Taylor Swift, at the prime of her pandemic albums and popularly known for her iconic post-breakup songs and albums, has recently put out her rerecorded album “Red”. 

Now it’s not like anyone is complaining about Taylor Swift releasing hit after hit, but you might be wondering, “Why would she willingly go through the trouble of rerecording her album?”

In 2019, Swift announced that she would be rerecording her albums in order to gain complete ownership over her lyrics and songs. Her Nashville label continuously refused to give the master recordings of the first six albums she made in the beginning of her career. 

Growing up, we’ve heard Taylor Swift’s iconic country pop music on the radio, in the grocery stores, and even at school-held events. Preteens and teenagers alike (and some adults too) would belt out her lyrics at every given opportunity. As someone who grew up around Taylor’s music, she brings her listeners along with her for the ride. From “We Are Never Getting Back Together” to “Style”, we grew up experiencing the pains of breaking up with a significant other before we even got into our first relationships. 

Swift’s ever growing popularity and ability to push out album after album has kept her music at the tops of the charts. 

“All Too Well” was released on November 12th, 2021 under Taylor’s rereleased album “Red”. With the accompaniment of a short film, the ten minute rendition of her 2012 album track broke records as well as the hearts of many Swifters.

A nostalgic short film, Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink star as the main couple. Swift’s song captures the essence of the different stages of a relationship before a break up. Compared to the song in her 2012 album, Taylor Swift has a clearer image of what she wants to convey from a previous relationship as she uses more explicit language and even includes more lyrics to this rereleased track. 

She alludes to an age gap relationship with words like “You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine”and “And I was never good at telling jokes but the punchline goes: I’ll get older while your lovers stay my age”. 

O’Brien and Sink’s onscreen chemistry piloted the short film into a genre of its own as they danced through the honeymoon phase of a relationship. However, Swift didn’t glaze over any part of such an intimate memory. As the executive producer of her film, she made sure to include even the hardest parts of being a couple.

Fans theorized that the short film and the song were based on Swift’s relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal from 2010. Their short-lived romance kickstarted Swift’s creative masterpiece that we now know as “All Too Well” from her original album. Hinting at their short fling, Swift implies that her song is about Gyllenhaal as she keeps the key lyric: “scarf”. 

In the beginning of her relationship with Gyllenhaal, they were caught walking down the street with a latte in hand and a scarf wrapped around Swift’s neck. After their separation, Gyllenhaal was caught wearing a similar looking scarf causing fans to think that he kept Taylor’s scarf even after their breakup. 

As teenagers reliving Swift’s masterpiece of a creation once again, we are able to appreciate the intricacies of her song a little bit more than when we heard it in 2012. We’ve learned to mature with experiences regardless of whether or not they tied in with platonic or romantic relationships. Lyrics like “You kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath” strike a deep chord in many of our budding hearts as we remember times when one side put in more effort to make a relationship afloat. 

Compared to her old country pop vibe, Swift’s rerecording of “All Too Well” is more straightforward and even stronger. Through her enunciation and her ever-growing technique with singing, Swift’s emphasis on the pain of this past relationship hits really close to home especially for the age gap relationship shown in “All Too Well”. 

Taylor Swift places such a critical eye into her short film as she includes a meaning into everything we see in her video. Taylor Swift – All Too Well: The Short Film

Her inclusion of cool and warm colors to create the warmth of a house in the winter or the chill of autumn settling in help to hint (or even mirror) her past relationship. Even her symbolism with the scarf in the beginning of the short film aided in the understanding of how the little things from a relationship can come back as fond memories. 

Taylor Swift’s 10 minute short film, “All Too Well”, is an original art piece that stems from growth, maturity, and loving one’s self. Her passionate voice and expert lyricism invoke suppressed emotions that we forgot we’ve experienced before. If you want to relive a nostalgic moment, whether it’s a short fling or a long relationship, “All Too Well” definitely hits the mark.