Taylor Swift's I Bet You Think About Me: The lyrics and Jake Gyllenhaal link explained

12 November 2021, 17:18

Taylor Swift reveals how the song All Too Well came together

By Katie Louise Smith

Taylor and Chris Stapleton deliver a country-inspired track about an ex. Here's what fans think the lyrics mean.

From the re-recorded tracks to all the new vault songs, Taylor Swift's Red (Taylor's Version) has sent the Swifties into complete meltdown. (Sorry but verse 3 on 'All Too Well (10-minute version)'? Never recovering!)

One of the biggest new songs From The Vault on Red (Taylor's Version) is 'I Bet You Think About Me' featuring Chris Stapleton. The song sees Taylor singing about how she hopes that everything an ex-boyfriend (that she's now moved on from) does and sees reminds him of her. It's a bop! It's petty! It's full of digs!

At this stage of the game, it's no secret that a lot of songs on Red (Taylor's Version) are believed to have been written about or inspired by her 2010 relationship with actor Jake Gyllenhaal.

There'll likely never be any confirmation about who it's about, or if it's about a mix of experiences, or if it's just based on the exact same feeling the majority of us have when we break up with someone. But fans are pretty sure it could be about the Marvel actor too. Here's why...

"3 AM and I'm still awake, I'll bet you're just fine. Fast asleep in your city that's better than mine"

Right at the start, 'I Bet You Think About Me' references the "with some indie record that's much cooler than mine" lyric in 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', which some fans believe to have been written about Jake.

In fact, the whole song appears to go hand in hand with 'WANEGBT', as Taylor and Chris later echo the iconic "So he calls me up and he's like, 'I still love you'," lyric with lines like "I bet it's hard to believe, that it turned out I'm harder to forget than I was to leave."

"You grew up in a silver-spoon gated community, glamorous, shiny, bright Beverly Hills. I was raised on a farm, no, it wasn't a mansion. Just livin' room dancin' and kitchen table bills."

Any entry-level Swiftie will know that Taylor grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania, before moving to Nashville to start her music career.

The Beverly Hills lyric, though? Well, fans have pointed out that Jake Gyllenhaal was born in Los Angeles to a director father and a screenwriter mother, so it's not particularly a reach to think that this specific lyric could relate to him, right?

"Mr. Superior Thinkin', do you have all the space that you need?"

In the song, Taylor asks "Do you have all the space that you need?," calling back to the moment in 'WANEGBT' when Taylor sings "'Cause like, we hadn't seen each other in a month when you said you needed space."

"I bet you think about me when you're out, at your cool indie music concerts every week"

Aaaand there it is. The infamous "with some indie record that's much cooler than mine" lyric that is rumoured to be about Jake comes right back around and finds itself slap bang in the middle of another Red track.

Whoever the song is about, whoever they may be... they will simply never know peace at a indie music concert ever again.

I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) (Official Video)

But while the song may have been inspired by a break up from 10 years ago, the music video gives off a whole 'nother meaning.

Some Swifties have theorised that the music video for 'I Bet You Think About Me' could actually be a dig at Scooter Braun and Scott Borchetta.

The video, directed by Blake Lively, shows a groom being reminded of Taylor at his own wedding. She's dressed in red and as the video gradually moves on, everything around the groom turns red.

Red season has returned. She's everywhere, there's no escaping her. She's truly living in his mind rent free. Taylor Swift will always own Red, no matter who sells what to who.

And the middle finger that Taylor throws up, with the 'Red' ring sitting right there? It's definitely meant for Scooter and Scott, right?

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