Taylor Swift’s “All of the Girls You’ve Loved Before” Meaning

Ahead of the first night of the Eras Tour on March 17, Taylor Swift surprised fans with four new songs. Three of these songs — “Eyes Open (Taylor’s Version),” “Safe & Sound (Taylor’s Version)” ft. Joy Williams and John Paul White, and “If This Was A Movie (Taylor’s Version)” — were old tracks now re-released under Taylor’s name. However, the fourth song was a brand spanking new number dubbed: “All of the Girls You’ve Loved Before.”

The song’s name resembles that of the popular movie and YA book series To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. However, that seems to be nothing more than a mere coincidence. So, what is “All of the Girls You’ve Loved Before” about? We break it down below.

Unlike her usual sad bops about heartbreak, Taylor’s new song “All of the Girls You’ve Loved Before” seemingly appears to be about her longtime boyfriend Joe Alwyn, as well as the women he dated before her.

But don’t be fooled. This isn’t a song about jealousy or calling out his exes in a negative way. Rather, Taylor uses this space to thank them for the experiences they’ve had with Joe, which ultimately turned him into the man he is today. She also references her past and how it readied her for her time with Joe.

In the pre-chorus, Taylor sings: “Your past and mine are parallel lines / Stars all aligned and they intertwined / And taught you/ The way you call me baby /Treat me like a lady.”

She then goes into the chorus: “All of the girls you loved before (Ooh) / Made you the one I’ve fallen for / Every dead-end street led you straight to me,” implying that every one of his past relationships was necessary and played a role in their current love story.

She continues: “Now you’re all I need, I’m so thankful for / All of the girls you loved before / But I love you more.”

Already, folks on Twitter have picked up on the fact that this song is most likely about Joe. They’ve teased what it would be like to be one of Joe’s exes and then hear this song.