We all had an ex named Jake
All Too Well, It Must Be Exhausting Always Rooting for the Anti-hero, Ask Taylor Swift
All too well.
Welcome to Love Month. And on Valentine's Day, we are either happy or sad. But this year, there is hope for someone 50ish, so here's what happened to me on Valentine's Day; you can read it all about here.
Back to All too Well by Taylor Swift.
Even if you are not a fan, how can you not at least appreciate this song? This song was first released in 2012 and found a new extended life in 2021, almost ten years later, and Taylor Swift made it feel and sound better.
Talk about throwbacks and nostalgia.
Taylor Swift, now in her early 30s, has matured. So, while many people say the song is a jab at her ex, Jake, it happens. I mean, we all have an ex like Jake.
For someone in his 50s, let me tell you this, we remember our past loves throughout our lives not because we haven't moved on or moved forward, which I prefer to call it, but because our exes are part of who we are at an age we can never go back to like when Taylor Swift fell for Jake, she was barely in her 20s.
She can never have that time back.
We can never have that time back, what is left is for us to look back.
Taylor Swift songs
Most of her songs drew inspiration from her experiences. The same goes for us who write. The best stories we tell are the ones from our own experiences.
And when it comes to love, the more we love, the more stories we will have, and for her, every love story becomes one of her Taylor Swift songs.
Some would say it is a break-up song, but the more I listen to All too well, it is a song about her younger self.
So Jake, don’t take it too seriously.
But in fairness to Jake, he doesn't take it against Taylor, even if after 10 years, he still is one of the Internet's favorite punching bags. However, he had this to say in an interview.
“My question is: Is this our future?” Gyllenhaal continued. “Is anger and divisiveness our future? Or can we be empowered and empower others while simultaneously putting empathy and civility into the dominant conversation? That’s the discussion we should be having.” — Excerpt, Variety.
I have to agree that there is a lot of hate out there, and cyberbullying or cancel culture has become toxic.
But hey, one thing is sure, none of this is the reason why Jake Gyllenhaal doesn't shower every day.
What brought me to write about it today was a piece from M.G. Siegler, I must have read it in 2021 because I follow him not only here but also on Twitter, but the algorithm chose to send it back to me today.
And when I got to this part, it rang so true to me, and I knew others would say the same.
Anyone who dares to love must have the courage to lose that love.
Rarely does it happen that we get it right the first time. Our first usually doesn't end up being our last. There will be more in-between. Each one brings us closer to loving ourselves or losing ourselves.
I hope none of us who had a bad ex will ever be so bitter about loving someone. It becomes beautiful as you get older. But in the end, if you never find the right one, you can always make a song out of them or write about them.
I’ve lived some version of this. We’ve all lived some version of this. Again, in hindsight it’s easy to say that these moments in time don’t matter, but they certainly do in the moment. They matter more than anything. This is what life is all about. The time we spend with others and that others spend with us. We all move on. Because we have to. But the time was spent. And we wonder… — M. G. Siegler
Verse 1
I walked through the door with you, the air was cold
But something ‘bout it felt like home somehow
And I left my scarf there at your sister’s house
And you’ve still got it in your drawer, even now
Oh, your sweet disposition and my wide-eyed gaze
We’re singing in the car, getting lost upstate
Autumn leaves falling down like pieces into place
And I can picture it after all these days
Pre-Chorus
And I know it’s long gone and
That magic’s not here no more
And I might be okay, but I’m not fine at all
Oh, oh, oh
Chorus
‘Causе there we arе again on that little town street
You almost ran the red ’cause you were lookin’ over at me
Wind in my hair, I was there
I remember it all too well
Verse 2
Photo album on the counter, your cheeks were turning red
You used to be a little kid with glasses in a twin-sized bed
And your mother’s telling stories ‘bout you on the tee-ball team
You tell me ‘bout your past, thinking your future was me
And you were tossing me the car keys, fuck the patriarchy
Key chain on the ground, we were always skipping town
And I was thinking on the drive down, any time now
He’s gonna say it’s love, you never called it what it was
’Til we were dead and gone and buried
Check the pulse and come back swearing it’s the same
After three months in the grave
And then you wondered where it went to as I reached for you
But all I felt was shame and you held my lifeless frame
Pre-Chorus
And I know it’s long gone and
There was nothing else I could do
And I forget about you long enough
To forget why I needed to
Chorus
’Cause there we are again in the middle of the night
We’re dancing ‘round the kitchen in the refrigerator light
Down the stairs, I was there
I remember it all too well
And there we are again when nobody had to know
You kept me like a secret but I kept you like an oath
Sacred prayer, and we’d swear
To remember it all too well, yeah
Bridge
Well maybe we got lost in translation
Maybe I asked for too much
But maybe this thing was a masterpiece
’Til you tore it all up
Running scared, I was there
I remember it all too well
And you call me up again
Just to break me like a promise
So casually cruel in the name of being honest
I’m a crumpled up piece of paper lying here
’Cause I remember it all, all, all
Verse 3
They say all’s well that ends well
But I’m in a new hell every time you double-cross my mind
You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine
And that made me want to die
The idea you had of me, who was she?
A never-needy ever lovely jewel whose shine reflects on you
Not weeping in a party bathroom
Some actress asking me what happened, you, that’s what happened, you
You who charmed my dad with self-effacing jokes
Sipping coffee like you’re on a late night show
But then he watched me watch the front door all night, willing you to come
And he said, “It’s supposed to be fun turning twenty-one”
Chorus
Time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it
I’d like to be my old self again, but I’m still trying to find it
After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own
Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone
But you keep my old scarf from that very first week
’Cause it reminds you of innocence and it smells like me
You can’t get rid of it
’Cause you remember it all too well, yeah
’Cause there we are again when I loved you so
Back before you lost the one real thing you’ve ever known
Post-Chorus
It was rare, I was there
I remember it all too well
Wind in my hair, you were there
You remember it all
Down the stairs, you were there
You remember it all
It was rare, I was there
I remember it all too well
Verse 4
And I was never good at telling jokes but the punch line goes
I’ll get older but your lovers stay my age
From when your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones
I’m a soldier who’s returning half her weight
And did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?
Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?
’Cause in this city’s barren cold, I still remember the first fall of snow
And how it glistened as it fell, I remember it all too well
Outro
Just between us, did the love affair maim you all too well?
Just between us, do you remember it all too well?
Just between us, I remember it (Just between us) all too well
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it all too well
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it
Wind in my hair, I was there, I was there
Down the stairs, I was there, I was there
Sacred prayer, I was there, I was there
It was rare, you remember it
