All Of The Girls You Loved Before
Promotional Single | Lover (2019) | The More Lover Chapter (2023)
“All Of The Girls You Loved Before” is a previously unreleased song from Taylor’s seventh studio album, Lover (2019). Written and produced by Taylor, Frank Dukes and Louis Bell, the song looks back on the relationships and experiences that shape a person before they eventually find a lasting love. After the full song leaked in March 2023, Taylor officially released it on March 17, 2023, as part of The More Lover Chapter.
“All Of The Girls You Loved Before” is a particularly interesting addition to the Lover era because it spent almost four years as a song fans knew about but could not officially hear. Its journey from a shelved album track to a leaked favorite and finally an official release in 2023 gives it a rather unusual place in Taylor’s catalogue.
Background and Release
Taylor began working on Lover during a week in New York in July 2018 while still on the “reputation Stadium Tour,” before the album’s main recording sessions began after the tour concluded that November. In a 2019 interview with Vogue, she described Lover as a “new beginning” and a “love letter to love, in all of its maddening, passionate, exciting, enchanting, horrific, tragic, wonderful glory.” She also recalled writing the album from an “open, free, romantic, whimsical place.”
“All of the Girls You Loved Before” was written and produced by Taylor, Louis Bell and Frank Dukes in Los Angeles, the same trio behind “I Forgot That You Existed,” “It’s Nice to Have a Friend,” “Afterglow” and “Need.” The song was ultimately left off Lover’s 18-track final edition, although its existence became known well before its official release.
It became part of the fan community’s mythology during the years between the Lover sessions and its eventual release. It circulated under the shortened title “All Of The Girls,” and in 2020 the song was reportedly obtained by the group known as Taylor’s Inner Circle. A description circulated among insiders at the time, portraying a production that opened with a drum loop and keyboard before building toward a prominent vocal performance, with the bridge ending in particularly high vocals. The track itself remained officially unheard, however, until snippets began circulating online in February 2023 and the full recording leaked on March 1.
The leak unexpectedly turned the long-shelved Lover outtake into one of the most anticipated songs surrounding the start of “The Eras Tour.” To the surprise of everyone, on March 16, 2023, one day before the tour opened in Glendale, Arizona, Taylor announced:
“All of the Girls You Loved Before” was written and produced by Taylor, Louis Bell and Frank Dukes in Los Angeles, the same trio behind “I Forgot That You Existed,” “It’s Nice to Have a Friend,” “Afterglow” and “Need.” The song was ultimately left off Lover’s 18-track final edition, although its existence became known well before its official release.
It became part of the fan community’s mythology during the years between the Lover sessions and its eventual release. It circulated under the shortened title “All Of The Girls,” and in 2020 the song was reportedly obtained by the group known as Taylor’s Inner Circle. A description circulated among insiders at the time, portraying a production that opened with a drum loop and keyboard before building toward a prominent vocal performance, with the bridge ending in particularly high vocals. The track itself remained officially unheard, however, until snippets began circulating online in February 2023 and the full recording leaked on March 1.
The leak unexpectedly turned the long-shelved Lover outtake into one of the most anticipated songs surrounding the start of “The Eras Tour.” To the surprise of everyone, on March 16, 2023, one day before the tour opened in Glendale, Arizona, Taylor announced:
«In celebration of 'The Eras Tour' I'm releasing four previously unreleased songs tonight at midnight: 'Eyes Open (Taylor's Version)', 'Safe & Sound (feat. Joy Williams & John Paul White) (Taylor's Version)', 'If This Was A Movie (Taylor's Version)' and 'All Of The Girls You Loved Before'.»
The song appeared as the fifth track on The More Lover Chapter, released on March 17, 2023, giving an outtake recorded for the 2019 album a surprise release nearly four years after Lover. Within hours, it topped the iTunes charts in the United States and was added to Lover on several streaming services, where it effectively became part of the album’s expanded digital tracklist.
General Information
| Artist | Taylor Swift |
|---|---|
| Album | Lover |
| Written | 2018-2019 |
| Released | March 17, 2023 |
| Studio | Electric Feel (West Hollywood) |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:42 |
| Label | Republic Records |
| Songwriters |
Taylor Swift Louis Bell Ging (Frank Dukes) |
| Producers |
Taylor Swift Louis Bell Ging (Frank Dukes) |
Official Audio
Song Artwork
Lyrical Theme
“All of the Girls You Loved Before” approaches a partner’s romantic past without jealousy, instead treating previous relationships as part of the journey that eventually brought two people together. Taylor acknowledges the loneliness, arguments and heartbreak that came before her, but ultimately sees those experiences as formative: the women her partner loved helped shape the person she has fallen for. The idea is summed up in the recurring refrain that “all of the girls you loved before” made him “the one I’ve fallen for,” turning what could be a source of insecurity into something to be grateful for.
The song’s sense of fated love is particularly striking in the context of Taylor’s relationship with Joe Alwyn, with whom she was romantically involved when the song was written and recorded. The concept foreshadows “invisible string,” which Taylor wrote for folklore (2020). While “All of the Girls You Loved Before” looks back at the relationships and experiences that eventually brought two people together, “invisible string” takes a similar idea further, imagining an unseen thread connecting two people long before they meet. In both songs, seemingly separate paths are ultimately revealed as having been leading toward the same relationship.
The perspective also fits Taylor’s broader description of Lover as an album that embraces the complicated reality of love. During the Lover Lounge, she said:
The song’s sense of fated love is particularly striking in the context of Taylor’s relationship with Joe Alwyn, with whom she was romantically involved when the song was written and recorded. The concept foreshadows “invisible string,” which Taylor wrote for folklore (2020). While “All of the Girls You Loved Before” looks back at the relationships and experiences that eventually brought two people together, “invisible string” takes a similar idea further, imagining an unseen thread connecting two people long before they meet. In both songs, seemingly separate paths are ultimately revealed as having been leading toward the same relationship.
The perspective also fits Taylor’s broader description of Lover as an album that embraces the complicated reality of love. During the Lover Lounge, she said:
«It’s a really romantic album, but it really celebrates love in all its complexity. Not just flowers and sunshine but the patchwork emotions that go into any love you feel.»
“All of the Girls You Loved Before” applies that outlook to romantic history: the difficult relationships, mistakes and heartbreak that came before are not erased, but become part of the story that leads to the relationship that exists now.
Production
“All of the Girls You Loved Before” is built around a relatively understated pop arrangement of drum loops, keyboards and layered harmonies, leaving plenty of space for Taylor’s vocal to carry the song. The standout comes in the bridge, where the restrained delivery gives way to a striking run of high notes, with Taylor pushing her voice noticeably higher as the song reaches its emotional peak.
Live Performances
“All Of The Girls You Loved Before” made its live debut on July 29, 2023, at the second Santa Clara show of “The Eras Tour,” just four months after its surprise release. Taylor performed the previously unreleased Lover track alone on piano during the acoustic surprise-song section, making the performance notably different from the layered studio recording.
Its second performance came nearly a year later, on June 8, 2024, in Edinburgh, where Taylor paired it with “Crazier,” her 2009 song from Hannah Montana: The Movie. She played “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” on piano before introducing “Crazier” with a joking, “You get extra credit points if you know this next song at all, ’cause it is really, really old.” The pairing gave the performance an unexpectedly neat connection across Taylor’s songwriting history: a song about the romantic paths that lead someone toward a relationship was followed by one of her earliest songs about falling in love. It was also the first and only time “Crazier” was performed live.
Its second performance came nearly a year later, on June 8, 2024, in Edinburgh, where Taylor paired it with “Crazier,” her 2009 song from Hannah Montana: The Movie. She played “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” on piano before introducing “Crazier” with a joking, “You get extra credit points if you know this next song at all, ’cause it is really, really old.” The pairing gave the performance an unexpectedly neat connection across Taylor’s songwriting history: a song about the romantic paths that lead someone toward a relationship was followed by one of her earliest songs about falling in love. It was also the first and only time “Crazier” was performed live.
Music & More
All Of The Girls You Loved Before
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Critical Reception
Critics generally responded warmly to “All Of The Girls You Loved Before,” particularly noting how convincingly the previously unreleased track fits the romantic world of Lover. The New York Times’ Jon Pareles called Taylor “at her most forgiving,” while Bustle’s Jake Viswanath argued that the song would have “fit perfectly” on the album. The Independent’s Annabel Nugent praised its “dreamy and ethereal” production, and The Times’ Will Hodgkinson highlighted its ability to turn a personal story into something broadly relatable.
The song’s treatment of romantic history was another point of interest in reviews. Rolling Stone compared its premise with Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next,” but noted the difference in perspective: rather than reflecting on her own exes, Taylor’s narrator expresses gratitude toward the women who helped shape the person she eventually fell in love with. The New York Times’ description of the song as “forgiving” similarly draws attention to its refusal to treat a partner’s past relationships as something threatening.
The more reserved assessments tended to focus on the arrangement. While Nugent praised its soft, atmospheric production, some critics felt that the song’s strong melody and particularly high vocal passages could have supported a more expansive climax. Even these reservations largely concerned what the production might have done differently, rather than the quality of the songwriting itself, leaving the track with a generally favorable critical profile.
The song’s treatment of romantic history was another point of interest in reviews. Rolling Stone compared its premise with Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next,” but noted the difference in perspective: rather than reflecting on her own exes, Taylor’s narrator expresses gratitude toward the women who helped shape the person she eventually fell in love with. The New York Times’ description of the song as “forgiving” similarly draws attention to its refusal to treat a partner’s past relationships as something threatening.
The more reserved assessments tended to focus on the arrangement. While Nugent praised its soft, atmospheric production, some critics felt that the song’s strong melody and particularly high vocal passages could have supported a more expansive climax. Even these reservations largely concerned what the production might have done differently, rather than the quality of the songwriting itself, leaving the track with a generally favorable critical profile.
Related Content: Need
“All Of The Girls You Loved Before” shares its writing and production team with “Need,” another unreleased song from the Lover sessions, as both were written and produced by Taylor, Louis Bell and Frank Dukes. Both songs were obtained by Taylor’s Inner Circle and eventually leaked in full at the same time in March 2023. While “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” was subsequently added to Taylor’s catalogue, “Need” remains officially unreleased, making their parallel paths an interesting footnote in the Lover vault.
Commercial Performance
“All Of The Girls You Loved Before” had a notably strong chart debut for a song that was not released as a conventional single and had originally been left off Lover. In the United States, it entered the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 12, giving Taylor her 189th career entry on the chart and her 80th Top 10 entry on the Digital Song Sales chart. It also opened at No. 10 on the Billboard Global 200, making it one of the rare vault-style releases to enter the global Top 10 without a new album campaign behind it.
The song also turned its surprise release into a genuinely international chart moment. It reached No. 11 in the UK, No. 9 in Ireland, No. 12 in Canada, No. 13 in New Zealand and Singapore, No. 15 in Australia and No. 6 in the Philippines. In the UK, it spent eight weeks on the Official Singles Chart, while its first-week No. 11 position made it one of the highest-charting songs from The More Lover Chapter despite arriving with essentially no traditional single rollout.
Its commercial story is particularly interesting because the song had already generated considerable attention before it was officially available: the full leak circulated in early March 2023 and snippets were widely used on TikTok, creating an unusual pre-release audience for a song that had been sitting unreleased since the Lover sessions. When Taylor officially released it on March 17 alongside three other previously unreleased recordings, that existing online momentum translated into immediate sales and streaming activity and ultimately a six-week Hot 100 run. The song later received a Platinum certification in Australia, adding a lasting commercial marker to what began as a four-year-old album outtake.
The song also turned its surprise release into a genuinely international chart moment. It reached No. 11 in the UK, No. 9 in Ireland, No. 12 in Canada, No. 13 in New Zealand and Singapore, No. 15 in Australia and No. 6 in the Philippines. In the UK, it spent eight weeks on the Official Singles Chart, while its first-week No. 11 position made it one of the highest-charting songs from The More Lover Chapter despite arriving with essentially no traditional single rollout.
Its commercial story is particularly interesting because the song had already generated considerable attention before it was officially available: the full leak circulated in early March 2023 and snippets were widely used on TikTok, creating an unusual pre-release audience for a song that had been sitting unreleased since the Lover sessions. When Taylor officially released it on March 17 alongside three other previously unreleased recordings, that existing online momentum translated into immediate sales and streaming activity and ultimately a six-week Hot 100 run. The song later received a Platinum certification in Australia, adding a lasting commercial marker to what began as a four-year-old album outtake.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
When you think of all the late nights
Lame fights over the phone
Wake up in the morning with someone
But feeling alone
A heart is drawn around your name in someone’s handwriting
Not mine
We’re sneaking out into town, holding hands
Just killing time
[Pre-Chorus 1]
Your past and mine are parallel lines
The stars all aligned
They intertwined and taught you
The way you call me “Baby”
Treat me like a lady
All that I can say is
[Chorus]
All of the girls you loved before
Made you the one I’ve fallen for
Every dead-end street led you straight to me
Now you’re all I need
I’m so thankful for all of the girls you loved before
But I love you more
[Verse 2]
When I think of all the make-up
Fake love out on the town
Crying in the bathroom for some dude
Who’s name I cannot remember now
Secret jokes, all alone
No one’s home, sixteen and wild
Breaking up, making up
Leave without saying goodbye
[Pre-Chorus 2]
And just know that
It’s everything that made me
Now I call you “Baby”
That’s why you’re so amazing
[Chorus]
All of the girls you loved before
Made you the one I’ve fallen for
Everyday dead-end street led you straight to me
Now you’re all I need
I’m so thankful for all of the girls you loved before
But I love you more
[Bridge]
Your mother brought you up loyal and kind
Teenage love taught you there’s good in goodbye
Every woman that you knew brought you here
I wanna teach you how forever feels like
[Final Chorus]
The girls you loved before
Made you the one I’ve fallen for
Everyday dead-end street led you straight to me
Now you’re all I need
I’m so thankful for all of the girls you loved before
But I love you more
[Outro]
I love you more