| "Picture to Burn" | ||||
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| Single by Taylor Swift | ||||
| from the album Taylor Swift | ||||
| Released | February 4, 2008 | |||
| Studio | Castles Studio-A (Nashville) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:55 | |||
| Label | Big Machine | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Nathan Chapman | |||
| Taylor Swift singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Picture to Burn" on YouTube | ||||
"Picture to Burn" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift and the fourth single from her 2006 self-titled debut studio album. Big Machine Records released it to US country radio on February 4, 2008. Written by Swift and Liz Rose, the lyrics were inspired by a narcissistic classmate of Swift and depict a protagonist's vengeance against an ex-lover. Nathan Chapman produced the track, which is an incorporation of country rock and alternative rock that features plunking banjo and distorted electric guitars.
The original album version of "Picture to Burn" contained the lyric, "That's fine; I'll tell mine you're gay", which was modified to "That's fine; You won't mind if I say", on the radio edit and subsequent versions. Music critics praised the song's production and lyrics for earnestly depicting teenage feelings. In the United States, the single peaked at number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number three on Hot Country Songs, and it was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It peaked within the top 50 in Canada, where it was certified gold.
The music video for "Picture to Burn" was directed by Trey Fanjoy and features Swift fantasizing about taking revenge on her ex-boyfriend after she discovers him with another woman. The video has Swift and her band performing with pyrotechnics as a backdrop. Swift performed "Picture to Burn" live as an opening act to other country-music artists' tours, and she included it in the set list of her first headlining tour, the Fearless Tour (2009–2010).