It’s a good day to be a Swiftie. Taylor Swift released four new songs on March 17, right before her Eras Tour began, and I’m obsessed. Among them are Taylor’s Version re-records of “Safe & Sound,” “If This Was a Movie,” and “Eyes Open” from her Red album in 2012. She also dropped a brand new song called “All Of The Girls You Loved Before,” which was originally intended to be on the Lover album in 2019 but went unreleased. The song’s title alone has fans thinking Swift is singing about her now-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, and the women he’s dated in the past.
The song begins with an affectionate tone, including lyrics like, “Stars aligned and they intertwined / And taught you the way you call me baby / Treat me like a lady.” These lyrics reflect Swift’s other song “Mastermind,” where she sings, “Once upon a time, the planets and the fates / And all the stars aligned / You and I ended up in the same room / At the same time.”
Swift also sings, “Your past and mind are parallel lines,” which references at her own past relationships with exes. The song seems to be sharing about both of their past relationship histories, and how it made them into better people for each other.
Swift’s lyrics seem to express gratitude for the women Alwyn dated, making him the man that she fell in love with. Swift sings lyrics such as, “All of the girls you loved before (Ooh) / Made you the one I’ve fallen for,” and “Now you’re all I need / I’m so thankful for all of the girls you loved before.”
She continues with a more serious tone, with lyrics including, “I wanna teach you how forever feels like,” and, “Every dead-end street led you straight to me.” Swifties are saying this line is similar to lyrics from “Red,” such as, “Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street.”
Swift goes on to sing, “Cryin’ in the bathroom for some dude / Whose name I cannot remember now.” Her word choice shows how different Alwyn is from her previous exes.
Swift and Alwyn’s relationship has always been kept pretty private, but they officially started dating in October of 2016 — well before Lover was released in 2019.
Although fans can speculate that the song is about Joe Alwyn, Swift has not confirmed the rumors. And as much as everyone would like to know about the girls that Alwyn has loved before, he’s kept his past relationships very private.