#bout to go put so many of these songs i forgot abt back into my playlists djhdkshdjd

[thatwasthenightthingschanged]

here’s the next part of what I like to call “The Taylor Swift song analysis series”! In which I, a German girl majoring in English, attempt to analyse or interpret Taylor’s songs to shed more light on a) her incredible song writing skills and b) songs that are generally very underrated and deserve more attention. (here’s the link to all my song analysis)

Today’s song is All Too Well since I’m still going through the RED tracklist chronologically. This is a fandom fav and I think most of the lyrics are pretty straight-forward but I’m still excited to talk abt this song! (also, as always, a short psa that this interpretation is extremely subjective meaning that’s just how I see the song! also that I’m no native speaker so I probably will not be able to get any cultural references in any of Taylor’s songs - but feel free to add them in a reblog :) )

“I walked through the door with you, the air was cold, but something ‘bout it felt like home somehow” The song begins with a harsh contrast: It was winter when she entered this house/apartment but she still felt at home (which is often associated with a warm and fuzzy feeling) there, probably because she was with the person she loved.

“and I left my scarf there, at your sister’s house, and you still got it in your drawer even now” He clearly still isn’t over the relationship because he cannot get rid of this personal item of hers.

“oh your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze, we’re singing in the car getting lost upstate. Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place and I can picture it after all these days” A quite literal snapshot of her memory which she put into the song. And, since she can still vividly recall this memory, it shows that she isn’t over the relationship either. (also, part of me wonders what his disposition was? like does she mean his disposition was being sweet or that whatever said disposition was was something she loved?)

“and I know it’s long gone and that magic’s not here no more” logically, she knows it makes no sense that she’s still yearning for the past since even if they got back together, it wouldn’t be the same because so many things have happened between them that they no longer have genuine feelings for each other. (perhaps it’s more of a nostalgic longing for what they once were, rather than accepting the reality of what they are now)

“and I might be okay, but I’m not fine at all” She is doing alright since they have split but she’s still in the midst of heartbreak and she is, again, still not over him.

“‘cause there we are again on that little town street. You almost ran the red ‘cause you were looking over at me. Wind in my hair, I was there, I remember it all too well” another snapshot of her memory that she remembers vividly. They were driving in his car with the windows down and he was so enchanted by her that he forgot all of his surroundings. Now that they’re over, she misses these exact moments, these moments of feeling special and loved next to him.

“photo album on the counter, your cheeks were turning red. You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed and your mother’s telling stories about you on the tee-ball team” We’re back to another memory of the relationship. Also, since he was actually embarrassed that his mom showed pictures of him as a kid, she assumed (or maybe it was the truth) that he cared about her since he didn’t want to embarrass himself in front of her.

“you taught me about your past, thinking your future was me” He thought they would last forever. (however, I would argue that perhaps only Taylor thought that he thought it would last forever, since he clearly did not care about the relationship as much as she did - or at least I think he didn’t oops)

“and I know it’s long gone and there was nothing else I could do” Again, she knows the relationship has been over for a while and also, she knows that she couldn’t have prevented their fallout.

“and I forget about you long enough to forget why I needed to” The relationship is in fact so far in the past that she’s now at the stage where she romanticizes it and forgets all the bad stuff that happened between them that were the reason for them breaking up in the first place.

“‘cause there we are again in the middle of the night. We’re dancing ‘round the kitchen in the refrigerator light. Down the stairs, I was there, I remember it all too well” again, another memory of the two of them together that she recalls now that they are over. Note that so far she only recalls all the good moments of the relationship (see also the previous line).

“maybe we got lost in translation” she’s now thinking about why they broke up. Perhaps it was because they didn’t communicate clearly enough. (which would put the blame on both of them)

“maybe I asked for too much” Perhaps she wanted too much out of this relationship when she thought it would/could last forever. (which would put the blame on her)

“but maybe this thing was a masterpiece ‘til you tore it all up” However, she knows that the main reason for the break-up were his actions. They could’ve been (and have been) amazing until he decided to ruin the relationship. (putting the blame on him)

“running scared, I was there, I remember it all too well” She recalls the moments when she was terrified of losing him.

“hey, you call me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest” He broke his promise that he only wants to be with her by cheating on her and she recalls the moment when he called her to admit it to her, because he “wants to be honest” after the break up (and probably clear his conscience). But to her, this act is just cruel, it breaks her into a million pieces.

“I’m a crumpled up piece of paper lying here ‘cause I remember it all too well.” And because she so vividly remembers every aspect of the relationship, she can’t move on and she still is deeply hurt.

“time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it” she is in the state of the time after the breakup where time seems to expand and she just goes on living her life without fully being alive. Whenever she notices the passing of time, it paralyzes her, makes her sad again because she realizes that the memory of him fades further and further into the past until most of it is gone.

“I‘d like to be my old self again but I’m still trying to find it” She has ost herself through the relationship and the heartbreak and she desperately wishes she could just erase this part of her history and go back to where she was before she met that guy. But since she’s “still trying to find it”, she realizes that no matter how much she wishes she could turn back time, she can’t. The only option is living with the forever-changed person she is now.

“after plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own, now you mail back my things and I walk home alone” She’s still clinging to things that remind her of him. Wearing plaid shirts for example, and having someone to walk home with. Meanwhile he has given her her things back, so perhaps he has already moved on for the most part (or at least he wants Taylor to think he has moved on)

“but you keep my old scarf from that very first week ‘cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me. You can’t get rid of it ‘cause you remember it all too well.” but since he still keeps her scarf, she knows that he is not over her either. He also remembers the good times of the relationship before he made his mistake (”innocence”) and cannot let them go. (also, side note: Taylor met his sister during the first week of their relationship? that’s quite early. perhaps she also took this as “oh he takes this as seriously as I do”).

“'cause there we are again when I loved you so, back before you lost the one real thing you've ever known. it was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well” And now she thinks about how he would think about their good times, how he would remember how absolutely in love Taylor was with him and how he would realize that he really messed up when he cheated on her because she was the best thing that ever happened to him, and he ruined it.

“wind in my hair, you were there, you remember it all, down the stairs, you were there, you remember it all, it was rare, I was there, I remember it all too well” He remembers & recalls the exact same good moments of the relationship that she does.

#taylorsonganalysis