Red
Taylor Swift Lyrics

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 artist

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