Taylor Swift - I am not too well

The 12th November has finally arrived which means that Taylor Swift’s new album Red (Taylor’s Version) has been released. The original Red album came out in 2012 but Taylor announced in February 2021 that she was going to re-record and release her first six albums so she owned the copyright to them.

In a statement on Twitter she wrote: “I’ve spoken a lot about why I’m remaking my first six albums, but the way I’ve chosen to do this will hopefully help illuminate where I’m coming from.

“Artists should own their own work for so many reasons but the most screamingly obvious one is that the artist is the only one who really * knows * that body of work.”

After the success of Fearless (Taylor’s Version), she announced that Red would be the next album she would re-record and release in November.

Red (Taylor’s Version) is comprised of 30 songs, with nine new songs ‘From The Vault’ which were unreleased when Red was originally out. Collaborations with Ed Sheeran, Phoebe Bridgers and Chris Stapleton are also included on the album.

The release date of the album was brought forward by a week, meaning the album blessed our ears this morning. Adele’s new album, ‘30’, is set to be released next Friday, 19th November, so this may have been a factor for bringing Red (Taylor’s Version) a week forward.

Of these new songs, All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) has been one of the most heavily waited upon songs. The original All Too Well is believed to be written about Taylor’s breakup with Jake Gyllenhall.

In an interview on Good Morning America in 2012, she said All Too Well was the hardest song on the album to write, emotionally: “It took me a long time to filter through everything that I wanted to put in the song.”

She said she couldn’t put a 10 minute long song on an album so condensed it down, but in 2021, she has finally released the unfiltered and emotionally-raw version for everyone to hear.

In the 10 minute version of the song, Taylor sings: “You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine, and that made me want to die.”

A Short Film for All Too Well is set to be released at Midnight on 12th November, involving actress, Sadie Sink, 19, and actor, Dylan O’Brien, 30. It was written and directed by Taylor herself. Their real-life difference in age can be assumed to represent Swift and Gyllenhall’s ages at the time of their relationship.

The lyrics to the new extended version of the song are passionate and emotional: “They say all’s well that ends well but I’m in a new hell every time you double-cross my mind.”

“Just between us did the love affair maim you, all too well.” — Taylor Swift

In an interview with Jimmy Fallon on ‘The Tonight Show’, minutes before the album was released, Taylor said she was most excited about the 10 minute version of “All Too Well” coming out. She said she wrote the song at 21, during band rehearsals for the Speak Now tour. She started playing guitar and repeatedly strumming the same four chords. Her band joined in and she started ad-libbing what she was going through and how she was feeling. They went on like this for 10-15 minutes and this music session was recorded; that is what became the 10 minute long version of the song.

Taylor’s new album can be listened to on Spotify, Youtube, Apple Music, Deezer, and Youtube Music.