Taylor Swift paints the world Red with her second rerecorded album
New York, New York – Taylor Swift continues her domination in the music industry with the release of Red (Taylor's Version).
If you didn't think Swift's fourth studio album, Red, could get any better, she's here to show you just how far she's come while managing to bring you right back to the depths of teenage heartbreak.
The Grammy-winning artist's second rerecorded album, Red (Taylor's Version) doesn't just pack a punch in a reminiscent way, either.
With seven unheard "From The Vault" tracks, including the long-awaited 10-minute version of the fan-favorite track, All Too Well, the 31-year-old is revisiting painful life chapters she's since closed all in the name of owning her masters.
The original recording of All Too Well spoke to fans after Red's initial release in October 2012, and it's been a song that remains close to their hearts nearly a decade later.
The 10-minute version manages to squeeze out every ounce of emotion left in Swift's body, leaving listeners more heartbroken than they could've imagined – even those in healthy, long-term relationships or marriages.
That's the effect Swift's music has on people. Her ability to craft poetic lyrics and formulate songs in a way that not only gives her side of events in an extraordinarily personal manner while allowing listeners to make it their own is worthy of praise.
In the newly released version of All Too Well, Swift drops more clues, or "Easter eggs" as her fans call them, into her personal life and who might've been tuned into the hurt she spells out in this particular heartbreak anthem.
Swifties have known for a decade that the song All Too Well tells the story of her short-lived, whirlwind love affair with actor Jake Gyllenhaal, but the 10-minute version sheds new light on unknown aspects of their breakup, and how she made it out alive.
"The idea you had of me, who was she?" Swift questioned before singing, "Weeping in a party bathroom, some actress asking me what happened. You, that's what happened – you."
Red (Taylor's Version) fits like a glove
When Red was initially released in 2012, it was viewed as the musician's attempt at a crossover album, allowing Swift to get out of the country music box she had been placed in, and into the mainstream.
As was the case with the rerecording of Fearless, Swift did her best to replicate the enunciation of iconic words and phrases throughout Red (Taylor's Version) as a way to express the same emotions she was feeling when initially writing these songs.
In addition to the highly-anticipated 10-minute version of All Too Well were six songs that didn't make the cut for the album's 2012 release, and have subsequently been labeled as "From The Vault" tracks.
Three tracks stand out amongst the six: Message in a Bottle, The Very First Night, and Run, which features none other than Swift's songwriting bestie, Ed Sheeran.
The song Message in a Bottle flaunts the singer's transition from country to that of top 40 radio in a less-than-subtle way, which might be the reason it never appeared on the original album.
From the second the track starts, you're transported to a hazy, mysterious club-like setting full of intrigue and possibilities, with Swift yearningly singing, "You could be the one that I love, and I could be the one that you dream of. A message in a bottle is all I can do. Standing here, hoping it gets to you."
According to Sheeran's Instagram, Run was the first song he ever wrote with Swift, with the second being Everything Has Changed. Yet, the former didn't end up on the original version of Red, making it all the more meaningful to now have it out in the world.
"There's a key on the chain, there's a picture in a frame, take it with you and run like you run from the law. Darling, let's run, run from it all," Swift and Sheeran croon in perfect and soul-quenching harmony.
Taylor Swift's TikTok takeover
In addition to the album's original tracklist and from the vault singles, Red (Taylor's Version) also includes the songs, Babe and Better Man. Both songs were written for Red, yet neither made the cut.
Because of this, Swift opted to give them away to other artists she respected, such as Sugarland and Little Big Town.
Though fans have likely heard both tracks at some point over the years, neither has existed on any of the artist's albums until now.
Over the last few months, Swift has been preparing her fan base of Swifties for the release of Red (Taylor's Version), and nearly broke the internet Kim Kardashian-style when she joined TikTok in August.
It didn't take long for the Look What You Made Me Do singer to get the hang of the remix culture that is ever-present on TikTok, and she's since proven that she does, in fact, understand the assignment.
On Friday, the songstress made a major announcement on the app that will likely have digital creators and Swifties screaming.
Not only is the 10-minute version of All Too Well available on TikTok, but every other song from Red (Taylor's Version) will be, also. "I can't wait to see what you make," Swift said in the video.
This means that Swifties young and old will be able to tap into the most dramatic and vulnerable versions of themselves and create whatever content they want, all within the confines of TikTok.
Swift is set to perform on Saturday Night Live on November 13.
Though she hasn't confirmed what she'll be singing, fans hope to be blessed with a live performance of All Too Well for the second time in her 15-year career.
Cover photo: Collage: Screenshot/TikTok/taylorswift