly
Country Weekly is an American tabloid style weekly magazine established in 1994. The magazine focuses on country music stars and events, and regularly features exclusive interviews with recording artists and country music news...
believed "Picture to Burn", along with "Should've Said No
Should've Said No
"Should've Said No" is a country song written and recorded by American country-pop singer Taylor Swift. It is the fifth and final single released from her first self-titled studio album. It has also become her second Number One single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for the week of August...
", were the most immediately striking songs on Taylor Swift. Jack Lowe of About.com said the song was fun, and that females would specially enjoy it. Kate Kiefer of Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
magazine selected the track as one of Swift's six best singles, and stated, "She really shows her age in this one". Roger Holland of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
commented that the song was the epitome of how, according to him, Swift was more given in uptempo tempos, and that it served as indication to the nature of Swift's debut album. Holland added, "'Picture to Burn' is two parts Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Simpson
Ashlee Nicole Simpson is an American singer and actress. In 2004, she rose to prominence with the success of her number-one debut album Autobiography and the reality series, The Ashlee Simpson Show. In October 2005, following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released...
to one part Amy Dalley
Amy Dalley
Amy Dalley is an American country music artist. Signed to Curb Records in 2003 she left the label in 2008. Dalley has released seven singles, of which five have entered the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, despite never releasing an album. Her highest-peaking single is "Men Don't Change",...
, with an overly familiar guitar melody that could have been lifted directly from the latter." Top music critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
selected "Picture to Burn" as a highlight on Taylor Swift. Josh Love of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
attributed the song to be one of the reasons how the singer rose to stardom. He called it a "bluntly relatable composition [...] that connected [Swift] with teens from across the spectrum." Patrick McDonald of The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
called it a "clever, sassy, upbeat song" Alison Bonaguro of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
said the song was a "clean-but-still-rowdy" number for Swift. Kevin Courtney of The Irish Times
The Irish Times
The Irish Times is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Kevin O'Sullivan who succeeded Geraldine Kennedy in 2011; the deputy editor is Paul O'Neill. The Irish Times is considered to be Ireland's newspaper of record, and is published every day except Sundays...
mentioned "Picture to Burn" among powerful revenge songs and noted the lyric "Go ahead and tell your friends I'm obsessive and crazy / That's fine / I'll tell mine you're gay
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
." He supported the feministism behind the song and wrote, "You go girl".
Chart performance
On the week ending March 1, 2008, "Picture to Burn" debuted at number ninety-one on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The following week it ascended to number eighty-three, and, ten weeks later, on the week ending May 17, 2008, it reached its peak at number twenty eight. The song's final appearance on the chart was on the week ending July 12, 2008 at number eighty-nine, after spending a total twenty weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. On the week ending January 26, 2008, the track debuted at number fifty-two on the US Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales...
chart. Seventeen weeks later, on the week ending May 17, 2008, it peaked at number three on the chart. It spent a total of twenty weeks on Hot Country Songs. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA) for the shipment of over 1,000,000 copies. As of February 2011, "Picture to Burn" has sold over 1.3 million copies in the United States. On the week ending March 15, 2008, "Picture to Burn" debuted at number eighty-five on the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
. On the week ending May 3, 2008, it reached its peak at number forty-eight on the chart. "Picture to Burn" spent a total of sixteen weeks on the Canadian Hot 100. The single was certified gold by Music Canada
Music Canada
Music Canada was a Canadian music television miniseries which aired approximately monthly on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.-Premise:This series featured various special productions of music and dance, from classical to modern styles.-Scheduling:...
for sales of 40,000 digital downloads.
Music video
The accompanying music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Picture to Burn" was directed by Trey Fanjoy
Trey Fanjoy
Trey Fanjoy is a country music and pop music video director. Fanjoy has directed over 150 major label music videos. Her videos have appeared on CMT, VH-1, GAC, The Nashville Network, CMT Canada, and MTV.-Music videos:...
, who directed all three of Swift's prior music videos. Swift decided to collaborate with Fanjoy once again because she felt that since Fanjoy directed her prior videos, she knew how to deviate from it and what new grounds to cover. As oppose to their previous collaborations, the video was conceptualized to be edgy and comical. Swift herself was styled edgier than usual, sporting clothing, hair, and jewelry she was not accustomed to. She was intended to wear thigh-length boots, but was not able to find a pair to correspond with her height. Instead, her stylist sewed black fabric to strap onto black high heels to give the illusion of thigh-length boots. The video's plot was conjectured to involve rampaging and seeking revenge on her ex-boyfriend. Swift chose football player Justin Sandy
Justin Sandy
Justin Michael Sandy is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2004...
to portray her ex-boyfriend in the video, believing he had a classic and suspiciously perfect demeanor; she described him as "real like Ken". Swift desired to portray her backup band's sense of humor, and thus enlisted them for the video. Swift's real-life best friend Abigail Anderson also made a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the video.
The video was filmed over the course of two days in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
. On the first day, performance scenes were filmed inside the Sommet Center (now named the Bridgestone Arena), and involved pyrotechnics. Swift was at first nervous about the shoot, as it was her first experience with pyrotechnics. "There are some things I'm nervous about. My hair could very well catch on fire", she said. She was later assured of its safety and explained to about the discrepancy in the distance of the fire in reality than on camera: on camera, it appears to be quite close to her, whereas, in actuality, it was placed far behind her. On the second day, the remaining scenes were filmed at a suburban house in Nashville. Props were provided by the video personnel. On the set, Fanjoy suggested using a binocular
Binocular
Binocular may refer to:* Binocular vision, seeing with two eyes* Binoculars, a telescopic tool* Binocular, a thoroughbred race horse* Binocular , Kevin Rudolf's band that released a self-titled album in 2001....
s for the primary scenes, but Swift disagreed, believing it could come across as cheesy depending on how it was filmed. She ultimately succumbed to the idea due to Fanjoy explaining how it would translate on camera.
The video premiered on March 14, 2008 on AOL
AOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
's The Boot. It commences with Swift and her best friend in a grey 2009 Ford Mustang GT 45th Anniversary Edition, parked behind a tree. Swift reminiscences, looking at a photograph of her and her ex-boyfriend together, and states, "Would you look at how happy we were back then? I can't believe he turned out to be such a jerk." Anderson is then seen ogling outside the window with binoculars, and spots Swift's ex-boyfriend and another woman arriving in a black pick-up truck. She notes the other woman in driving the truck, and Swift states angrily he never allowed her to drive it. As Swift's ex-boyfriend and the woman start frolicking inside the truck, and the music begins and the music video transcends to a concrete room where the singer (clothed by a grey, one-shoulder mini-dress and black leather, thigh-length boots) is playing an electric guitar, alongside her backup band. During "Picture to Burn"'s chorus, fire ignites behind them. Afterwards, the band is depicted entering a house furtively, using flashlights. Swift is sitting on a brown couch, sporting a black tank top, black leather pants, and beehive
Beehive (hairstyle)
The Beehive is a woman's hairstyle that resembles a beehive; it is elegant and it is also known as the B-52, for its similarity to the bulbous nose of the B-52 Stratofortress bomber. It originated as one of a variety of elaborately teased and lacquered versions of "big hair" that developed from...
hair, as the band ransacks the house. They throw darts at photographs of him, envelop his furniture with toilet paper, lick his utensils, spit into his mouthwash, etc. Suddenly, the ex-boyfriend and the woman are shown approaching the house, and, seeing this, Aderson informs them of it via handheld transceiver
Walkie-talkie
A walkie-talkie is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald L. Hings, radio engineer Alfred J. Gross, and engineering teams at Motorola...
. He enters the house and discovers it was ransacked, and repeats the word "Taylor". The video then transitions to Anderson and Swift inside the Ford Mustang, with Anderson also repeating "Taylor". She then suggests leaving, and Swift says, "You know what? I'm over it." The video concludes with the photograph of Swift and her ex-boyfriend in flames, thrown in the sidewalk. Cut-scenes feature Swift and her band performing in the concrete room, Swift singing on the couch, or Swift dancing affront a shower of sparks
Spark (fire)
A spark is an incandescent particle. Such sparks may be produced by pyrotechnics, by metalworking or as a by-product of fires, especially when burning wood.-Pyrotechnics:...
.
Live performances
Swift first performed the track at BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
headquarters in 2006. She then performed "Picture to Burn" as she opened for Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts
Rascal Flatts is an American country music band that originated in Columbus, Ohio, United States of America. Since its inception, Rascal Flatts has been composed of three members: Gary LeVox , Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooney...
on several dates, from October 19 to November 3, 2006, included on the Me and My Gang Tour (2006–07). Swift performed the song dressed in a black, knee-length dress and red cowboy boots with a design of a scull and cross bones across it, as she roamed around the stage. She also performed the song when she served as opening act on twenty dates for George Strait
George Strait
George Harvey Strait is an American country music singer, actor, and music producer. Strait is referred to as the "King of Country," and critics call Strait a living legend. He is known for his unique style of western swing music, bar-room ballads, honky-tonk style, and fresh yet traditional...
's 2007 United States tour, and selected dates for Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley
Brad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
's Bonfires & Amplifiers Tour in 2007. During mid-2007, Swift embarked as the opening act on several dates for Tim McGraw
Tim McGraw
Samuel Timothy "Tim" McGraw is an American country singer and actor. Many of McGraw's albums and singles have topped the country music charts with total album sales in excess of 40 million units in the US, making him the eighth best-selling artist, and the third best-selling country singer, in the...
's and Faith Hill
Faith Hill
Faith Hill is an American country singer. She is known both for her commercial success and her marriage to fellow country star Tim McGraw. Hill has sold more than 40 million records worldwide and accumulated eight number-one singles and three number-one albums on the U.S...
's joint tour, Soul2Soul II Tour (2006–07), where she again performed the song. Swift performed "Picture to Burn" to close while she was again opening for Rascal Flatts for their Still Feels Good Tour in 2008. While promoting another single from Taylor Swift, Swift executed her first televised performance of "Picture to Burn" was on October 10, 2007 on Regis & Kelly. She then performed the song a concert at the Apple Store in SoHo, New York, which was recorded and released as a live extended play (EP), iTunes Live from SoHo, exclusively sold through the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
. Commencing promotion for it in early and mid-2008, Swift performed "Picture to Burn" on Studio 330 Sessions, Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, the 2008 CMT Music Awards, and Nashville Star
Nashville Star
Nashville Star is an American reality television program. It was transmitted during mid-2008 on NBC, following five seasons on USA Network. It premiered on March 8, 2003, and its five seasons on USA made it the longest-running competition series on cable television. In Canada, the show aired on CMT...
. Since completing promotion for Taylor Swift and its corresponding singles, the singer has performed the song on Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications
Clear Channel Communications, Inc. is an American media conglomerate company headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded in 1972 by Lowry Mays and Red McCombs, and was taken private by Bain Capital LLC and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP in a leveraged buyout in 2008...
's Stripped, at the 2009 CMA Music Festival
CMA Music Festival
The CMA Music Festival is a four-day music festival centered around country music hosted each June by the Country Music Association in Nashville, Tennessee...
, at the 2009 V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
, and at the Australian charity concert Sydney Sound Relief
Sound Relief
Sound Relief was a multi-venue rock music concert held on 14 March 2009, which was announced by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby on 24 February 2009...
.
Swift performed "Picture to Burn" to close the main set, before commencing the encore
Encore (concert)
An encore is an additional performance added to the end of a concert, from the French "encore", which means "again", "some more"; multiple encores are not uncommon. Encores originated spontaneously, when audiences would continue to applaud and demand additional performance from the artist after the...
, on all venues of her first headlining concert tour, the Fearless Tour
Fearless Tour
The Fearless Tour was the first concert tour by American country pop singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The tour was in support of her second studio album, Fearless. On the tour, she was joined by guests Kellie Pickler and Gloriana. Teen singer, Justin Bieber joined her for the tour when she went to...
(2009–10). During 2009 performances, Swift donned a black cocktail dress with sparkly ornaments along the stomach, as she roamed throughout the stage, which was projected with images of searing flames, singing the song. In the 2010 extension, Swift bared a spangly, violet mini-dress. Jim Harrington of the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
believed "Picture to Burn"'s performance on April 11, 2010 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
demonstrated how versatile Swift was as a performer, feeling equally at gusto with tender ballads and uptempo rockers. Of the performance at the tour's final concert on June 5, 2010 at Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium
Gillette Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Foxborough, Massachusetts, 21 miles southwest of downtown Boston and from downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It serves as the home stadium and administrative offices for the New England Patriots football team and the New England Revolution...
in Foxborough, Massachusetts
Foxborough, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 16,246 people, 6,141 households, and 4,396 families residing in the town. The population density was 809.1 people per square mile . There were 6,299 housing units at an average density of 313.7 per square mile...
, Jay N. Miller of The Patriot Ledger
The Patriot Ledger
The Patriot Ledger is a daily afternoon newspaper published in Quincy, Massachusetts and serving the South Shore. Its circulation is 55,000 on weekdays and 63,000 for its Weekend edition which is published on Saturday mornings....
said, "She strutted down the catwalk chastising another hapless ex-boyfriend". Attending the same concert, Molly Trust of Billboard deemed the performance one of the most energized moments of the night, while Susan McDonald of The Sun Chronicle
The Sun Chronicle
The Sun Chronicle is a daily newspaper in Attleboro, Massachusetts, USA...
deemed it simple, yet the most powerful.
Track listings
- RhapsodyRhapsody (online music service)Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
Digital Download
- "Picture to Burn" (Alternate Version) – 3:00
- CD Single
- "Picture to Burn" (Radio Edit) – 2:53
Charts
| Chart (2008) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
48 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
28 |
| US Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
3 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... |
|---|---|
| Canada Music Canada Music Canada was a Canadian music television miniseries which aired approximately monthly on CBC Television from 1966 to 1967.-Premise:This series featured various special productions of music and dance, from classical to modern styles.-Scheduling:... |
Gold |
| United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... |
Platinum |
Year-end charts
| Charts (2008) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Country Songs | 31 |
External links
- "Picture to Burn" music video on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
(posted by VevoVevoVevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
)