This song tells the story of an angsty, heartbroken young Taylor who swears revenge on the girl who has “stolen” her boyfriend. Widely rumored to be about actress Camila Belle, the song has a heavy rock influence and remains one of her most biting tracks today.

Thematically, the song parallels the message of “Karma” and “Look What You Made Me Do”, disparaging someone who has wronged Taylor and assuring them that theirs is coming.

Taylor herself has said:

The song “Better Than Revenge” is about a girl, who a few years ago, stole my boyfriend. I think she probably thought I forgot about it, but I didn’t.

It also features a controversial line accused of misogyny that has been changed from the original “Better Than Revenge” – one of the few changes deliberately made by Taylor in the re-recordings.