#I REMEMBER IT ALL TOO WELL SKIN#

Long before the Old Taylor was dead, and long before she held a wake attended by her obsessed nemeses in “My Tears Ricochet,” Taylor embraced her Dickinsonian tendencies with a classic death metaphor introduced in the Taylor's Version of the song. Till we were dead and gone and buried, Check the pulse and come back swearing it's the same After three months in the grave And then you wondered where it went to, as I reached for you But all I felt was shame, and you held my lifeless frame. The character development is off the charts in this classic verse as she foreshadows a miserable end. The most devastating use of “twin-sized bed” since Death Cab for Cutie. Photo album on the counter Your cheeks were turning red You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed And your mother's telling stories 'bout you on the tee-ball team You told me 'bout your past thinking your future was me You can hear the pleading in it, the urge to know your own heartbreak is not going it alone. But the real devastation-inducing line comes in the first instance of her added “just between us” refrain. Taylor loves twins, fire signs, and paint as a symbol, and this section has it all. Just Between Us and Millions of SwiftiesĪnd did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? Just between us did the love affair maim you too? Cause in this city's barren cold, I still remember the first fall of snow And how it glistened as it fell, I remember it all too well She finishes with a satisfying metaphor: leaves as puzzle pieces slotted perfectly into place, like nothing bad is ever going to happen ever. Shout out to 'Sweet Disposition' by Temper Trap, which we have to imagine was playing in the car at the time. Oh, your sweet disposition And my wide-eyed gaze We're singing in the car, getting lost upstate Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place And I can picture it after all these days Who doesn't appreciate blunt commentary on age-related power dynamics? 11. “Double-cross my mind” is a catchy turn of phrase, strengthened all the more by the raw honesty Taylor doles out in the last half of the section.

The idea you had of me, who was she? A never-needy, ever-lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you Not weeping in a party bathroom, some actress asking me what happened You, that's what happened, you Simple and elegant, but only mildly devastating just because you know what lies ahead. I walked through the door with you The air was cold But something about it felt like home somehow And I, left my scarf there at your sister's house And you've still got it in your drawer even nowĪ master class in concise scene-setting, this one plants the vital scarf as a central symbol in her memories. The soldier metaphor is a little overwrought - though deliciously dramatic - but the Matthew McConaughey riff is quick, witty, and damning. Taylor is playing with visceral body images a lot in these new verses, a decision that hits different after watching Miss Americana and hearing her reflect on her years of disordered eating.

#I REMEMBER IT ALL TOO WELL SKIN#

A Soldier's ReturnĪnd I was never good at telling jokes, but the punchline goes “I'll get older but your lovers stay my age” From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones I’m a soldier who's returning half her weight

Who among us does not want to dance with a lover in the refrigerator light, energy bills notwithstanding? One of the most memorable lines in the whole song. 'Cause there we are again in the middle of the night We're dancing 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light Down the stairs, I was there I remember it all too well, yeah Superb use of the album title in this little bit of exposition near the beginning of their story in “All Too Well.” While it can get lost in the spectrum of astounding lyrics on the album, we must thank the more humble beginnings here for getting us to the point of complete wreckage later on.