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"All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is the thirtieth track from American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's second re-recorded studio album, Red (Taylor's Version), released on November 12, 2021, through Republic Records. The song was released as a single on November 15, 2021.
The "Sad Girl Autumn" acoustic version which was recorded at Long Pond Studios was released on November 17, 2021. The Live Acoustic version was released on November 15, 2021. The version of the song used in the short film, with added instrumental breaks, was released on June 11, 2022.
Background[]
The song's lyrics ('But then he watched me watch the front door all night, willing you to come/ And he said, "It's supposed to be fun turning twenty-one,"' which mention Jake not showing up to her twenty-first birthday party) confirm rumors that it is about Swift's ex-boyfriend, Jake Gyllenhaal.
The 10 minute version is the original version of the song, with the version released on Red in 2012 having been shortened.
Swift said of the song: "'All Too Well' [was difficult to write emotionally] because it took me a really long time to filter through everything I wanted to put in the song without it being a 10 minute song, which you canāt put on an album. I wanted a story that could work in the form of a song and I called my co-writer Liz Rose and said, 'Come over, weāve gotta filter this down,' and it took me a really long time to get it."
Lyrics[]
[Verse 1]
I walked through the door with you, the air was cold
But something 'bout it felt like home somehow
And I left my scarf there at your sister's house
And you've still got it in your drawer, even now
[Verse 2]
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
[Pre-Chorus]
And I know it's long gone and
That magic's not here no more
And I might be okay, but Iām not fine at all
[Chorus]
'Cause there we are again on that little town street
You almost ran the red, 'cause you were lookinā over at me
Wind in my hair, I was there
I remember it all too well
[Verse 3]
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 'bout you on a tee-ball team
You tell me about your past, thinking your future was me
And you were tossing me the car keys, "Fuck the patriarchy"
Keychain on the ground, we were always skipping town
And I was thinking on the drive down, "Any time now,
He's gonna say it's love", you never called it what it was
Till we were dead and gone and buried
Check the pulse and come back, swearing it's the same
After three months in the grave
And then, you wondered where it went to, as I reached for you
But all I felt was shame and you held my lifeless frame
[Pre-Chorus]
And I know it's long gone and
There was nothing else I could do
And I forget about you long enough
To forget why I needed to
[Chorus]
'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
And there we are again, when nobody had to know
You kept me like a secret, but I kept you like an oath
Sacred prayer and we'd swear
To remember it all too well, yeah
[Bridge]
Well, maybe we got lost in translation
Maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece
Till you tore it all up
Runnin', scared, I was there
I remember it all too well
And you call me up again
Just to break me, like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
I'm a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
'Cause I remember it all, all, all
Too well
[Verse 4]
They say all's well that ends well, but I'm in a new Hell
Every time you double-cross my mind
You said, "If we had been closer in age, maybe it would have been fine"
And that made me want to die
The idea you had of me, who was she?
A never-needy, ever-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you
Not weeping in a party bathroom
Some actress asking me what happened, you
That's what happened, you
You, who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes
Sipping coffee like you're on a late-night show
But then he watched me watch the front door all night, willing you to come
And he said, "It's supposed to be fun turning twenty-one"
[Verse 5]
Time won't fly, it's like Iām paralyzed by it
I'd like to be my old self again, but Iām still trying to find it
After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own
Now, you mail back my things and I walk home alone
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
[Chorus]
'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
[Post-Chorus]
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
[Verse 6]
And I was never good at telling jokes, but the punch line goes
I'll get older, but your lover's stay my age
From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones
I'm a soldier who's returning half her weight
And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?
Just between us, did the love affair maim you, too?
'Cause in this city's barren cold
I still remember the first fall of snow
And how it glistened as it fell
I remember it all too well
[Outro]
Just between us, did the love affair maim you all too well?
Just between us, do you remember it all too well?
Just between us, I remember it (Just between us)
All too well
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it all too well
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
it was rare, you remember it
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it
Chart performance[]
The song debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 Chart, breaking a record for being the longest song to reach that position.[1]
Live performances[]
Swift performed the song on Saturday Night Live on November 13, 2021. She also performed it at the 2022 Nashville Songwriter Awards. She performs this song during The Eras Tour with her guitar as the last song in the Red section.
Trivia[]
- Prior to the song's release, "Dear John" was Swift's longest song.
- The standard version of this song is still the longest track on the album even without the 10 minute version.
- This song, along with "State Of Grace", are the only songs to have an alternative version on Red (Taylor's Version), with "State of Grace" having an acoustic version.
- "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is the only vault track that is part of the setlist of The Eras Tour.
- In addition to all original lyrics, the 10-minute version includes two extra verses, a doubled bridge, an add-on to the second chorus, and a new outro.
- The instrumental in "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is different from the one in "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" as you can hear a guitar in the beginning.
References[]
| RED | ||
|---|---|---|
| "State Of Grace" ā¢ "Red" ā¢ "Treacherous" ā¢ "I Knew You Were Trouble" ā¢ "All Too Well" ā¢ "22" ā¢ "I Almost Do" ā¢ "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" ā¢ "Stay Stay Stay" ā¢ "The Last Time" ā¢ "Holy Ground" ā¢ "Sad Beautiful Tragic" ā¢ "The Lucky One" ā¢ "Everything Has Changed" ā¢ "Starlight" ā¢ "Begin Again" | ||
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