In her unreleased song “Thirteen Blocks (Can’t Call It Love),” Taylor Swift drives 13 blocks to the house of the boy she’s going to break up with. Or does she? Swift doesn’t know what she wants, so she travels as slowly as she can, trying to convince herself it’s the right thing to do. Peppy banjos brighten some of her classic heartbreak lines—“I’m gonna miss you bad but / Can’t call it love if you ain’t in it”—but it also seems she’s simply with a guy who’s just not that into her. It’s a pleasant change from the usual Swift fare, in which she’s mostly a victim in the face of one-dimensional love. Here, “the feeling ain’t strong” and Swift appears more worried that she’ll be jealous when she sees him with someone else. Although the bulk of the lyrics point to an imminent breakup, the boyfriend at the end of the 13 blocks changes things: “You open up the door and I see you smile.” It’s a tonal departure from the rest of the song and a depiction of smitten, youthful teenage love—on the way over, Swift solidifies her resolve to break up with the dude, but when she sees him smile, her questioning, and the song, fades out with diminishing guitar riffs. [Caitlin PenzeyMoog]
