Taylor Swift's 'Mr. Perfectly Fine' Lyrics Seem to be Her Most Brutal Joe Jonas Breakup Song

Alyssa Bailey
·5 min read
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Taylor Swift started Wednesday off by surprise dropping another song “from the vault” ahead of the Friday release of her re-recorded Fearless album, “Mr. Perfectly Fine.” The previously unreleased track is another breakup song and one she made clear on Twitter was rooted in her real life experience. Swift contrasted how she views songwriting now versus then: “Me in 2020: life is chill, writing songs based in fiction to avoid drama, feeling pretty grown up. My 2008 music from the vault, in a goblin voice: ‘REELEEEEEEASE MR PERFECTLY FIIIIIIINE’”

Fans speculated when Fearless originally came out (November 2008) that Swift's ex-at-the-time Joe Jonas was the inspiration behind the savage track. Lyrics include Swift dragging her former boyfriend for acting so nonchalant after their split. Take the chorus for instance: “Hello Mr. ‘Perfectly fine’/How's your heart after breaking mine?/Mr. ‘Always at the right place at the right time,’ baby/Hello Mr. ‘Casually cruel’/Mr. ‘Everything revolves around you’/I've been Miss ‘Misery’ since your goodbye/And you're Mr. ‘Perfectly fine.’”

Photo credit: Kevin Mazur - Getty Images
Photo credit: Kevin Mazur - Getty Images

Swift infamously detailed the brutal way Jonas dumped her during her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in November 2008. (Swift and Jonas dated from July 2008 to October 2008.)

“We haven’t talked since [the breakup], actually,” Swift, then 18, told DeGeneres at the time. “So it’s like, yeah, but you know what? Someday I’m going to find someone really, really great who’s right for me and...”

After DeGeneres joked Swift could date another Jonas brother, Swift returned to the idea of finding a better partner, then brought up how Jonas broke up with her. “Oh, it’s okay. It’s all right. I’m cool. You know what? It’s like when I find that person, that is right for me and he’ll be wonderful, and when I look at that person, I’m not even going to be able to remember the boy who broke up with me over the phone in 25 seconds when I was 18,” she said.

“Mr. Perfectly Fine” isn't the only breakup song from Fearless believed to be about Jonas: Swift's “Forever & Always” and another song from the vault, “You All Over Me,” also seem to be about him.

Jonas trended on Twitter after the release of “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” as fans lost it over how much Swift seemingly dragged Jonas in the song's lyrics.

They are honestly brutal. Take them in, via Genius, below. You can listen to the song below too.

Verse 1
Mr. "Perfect face"
Mr. "Here to stay"
Mr. "Looked me in the eye and told me you would never go away"
Everything was right
Mr. "I've been waiting for you all my life"
Mr. "Every single day until the end, I will be by your side"

Pre-Chorus
But that was when I got to know Mr. "Change of heart"
Mr. "Leaves me all alone," I fall apart
It takes everything in me just to get up each day
But it's wonderful to see that you're okay

Chorus
Hello Mr. "Perfectly fine"
How's your heart after breaking mine?
Mr. "Always at the right place at the right time," baby
Hello Mr. "Casually cruel"
Mr. "Everything revolves around you"
I've been Miss "Misery" since your goodbye
And you're Mr. "Perfectly fine"

Verse 2
Mr. "Never told me why"
Mr. "Never had to see me cry"
Mr. "Insincere apology so he doesn't look like the bad guy"
He goes about his day
Forgets he ever even heard my name
Well, I thought you might be different than the rest, I guess you're all the same

Pre-Chorus
'Cause I hear he's got his arm 'round a brand-new girl
I've been pickin' up my heart, he's been pickin' up her
And I never got past what you put me through
But it's wonderful to see that it never phased you

Chorus
Hello Mr. "Perfectly fine"
How's your heart after breakin' mine?
Mr. "Always at the right place at the right time," baby
Hello Mr. "Casually cruel"
Mr. "Everything revolves around you"
I've been Miss "Misery" since your goodbye
And you're Mr. "Perfectly fine"

Verse 3
So dignified in your well-pressed suit
So strategized, all the eyes on you
Sashay away to your seat
It's the best seat, in the best room
Oh, he's so smug, Mr. "Always wins"
So far above me in every sense
So far above feeling anything

Bridge
And it's really such a shame
It's such a shame
'Cause I was Miss "Here to stay"
Now I'm Miss "Gonna be alright someday"
And someday maybe you'll miss me
But by then, you'll be Mr. "Too late"

Chorus
Goodbye Mr. "Perfectly fine"
How's your heart after breakin' mine?
Mr. "Always at the right place at the right time," baby
Goodbye Mr. "Casually cruel"
Mr. "Everything revolves around you"
I've been Miss "Misery" for the last time
And you're Mr. "Perfectly fine"
You're perfectly fine
Mr. "Look me in the eye and told me you would never go away"
You said you'd never go away

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