Red
Taylor Swift Lyrics


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Loving him is like
Driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street
Faster than the wind
Passionate as sin
Ending so suddenly
Loving him is like
Trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall
Like the colors in autumn, so bright


Just before they lose it all

Losing him was blue like I'd never known
Missing him was dark grey, all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
But loving him was red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
(Re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
Loving him was red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
(Re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)

Touching him was like
Realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you
Memorizing him was as
Easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song
Fighting with him was like
Trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer
Regretting him was like
Wishing you never found out that love could be that strong

Losing him was blue like I'd never known
Missing him was dark grey, all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
But loving him was red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
Oh, red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
Burning red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
(Re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)

Remembering him comes in flashbacks
And echoes
Tell myself it's time now
Gotta let go
But moving on from him is impossible
When I still see it all in my head
In burning red
Burning it was red

Oh, losing him was blue like I'd never known
Missing him was dark grey, all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
'Cause loving him was red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
Yeah, yeah, red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
Oh, burning red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
(Re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)

And that's why he's spinning 'round in my head (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
Comes back to me, burning red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
Yeah, yeah (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)

His love was like
Driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street

Overall Meaning

In her hit song "Red," Taylor Swift compares the experience of loving and losing someone to a range of vivid and colorful experiences. She begins with the image of driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street, which is thrilling and exhilarating but ultimately leads nowhere. Loving him is fast and passionate but doomed to end suddenly, like the colors of autumn that burst into brightness before fading away. The song also depicts the difficulty of trying to move on from a past love, as memories and emotions continue to burn bright like the color red.


Swift uses various colors to represent different emotions throughout the song. Losing him was blue, representing sadness and grief. Missing him was dark gray, representing loneliness and isolation. Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met, similar to the color white, representing emptiness and nothingness. Loving him, on the other hand, was red, representing passion, intensity, and all-consuming emotion.


The song is a powerful reflection on the experience of loving someone deeply and then losing them, and the emotions that linger long after the relationship has ended. Swift’s use of vivid imagery and symbolism throughout the song brings the listener into her world, making them feel the colors and emotions just as strongly as she does.


Line by Line Meaning

Loving him is like
Comparing the experience of loving him to


Driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street
Taking a risk by diving headfirst into something destined for failure or disappointment with no exit strategy


Faster than the wind
Feeling all-consuming, uncontrollable attraction


Passionate as sin
Feeling desire so strong that it teeters on the edge of being immoral


Ending so suddenly
Suddenly hitting a wall or experiencing a loss with little to no warning


Trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall
Feeling a sense of helplessness and inevitability when facing the end of something


Like the colors in autumn, so bright
Bright moments of happiness and beauty that are fleeting and end quickly


Just before they lose it all
The moment before a happy period ends or something falls apart completely


Losing him was blue like I'd never known
Feeling intense sadness and depression at the end of the relationship


Missing him was dark grey, all alone
Experiencing loneliness and isolation after the breakup


Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
Finding it impossible to completely forget or erase the memories of the relationship


But loving him was red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
Equating the intense emotions of loving him to the color red, which is often associated with passion, love, and strong emotions


Touching him was like
Describing the sensation of touching him as comparable to


Realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you
Feeling a sense of enlightenment and clarity when it comes to what you want in life or in a partner


Memorizing him was as
Suggesting that remembering details about him was as easy as


Easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song
Recalling something that is so familiar and ingrained in your memory that it requires no effort


Fighting with him was like
Comparing the experience of fighting with him to


Trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer
Feeling frustrated and stonewalled when dealing with a problem that has no clear solution


Regretting him was like
Explaining that the feeling of regret over the relationship was like


Wishing you never found out that love could be that strong
Regretting ever experiencing such strong emotions for another person because it made it that much harder to lose them


Remembering him comes in flashbacks
Describing memories of him as sudden and unexpected, like a flashback


And echoes
Suggesting that the memories echo and reverberate in the mind


Tell myself it's time now
Trying to convince oneself that it's time to move on


Gotta let go
Recognizing that it's time to let go of the relationship and move on


But moving on from him is impossible
Expressing the difficulty of moving on from the relationship


When I still see it all in my head
Finding it hard to forget or move on because the memories still remain vivid and clear


Burning it was red
The intensity of the relationship is described again using the color red


And that's why he's spinning 'round in my head (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
The idea that the memories of the relationship continue to consume and trouble the narrator


Comes back to me, burning red (re-e-e-ed, re-e-e-ed)
The intensity of the relationship continues to resonate with the narrator, manifesting in memories and emotions described as 'burning red'




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Taylor Alison Swift

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

Shreshth

"Loving him was red" - Red
"Losing him was blue" - Red
"Missing him was dark gray all alone" - Red
"It's blue, the feeling I've got" - Cruel Summer
"I just wanna stay in this lavender haze" - Lavender Haze
"My heart's been borrowed and your's has been blue" - Lover
"I thought love would be burning red, but it's golden" - Daylight
"Deep blue, but you painted me golden" - Dancing with our Hands Tied
"How scarlet it was; maroon" - Maroon

Only Taylor Swift could use colors so well to express her emotions.



NgakakNebeng

Loving him is like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street
Faster than the wind, passionate as sin ending so suddenly
Loving him is like trying to change your mind once you're already flying through the free fall
Like the colors in autumn, so bright just before they lose it all

Losing him was blue like I'd never known
Missing him was dark grey all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
But loving him was red
Loving him was red

Touching him was like realizing all you ever wanted was right there in front of you
Memorizing him was as easy as knowing all the words to your old favorite song
Fighting with him was like trying to solve a crossword and realizing there's no right answer
Regretting him was like wishing you never found out that love could be that strong

Losing him was blue like I'd never known
Missing him was dark gray all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
But loving him was red
Oh red
Burning red

Remembering him comes in flashbacks and echoes
Tell myself it's time now, gotta let go
But moving on from him is impossible
When I still see it all in my head
Burning red
Burning it was red

Oh losing him was blue like I'd never known
Missing him was dark gray all alone
Forgetting him was like trying to know somebody you never met
'Cause loving him was red
Yeah, yeah red
We're burning red

And that's why he's spinning 'round in my head
Comes back to me, burning red
Yeah, yeah
His love was like driving a new Maserati down a dead-end street



All comments from YouTube:

Swiftz Heart

After all these years , I'm still gonna say.
,
RED DESERVES A GRAMMY !

Camila Bertone

Saba's World off course my álbum does

Mahmudul Hasan

Agree

Larissa Maria

Agree

Sandip Paul

what does it matter anyway??whole world will admit it's her best album.

proserfina21096

Speak Now is ,imho,is the best.I love Red too of course

27 More Replies...

Shreshth

"Loving him was red" - Red
"Losing him was blue" - Red
"Missing him was dark gray all alone" - Red
"It's blue, the feeling I've got" - Cruel Summer
"I just wanna stay in this lavender haze" - Lavender Haze
"My heart's been borrowed and your's has been blue" - Lover
"I thought love would be burning red, but it's golden" - Daylight
"Deep blue, but you painted me golden" - Dancing with our Hands Tied
"How scarlet it was; maroon" - Maroon

Only Taylor Swift could use colors so well to express her emotions.

Tomas Sanchez Daubenfeld

lana did it first and better

Queen B

@Tomas Sanchez Daubenfeld im pretty sure van gogh did it first

L Beast

Actually, Lavender haze didn’t come from her, it was apparently a common saying in the 50’s and someone told her about it

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