Taylor Swift Says Yes To "No"

Taylor Swift on the set of her video, "Picture To Burn." Photo by Justin McIntosh, courtesy of Big Machine Records.

May 19, 2008 — Sunday’s 43rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards provided some nice timing for Taylor Swift, who has a new single in circulation and got the chance to perform it on the show.

"Should’ve Said No" is, like every other song on her debut album, written by Taylor, and it comes from an unfortunate chapter in her life.

"I wrote this song by myself, and it literally took me just 20 minutes to write before we recorded it," she says. "I was living every line in this song at the time. I wrote this song about a guy who cheated on me who shouldn’t have."

Her previous single, "Picture To Burn," was also about a relationship that went bad, though Taylor says the two songs take different approaches to the topic.

"Picture To Burn" has an "angry and I’m-done-with-him attitude," she explains, while "Should’ve Said No" is "more of a moral statement."

"It’s an ‘I love you, we were awesome and great together, but you messed this up and I would still be with you’ kinda thing," Taylor observes. "You said yes, and you should’ve said no."

In the meantime, Taylor appears on the Maxim Hot 100 list, landing at No. 57. And she’s got plenty to celebrate, having won the Top New Female Vocalist honor at the ACMs.