Although the title of this week’s post may look like a random clustering of letters from a keyboard smash, it actually stands for “All Too Well (Ten Minute Version)(Taylor’s Version)(From The Vault).” 

     As many of you guys may know, All Too Well is the track five record from Taylor’s Album RED. This is the first song that she wrote for this album back in 2011 while she was on the Speak Now tour. What many people might not know is that the original version of this heartbreaking song was meant to be ten minutes long. Since it is not customary to have ten minute long songs on an album, Taylor was forced to cut the song down to the five minute song that most of us are used to hearing. Swifties have been begging Taylor to release this version for many years, and thanks to the re-recording project that Taylor has undertaken, we finally got the ten minute version of the song. In this unshortened version of the song, Taylor tells the full, unfiltered story of a relationship based on an imbalance of power and control. As a tribute to her fans, Taylor also released a short film that gives us further insight into the interpretation of the lyrics of this song and the relationship that led to the creation of this song. In this Short film, Sadie Sink plays Taylor Swift, and Dylan O’Brien plays the role of her ex-lover that the song is about. 

     When you first play the song, you notice an immediate difference in the production. The original is heavily backed by guitar throughout the song, whereas the ten minute version starts with a more subdued melody that matches with the reminiscing of memories that Taylor sings about in the first verse of the song. In the short film, starring Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien, we see Sadie and Dylan walk through the doors of his sister’s house and her placing her scarf on the stair banister. This moment is crucial because although the lyrics in the first verse are “and I left my scarf there at your sister’s house/ and you’ve still got it in your drawer even now,” the original lyrics were more specific stating how Taylor remembered leaving her scarf on the banister of the stairs of his sister’s house. This moment confirms that Sadie Sink is indeed playing Taylor Swift and that Dylan O’Brien is playing the part of her ex lover. 

     The first addition of the new lyrics comes at the end of what used to be the second verse in the old version of the song. She says “and you were tossing me the car keys “‘F*** the patriarchy’/Keychain on the ground, we were always skippin’ town.” The fact that Taylor included the saying on the car keys shows how even she found this situation to be ironic. He puts up a facade that he is a feminist guy who respects women and wants to fight to get rid of the patriarchy; however, we from songs such as “Begin Again,” and “Moment I Knew” that Taylor’s ex lover was a manipulative, control obsessed, and insecure man, who does not see women as his equals. The inclusion of the keychain dropped on the ground is also very important. In the short film we can see Dylan throw the keys to Sadie to catch, but ending up on the ground. This shows how they were not in sync even in the beginning of their relationship. Another new lyric from the same verse is “he’s gonna say it’s love, he never called it what it was”. This lyric shows how hopeful Taylor was about the relationship and how much she loved him more than he loved her. 

     In the chorus following this verse, Taylor adds the new lyrics “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.” The contrast between how he kept Taylor like a secret versus how she kept him like an oath shows exactly how much they loved one another. A secret is something that is very common that many people have. Secrets are revealed often as they usually do not carry much weight compared to that of an oath. An oath is a very serious promise that carries a lot of weight behind it. This line could also have a double meaning as in the short film, we see Dylan shaking off Sadie’s hand when she goes to hold it while they were having dinner with his friends. “Keeping her like a secret” could also imply the fact that he wished to keep their relationship hidden. Additionally, in the short film, Dylan not only drops her hand, he also tries to play it off by lightly patting it to try and make the situation better. This action parallels what many parents do to their children – not the hand dropping part, but the patting of the hand, to lift their children’s spirits in an attempt to make them feel better. The fact that he did this at a dinner party with his friends, and that this action stayed in Taylor’s memory long enough for her to feel compelled to include it in the short film, shows how he definitely never saw her as an equal. 

     In the short film, this dinner party scene is followed by an amazingly improvised, argument scene. What I think is really interesting about this scene is that Taylor made the executive decision to pause the entire song to make sure that viewers put all of their attention to this scene. This shows how much of a turning point this argument was for her in the actual relationship, and how much she was affected and impacted by this moment. In the beginning of the scene, Sadie and Dylan are seen cleaning and washing up after the party. This is when Sadie brings up the fact that Dylan dropped her hand during dinner. Although Sadie brought it up in a very calm manner, Dylan is very triggered by her question for some reason because he conveniently forgets that he is a big feminist to default to his gaslighting behavior. In the span of the entire conversation Sadie lays out her reasons for feeling uncomfortable in a very clear, concise, and intellectual manner. She talks about how she did not know any of the people there, how she was ten years younger than most of the people there, and how him dropping her hand during the dinner made her feel stupid and incompetent. To these wonderfully crafted points, Dylan responds by gaslighting Sadie to think that she has made up this entire scenario in her mind. He says that he does not even remember the moment when he dropped her hand and says that she is attacking him for a moment that most probably did not even happen. He is only apologetic about his behavior when Sadie starts crying. 

     The fourth verse is a completely new verse that Taylor starts with the title of the famous Shakespeare play “All’s Well that End Well,” and adds, “but I’m in a new hell everytime you double cross my mind”. What’s interesting about this line is that Taylor actually uses the line “All well that ends well” in her song lover as well. However in that song she says “All’s well that ends well to end up with you.” This line has a much happier feeling and shows that she is in a much more stable relationship now. 

     My favorite new verse of the song is definitely the 6th and final verse. Taylor starts off in a bitter tone remembering how her ex was not a fan of her jokes. So, she says “And I was never good at tellin’ jokes, but the punch line goes/ “I’ll get older, but your lovers stay my age.” Although this song was written was Taylor was 21 and her ex lover was 30, it is interesting how this line is still relevant. The ex lover that Taylor is talking about in this song is now 40 and currently dating a 25 year old, and has shown a pattern of dating significantly younger women. My favorite lines of the entire song are “And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?” The phrase “twin flame bruise” is such a beautifully poetic way to describe their broken relationship. Both Taylor and her ex lover are sagittariuses. The phrase “twin flame” implies that Taylor was very much in love with this person that she saw as her other half. Finally calling their breakup a “bruise” shows how much of a lasting impact it had on her. Additionally, Taylor could have said “did the love affair hurt you too” instead of using the word maim, but she chose not to. By not using a common verb such as “hurt” or “wound” and using “maim” instead, Taylor suggests that the relationship caused her a much more permanent kind of pain that has disabled her and prevents her from being her old self. 

     The short film ends with a scene 13 years in the future where Sadie (who is now being played by Taylor herself) is debuting a novel about her painful relationship and the things she has learned from the relationship. She is seen giving a live reading of a chapter from the novel. This parallels Taylor’s own life where she literally performs songs from her album in front of a live audience. The ending scene shows her ex lover staring at her from outside the bookstore with her scarf that he left at his sister’s house wrapped around his neck. Showing how although Taylor has reflected and grown from her past relationships, her ex lover still holds on to the remnants of their relationship.