The Red of Fall: Taylor Swift to re-release 2012 album after 9 years

Emma Polen | layout editor. Along with “All Too Well,” Red (Taylor’s Version) is available for streaming on all platforms.

Emma Polen | layout editor

Nov. 11, 2021

Taylor Swift is set to release the “Taylor” version of her 2012 Red album along with a brand new feature film this Friday, Nov. 12. 

Swift’s Red re-recording will feature nine additional tracks. Of these nine, Swift announced she will have collaborations with Phoebe Bridgers, Ed Sheeran and Chris Stapleton. 

The entire album will be available in two versions: one clean, and the other explicit. This leaves fans to wonder how much Swift will change the content of her revived hits. 

On June 18, Swift announced on her Instagram that her next album release would be Red, and it would be out Nov. 19. Fortunately for fans, the release date was moved up one week to Nov. 12. 

In the same teaser posted on her Instagram last June, Swift said, “This will be the first time you hear all 30 songs that were meant to go on Red. And hey, one of them is even 10 minutes long.”

The elongated song will be the “Taylor” version of Red’s “All Too Well.” The song is about Swift’s late-2010 romance with Jake Gyllenhaal — and the lyrics  involve the remnants of a cozy fall relationship: old scarves, rosy cheeks and autumn leaves. 

“All Too Well” is arguably Swift’s most artistically successful work. Critics have been especially appreciative of this song compared to other Swift-favorites since its release, according to Rolling Stone. 

Combining pop and country with poetically descriptive break-up lyrics, “All Too Well” creates a ballad that seemingly pleased lovers of every genre. 

“All Too Well” never got its chance at being released as a single separately from the album, but it will be delivered to fans this week in a unique way.

In addition to the release of Swift’s version of Red on Friday, she will also be releasing a short film with the title of the song. 

The short film is written and directed by Swift. She will star in the short along with well-known actors Dylan O’Brien (Maze Runner) and Sadie Sink (Stranger Things).

All that Taylor Nation currently knows about “All Too Well”  was shown in the 30-second trailer released last Friday. 

The footage included a road cutting through autumn woods. A car sped past the camera, and the only sound in the video came from the colorful leaves and the car. No music or voices were introduced in the teaser, leaving much to be anticipated with the full short film coming this Friday. 

This long-awaited album drop will signify an important time for Swift. Along with her album announcement, Swift also shared an explanation for her decision to redo Red. In it, she said, “Musically and lyrically, Red resembled a heartbroken person. It was all over the place, a fractured mosaic of feelings that somehow all fit together in the end.”

Red was also a healing experience, Swift said, and that while heartbreak “takes you on a detour back to the past,” she was ready to learn from the experience she gained developing the 2012 album and “begin again.”