Taylor Swift Seemingly Calls Out John Mayer, Jake Gyllenhaal On "Midnights"Reporting To YouSign In

Taylor Swift Seemingly Expressed Regret At Dating Older Men — AKA Jake Gyllenhaal And John Mayer — When She Was As Young As 19 In Heartbreaking New Lyrics

“I damn sure would've never danced with the devil at 19... Give me back my girlhood, it was mine first.”By by Leyla MohammedBuzzFeed News StaffPosted on October 21, 2022, 1:16 pmTwitterFacebookLink

If you ve been on the internet at all today you ve likely seen that Taylor Swift has officially released her 10th studio album Midnights

View this photo on Instagram Instagram: @taylorswift

The album is by Taylor s own admission a wild ride of highs and lows and ebbs and flows — and things were only made more chaotic with the subsequent release of Midnights 3am Edition an additional album containing 7 extra songs which dropped just 3 hours after Midnights did

View this photo on Instagram Instagram: @taylorswift

Between all 20 songs in total Taylor most certainly upholds her ~reputation~ of nodding toward other celebrities in her lyrics with Midnights seemingly charting several past breakups feuds and so much more

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One track in particular that has garnered huge attention online is Would ve Could ve Should ve which is on Midnights 3am Edition

Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty Images for The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

Given that the song is explicitly about regret and that Taylor makes several references toward age-gaps in relationships throughout fans have theorized that Would ve Could ve Should ve is a reflection on the older men that she dated in the past

George Napolitano / FilmMagic

For a bit of background Taylor infamously dated John Mayer back when she was 19 and he was 32 Less than a year after reports claimed that they d split Taylor all but confirmed the breakup with the release of a very pointed song on her 2010 album Speak Now

Dimitrios Kambouris

Aside from literally titling the track Dear John Taylor sang the lyrics Don t you think nineteen is too young To be played by your dark twisted games when I loved you so I should ve known

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John has long faced scrutiny for the 13-year age gap between himself and Taylor He was even questioned about her lyric Don t you think I was too young to be messed with during a past interview though quickly shut the subject down saying he didn t want to go into that

Steve Granitz / FilmMagic

Shortly after John Taylor was romantically linked to actor Jake Gyllenhaal when she was 20 and he was 29 According to reports their relationship ended after a brief few months with a source telling Us Weekly at the time that Jake wasn t feeling it anymore

Taylor Hill / FilmMagic

Taylor s famous song All Too Well — which was originally released the year after her apparent split from Jake — seemingly charts their rocky past relationship with a notable reference toward a stark age difference between two lovers You said if we had been closer in age maybe it would have been fine And that made me want to die she sings in the full 10 minute version released last year

Presley Ann / Getty Images for LACMA

So with all this in mind let s delve into the lyrics on Would ve Could ve Should ve — which fans are calling the darkest song Taylor has ever written

Cristina @TheBookofTaylor Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve is the darkest song Taylor has ever written. I’m literally nauseous, it was grooming point blank. And Taylor called him out on it 07:35 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @TheBookofTaylor

From the very first verse Taylor immediately references a grown man who she was once romantically involved with while she was in her own words a child She sings If you tasted poison you could ve spit me out at the first chance And if I was some paint did it splatter on a promising grown man And if I was a child did it matter if you got to wash your hands

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In light of everything we ve discussed about Taylor s past relationships fans were quickly left wondering whether these lyrics were perhaps in reference to John or Jake

d @EnceeteeEnjoyer not now babe I’m trying to figure out if Taylor wrote would’ve, could’ve, should’ve about Jake or John https://t.co/sNjoKY5aB6 08:40 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @EnceeteeEnjoyer

Some people were initially swayed by the idea that Jake is the subject of the track suggesting that Taylor was later singing about regretting the fact that he was the first person she had sex with — a long-swirling rumor that has never officially been confirmed

L @puredelicate not taylor singing about regretting losing her virginity to jake gylenhall 07:23 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @puredelicate

Just last month in fact Taylor all but confirmed a years-long theory that the scarf she mentions in All Too Well — which she says she left at her lover s sister s house — was a metaphor for the fact she hadn t had sex Several fans took this into account when decoding the lyrics on Would ve Could ve Should ve

Axelle / FilmMagic

Taylor sings If you never touched me I would ve gone along with the righteous If I never blushed then they could ve never whispered about this

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And if you never saved me from boredom I could ve gone on as I was But lord you made me feel important and then you tried to erase us she goes on

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One fan theorized idk maybe should ve could ve would ve is about jake purely based on Taylor confirming the scarf metaphor at the film festival and like the metaphor was a nice was for her to explain but now she s like real shit that sucked

Hannah ? @darkbluetenn idk maybe should’ve could’ve would’ve is about jake purely based on Taylor confirming the scarf metaphor at the film festival and like the metaphor was a nice was for her to explain but now she’s like “real shit: that sucked” 08:08 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @darkbluetenn

However given that Taylor goes on to specifically mention the age she was when she dated the mysterious grown man in question it seems more plausible that she s perhaps referring to John rather than Jake

Jemal Countess / WireImage

As mentioned Taylor was 19 when she dated John then-32 On the Midnights track she sings I damn sure would ve never danced with the devil at 19

Genius

As one Twitter user summarized Taylor and Jake did not even meet and start dating til the Fall of 2010 when Taylor was months away from her 21st birthday even referred to it in ATW As we know things with Taylor are never just coincidental and it seems interesting that she mentioned the specific age of 19 in this song

JANET @JFrhink @justincferrell Did you even listen to the chorus?"And I'm damned sure I never would've danced with the devil at 19"---Taylor did not even meet Jake Gyllenhaal til the fall of 2010 months before her 21st birthday.When she was 19 she was dating John Mayer. 08:33 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @JFrhink

Taylor then goes on to express regret at the past relationship in question suggesting that she s grown aware of how problematic it was since getting older And now that I m grown I m scared of ghosts Memories feel like weapons she sings

Jemal Countess

God rest my soul I miss who I used to be I regret you all the time I can t let this go I fight with you in my sleep she continues The wound won t close I keep on waiting for a sign I regret you all the time

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And perhaps most poignantly Taylor then pleas for her girlhood back — a lyric that left fans devastated Give me back my girlhood it was mine first she sings

Genius

no but give me back my girlhood it was mine first is one of the saddest lyrics taylor swift has ever written one person tweeted

pia ? @repiatation13 no but “give me me back my girlhood, it was mine first” is one of the saddest lyrics taylor swift has ever written :( 08:01 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @repiatation13

give me back my girlhood it was my first is the most heartbreaking taylor swift lyric i ve ever heard echoed another

hannah @sainthoodswift “give me back my girlhood it was my first” is the most heartbreaking taylor swift lyric i’ve ever heard 07:30 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @sainthoodswift

What s more as Would ve Could ve Should ve comes to an end the next song on the tracklist is perhaps conveniently a track called Dear Reader which several fans immediately tied to her aforementioned breakup hit Dear John

Nbc Newswire / NBC Newswire / NBCUniversal via Getty Images

putting a song called DEAR reader after a song that absolutely annihilated mr dear john was so intentional one person suggested while others highlighted the parallels between both titles In fact some people went so far as to label Would ve Could ve Should ve the darker version of Dear John or Dear John 2 0

ella ? SAW MEDICINE LIVE @ellaalmighty_ putting a song called “DEAR reader” after a song that absolutely annihilated mr. dear john was so intentional #TSmidnighTS 07:41 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @ellaalmighty_ Shay bigger than the whole sky @bookofthorns ahem… Dear John and Dear Reader parallels 07:29 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @bookofthorns denise (taylor’s version) @tays13midnights dear john, dear reader 07:32 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @tays13midnights little too high @heyohthereshego Dear reader……dear John???? 08:12 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @heyohthereshego Ananya? @mirrorballAnna "Give me back my girlhood It was my first... And I damn sure wouldn't have danced with the devil at nineteen" would've could've should've is Dear John 2.0 #TSmidnighTS 07:36 AM - 21 Oct 2022 Reply Retweet Favorite Twitter: @mirrorballAnna

All in all fans are heartbroken for Taylor after listening to her apparent regret at the past relationship suggesting that she d been calling the subject in question out for grooming her You can listen to Would ve Could ve Should ve and the whole of Midnights here

More on this

John Mayer Responded To Several Harmful Messages, Including Death Threats, From A Taylor Swift Fan After He And Jake Gyllenhaal Received Backlash For Their Treatment Of Her Following The Rerelease Of "Red" Leyla Mohammed · Nov. 16, 2021 In "Midnights" Taylor Swift Is Seemingly Out For Revenge Against The Celebs Involved In Some Of Her Most Famous Feuds Ellie Woodward · Oct. 21, 2022 Taylor Swift Just Revealed That Her “Special Very Chaotic Surprise” Is A “3AM Edition” Of Her New Album “Midnights” With Extra 7 Tracks And People Are Losing It Leyla Mohammed · Oct. 21, 2022 Taylor Swift’s Seriously Awkward Reaction To The Scarf In “All Too Well” Being A “Metaphor” Has Left People Convinced That She Lost Her Virginity To Jake Gyllenhaal Stephanie Soteriou · Sept. 12, 2022

Topics in this article

Taylor SwiftJohn MayerJake Gyllenhaal Leyla MohammedBuzzFeed News Staff Leyla Mohammed a is Celebrity News Fellow for BuzzFeed UK and is based in London. Contact Leyla Mohammed at leyla.mohammed@buzzfeed.com. Got a confidential tip? Submit it here

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