REASONS WHY DEAR JOHN, WRITTEN ENTIRELY BY TAYLOR SWIFT (MUSIC AND ALL), OFF HER THIRD STUDIO ALBUM SPEAK NOW (WHICH SHE WROTE BY HERSELF, RELEASED IN 2010), IS THE BEST SONG EVER
it’s literally calling out an abuser publicly
the opening imagery of “my mother accused me of losing my mind but i swore i was fine” is literally opening up with her saying hey maybe i wasn’t fine
“i lived in your chess game but you changed the rules every day” a perfect metaphor for an emotionally abusive partner. one who makes you feel like you’re never gonna win any battle with them and holds your mistakes over your head
“praying the floor won’t fall through again” as anyone who’s ever been in an abusive relationship can tell you, this perfectly sums up how it feels to try avoiding a fight with an abuser
“wondering which version of you i might get on the phone tonight” implying she’d either get the loving, sweet version of him who praised her and made her feel special or the one who made her feel less than perfect which is textually supported by her singing “never impressed by me acing your tests” in the bridge and the lyric “maybe it’s you and your sick need to give love and take away”
“i stopped picking up and this song is to let you know why”
throughout the song, she claims “i should have known” which is exactly how most abuse victims feel. that they did wrong. that if they’d done something differently, things wouldn’t have happened that way. the vivid imagery of a girl in a dress crying her whole way home really drives home this idea
she goes “maybe it’s me and my blind optimism to blame” which reinforces the “how i ignored when they said run as fast you can” - showing a naive 18 year old girl going for a relationship that’s no good for her
this changes at the end where she states “the girl in the dress wrote you a song” and boldly states “you should have known”. in the context of her career, it’s assumed “you should have known i’d write a song about this” but it can take a darker turn when you learn what the song is about
YOU should have known not to treat an 18 year old like that. YOU were at fault for making me feel stupid and crazy. YOU were 30 and should have known not to go after a starstruck 18 year old
basically it’s “fuck you, john mayer, it’s not my fault”
it’s not her fault that a 30 year old man picked this naive, starstruck girl to peruse a relationship with
and now she’s shining ike fireworks OVER HIS SAD EMPTY TOWN
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