red

Red. Three letters, one word and so many emotions. Thank you so much for this album.

If you know me, you knew this post was coming. One of my best friends, Alyssa and I have been waiting for October 22 this entire summer, and we've been waiting for Taylor Swift to come out with new music for two years.

I've been listening to Taylor since my junior year of high school, and with every album I fall more in love with her. "Picture to Burn" helped me get over my first crush, "Fifteen" reminds me of how much my teenage years shaped who I am and the song "Enchanted" takes me back to a wonderful moment when I met someone for the first time.

For those of you who don't know, Taylor gives her fans hints throughout her album cover. She capitalizes letters in the lyrics and when these letters are put together, they spell out a clue which reveals who the song is about.  

I'll start this post by listing the clues to each song.

 

1. State of Grace: Love You Doesn't Count After Goodbye

2. Red: SAG

3. Treacherous: Won't Stop Till It's Over

4. I Knew You Were Trouble: When You Saw Me Dancing

5. All Too Well: Maple Lattes

6. 22: Ashley Diana Clare Selena

7. I Almost Do: Wrote This Instead of Calling

8. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together: When I Stopped Caring What You Thought

9. Stay Stay Stay: Daydreaming About Real Love

10. The Last Time: LA On Your Break

11. Holy Ground: When You Came to the Show in SD

12. Sad Beautiful Tragic: While You Were On a Tain

13. The Lucky One: Wouldn't You Like to Know

14. Everything Has Changed: Hyannis Port

15. Starlight: For Ethel

16: Begin Again: I Wear Heels Now

Now usually, Taylor is pretty direct with these clues. If you're a fan of hers you can usually figure it out. But she didn't exactly "kiss and tell" with this album which frustrated me at first, until I figured out the puzzle.

This album is about one relationship. She has mentioned that these songs are about a relationship that made her think of red. Her moments falling for someone, missing him, getting over everything and moving onto something better. Many people are saying that the album is about multiple people, which I don't agree with. Some songs are about meeting new people, but they still center around this main relationship. It centers around one person, remember that.

See the clue maple lattes? I base all of my assumptions off that tiny clue. The clue goes along with a song called "All Too Well" which is clearly about a particular ex.

Taylor definitely did this on purpose. She gives this one distinct and obvious clue because once her fans figure it out, they can put the other pieces together. The rest of the clues show us that she experienced many emotions with this person and each song brings us along on her journey.

The clue, "maple lattes" is easy. If you search "Taylor Swift" + "Maple Lattes" on Google you are immediately directed to hundreds of sites discussing Talylor sharing Thanksgiving maple lattes with Jake Gyllenhaal. See, Taylor knew this clue would be easy for her fans to find. She wants her fans to figure it out! If we solve it, we serve her relationship justice. Do this with other clues, and it's very difficult to find any information.

She's very blunt in saying it's Jake throughout this particular song. She sings about going to his sister's house in the fall and looking at pictures of him as a little boy with glasses. Both are true. There are many pictures of the couple while they visited Jake's sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal for Thanksgiving. There are also multiple pictures of Jake with glasses.

Many other clues throughout the album reveal that this red relationship was with Jake. Taylor explains several moments with "maple latte" boy through her remaining clues. For example, the rest of them start with "when this happened" or "while this was going on" or "when I did this."

In the "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" music video, she's wearing a bracelet similar to the one Jake gave her. I also think the guy in the music video resembles Jake.

"State of Grace" mentions twin fire signs and four blue eyes. Taylor and Jake are both Sagittarius, and both have blue eyes.

Before I bought the album I was sure "I Knew You Were Trouble" was about John Mayer. It's a song about knowing someone is wrong for you when you meet them, but going for it anyway. But, she had me fooled. Taylor uses a "when this happened" clue explaining that she felt this way when Jake saw her dancing. I've also read that Jake was scoping Taylor out before he met her and asked friends to set them up. This explains her lyric, "I was in your sites, you got me alone."

There are a couple of happy songs included in the album. 22 is an upbeat song about having fun with friends. There are also a couple of songs about Conor Kennedy, which is her current beau. Although these are about Conor, they still involve her moments getting over Jake. Her song  "Everything Has Changed" is coupled with the clue, "Hyannis Port" which is where the Kennedys have a compound. It's a song about wanting to know someone and remembering the wonderful moment when everything starts. Her song "Starlight" is about Ethel Kennedy and her experience with Robert Kennedy in 1945. The clue for this song is "For Ethel."

Taylor ends the album with "Begin Again" which is a song with a soft melody. It's about being on a date with someone wonderful after being in a horrible relationship. (Just a guess... Maybe she's talking about her relationship with Jake?) Her clue for this song is "I wear heels now." One of the lyrics in the song is "he didn't like it when I wore high heels, but I do." This is Taylor's way of saying she's now able to be herself. Plus, Conor is taller than Jake, so she can wear heels. :)

This album is very unique. Each song is very complex and the entire album shows a different side of Taylor. Like always, Taylor expresses what most girls have been through.

A lot of people have been very negative about her music, this album and the lyrics associated with her songs. I don't want to hear it. I commend her. She is able to express herself and at the same time bring wonderful music to the world. I am in love with this album and I'm convinced most of her fans are too.

My favorite songs so far are: "State of Grace", "Treacherous", "Everything Has Changed" "All Too Well", "The Last Time" and my number one song right now is, "Holy ground."

I could go on forever about what melodies I enjoy and which lyrics speak to my heart the most, but I'd be here all day. Plus, it's different for every person. Listen to the album and have your own experience with Red. 

Stay beautiful,

Marina