Who Are Taylor Swift's Songs About?

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  • 1/5
    "Forever & Always". The telling lyrics: "Was I out of line?/ Did I say something way too honest?/ That made you run and hide like a scared little boy?" Who it's supposed to be about: Joe Jonas. Why? This 2008 song was written for her album Fearless, released just after the breakup, and also features lyrics about Swift staring at the phone (she famously revealed that Jonas broke up with her on a brief phone call). As a retort, Jonas wrote the song "Paranoid."
    1/5 "Forever & Always". The telling lyrics: "Was I out of line?/ Did I say something way too honest?/ That made you run and hide like a scared little boy?" Who it's supposed to be about: Joe Jonas. Why? This 2008 song was written for her album Fearless, released just after the breakup, and also features lyrics about Swift staring at the phone (she famously revealed that Jonas broke up with her on a brief phone call). As a retort, Jonas wrote the song "Paranoid."
  • 2/5
    "Better Than Revenge". The telling lyrics: "She's not a saint/ And she's not what you think/ She's an actress, whoa/ She's better known/ For the things that she does/ On the mattress, whoa". Who it's supposed to be about: Camilla Belle. Why? Swift was candid about Belle coming between her and Joe Jonas, and the pointed lyrics about an actress (see above) and her love of vintage dresses make it clear that this song is about Belle.
    2/5 "Better Than Revenge". The telling lyrics: "She's not a saint/ And she's not what you think/ She's an actress, whoa/ She's better known/ For the things that she does/ On the mattress, whoa". Who it's supposed to be about: Camilla Belle. Why? Swift was candid about Belle coming between her and Joe Jonas, and the pointed lyrics about an actress (see above) and her love of vintage dresses make it clear that this song is about Belle.
  • 3/5
    "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". The telling lyrics: "And you would hide away and find your peace of mind/ With some indie record that's much cooler than mine". Who it's supposed to be about: Jake Gyllenhaal. Why? From evidence like the scarf used in the video to the actor in the video looking a lot like Gyllenhaal, all signs point to Swift's 2010 fling. (He also has a well-documented love of indie bands.) Bonus: the song "All Too Well" is also rumoured to be about Gyllenhaal.
    3/5 "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together". The telling lyrics: "And you would hide away and find your peace of mind/ With some indie record that's much cooler than mine". Who it's supposed to be about: Jake Gyllenhaal. Why? From evidence like the scarf used in the video to the actor in the video looking a lot like Gyllenhaal, all signs point to Swift's 2010 fling. (He also has a well-documented love of indie bands.) Bonus: the song "All Too Well" is also rumoured to be about Gyllenhaal.
  • 4/5
    "Dear John". The telling lyrics: "Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone/ Don't you think I was too young/ To be messed with?". Who it's supposed to be about: John Mayer. Why? Well, it's called "Dear John," after all! After Swift and Mayer collaborated musically, the song came out and Mayer opened up about how it made him feel: " . . . I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do."
    4/5 "Dear John". The telling lyrics: "Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone/ Don't you think I was too young/ To be messed with?". Who it's supposed to be about: John Mayer. Why? Well, it's called "Dear John," after all! After Swift and Mayer collaborated musically, the song came out and Mayer opened up about how it made him feel: " . . . I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do."
  • 5/5
    "Out of the Woods". The telling lyrics: "Your necklace hanging from my neck/ The night we couldn't quite forget/ When we decided/ To move the furniture so we could dance/ Baby, like we stood a chance/ Two paper airplanes flying, flying . . ." Who it's supposed to be about: Harry Styles. Why? This week, Swift revealed the song's inspiration as "a relationship where I was kind of living day to day, wondering where it was going, if it was going to go anywhere, if it was going to end the next day," and BuzzFeed investigated the whole paper plane/necklace thing. Seems like the case is closed!
    5/5 "Out of the Woods". The telling lyrics: "Your necklace hanging from my neck/ The night we couldn't quite forget/ When we decided/ To move the furniture so we could dance/ Baby, like we stood a chance/ Two paper airplanes flying, flying . . ." Who it's supposed to be about: Harry Styles. Why? This week, Swift revealed the song's inspiration as "a relationship where I was kind of living day to day, wondering where it was going, if it was going to go anywhere, if it was going to end the next day," and BuzzFeed investigated the whole paper plane/necklace thing. Seems like the case is closed!

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