ICYMI, Fans Think Taylor Swift’s Song “The Manuscript” Is About *Checks Notes* Jake Gyllenhaal

In news we truly did not see coming given the wave of Mattymania™️ ever since The Tortured Poets Department debuted, fans are out here speculating that the album's final track, “The Manuscript,” is about none other than *drumroll pls* Jake Gyllenhall.

Legit all of us after thinking the last song we'd ever associate the actor with was “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)”:

Anyway! Speaking of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version),” fans have recently clocked that the lyrics in “The Manuscript” seem to reference the ballad—and even its corresponding short film, which stars actors Sadie Sink and Dylan O'Brien.

Case in point? TikTok user Caro Reiser recently noted that the bridge of “The Manuscript” alludes to Tay directing the project. Let's look at the lyrics, shall we? Ahem:

“Y'all remember Sadie Sink bawling crying while ‘All Too Well’ was playing in the background,” the creator muses in her video before stating, “It's about ‘All Too Well.’”

And a buncha people on the internet seem to agree. “I'm pretty sure it's about Jake and how the process of releasing ATW10 and creating the short film allowed her to finally let go of what happened,” one X user muses before adding, “I think the line about her rereading her manuscript is her saying she no longer ‘remembers it all too well.’”

“A brand new jake gyllenhaal song in 2024.....calling all too well the manuscript.. reliving it when they filmed the short film... saying the story isnt hers bc its her fans now. oh my god,” says another, which!!!!!!!!

P.S. There are a number of other lines in the track that are very “All Too Well”-coded, including:

Obviously, car rides are a *major* theme of the Red (Taylor's Version) track, given the short film's protagonists take a trip to upstate New York together. Oh, and we also can't forget about the iconic lines “And you were tossing me the car keys/ 'Fuck the patriarchy' / Keychain on the ground / We were always skipping town.”

Again, this is veeeeeeeeery reminiscent of the theme of Tay's 'ship with Jake, who was approaching 30 when they were rumored to be together. This theme is also explored in “All Too Well” via the lines, “You said if we had been closer in age, maybe it would've been fine / And that made me want to die” and the forever heartbreaking lyrics, “But then he watched me watch the front door all night, willin' you to come / And he said, 'It's supposed to be fun turning twenty-one'” when Sadie's character is waiting for Dylan's on her birthday and her dad tries to comfort her in the short film.

As any Swiftie knows, post-Jakegate™, Taylor went on to date Connor Kennedy (from July 2012 to October 2012) and Harry Styles (from November 2012 to January 2013)—both of whom are younger than her. Find out more about Tay's dating history riiiiiiight this way:

As always, TAYLOR'S MIND!!!!! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go ahead and memorize all of the lyrics to “The Manuscript” and so should you, baiiiiiiiii.

Lyrics (via Genius):

[Verse 1]
Now and then she rereads the manuscript
Of the entire torrid affair
They compared their licenses
He said, “I'm not a donor but
I'd give you my heart if you needed it”
She rolled her eyes and said
"You're a professional"
He said, "No, just a good samaritan"
He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was
Soon they'd be pushin' strollers
But soon it was over

[Verse 2]
In the age of him, she wished she was thirty
And made coffee every morning in a Frеnch press
Afterwards she only atе kids' cereal
And couldn't sleep unless it was in her mother's bed
Then she dated boys who were her own age
With dart boards on the backs of their doors
She thought about how he said since she was so wise beyond her years
Everything had been above board
She wasn't sure

[Bridge]
And the years passed
Like scenes of a show
The professor said to write what you know
Lookin' backwards
Might be the only way to move forward
Then the actors
Were hitting their marks
And the slow dance
Was alight with the sparks
And the tears fell
In synchronicity with the score
And at last
She knew what the agony had been for

[Verse 3]
The only thing that's left is the manuscript
One last souvenir from my trip to your shores
Now and then I reread the manuscript
But the story isn't mine anymore

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