Is Taylor Swift’s New Song ‘Better Man’ A Dig At Calvin? Here Are The Full Lyrics

Taylor Swift’s been on a musical hiatus since wrapping her 1989 World Tour late last year, but her on-stage return last week at the Grand Prix in Austin, Texas had many people speculating that a new album might not be far off.

Now it turns out that singer has indeed been busy writing, although not for herself. Country band Little Big Town yesterday revealed that their new single, Better Man, released yesterday, was penned by Ms. Swift herself.

The song is written from the viewpoint of a woman who had to end a relationship because her partner just didn’t measure up. While it’s unclear when exactly Taylor wrote the song, the wording definitely points to a serious relationship that came to a sudden end. An example of one lyric: “I know I’m probably better off all alone / Than needing a man who could change his mind at any given minute / And it’s always on your terms.”

At a press conference yesterday, Little Big Town singer Karen Fairchild explained that Taylor had pitched the song to the group as they were working on their new album The Breaker, and that they immediately knew they wanted to record it.

“Some of you have been asking and we told you that there was a young girl in Nashville that wrote it by herself, and it’s Taylor Swift,” revealed Karen. “She sent us this song and it was one that was really special to her, and she thought of us because of the harmonies. She’s never pitched the song to anyone before and the moment that we heard it we were like, ‘Man, that is a song that we’re going to cut.'”

Taylor addressed the new single herself via Instagram, paying tribute to “a band I’ve loved for so many years” and saying she felt “honoured” that the band had decided to record the song.

Feeling really honored that a band I’ve loved for so many years decided to record this song I wrote. Good luck at #cmaawards @littlebigtown !! Love you guys.

A photo posted by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) on Nov 1, 2016 at 11:00am PDT

Given that Taylor’s gone through two break-ups this year, one with Calvin Harris and one with Tom Hiddleston, it stands to reason that any new songs would touch on relationship difficulties. That said, the song could well have been written years ago.

Curious about the lyrics and whether they relate to any of Taylor’s high-profile exes? Read on for the full rundown…

Better Man

I know I’m probably better off on my own
Than lovin’ a man who didn’t know
What he had when he had it
And I see the permanent damage you did to me
Never again, I just wish I could forget when it was magic
I wish it wasn’t 4am, standing in the mirror
Saying to myself, you know you had to do it
I know the bravest thing I ever did was run

CHORUS:
Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I can feel you again
But I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
And I know why we had to say goodbye
Like the back of my hand
And I just miss you, and I just wish you were a better man
A better man

I know I’m probably better off all alone
Than needing a man who could change his mind at any given minute
And it’s always on your terms
I’m hanging on every careless word
Hoping it might turn sweet again
Like it was in the beginning
But your jealousy, I can hear it now
You’re talking down to me like I’ll always be around
You push my love away like it’s some kind of loaded gun
Boy, you never thought I’d run

CHORUS

I hold onto this pride because these days it’s all I have
And I gave you my best and we both know you can’t say that
You can’t say that
I wish you were a better man
I wonder what we would’ve become
If you were a better man
We might still be in love
If you were a better man
You would’ve been the one
If you were a better man
Yeah, yeah

CHORUS

We might still be in love, if you were a better man
Better man…

• Calvin Harris
• little big town
• Taylor Swift