"All You Had To Do Was Stay" is the fifth track from American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift's fifth studio album, 1989, released on October 27, 2014, through Big Machine Records. It is also the fifth track from Swift's fourth re-recorded album, 1989 (Taylor's Version), released on October 27, 2023, through Republic Records.
Background[]
The song is rumored to be about Swift's then-boyfriend, Harry Styles.
Hidden message[]
Hidden message: They paid the price.
Lyrics[]
[Intro]
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey
[Verse 1]
People like you always want back
The love they gave away
And people like me wanna believe you
When you say you've changed
The more I think about it now
The less I know
All I know is that you drove us
Off the road
[Chorus]
(Stay) Hey, all you had to do was stay
Had me in the palm of your hand, then
Why'd you have to go and lock me out when I let you in?
(Stay) Hey, now you say you want it back
Now that it's just too late
Well, it could've been easy
All you had to do was (Stay)
[Post-Chorus]
All you had to do was (Stay)
All you had to do was (Stay)
All you had to do was (Stay)
All you had to do was (Stay)
[Verse 2]
Here you are now, calling me up
But I don't know what to say
I've been picking up the pieces
Of the mess you made
People like you always want back
The love they pushed aside
But people like me are gone forever
When you say goodbye
[Chorus]
(Stay) Hey, all you had to do was stay
Had me in the palm of your hand, then
Why'd you have to go and lock me out when I let you in?
(Stay) Hey, now you say you want it back (Now you say you want it back)
Now that it's just too late (Just too late)
Well, it could've been easy
All you had to do was (Stay)
[Post-Chorus]
All you had to do was (Stay)
All you had to do was (Stay)
All you had to do was (Stay, stay, stay, stay, stay)
[Bridge]
Let me remind you
This was what you wanted (Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh)
You ended it
You were all I wanted (Oh, oh, oh-oh-oh)
But not like this
Not like this
Not like this
Oh, all you had to do was
[Chorus]
(Stay) Hey, all you had to do was stay
Had me in the palm of your hand, then
Why'd you want to go and lock me out when I let you in?
(Stay) Hey, now you say you want it back
Now that it's just too late
Well, could've been easy
All you had to do was
[Chorus]
(Stay) Hey, all you had to do was stay
Had me in the palm of your hand, then
Why'd you have to go and lock me out when I let you in?
(Stay) Hey, now you say you want it back
Now that it's just too late
Well, could've been easy (All you had to do was stay)
All you had to do was (Stay)
[Post-Chorus]
All you had to do was (Stay) (Oh)
All you had to do was (Stay)
All you had to do was (Stay) (Oh)
All you had to do was (Stay)
Taymoji pack[]
 Don’t forget to stop and smell the pink flowers.  Unlock the love!  A one way ticket to...  We’re all just pieces in a giant puzzle looking for the perfect fit.  This frame is reserved for that special someone.  You have the key to my heart.  Put the pieces together.  Pucker up!  Box |
Live performances[]
Swift performed the song during The 1989 World Tour, as the eighth song of the setlist.[2]
Swift performed the song three times as a surprise song on The Eras Tour in Detroit, Michigan, on June 10, 2023. It was performed again on July 9, 2024, in Zurich, Switzerland, mashed-up with "right where you left me". And in Miami, Florida mashed-up with "Out Of The Woods" on October 20, 2024.
center|330x330px
References[]
- ↑ Mylrea, Hannah (September 8, 2020). "Every Taylor Swift song ranked in order of greatness". Archived from the original on September 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200908194608/https://www.nme.com/features/every-taylor-swift-song-ranked-2740117. Retrieved September 8, 2020.
- ↑ https://genius.com/Taylor-swift-1989-tour-setlist-lyrics
| 1989 | ||
|---|---|---|
| "Welcome To New York" • "Blank Space" • "Style" • "Out Of The Woods" • "All You Had To Do Was Stay" • "Shake It Off" • "I Wish You Would" • "Bad Blood" • "Wildest Dreams" • "How You Get The Girl" • "This Love" • "I Know Places" • "Clean" | ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
| ||
|