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"Dear John" is the fifth track from the standard edition of American singer and songwriter Taylor Swift’s third studio album, Speak Now, released on October 25, 2010, through Big Machine Records. It is also the fifth track from Swift's third re-recorded album, Speak Now (Taylor's Version), released on July 7, 2023, through Republic Records.

Background[]

The song is about John Mayer, who Swift dated from December 2009 to February 2010. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine from June 2012, Mayer said of the song: "I’m pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do."[2]

With that being said, however, Mayer wrote a song titled "Paper Doll" - the fourth track on Mayer's sixth studio album, Paradise Valley (2013) - that is rumored to be about Swift.[3]

In an interview with Glamour Magazine, Swift stated: "I know it wasn’t good, so I don’t want to know. I put a high priority on staying happy, and I know what I can’t handle. It’s not that I’m this egomaniac and I don’t want to hear anything negative, because I do keep myself in check, but I’ve never developed that thick a skin. So I just kind of live a life, and I let all the gossip live somewhere else. If you go too far down the rabbit hole of what people think about you, it can change everything about who you are."[4]

Hidden message[]

Hidden message: Loved you from the very first day.

Lyrics[]

[Verse 1]
Long were the nights when my days once revolved around you
Counting my footsteps, praying the floor won't fall through again
And my mother accused me of losing my mind
But I swore I was fine

You paint me a blue sky and go back and turn it to rain
And I lived in your chess game
But you changed the rules everyday
Wondering which version of you I might get on the phone
Tonight
Well, I stopped picking up and this song is to let you know why

[Chorus]
Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone
Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?
The girl in the dress cried the whole way home
I should've known

[Verse 2]
Well, maybe it's me and my blind optimism to blame
Or maybe it's you and your sick need to give love then take it away
And you'll add my name to your long list of traitors who don't understand
And I'll look back and regret how I ignored when they said
"Run as fast as you can"

[Chorus]
Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone
Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?
The girl in the dress cried the whole way home
Dear John, I see it all now it was wrong
Don't you think nineteen's too young to be played by
Your dark twisted games when I loved you so?
I should've known

[Bridge]
You are an expert at sorry
And keeping lines blurry
Never impressed by me acing your tests
All the girls that you've run dry
Have tired, lifeless eyes
'Cause you burned them out
But I took your matches before fire could catch me
So don't look now
I'm shining like fireworks
Over your sad, empty town
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

[Chorus]
Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone
Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?
The girl in the dress cried the whole way home
I see it all now that you're gone
Don't you think I was too young to be messed with
The girl in the dress wrote you a song
You should've known

[Outro]
You should've known
Don't you think I was too young?
You should've known

Trivia[]

References[]

Speak Now
"Mine" • "Sparks Fly" • "Back to December" • "Speak Now" • "Dear John" • "Mean" • "The Story of Us" • "Never Grow Up" • "Enchanted" • "Better Than Revenge" • "Innocent" • "Haunted" • "Last Kiss" • "Long Live"
Deluxe Edition
"Ours" • "If This Was A Movie" • "Superman" • "Back to December" (acoustic) • "Haunted" (acoustic) • "Mine" (Pop Mix)
Taylor's Version
"Electric Touch" (feat. Fall Out Boy) • "When Emma Falls In Love" • "I Can See You" • "Castles Crumbling" (feat. Hayley Williams) • "Foolish One" • "Timeless"
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