Sure, many readers scrolled here first to see which song came in at number one, and they’re probably not shocked to see “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” here at the top. “All Too Well” — the five-minute original version from 2012’s “Red” — is already one of Swift’s best. In the stripped-down version, Swift stripped away the specifics of her doomed relationship to create a song about heartbreak and pain that everyone can feel. In the 10-minute version (which she wrote first, even though we had to wait years to hear it), she brings those specifics back, reveals more about herself, and turns the post back on. singing became her greatest masterpiece.
The 10 minute version is transmitted over time. “I remember it too well,” Swift sings in the chorus, and the song is clearly about retrieving memories, telling the truth about her experiences. But the ending always kills me, when she just focuses on her ex. “Just between us, does love hurt you?” she asked. Of course there is no answer; Never have. But she can still say what happened to her and reclaim her pain, heartbreak and anguish and turn it into something greater than a failed relationship and the person who made her he is bruised.
