All the easter eggs from Taylor Swift's Red vault songs you might've missed

12 November 2021, 14:02

Taylor Swift drops teaser for All Too Well short film

By Katie Louise Smith

Here's all the Red (Taylor's Version) easter eggs, references and lyric callbacks you might have missed.

Ready for another Taylor Swift easter egg hunt? Well, you better be because Red (Taylor's Version) is here and it is absolutely spectacular.

On her second re-record outing, the superstar has spared absolutely no expense when it comes to scattering those impeccable references and call backs to lyrics and storylines from songs we already know and love, within her new From The Vault tracks.

Before fans start sleuthing over the easter eggs in the All Too Well (The Short Film), set to be released later today (Nov 12), it's time to take a look into all the new lyrics we've just been blessed with. From Lover, Evermore, Reputation and 1989, all the way back to her debut album, there's plenty of easter eggs to find.

Here's all the easter eggs and lyric references you might have missed on Red (Taylor's Version)

'All Too Well (10 minute version)' and 'Lover'

Taylor goes from “They say all’s well that ends well but I’m in a new hell every time..." in 'All Too Well' to "All's well that ends well to end up with you” in the bridge of 'Lover', taking a devastating lyric and twisting it to fit one of her most romantic songs.

'All Too Well (10 minute version)' and 'Call It What You Want'

In one of the new verses in 'All Too Well', Taylor sings that the subject of the song never called their love what it was ("You never called it what it was"). Flash forward seven years and Taylor is singing about calling it "what you want to".

Kind of poetic and lowkey emotional to think that Taylor revisited some of the unused phrases from one of her most devastatingly heartbreaking songs and repurposed them for two songs that radiate happiness and hopefulness with her new love, isn't it?

'All Too Well (10 minute version)' and the Jake Gyllenhaal relationship

Well, we all kinda know that 'All Too Well' was inspired by Taylor's relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal, but the new lyrics that feature in the 10 minute version of the song offer a much more devastating glimpse into what may have happened between them.

Taylor explicitly references the age gap between her and the subject of the track, singing: "You said if we had been closer in age / Maybe it would’ve been fine." Taylor turned 21 during their relationship, while Jake was 30.

Taylor also references Brooklyn in one of the new verses, which is where she was pictured spending Thanksgiving with Jake in 2010.

'All Too Well (10 minute version)' and 'The Moment I Knew'

Taylor references the narrative of her Red bonus track 'The Moment I Knew' at one point in the 10-minute version of 'All Too Well'.

Calling back to the song which is about her then-boyfriend not showing up to her 21st birthday party, Taylor sings, "You who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes / Sipping coffee like you’re on a late night show / 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..."

'All Too Well (10 minute version)' and 'State of Grace'

Remember the ol' "twin fire signs" lyric from 'State of Grace'? It's back! In a new verse for the 10-minute version, Taylor sings, "And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?"

'All Too Well (10 minute version)' and 'Tolerate It'

Pointed out by one fan (@sippingaugust) on Twitter, one particular lyric that features in Evermore's 'Tolerate It' appears to have been inspired by a previously unused lyric from the 10-minute version of 'All Too Well'.

In 'Tolerate It', Taylor sings "gain the weight of you then lose it." A similar lyric appears in 'All Too Well', as Taylor sings, "I'm a soldier whose returning half her weight."

'I Bet You Think About Me' and 'Tim McGraw'

Well, it's not really a low-key easter egg, but it's definitely a call back, right? Taylor goes from sweetly 'hoping' that her love interest thinks of her every time he thinks of the legendary country singer, to savagely 'betting' that everything reminds an ex-lover of her following their break up.

'I Bet You Think About Me' and 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'

There's two calls back to one very specific and unforgettable line from the Red single. Both “Fast asleep in your city that's better than mine,” and “I bet you think about me when you're out at your cool indie music concerts every week” appear to reference the iconic “with some Indie record that’s much cooler than mine” line.

Then, referencing the "we hadn't seen each other in a month when you said you needed space" lyric in 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together', Taylor asks "Do you have all the space that you need?"

'I Bet You Think About Me' and 'Blank Space'

Right at the end of 'I Bet You Think About Me', Taylor sings, "Oh my god, she's insane, she wrote a song about me," which appears to have later evolved into 'Blank Space''s iconic "Got a long list of ex-lovers, they'll tell you I'm insane" lyric. Another chef's kiss reference pulled straight from the vault of unreleased lyrics.

'I Bet You Think About Me' and 'Mr. Perfectly Fine'

Mr. Perfectly Fine, meet Mr. Superior Thinking. Yep, Taylor includes another 'nickname' for an ex-boyfriend in the lyrics to this one... Who will show up on 1989, Speak Now and Reputation?!

READ MORE: All the easter eggs from Taylor Swift's Fearless vault songs you might have missed

'The Very First Night' and 'Out of the Woods'

Taylor Swift, Queen of saving scrapped lyrics and phrases and repurposing them for another hit years later strikes again. In 'The Very First Night', Taylor sings that her and her partner were "built to fall apart", which is a lyric that fans will know all too well from the 1989 banger 'Out of the Woods'.

"We were built to fall apart / Then fall back together," in case you needed a reminder.

'The Very First Night' and 'All Too Well'

Another very small reference to 'All Too Well' pops up in 'The Very First Night', too. Taylor sings about one night in LA where her and her partner, "dance in the kitchen, chase me down through the hallway."

"Dancing 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light," anyone?

'Run' and 'Getaway Car'

Once again, Queen of saving scrapped lyrics and phr–– You get the picture. In the Ed Sheeran duet, the pair sing “There's been this hole in my heart / This thing was a shot in the dark.” Of course, a similar phrase popped up in Taylor's 'Getaway Car,' as she sings "We never had a shotgun shot in the dark".

Both songs also follow the narrative of escaping in a car, running away and starting a new life. We love a good parallel!

'Message In A Bottle' and 'Come Back... Be Here'

'Message In A Bottle' and 'Come Back... Be Here' both seem to be about the early days of the same relationship, with Taylor missing her lover while he's in a different city. London, to be exact. (With a little bit of New York sprinkled on top.)

In the new vault track, Taylor sings, "How is it in London? Where are you while I'm wondering / If I'll ever see you again?," which calls back to 'Come Back...'s "But you're in London and I break down / 'Cause it's not fair that you're not around" lyric.

Spotted even more easter eggs and references on Taylor's Red vault songs? Let us know on Twitter @popbuzz!

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