Paramore’s Misery Business, like Genghis Khan, has progeny far and wide. Taylor Swift’s 2010 Better Than Revenge is an interesting case because it draws from more than one song on the same Paramore album.
Disclaimer
This is not an accusation of plagiarism. All writers take inspiration from other writers.
Misery Business
On the surface, Better Than Revenge shares with Misery Business:
- its lyrical theme and several key phrases (“I had him right there where I wanted him” vs. “I got him where I want him now”)
- fast verses full of eighth notes
- a sudden switch to staccato downbeat power chords halfway through the chorus
The intro guitar riffs are also similar. With shared notes highlighted in red:
But there’s more!
When It Rains
You’re Taylor Swift. It’s 2007. You’re listening to Riot in your CD walkman. After Misery Business, the next song you hear is When It Rains, including this line:
Does it stay around in your subconscious long enough to creep in when you start writing Better Than Revenge?
Identical lyric, identical rhythm, and four of the seven notes are the same.
That’s What You Get
This is the chorus of yet a third song from Side A on Riot.
What’s familiar:
- the pitch that opens the first two bars (blue)
- the exact rhythm of the first bar (red)
- the high “whoa-oh,” sung on the same three notes, straddling the boundary between the third and fourth bars (green)
And if you require more evidence that Taylor Swift is familiar with this song:
The last word
Hayley Williams would, a decade later, cite Taylor Swift’s Folklore as inspiration for her own solo work. That’s better than revenge.