July 9: Meaning of “Last Kiss Day” for Taylor Swift fans

July 9th is an important holiday in the Taylor Swift fan community. Amidst cruel summers and cancer season, fans celebrate this special date – which Swift mentions in her 2010 album. Speak Now and it is 2023 Taylor’s version Re-release – as a “Last Kiss” day or as an occasion that not only puts the spotlight on one of the singer’s most overlooked B-sides, but also illustrates the deep connection listeners have built with her music.

Swift wrote “Last Kiss” – which peaked at number 13 on the charts. Speak Now Tracklist – all by herself. To a sparse production with delicate acoustics, she processes a breakup by recounting specific moments: a whispered “I love you” at 1:58 a.m., a handshake with her father and “that July 9th, the beat of your heart”. Whether the day marked a final meeting, the beginning of a relationship or a special night is unclear. But considering how the singer’s second album Fearless “The First Kiss” has taken on mythical proportions. This track is significant in that it marks the discovery by the then 19-year-old that there could be a final kiss.

While the “Fortnight” singer never directly revealed what the song was inspired by, her fans have speculated that it’s a moment of closure in her relationship with Joe Jonas, whom she dated in 2008. In fact, a hidden message in the liner notes of the original LP read “Forever and always” – another song in her discography inspired by Jonas – and “Last Kiss” has a precise 27-second intro that appears to reference the length of the phone call that caused them to break up. Swift later admitted in the prologue that she had broken up. Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)which was released in July 2023, said that it is “in (her eyes) the saddest song I’ve ever written.”

Still, the story of a nearly two-decade-old relationship isn’t why fans hung on to the date. Candid lyrical confessions like “I’ll look at your life in pictures, like I watched you sleep” and “You can plan a change in weather and time / But I never planned for you to change your mind,” as well as Swift’s soft, breathy delivery, have clearly resonated with a generation of listeners processing their own breakups.

The “Tortured Poets” section The songwriter seems to understand and appreciate the importance that fans attach to this otherwise ordinary day – for her Epoch tour During a stop in Kansas City, Missouri, on July 8, 2023, the singer performed the song ahead of the unofficial holiday. (“It’s time to play ‘Last Kiss’ and cry,” she told her fans.) And with another concert planned for July 9, 2024 in Zurich, Switzerland, it’s almost a given that Swifties will be treated to another very special celebration.