November 12, 2021. Good day to be a Taylor Swift fan. Bad day to be a scarf that you left at his sister’s house. Yes, today is the day Swifties have been waiting for.
RED (Taylor’s Version) will drop, plunging us all into the emotional trauma of Sad Girl November as we relive the wonder years of We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, Holy Ground and, best of all, All Too Well.
WATCH: Jake Gyllenhaal on why he didn’t marry Taylor Swift
Hardcore Swifties have been saying it since day one, but All Too Well is the top tier of Taylor Swift songs. And as the original 10-minute version of the track drops today, fans new and old will be sent into an absolute state as they relive her split from Jake Gyllenhaal. Something the internet has been having an absolute field day with.
When this album originally dropped in 2012, it was a big deal. When Taylor released her second album Fearless, there was only one song about a celebrity split: Forever and Always. On her third album, Speak Now, the vibe shifted and songs about Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner and John Mayer signalled a new era, where fans could match up the heartbroken tracks with major celebrity “scandals.” With Red, Taylor took it to the next level as her fame, and high profile relationships, reached new heights.
No one was writing break-up tracks like Taylor, and she copped a lot for “only writing about boys” – even though, you know, writing about relationships is like 90% of music. But we digress. Whether she wanted us to know it or not, fans were able to link up each cutting lyric to its famous counterpart and it was QUITE a time.
Fans connected the All Too Well song lyrics about a “scarf at your sister’s house” to the paparazzi photos from months earlier, which showed Jake and Taylor on a date where she was wearing a striped scarf. In another set of photos she was seen walking with his sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, wearing the scarf. Intrigue! Then the photos of Jake wearing the scarf itself were found and sent fans into a frenzy.
At the time, it was deeply personal and upsetting for Taylor – hello, she wrote one of the most devastating songs of all time about that split. But wait a decade and things kind of have a way of changing.
Just like when Taylor released Fearless (Taylor’s Version) and her ex from that era, Joe Jonas, took it in his stride, Jake is assumed to be rather unbothered by the release of RED (Taylor’s Version).
Probably because, at this point, enough time has passed that there’s not really any bad blood. As far as we can tell.
For what it’s worth, Maggie herself has even gotten involved to clear up rumours that she is in possession of the famous scarf. In an interview with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in 2017, Maggie was asked if it was “true” that Taylor left her scarf there.
“You know I never understood why everybody asked me about this scarf,” she said. “What is this? I am in the dark about the scarf. It’s totally possible, I don’t know.”
When Andy said she probably needs to look for it, Maggie laughed and said “It’s possible.”
Now, you might be thinking “well duh, Maggie, Jake has the scarf. He keeps it in his drawer, even now. Taylor said so.” But at least now we know for sure that Maggie doesn’t have it stashed away at her place, though that ‘possible’ line has us thrown for a loop. Let’s stay vigilant for scarf sightings in paparazzi snaps of Maggie. You just never know.
If you’re feeling sorry for Jake right now, just know he seems pretty relaxed about the whole thing. In an interview with Howard Stern a few year’s ago, the radio host brought up Jake’s exes and singled out Taylor as the one he should have married.
“She’s a beautiful girl,” Jake replied. Howard continued on to say if they were friends at the time, he would have told Jake she was The One, the actor said: “Why didn’t you have me on this show sooner?”
When the hosts spoke about All Too Well, Jake laughed and claimed not to know about the track. But he was probably just waiting for the 10 minute version, like a true Swiftie.
For the fellow Swifties among us, who want to know exactly when to listen, RED (Taylor’s version) drops Friday, 12th of November at 4pm (AEDT), and the All Too Well short film premieres Saturday, 13th of November, at 11am (AEDT).
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