All too well

Background and Release

After a public dispute over the ownership of Taylor’s back catalog under her previous label Big Machine, Taylor began re-recording her entire back catalog in November 2020 to claim the rights to her master recordings. After her first re-recorded album, Fearless (Taylor’s Version) — the re-recording of her 2008 album, Taylor followed with RED (Taylor’s Version).

“All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” was released as a digital promotional single on Taylor’s webstore on November 15, 2021, exclusively to U.S. customers. The live version from All Too Well (The Short Film) premiere was released to the iTunes Store the same day. The acoustic “Sad Girl Autumn” version, recorded at frequent collaborator Aaron Dessner’s Long Pond Studio in Hudson Valley, was released on November 17.

On June 11, 2022, the same day she made an appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival to talk about the short film, Taylor released the “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) [The Short Film]” EP, which features “All Too Well (10 Minute Version” with the instrumentals used in the short film.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I walked through the door with you
The air was cold
But somethin’ ’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 1]
And I know it’s long gone and that magic’s not here no more
And I might be ok but I’m not fine at all…

[Chorus 1]
‘Causе there we arе 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

[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
The tee-ball team
You tell me ’bout your past
Thinking your future was me

[Verse 4]
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
Til we were dead and gone and buried
Check the pulse and come back
Swearing it’s the same, after 3 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 2]
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 2]
‘Cause there we are again in the middle of the night
We’re dancin’ ’round the kitchen in the
Refrigerator light
Down the stairs, I was there
I remember it all too well…

[Chorus 3]
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

[Bridge]
Well, maybe we got lost in translation
Maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece
‘Til you tore it all up
Running 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

[Verse 5]
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 were 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 21″

[Verse 6]
Time won’t fly
It’s like I’m paralyzed by it
I’d like to be my old self again
But I’m 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 4]
‘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 7]
And I was never good at telling jokes
But the punch line goes:
“I’ll get older, but your lovers 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
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
All too well

[Outro]
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