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All Of The Girls You Loved Before

Promotional Single | Lover (2019) | The More Lover Chapter (2023)

“All Of The Girls You Loved Before” used to be a reject from Taylor’s seventh studio album, Lover (2019). Written and produced by Taylor, Frank Dukes and Louis Bell, it is a romantic song about how experiences with other people in your past teach you valuable life lessons, so you’re more prepared when you do finally meet the one you’re meant to be with. After the song leaked in full, Taylor officially released it on March 17, 2023, on her EP The More Lover Chapter.

Background and Release

Taylor originally recorded the song for her seventh album, Lover. The infamous group Taylor’s Inner Circle obtained the song (then known as “All of the Girls”) in March 2020. Insiders described the song as follows: “Starting out with a catchy drum loop and then keyboard, Taylor begins by singing about how she and the man she loves had parallel past lives. Previous relationships they were each in did not go well. However, the stars aligned and their lives intertwined. Instead of despising the girls that her man dated previously, Taylor is thankful for them. [The song] shows off Taylor’s incredible vocal range. At the end of the bridge, her vocals soar impressively high.”

The song was leaked in early March 2023, subsequently becoming widely used on TikTok. It was officially released on March 17, 2023, ahead of the opening shows of “The Eras Tour“, as one of four re-recorded and previously unreleased songs by Taylor:

«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'.»

Taylor Swift

Within hours of release, the song topped the iTunes charts in the United States. It was also added to Lover on some streaming services.

Lyrical Theme

“All Of The Girls You Loved Before” is a romantic song that features soft synths and has a dreamy and ethereal soundscape. Lyrically, it revolves around Taylor’s relationship with her partner at the time, English actor Joe Alwyn, and her gratitude toward his ex-girlfriends for shaping him into the man he is. Overall, it feels like a track Taylor took inspiration from when writing later songs like “invisible string,” in that it is about how she felt all of the individual choices she and Joe had made ultimately lead up to them ending up together.

Production

“All of the Girls You Loved Before” was produced by Louis Bell, Frank Dukes and Taylor. The duo also worked with Taylor on the songs “Afterglow“, “I Forgot That You Existed” and “It’s Nice To Have A Friend” on Lover.

Live Performances

Taylor first performed “All of the Girls You Loved Before” during her sixth headlining concert tour, “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). It was the second surprise song during her show on July 29, 2023, in Santa Clara. She played the song again on June 8, 2024, in Edinburgh, this time as a mashup with “Crazier” (2009).

Critical Reception

Jake Viswanath of Bustle opined that the song “would have fit perfectly on Lover, as one of her most spellbound yet self-assured love songs to date.” The Straits Times critics described “All Of The Girls You Loved Before” as a catchy tune that has all of the characteristics of a “Swift bop”–memorable, catchy melody and lyrical storytelling. The Independent‘s Annabel Nugent described the song as “dreamy and ethereal pop gold awash in soft synths and breezy lyrics about being in love.”

Commercial Performance

“All Of The Girls You Loved Before” debuted at No. 10 on the international Billboard Global 200 chart with 34.2 million streams and 22,000 digital downloads sold. It garnered Taylor’s 14th top-10 entry on the chart, a record among women. In the United States, the song opened at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 15.3 million streams, 17,500 digital sales, and 1.2 million radio audience despite the lack of radio promotion. It extended three of Taylor’s all-time records: the song marked the 189th Hot 100 entry of her career (the most among women), her 80th top-10 entry on the Digital Songs chart (the most for any act), and her first Hot 100 entry in 2023 (Taylor holds the longest streak on the Hot 100 as the first and only artist in history to have an “uninterrupted” 18-year run on the chart, having charted a song every year since her debut with “Tim McGraw” in 2006).

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
Stars all aligned and 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 (Oh)
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 makeup
Fake love out on the town (Oh oh oh)
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 (Oh)
Breaking up, making up
Leave without saying goodbye (Oh)

[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 (Oh)
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 (Oh)
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

Artist	Taylor Swift
Album	Lover
Written	2018-2019
Length	3:42
Genre	Pop
Label	Republic Records
Songwriters	Taylor Swift Ging (Frank Dukes) Louis Bell
Producers	Ging (Frank Dukes) Louis Bell Taylor Swift

All Of The Girls You Loved Before

Promotional Single | Lover (2019) | The More Lover Chapter (2023)

Table of Contents

Background and Release

Lyrical Theme

Production

Live Performances

Critical Reception

Commercial Performance

Lyrics

Lover (2019)

Need

Discography

Videography

Wiki