One of my favorite songs of all time is All Too Well by Taylor Swift. I really like this track because of the powerful songwriting. Taylor co wrote the ballad with Liz Rose. The song features well-crafted and relatable lyrics such as, “He calls me up again just to break me like a promise, so casually cruel in the name of being honest.” Unlike many of Swift’s other songs, which capture just a slice of a love story, such as a breakup or a first date, All Too Well illustrates an entire relationship from beginning to heartbreaking end. Another thing that makes this song unique is that it doesn’t have any repeating verses or choruses. It was very well received by critics and fans alike. Many cynics dismiss Taylor Swift’s songs as being naive and immature, but those insults couldn’t possibly apply to the incredible lyrics in All Too Well. In my opinion, it is the most lyrically impressive song of Swift’s entire collection.
The song follows a clear storyline of a passionate relationship falling to pieces. Taylor reminisces on the beginning of the relationship, singing lines such as “autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place, I can still picture it after all of these days.” Later on in the song, she describes where she had thought the relationship was going, describing a December that seemed as if it would last forever, singing, “you taught me about your past thinking your future was me.” Then comes the heartbreak. Swift sings dramatic lyrics such as, “maybe we got lost in translation, maybe I asked for too much, but maybe this thing was a masterpiece until you tore it all up.” Then Taylor reflects on the relationship and the impact it had on both of the people involved. She sings, “time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it. I’d like to be my old self again, but I’m still trying to find it.” Her ex-boyfriend, rumored to be Jake Gyllenhaal, “keeps [her] old scarf from that very first week because it reminds [him] of innocence and smells just like [her].”