Taylor Swift is adeptly ushering in Sad Girl Autumn with a new version of “All Too Well.” She recorded the rendition with her “besties” Aaron Dessner of the National and Jonathan Low.
“One of the saddest songs I’ve ever written just got sadder,” Swift posted on Twitter, and it isn’t hyperbole. She said she drove to Long Pond Studios in upstate New York to track the song with Dessner and Low. Her 2020 Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions documentary was also set at the isolated studio in the woods.
One of the saddest songs I’ve ever written just got sadder 🙃Drove up to Long Pond Studios to record All Too Well (Sad Girl Autumn Version) with the besties @aaron_dessner @heyjonlow https://t.co/UnbELgJGAi pic.twitter.com/Z1XK2zQkwf
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) November 18, 2021
Like the track that appears on Red (Taylor’s Version), the song is an extended 10-minute poignant reflection on a heart-wrenching breakup. The shorter original track appeared on 2012’s Red. The new take earns its Sad Girl stripes with its soft piano beginnings buoying her hushed opening vocal, which receives touches of lush layering accentuating the emotional lyrics as the song progresses.
The latest version of the track follows the release of the epic Swift-directed All Too Well short film starring Stranger Things‘ Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien.
Earlier in the week, Swift dropped the video for “I Bet You Think About Me,” which was directed by Blake Lively.