An interpretation of “All Too Well” by Taylor Swift 
This song, while a breakup song, proves to be an anthem for all women getting out of toxic relationships with men who just did not treat them right. While no one can be one hundred percent certain, this song has been heavily rumored to be written about Taylor’s relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal and the spiral of events that ultimately led to the end of their relationship.
At the beginning of her song, Taylor writes, “Oh, your sweet disposition…. And my wide-eyed gaze” (Swift 6-7). Here it seems that she is implying that they were a happy couple at the time. She mentions how they were singing in the car, and everything seemed fine. However, that quickly changes when she shifts the mood, writing “And I know it’s long gone and that magic’s not here no more” (Swift 11). Now we can see that this isn’t any longer a happy relationship and that she was reminiscing of the good days in the lines prior. She goes on to reminisce about other happy moments like his mom telling her about his childhood because she thought there would be a future for this relationship. However, it seems Taylor was blindsided and that while she might’ve been in love and ready for a future with him, he was not. She writes, “And I know it’s long gone and there was nothing else I could do” (Swift 22) which refers to the feeling of watching the relationship fall apart and watching him slip away, feeling helpless. She might not have wanted to give up on the relationship at the time, but there was nothing she could do to save it. She puts herself under the bus for a minute saying “Maybe I asked for too much”, but then goes on to blame him by saying “Maybe this thing was a masterpiece ‘til you tore it all up” (Swift 29-30). It’s not exactly clear here who she’s blaming for the end of the relationship but based on her clear anger, I would assume it was his fault overall.
She goes on to write, “And you call me up again just to break me like a promise” (Swift 33) which is most likely referring to him contacting her post-breakup which just broke her more. Whatever he said on these calls could not have been good because she refers to herself as a “crumpled up piece of paper” (Swift 35) which implies how truly heartbroken she was over this breakup. I imagine her lying in bed for days, curled up, crying, and not showering. While this is just the image I’ve created, it seems like a valid representation of her based on that line.
Finally, Taylor throws some lines in that refer to her innocence before this relationship, probably because Jake was so much older than her when they dated. She says how she’d “like to be” her “old self again” (Swift 39) and how the scarf he still has of hers “reminds” him “of innocence” (Swift 44). Both lines mourn the innocent girl she was before she fell in love and was then broken by this man. She knows that she will never be the same again, and that is probably a very hard feeling for her to overcome.