All Too Well (10 Minute Version)

"All Too Well" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Written by Swift and Liz Rose, the song was first produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman for her fourth studio album, ''Red'' (2012). After a 2019 dispute regarding the ownership of Swift's masters, she re-recorded the song as "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" and released an unabridged "10 Minute Version" as part of the re-recorded album ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' in November 2021.

The lyrics of "All Too Well" narrate a failed romantic relationship, recalling the intimate memories and exploring the painful aftermath. The detail of a scarf that the narrator left at the house of her ex-lover's sister generated widespread interpretations and became a popular culture phenomenon. The 2012 version is a slow-burning power ballad combining styles of country music and soft rock. The "10 Minute Version", produced by Swift and Jack Antonoff, has an atmospheric pop rock production. Swift performed the song at the 2014 Grammy Awards and included it in the set lists for two of her world tours: the Red Tour (2013–2014) and the Eras Tour (2023–2024).

"All Too Well" charted in Canada and the United States in 2012, and the "Taylor's Version" re-recording peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Global 200 and became the longest song to top the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it reached number one on charts in several other countries. Music critics unanimously regard "All Too Well" as Swift's masterpiece and praise its evocative and detail-heavy lyricism. ''Rolling Stone'' included it at number 69 in their 2021 revision of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Critics praised the "10 Minute Version" for providing a richer context with its additional verses; it received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards. It was accompanied by a short film directed by Swift, which won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video.

Background and release

Taylor Swift waѕ inspired by her tumultuous feelings after a breakup while conceiving her fourth studio album, ''Red'' (2012). "All Too Well" was the first song Swift wrote for ''Red''. During a February 2011 rehearsal of the Speak Now World Tour, she ad-libbed some lyrics to the song while playing a four- chord guitar riff as her touring band spontaneously played backing instruments. Swift told ''Rolling Stone'' that this relationship caused "a few roller coasters", and she channeled the tumult into the song. According to the booklets of Swift's 2019 album ''Lover'', the final draft was completed a month later.

Swift asked Liz Rose, who had co-written songs on her first albums, to co-write "All Too Well". Rose said that it was an unexpected collaboration after not having worked with Swift for some years; the last time they worked together was on Swift's 2008 album ''Fearless''. When Rose agreed to collaborate, she recalled that Swift had come up with the melody. In an interview with ''Good Morning America'', Swift said that the song was "the hardest to write on the album", saying that it took her some time "to filter through everything hewanted to put in the song" without making it lengthy with the help from Rose. Rose said that the song was originally "10, 12 or 15 minutes long" or "probably a 20-minute song" before trimming. The final album version is 5 minutes and 28 seconds long, the longest song on ''Red''. It was produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman.

''Red'' was released on October 22, 2012, by Big Machine Records. After ''Red'' was released, "All Too Well" debuted at number 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart dated November 10, 2012; it also charted at number 17 on Hot Country Songs and number 58 on Country Airplay. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2018 certified the track gold for crossing 500,000 units based on sales and streams. The song also peaked at number 59 on the Canadian Hot 100, and it was certified platinum in Australia, gold in Brazil and Portugal, and silver in the United Kingdom.

Music

"All Too Well" is a power ballad that is set over a 4/4 beat. The track gradually builds up to a big, eruptive crescendo in each refrain. Chapman is the sole musician on the track; he played acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, and drums, and provided background vocals. The instruments are overdubbed and multitracked. Jody Rosen, in an article for ''New York'', wrote that the production "rises, like a slow-cresting wave".

Bernard Perusse of the ''Edmonton Journal'' wrote that the song displays influences of U2, while Rosen and ''Spin'''s Michael Robbins thought that its driving bassline was reminiscent of that from U2's "With or Without You" (1987). ''Slant Magazines Jonathan Keefe wrote that the track progresses from "coffeehouse folk to arena rock". Bruce Warren, assistant general manager of programming at WXPN, commented that the track has a soft rock production. ''Billboard'' and Craig S. Semon of the ''Telegram & Gazette'' described the genre as country, while ''Newsday'' said that the song has an "alt-country ache", and Jon Dolan of ''Rolling Stone'' thought that "All Too Well" exemplified the "diaristic post-country rock" sound of ''Red''.

Lyrics and interpretations

The song is a recount of a fallen relationship that happened in the fall. The verses explore the memories in a loosely chronological order, using expository details. The song begins with details of a trip of two ex-lovers to Upstate New York ("We're singin' in the car, getting lost upstate") such as imagery of "autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place". When they visit the house of the love interest's sister during the Thanksgiving weekend, the narrator leaves her scarf at that place. The narrator then recalls the intimate moments with her ex-lover ("There we are again in the middle of the night/ Dancing around the kitchen in the refrigerator light") and the mundane details, such as photo albums, a twin-sized bed, and stopping at red lights. After each refrain, the narrator insists that those moments mattered ("I was there, I remember it all too well").

The bridge is where the track reaches its climax; Swift sings in her upper register and almost shouts with anger ("You call me up again, just to break me like a promise/ So casually cruel in the name of being honest"). Her narrator questions why the relationship fell apart, pondering whether it was because she "asked for too much". In the final verse, the narrator mentions the scarf previously detailed in the first verse ("But you keep my old scarf from that very first week/ 'Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me"), asserting that the love she gave and felt was real and that the ex-partner must have felt the same.

Brittany Spanos of ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that the song describes "the pain of having to piece one's self back together again" after a crumbled relationship. Brad Nelson, in his reviews for ''The Atlantic'' and ''Pitchfork'', said that the scarf imagery in the lyrics acts like a Chekhov's gun, symbolizing the persisting emotional flame of the romance long after it has physically ended. Nelson compared Swift's lyrics mentioning various memories in a loosely chronological timeline to the technique used in Bob Dylan's "Tangled Up in Blue" (1975) and wrote that it displayed "ambiguity" in Swift's songwriting about failed relationships by not blaming any sides and instead exploring the dissolution of a romance. Meanwhile, J. English of NPR thought that Swift's character in "All Too Well" both puts the blame on her "callous" ex-lover and "owns up to her naivete" for the loss of her innocence, departing from the one-sided blame on past songs such as " Dear John" (2010).

Critical reviews

In reviews of ''Red'', critics lauded "All Too Well" for its detail-heavy lyricism and deemed it the album's centerpiece. Dolan, Robbins, and Semon said that the imagery of the couple "dancing around the kitchen in the refrigerator light" was a highlight. Many reviewers picked "All Too Well" as the album's best track, including Jonathan Keefe for ''Slant Magazine'', Sam Lansky for ''Billboard'', Grady Smith for ''Entertainment Weekly,'' and Ben Rayner for the ''Toronto Star''. Rosen wrote that it "takes a special songwriter to craft a sneering kiss-off that's also tender valediction", highlighting the bitter accusations ("You call me up again just to break me like a promise/ So casually cruel in the name of being honest") and the affectionate memories ("Photo album on the counter, your cheeks were turning red/ You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-size bed").

Some critics highlighted Swift's evolved songwriting. Nelson, in his review for ''The Atlantic'', complimented how Swift expressed "ambiguity" and said that the scarf imagery, like a Chekov's gun, makes it "an exhilarating piece of writing". He added that "All Too Well" explores the dissolution of a romance "so delicately" that he found himself contemplating the song similar to how he would do to a Leonard Cohen song. Keefe highlighted the bridge for featuring one of Swift's "best-ever lines" and how "the song explodes into a full-on bloodletting", ''American Songwriters Jewly Hight lauded the portrayal of heartbreak using "tangible details", and ''PopMatters'' Arnold Pan said the song shows how Swift "has amped things up" by "combining the kind of drama that has come natural to her songwriting with a widescreen guitar-driven approach".

Other reviews also praised the track's sound. Robbins wrote that "All Too Well" is one of the ''Red'' tracks that "go down like pop punch spiked by pros". Semon described the song as an "acoustic-tinged tearjerker" that has "an alarming intimacy and intense urgency that might even take wift'sdiehard fans off-guard", and ''The New York Times'' Jon Caramanica said that the song "swells until it erupts". ''Newsday'' hailed "All Too Well" as the album's highlight "both in drama and execution, with Swift's vocals at their most emotional and her lyrics at their sharpest". In ''NME'', Lucy Harbron selected its bridge as Swift's best and wrote that it was an "ultimate post-breakup big euphoric cry soundtrack".

Charts

Certifications

2021 re-recordings

Swift departed from Big Machine and signed a new contract with Republic Records in 2018. She began re-recording her first six studio albums in November 2020. The decision followed a 2019 dispute between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, over the masters of Swift's albums that the label had released. By re-recording the albums, Swift had full ownership of the new masters, which enabled her to encourage licensing of her re-recorded songs for commercial use in hopes of substituting the Big Machine-owned masters. She denoted the re-recordings with a "Taylor's Version" subtitle.

Release

''Red'' re-recorded album, ''Red (Taylor's Version)'', was released on November 12, 2021. It features two versions of "All Too Well": a re-recording of the original album version subtitled "Taylor's Version", and an unabridged version subtitled "10 Minute Version (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)". Speaking on ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' a day prior to the album's release, Swift said that the 10-minute version was recorded by the sound guy at a Speak Now World Tour rehearsal, and her mother Andrea Swift collected a CD recording of it.

Swift wrote and directed '' All Too Well: The Short Film'' based on the premise of "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)". It stars Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien as a couple in a romantic relationship that ultimately falls apart. Swift premiered the short film at a fan event in New York City on November 12, 2021, the same day that the re-recorded album was released; she also gave a surprise performance of the song there.

"All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" was released via Swift's online store on November 15, 2021, exclusively to US customers. The acoustic "Sad Girl Autumn" version, recorded at Aaron Dessner's Long Pond Studio in the Hudson Valley, was released on November 17. On June 11, 2022, the version used in the short film and the live performance at the premiere were made available for download and streaming, the same day Swift made an appearance at the Tribeca Film Festival to discuss her approach to making the film.

Lyrics

"All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" has an atmospheric, contemplative pop rock production by Swift and Jack Antonoff, incorporating synths, saxophone, and strings in the outro. There are three new verses added: between the second verse and the second pre-chorus, after the bridge and before the third verse, and after the final verse. There is also an extra stanza in the second chorus. There is the absence of male backing vocals, replaced with Swift's own backing vocals.

Expanding on the narrative of the original "All Too Well", the 10 minute version traces the entire cycle of a fallen relationship with unsparing details—how the idyllic beginning days of the romance (with the boyfriend "tossing erthe car keys/ 'Fuck the patriarchy' keychain on the ground") quickly soured as Swift's narrator was treated badly by the ex-boyfriend, how he never told her that he loved her, and how he stood up on her 21st birthday. She recalls that the ex-boyfriend was possibly ashamed of the relationship ("And there we are again when nobody had to know/ You kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath") and used their age difference as an excuse to terminate the relationship, but he continued to date women of her age (And I was never good at telling jokes, but the punchline goes/ 'I'll get older, but your lovers stay my age"), a potential reference to the 1993 film ''Dazed and Confused''. The breakup left the narrator breaking down in the bathroom, caught by an unnamed actress. In the outro, Swift's narrator contemplates whether the relationship "maimed you too", asserts that it was a "sacred prayer" and that both she and the ex-boyfriend "remembered it all too well".

Critical reception

"All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" was met with universal critical acclaim, often hailed as the standout track on ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' and a career highlight for Swift. ''Rolling Stone'' music critic Rob Sheffield lauded the 10-minute version for evoking even more intense emotions than the already sentimental five-minute song: " tsums up Swift at her absolute best." Helen Brown of ''The Independent'' stated the song is a more feminist proposition with its new lyrics. ''NME'' Hannah Mylrea wrote, at its full intended length, "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" confirms its place as an "epic", exhibiting proficient storytelling, vocal performance and instrumentation. Beth Kirkbride, writing for '' Clash'', said the "epic" song "will go down in history as one of the best breakup songs ever written." Kate Solomon of '' i'' wrote the pain "feels raw" in Swift's voice.

''Variety'' Chris Willman dubbed the song as Swift's "holy grail", and felt glad the singer did not discard the original lyrics, which turn the song into "a stream-of-consciousness epic ballad", filled with more references and specifics of the song's story line. Reviewing for ''The Line of Best Fit'', Paul Bridgewater opined the 10-minute version is "as disarming as it is fascinating"—"an artefact of wift'ssongwriting and recording process." He asserted that the song magnifies the truncated version's drama and emotion. ''Slant Magazine'' critic Jonathan Keefe stated, while the 5-minute version solely focuses on catharsis from a painful relationship, the 10-minute version "more openly implicates the ex who's responsible for causing that pain", and changes the overall tone of "All Too Well" with its new verses and song structure.

Bobby Olivier of ''Spin'' praised the song as "Swift's single finest piece of songwriting". Melissa Reguieri, in her ''USA Today'' review, said the song "lopes through encyclopedic lyrics that both bite and wound in their honesty and pain." Sputnikmusic staff critic wrote "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" is "not a flashy pop song or an endearingly rural slice of country" but simply a raw depiction of Swift's emotions, and concluded that the "towering breakup ballad" represents Swift's habit of "expressing these commonplace emotions in uniquely uncommon ways" in her writing. Lydia Burgham of ''The New Zealand Herald'' said the lyrics "paint a vivid picture of an ill-fated romance that cuts deep and captures the universal language of heartbreak." In the words of ''The New York Times'' critic Lindsay Zoladz, the song is "quite poignantly, about a young woman's attempt to find retroactive equilibrium in a relationship that was based on a power imbalance that she was not at first able to perceive."

''The Guardian'' writer Laura Snapes also dubbed the song an epic track, "one that eviscerates her slick ex in a series of ever-more climactic verses that never resolve to a chorus, just a shuddered realisation of how vividly she recalls his disregard." Snapes associated the lyric "soldier who's returning half her weight" with Swift's eating disorder, and interpreted it as a nod to the physical manifestations of heartache. Spencer Kornhaber of ''The Atlantic'' wrote that "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" contains more specificity in its lyrics, exuding "both warm nostalgia and cooling disdain", which "mesmerizes as Swift's cadence slips and slides against the steadily pounding beat", rather than cluttering the song as one would expect. Kornhaber also admired its outro and tempo shift. In a less complimentary review, Olivia Horn from ''Pitchfork'' felt the song was too long and sprawling, undermining the emotional climax of "All Too Well" (2012). In agreement, Zoladz preferred the five-minute version, but appreciated the 10-minute version for its "unapologetic messiness" with nuanced messages about female emotions and societal relationships. Reviewing for '' Vox'', Phillip Garret applauded "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" as a "whirlwind of a song", with the additional verses describing the context of "All Too Well" "in even greater detail than before".

'' GQ'' ranked "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" as the best single of Swift's career, in October 2022. ''Alternative Press'' ranked it as the most emo track in Swift's catalog. The song appeared on several year-end rankings of the best songs of 2021.

Accolades

Commercial performance

"All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" debuted at number one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart the same week ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' topped the Australian ARIA Albums Chart, earning Swift a fourth "Chart Double". It also helped Swift score a "Chart Double" on the Irish Singles Chart, her second number-one song in the country after "Look What You Made Me Do" (2017). The song was Swift's eighth number-one on the Canadian Hot 100, and entered the UK Singles Chart at number three, the longest song to reach the top five in the UK chart history.

On the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" marked Swift's eighth number-one song. The song became the longest number-one song in chart history, surpassing Don McLean's 1972 song " American Pie", a feat recognized in the ''Guinness World Records''. Topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 the same week ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200, it marked Swift's record-extending third time to debut atop both charts the same week. As Swift's 30th top-10 entry, it made her the sixth artist to reach the milestone. It was her fifth song to top ''Billboard'' Streaming Songs and 23rd to top ''Billboard'' Digital Song Sales charts, extending her record as the female musician with the most chart toppers on both. "All Too Well (Taylor's Version)" is Swift's ninth number-one song on ''Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart, 18th number-one song on ''Billboard'' Country Digital Song Sales chart, and sixth number-one song on ''Billboard'' Country Streaming Songs chart, confirming her status as the artist with the most number-one songs on the latter two. In addition, the song is the first by a solo female artist to enter the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts at the summit simultaneously.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Live performances

On January 26, 2014, Swift performed "All Too Well" at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. Wearing a dramatic beaded gown with sequin detailing and a long train streaming out behind her, she sang while playing piano on a low lit stage, before being joined by a live band midway through the performance. Her performance was praised and received a standing ovation. Swift's headbanging at the song's climax gained significant media coverage.

Swift also performed the song live throughout her Red Tour, while playing the piano. On August 21, 2015, Swift performed the song in Los Angeles at the Staples Center, the only time she did so on The 1989 World Tour. On February 4, 2017, Swift performed the song as part of the Super Saturday Night show in Houston. Swift performed an acoustic version of the song on the first show of her Reputation Stadium Tour in Glendale, Arizona on May 8, 2018, the fifth show in Pasadena, California on May 19, 2018, and the last show of the U.S. leg of the tour in Arlington, Texas on October 6, 2018, the latter of which appeared in her Netflix concert film of the same name. In 2019, she performed the song as part of her one-off City of Lover concert in Paris and at a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music.

She performed the 10-minute song after the screening of ''All Too Well: The Short Film'' at its film premiere, and on ''Saturday Night Live'' in a season 47 episode the following night on November 13, 2021. ''Hits'' dubbed the ''SNL'' performance "one of the most riveting musical moments of the year." She also performed it at the 2022 Nashville Songwriter Awards. The 10-minute song was on the set list of Swift's sixth headlining concert tour, the Eras Tour (2023–2024). Actors Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt performed a parody version of the song, inspired by Barbenheimer, on a season 49 episode of ''Saturday Night Live'' in April 2024.

Impact and legacy

Often dubbed as Swift's magnum opus, "All Too Well" has been hailed by music critics, fans and journalists as the best song in Swift's discography, citing the vivid songwriting that evokes deep emotional engagement. Sheffield commented, "No other song does such a stellar job of showing off her ability to blow up a trivial little detail into a legendary heartache."

Listicles

The song featured on many publications' lists of the best songs from the 2010s decade, including ''Rolling Stone'' (5th), ''Uproxx'' (10th), ''Stereogum'' (24th), and ''Pitchfork'' (57th). It featured in unranked 2010s-decade-end lists by ''Time'' and ''Parade'', and at number 13 on NPR's readers' poll for the best songs of the same decade. Sheffield ranked "All Too Well" first on his 2010s-decade-end list. ''Rolling Stone'' placed "All Too Well" at number 29 of its 2018 list of the 100 Greatest Songs of the Century So Far, and 69 on its list 2021 revision of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2021, Sheffield placed the song at number one on his ranking of 206 Taylor Swift songs. In a list titled "The 25 Musical Moments That Defined the First Quarter of the 2020s", ''Billboard'' described "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" as the "crown jewel" of ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' and one of 2021's "biggest cultural hits". In 2022, ''Billboard'' named "All Too Well (10-Minute Version)" the best breakup song of all time.

Recognition

Critics often regard "All Too Well" as Swift's best song. ''Billboard'' stated "All Too Well" is the song that "proved to skeptics who might've thoughtlessly dismissed Swift as a frivolous pop star—in an era when such artists still weren't given nearly as much credit or attention by critics and older music fans as they are now—that she was in fact a truly formidable singer-songwriter." Bruce Warren, assistant general manager for programming for Philadelphia public radio station WXPN, stated that "All Too Well" foreshadowed Swift's music direction for 2020. He said "In 2014 or 2015, you wouldn't have been able to say, ' aylor Swiftis working with Justin Vernon,' right? All Too Well'foreshadowed the place she's in now... 'All Too Well' showed the potential of how great a songwriter she would be, and how she would evolve as a songwriter. And Folklore'' and ''Evermore (Taylor Swift album)">Evermore