The first two episodes of the six-part docuseries, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour — The End of an Era, landed on OTT on December 12, a day before her 36th birthday. For every Swiftie obsessed with The Eras Tour, the docuseries, with the BTS bits and Taylor’s fiance Travis Kelce making an appearance, promises to be manna from heaven.

Nineteen summers ago came the country-pop number Tim McGraw, which would go on to launch the career of a global megastar. Famously, then-Nashville-schoolgirl Taylor had written that song in a math class on the things she hoped her older boyfriend would miss about her when he went away to college, including her little black dress and the songs of country singer Tim McGraw.

Taylor had hit upon a goldmine of an idea — autobiographical, confessional songwriting. Serendipitously, this was the right fit for a burgeoning audience sold on self-expression on social media. And yet, even as the social media explosion encouraged the cult of the curated self, Taylor’s emotional honesty struck a chord.

She put herself out there, warts, flaws and all. In an increasingly divided, polarised world, seething with self-important opinions, her candour was disarming.

Back to December from Taylor’s album Speak Now in 2010, and its recorded Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in 2023, is one such candid song. It’s an apology song for a past boyfriend for not treating him right — You gave me all your love and all I gave you was goodbye — and wanting him back, making it as relatable as it gets.

It turns out freedom ain’t nothin’ but missin’ you/ Wishin’ I’d realised what I had when you were mine/ I’d go back to December, turn around and make it alright/ I go back to December all the time....

Endearingly, the regret steers clear of poetic pathos or emotional blackmail.

I’d go back in time and change it, but I can’t/ So if the chain is on your door, I understand.

It’s also a ballad where the carefully mounted orchestration, especially the strings and the percussion, gives the song its sombre, outdoorsy feel.

A big part of Taylor’s oeuvre is break-up songs of anger, grief and moving on. Her songs on toxic boyfriends, on-off relationships and lost loves have become anthems for a generation whose search for “happily ever after” is more messy than ever. Back to December’s self-reflection makes it stand out.

Years later, actor Taylor Lautner confirmed that Back to December was about his 2009 relationship with the singer. Lautner married Taylor Dome, a nurse, in 2022, who calls herself an “OG Swiftie”. That’s a lot of Taylors. But it is also a rare love story which ended with grace.