Taylor Swift's 'Red': Who is Each 'Treacherous, Sad, Beautiful, Tragic' Love Song About? (ANALYSIS)
“This album is about the other kinds of love that I’ve recently fallen in and out of," Swift, 22, writes on the album. "Love that was treacherous, sad, beautiful, and tragic. But most of all, this record is about love that was red.”
Here are our best guesses as has as to who, exactly, Swift is singing about on each and every one of her new songs -- all 16 of them!
1. State Of Grace
Hidden message: LOVE DOESN'T COUNT AFTER GOODBYE
Who: Jake Gyllenhaal
Lyrical clues: "Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes"
Both Gyllenhaal and Swift are blue-eyed Sagittariuses, which happens to be one of the three fire signs. Given the sweeping sound of "State of Grace," it sounds like the pair's short romance was anything but a meaningless fling.
2. Red
Hidden message: SAG
Who: Jake Gyllenhaal
Lyrical clues: "Passionate as sin, ended so suddenly... Like the colors in autumn"
Swift and her actor beau only dated briefly, from October 2010 (other wise known as autumn) to January 2011. The singer's hidden message, "SAG," could stand for Sagittarius or Screen Actors Guild -- both of which are good descriptors for Gyllenhaal.
3. Treacherous
Hidden message: WON'T STOP UNTIL IT'S OVER
Who: John Mayer
Lyrical clues: "Until the gravity’s too much/ And I’ll do anything you say/ If you say it with your hands"
Swift's hidden message could easily reference Mayer's harsh remarks toward "Dear John" and her songwriting choices in Rolling Stone. “It made me feel terrible,” he said. “Because I didn’t deserve it. I’m pretty good at taking accountability now, and I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do.”
However, Swift's message to Mayer seems pretty clear: She won't stop writing until this heartache is over. Swift also references two of Mayer's tracks in "Treacherous": "Gravity" and "Your Body is a Wonderland", in which Mayer sings, "Your body is a wonderland/ I’ll use my hands."
taylor swift 'begins again' in paris
Hidden message: WHEN YOU SAW ME DANCING
Who: Harry Styles
Lyrical clues: “A new notch in your belt is all I’ll ever be... And the saddest fear comes creeping in/That you never loved me or her or anyone or anything"
Back in April -- before Conor Kennedy -- Swift had a reported fling with One Direction's resident womanizer. Swift was allegedly heartbroken when she saw photographs of Styles, 18, and American model Emma Ostilly on a date in Auckland on April 20. Swift's reference to dancing could be a nod to her enthusiastic cheering during One Direction's performance during the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards back in March.
5. All Too Well
Hidden message: MAPLE LATTES
Who: Jake Gyllenhaal
Lyrical clues: "Left my scarf there at your sister's house... Oh your sweet disposition"
This one is just too easy. Not only does Swift's secret message point toward her and Gyllenhaal's favorite coffee date drink, but the song also mentions his older sister Maggie and their apple-picking adventures in upstate New York. Oh, and one of Gyllenhaal's favorite bands is Temper Trap (ahem, "Sweet Disposition").
6. 22
Hidden message: ASHLEY DIANNA CLAIRE SELENA
Who: Her BBFs: Ashley Avignone, Dianna Agron, Claire Callaway and Selena Gomez.
Swift's fun, flirty "22" is an ode to being young and a nod to her BFFs.
7. I Almost Do
Hidden message: WROTE THIS INSTEAD OF CALLING
Who: Owl City's Adam Young
Lyrical clue: "I bet this time of night you're still up"
On Swift's last album, Speak Now, she penned the track "Enchanted" for Young. Too shy to call her back, he crafted a response in the form of a cover of "Enchanted."
"Dearest Taylor," he wrote. "I’ll be the first to admit I’m a rather shy boy and since music is the most eloquent form of communication I can muster, I decided to record something for you... This is what I wanted so badly to tell you in person but could never quite put into words." However, Young says he never got a response from the country-pop singer.
So it makes perfect sense that she would follow that up with another song -- with the message, "Wrote this instead of calling." Also, Swift sings, "I bet this time of night you're still up," which could be a nod to Young's insomnia.
what you need to know about conor kennedy
Hidden message: WHEN I STOPPED CARING WHAT YOU THOUGHT
Who: Will Anderson
Lyrical clues: "And you, will hide away and find your piece of mind with some indie record that's much cooler than mine"
Swift dated the Parachute frontman -- an indie rock enthusiast with a wide array of Ray Ban glasses -- on-and-off in December 2011.
9. Stay Stay Stay
Hidden message: DAYDREAMING ABOUT REAL LOVE
Who: Conor Kennedy
Lyrical clues: "That’s when you came in wearing a football helmet"
Since Swift and Kennedy's relationship is so new, they may not have achieved “real love” yet, but Kennedy's good manners (he carries her groceries!) make it easy for her to daydream. “This morning I said we should talk about it/ Cause I read you should never leave a fight unresolved/ That’s when you came in wearing a football helmet.” Conor plays football at Deerfield Academy.
10. The Last Time
Hidden message: L.A. ON YOUR BREAK
Who: Jake Gyllenhaal
Lyrical clues: "And all the times I let you in/ Just for you to go again/ Disappear when you come back/ Everything is better"
It looks like Gyllenhaal and Swift had some kind of on-and-off-again crazy beautiful romance given the amount of tracks he inspired. With his filming schedule, Gyllenhaal could have easily met with Swift "in L.A. on his break," so the hidden message points toward the actor.
11. Holy Ground
Hidden message: WHEN YOU CAME TO THE SHOW IN S.D.
Who: Joe Jonas
Lyrical clues: "Well I guess we fell apart in the usual way/ And the story’s got dust on every page/ Sometimes I wonder how you think about it now/ And I see your face in every crowd"
The book is certainly closed when it comes to Swift's romance with Jonas. That relationship has already inspired three of Swift's hits -- "Forever and Always," "Last Kiss" and "Better Than Revenge." But "Holy Ground" represents a young woman finally at peace with her first love.
Back in 2008, Swift flew to New York to be with her JoBro while they filmed a segment for the Jonas Brothers' 3-D concert movie. "We had this big wide city all to ourselves," she sings, which could easily refer to her and Joe's time in the Big Apple together. Also, Swift's secret message is a reference to Joe being spotted at two of Swift's concert in L.A. and San Jose. Could the middle Jonas have snuck into her show in San Diego as well? All signs point to yes.
what you need to know about conor kennedy
Hidden message: WHILE YOU WERE ON A TRAIN
Who: John Mayer or Jake Gyllenhaal
Lyrical clues: "Good girls, hopeful they'll be and lonely will wait"
Only Mayer would travel by train. Isn't that what Shadow Days is all about? And Swift's reference to "good girls" could be a nod to Mayer's now-famous cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'." Also, "Sad Beautiful Tragic" pretty much sums up the entirety of Mayer and Swift's ill-fated romance.
However, "While you were on a train" could also refer to Gyllenhaal's film, Source Code, which he filmed while dating Swift. Perhaps "Sad Beautiful Tragic" was written as a culmination of Swift's past heartaches.
13. The Lucky One
Hidden message: WOULDN'T YOU LIKE TO KNOW
Who: Joni Mitchell
Lyrical clues: "It was a few years later, I showed up here/ And they still tell the legend of how you disappeared/ How you took the money and your dignity, and got the hell out"
Swift is set to play her idol, Joni Mitchell, in an upcoming, albeit top-secret, biopic (i.e. "Wouldn't you like to know). Mitchell retired from the spotlight years ago, choosing the "Rose Garden over Madison Square." Swift has not only called Mitchell one of her idols, but she's also one of her songwriting inspirations.
14. Everything Has Changed
Hidden message: HYANNIS PORT
Who: Conor Kennedy
Lyrical clues: "And all I've seen since 18 hours ago is green eyes and freckles and your smile in the back of my mind making me feel right"
This duet with Ed Sheeran is obviously about her current boyfriend Conor because the hidden message is “Hyannis Port.” Hyannis Port just so happens to be where the Kennedy Compound is located -- and where Swift just purchased a home. Sheeran and Swift sing, “I just wanna know you better,” on the chorus, and the singer-songwriter will definitely get to know her beau better when she moves in right across the street. Also, the song mentions green eyes, which wouldn't you know, is the same eye color of the young Kennedy.
15. Starlight
Hidden message: FOR ETHEL
Who: Ethel Kennedy
Oh boy. Now Swift has even penned a song for her beau's grandmother Ethel. "I met Bobby [Kennedy] on the boardwalk, summer of '45." The song, written from Ethel's perspective, is an ode to young love, dancing like "we're made of starlight," and having "10 kids" (Ethel and Bobby actually had 11 kids) and teaching them "how to dream." Adorable or creepy? We're not quite sure.
16. Begin Again
Hidden message: I WEAR HEELS NOW
Who: Will Anderson / Conor Kennedy
Lyrical clues: "I've been spending the last 8 months/ Thinking all love ever does/ Is break and burn and end"
The Parachute frontman -- you know, the indie rock enthusiast --wasn't Swift's tallest ex, so if we had to guess which former flame had an issue with Swift's height, we're going to say it was Anderson. That fling fizzled in January 2012, but things between Swift and Kennedy started heating up in August 2012 -- "eight months" after her last breakup. "And you throw your head back laughing/ Like a little kid," could be a reference to Kennedy's age. After all, he's three years her junior. Plus, it's seems only natural that Swift would conclude her album with a nod to her current love.
Below, more scoop on Taylor Swift's new album, Red.
Girl At Home = Definitely JOHN MAYER
I wish to convey my love for your kind-heartedness supporting individuals who actually need guidance on in this area. Your real commitment to passing the solution all-around came to be wonderfully practical and have really enabled most people much like me to attain their ambitions. This valuable facts signifies so much a person like me and even further to my peers. Thanks a ton; from everyone of us.
Treacherous= Harry or Jake. She referenced the song sweet disposition ALSO in the song all too well, which is definitely about jake. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together=Jake Starlight=Ethel Kennedy Everything Has Changed=Conor Kennedy The Last Time=Jake I Knew You Were Trouble = no one knows for sure, probably jake (maybe john mayer or harry styles) The Moment I Knew = DEFINITELY jake
anyone got anything on THE MOMENT I KNEW or GIRL AT HOME?? dying to know!!
definitely agree on WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER. the video makes it pretty obvious. JAKE all the way. and wasn't there something about how he flew her on a private jet for a date?? he was prolly TROUBLE too.
SOME OF THESE ARE WRONG!!! WE ARE NEVER EVER GETTING BACK TOGETHER is about JAKE, not Will. You guys said she had an on again, off again thing with JAKE, SO WHY DID YOU SAY IT WAS SOMEONE ELSE??? DUH. The video has TONS OF CLUES, and she basically said it was about Jake, during her interview with Kaite Curic. I KNEW YOU WERE TROUBLE - JOHN MAYER "never loved me or her or anyone or anything," in their song "Half of My Heart" he says "Half of my heart is the part of a man who's never truly loved anything." or JAKE- hew 'flew hew to places' he was filming, London, etc. I think it was in the fall/November when that happened. BEGIN AGAIN- WILL ANDERSON (not Conor) They went on a coffee date 8 MONTHS AFTER Jake. She wasnt with Conor till a year after Jake. Will loves Christmas, they were together near Christmas, and he loves James Taylor.
I love the poetic justice, she is brilliant! Go Taylor!
Interesting insight. But unfortunately Taylor has stated in interviews that while picking the tracklist order for the album she had some difficulty except for the first and last tracks because she wanted to bookend the album with two songs about the same relationship. So, if logic follows, Jake Gyllenhaal also inspired "Begin Again" since "State of Grace" is certainly about Jake. Maybe her line "like a little kid" alludes to the fact that Jake is significantly older than her, so him laughing makes him look younger than he is. Commenting how young someone looks when they're already young is sort of redundant and not like Taylor.
Obviously you cared enough to waste your time commenting about it. Ding bat. Love Taylor :)
Who really cares about these "secret" messages? I thought it was pretty much a given she's dated every guy in Hollywood and then some. I mean, she writes cheesy pop songs about love, not the Da Vinci Code.
Some have said that Treacherous is about Harry Styles as well, mostly for the secret message being "Won't Stop Till It's Over" which is the line in Sweet Disposition right before "Won't Stop Till We Surrender" which is tattooed on Harry's arm, since it is one of his favorite songs. Also because she knew he was trouble and falling for him was "treacherous". The song being about falling for them, and not being bitter also makes me think its about someone newer since she was done with John already before Speak Now came out...But who knows.
Oh, Source Code! Didn't think of that one. Good catch!
Sad Beautiful Tragic is about Gyllenhall. While you were on a train = Source Code movie. His daemons that all look alike = blonde girlfriends: Dunst, Witherspoon, Swift.