Why does everyone hate Jake Gyllenhaal? Red (Taylor’s Version) deciphering – Rosy F
You may remember that in April 2021 I wrote an article about ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’, and why the re-recordings of Taylor’s albums are happening. To summarise, Swift’s old record label owned all her work from her debut up to ‘Reputation’, and when they parted ways, the record label sold all her work to another person. In the contract, it was stated that they were not allowed to sell the rights of her music back to her. In order to regain creative use of her own music, Swift decided to re-record her first 6 albums, starting off with ‘Fearless”.
Taylor Swift has no completed the re-recording of her 4th album, ‘Red’, featuring 21 of her original tracks from her 2012 album, with 9 new songs. The most hyped up song from her vault is most likely ‘All Too Well (10 minute version)(Taylor’s Version)’, which from the title, is 10 minutes long!
Now you may be wondering why Jake Gyllenhaal is also a hot topic of conversion amongst listeners. This is because most of the songs, if not all, are about the actor, who Taylor dated for 3 months in 2010. As you may be able to tell, the majority of the songs on ‘Red’ are about their heart wrenching break up, which Jake did over text.
In order for new swifties to fully understand the impact this album has on the average teenager, I will try to decipher the messages of some of the songs on the album that are targeted at Jake Gylenhaal, in order to also give you a reason to hate him (or at least his 2010 self)!
Track 1 – State of Grace (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor details that ‘love is a ruthless game, unless you play it good and right’ and she ‘never saw [Jake] coming’. This may represent the start of her relationship, and the pleasant feelings associated with a new love. Coincidently, this is also the first track of the album, possibly to entice the listener into a false sense of happiness…
Track 2 – Red (Taylor’s Version)
Swift then describes her romance as a whole; singing ‘loosing him was blue like I’ve never known, missing him was dark grey all alone, forgetting him is like trying to know someone you have never met, but loving him was red.’ This may represent all the emotions that Jake made her feel, suggesting their relationship was like a whirlwind. It is also implied that their relationship was like nothing that Taylor had experienced before, possibly to do with her young age as she was only 20 at the time.
Track 5/ 30 – All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)/ All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version)
These famous tracks again take the listener through Swift’s and Gyllenhaal’s romance, but from a retrospective angle, just after they have broken up. Taylor details the joyful parts of their relationships in the beginning, how they travelled and he ‘told [Taylor] about his past, thinking his future was me’. It seems like Taylor is hopelessly trying to forget Jake but instead is just reminiscing on the highlights of the romance, as if it were yesterday. Then half way through the songs, Swift details her questioning of the break up, suggesting that ‘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.’. She then uses the repeated motive of her scarf to imply that Jake still holds onto a part of her, possibly her innocence as again, she was only 20 when they dated. In the 10 minute version, it is revealed that the cause of their breakup was the age difference, as Jake was also 29 at the time. The innocent vs manipulative relationship is perfectly represented by Taylors short film, starring Dylan O’Brien and Sadie Sink, which I recommend you watch.
Track 16 – Begin Again (Taylor’s Version)
The final track that I will talk about is Begin Again. This song depicts Taylor starting to date again after a break up. She compares this new – unknown- man to her ex, most likely Jake Gyllenhaal. She says ‘I think its strange that you think I’m funny, cause he never did’ obviously showing that Jake mistreated her and did not act like a good boyfriend. She shows how much her relationship to Jake affected her as she’d spent ‘the last 8 months, thinking all love does is break and burn and end’, not believing that she will be able to find love again. However, she is ready to ‘begin again’ with this new person, which accompanied by a soft beat, makes for a heartfelt tune.
Hopefully, you can see that Taylor felt mistreated by Jake throughout her relationship, showing that Jake was not a good boyfriend for her, which is enough for swifties to dislike him.
A few of her other songs obviously show a light hearted take on her life experiences, like ’22 (Taylor’s Version)’, ‘Starlight (Taylor’s Version)’ and ‘Stay Stay Stay (Taylor’s Version)’. Further showing Taylor’s artistic genius, as she can jam pack her album with a flurry of emotive songs as well as dance anthems.
Taylor also had 9 songs that she had taken from her vault, which is basically unreleased songs from 2012, that nearly made it onto her album. My favourite from the vault song is ‘The Very First Night (Taylor’s Version)’ as it is an upbeat reflection on her relationship and busy life. I think it reminds me of her earlier music, which I love.
I hope this article has enlightened you to the inner workings of Taylor Swift, rightfully nicknamed the music industry. If you ever see any one of Taylor’s exes trending in the future, it may be wise to expect to see another one of her re-recorded albums out!
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