Every Taylor Swift song about Jake Gyllenhaal on Red (Taylor's Version)

12 November 2021, 11:08

Taylor Swift drops teaser for All Too Well short film

By Katie Louise Smith

How many Taylor Swift songs on Red are about Jake Gyllenhaal? From All Too Well to the new Vault songs, here's all the Taylor songs reportedly inspired by Jake.

With the release of Taylor Swift's Red (Taylor's Version), her former relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal has, once again, become a topic of conversation.

Several songs on the Grammy-deserving (!) album are rumoured to have been written about her breakup with the Marvel actor, but Taylor has always been extremely tight lipped about who inspired her songs, opting to leave cryptic clues and easter eggs for fans to find and discuss instead.

Since Red was released in 2012, Taylor has never discussed any song subjects explicitly but the big Jake Gyllenhaal-shaped theories in the room are still flying all over the shop.

Here's all the lyrics, details, easter eggs and clues that hint which songs on Taylor's Red (Taylor's Version) appear to be inspired by her relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal.

What Taylor Swift songs are about Jake Gyllenhaal?

When did Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal date?

Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal, previously known as Swifthaal or Gyllenswift, reportedly dated back in late 2010 to early 2011.

During their brief romance, the two were famously papped walking through Brooklyn together on Thanksgiving, arm in arm, sharing a coffee. Jake's sister Maggie Gyllenhaal previously revealed that spending Thanksgiving with Taylor was "great".

When news of their break-up circulated, reports claimed that Jake was the one who called off the relationship, and that it happened quite suddenly.

Is 'All Too Well' about Jake Gyllenhaal?

Well, it's never been actually confirmed confirmed but it's pretty much universally agreed that Taylor's best song of all time (arguably) is about her breakup with Jake.

Lyrics such as "you used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed," and "Singing in the car getting lost upstate," have all convinced fans that the song is inspired by the time they spent together. Jake previously shared a now-deleted Instagram post of him wearing glasses as a child, and the pair were allegedly spotted apple picking in upstate NY at the start of their relationship.

Even the hidden message included in the album lyric booklet reads "Maple Latte", which is reportedly the drink that Taylor and Jake were sharing in those paparazzi pictures.

The long-running storyline of the missing scarf that Taylor left "at your sister's house" even made it back to Maggie Gyllenhaal, when Watch What Happens Live host Andy Cohen asked her about whether or not she still has it. Maggie played coy, and said "I am in the dark about the scarf. It's totally possible, I don't know."

Taylor's 'All Too Well (10 Minute Version)' also appears to feature even more lyrics about her relationship with Jake.

Taylor explicitly references the age-gap between her and the subject of the song, singing "You said if we had been closer in age / Maybe it would’ve been fine". Taylor was 20/21 and Jake was 30 when the pair dated.

Taylor also goes on to reference Brooklyn, which is where she spent Thanksgiving with Jake and his family back in 2010. And then she gives nods to specific lyrics that also pop up in other songs that believed to be about that relationship.

Referencing 'The Moment I Knew' and her 21st birthday party, Taylor sings, "But then he watched me watch the front door all night willing you to come / And he said it’s supposed to be fun turning 21..."

She also calls back to 'State of Grace', singing "And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?"

Is 'The Moment I Knew' about Jake Gyllenhaal?

Speaking to Yahoo, Taylor previously spoke about the story behind 'The Moment I Knew', saying it "was a song about my 21st birthday party, which was the worst experience ever."

On the emotional and honest track, Taylor sings about waiting for "the one who means the most to you" to show up at her party, but when it becomes clear that they're not gonna turn up, she realises that the relationship is over.

Taylor turned 21 in 2010, which would have lined up with the time she dated Jake. And, as previously mentioned, she references her 21st birthday party in the 'All Too Well (10 minute version)'.

Is 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' about Jake Gyllenhaal?

The majority of the hints that have persuaded fans that the song might be inspired by ol' Jakey G all seem to come from the music video.

There's an apple in a jar on top of the TV (perhaps referencing their rumoured apple picking date), the guy in the video gives Taylor his scarf (obvious reference to 'All Too Well') and the autumn leaves falling in the background (a nod to the "autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place" lyric, perhaps?)

Others have also speculated that the "Indie record that's much cooler than mine" is also a reference to Jake and his music taste. Taylor previously spoke to USA Today of how she added the line about her ex who “made me feel like I wasn’t as good or as relevant as these hipster bands he listened to."

Taylor Swift - We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together

Is 'I Bet You Think About Me' about Jake Gyllenhaal?

The brand new vault track is a stunning song that sees Taylor singing about the guy she's just broken up with, and hoping that everything still reminds him of her even after she's long gone.

There's a handful of references to some of the songs previously mentioned in the list, the main one being 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'.

Taylor sings, “Still awake in your city / And it's better than mine” calling back to the "indie record that's much cooler than mine" lyric. And she even mentioned the indie music again, singing, “I bet you think about me when you're out at your cool indie music concerts every week”.

Is 'State of Grace' about Jake Gyllenhaal?

Again, there's no real solid evidence that 'State of Grace' is explicitly about Jake but fans have noted that the lyric, "Just twin fire signs, four blue eyes," could reference Taylor and Jake who both have blue eyes and are both Sagittarius, which is a fire sign.

After a quick sleuth of the other guys that Taylor reportedly dated prior to this song being released, Jake appears to be the only one who fits that lyric. The additional reference to that specific lyric in the 'All Too Well (10 minute version)' also seems to confirm who it's about.

Is 'Red' about Jake Gyllenhaal?

Another one that could be about someone else – or a mix of Taylor's previous experiences – but the hidden message in the album lyric book hints towards Jake too.

In the 'Red' lyrics, the letters SAG are capitalised. It could be a reference to their star sign (Sagittarius), the fact that he is a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), or it could possibly stand for 'Swift And Gyllenhaal'.

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