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You All Over Me

"You All Over Me"[a] is a song by the American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift featuring the American singer Maren Morris. Swift wrote the song with Scooter Carusoe in 2005 and intended to include it on her second studio album, Fearless (2008). She produced the track with Aaron Dessner for the album's 2021 re-recording, Fearless (Taylor's Version). Republic Records released "You All Over Me" for download and streaming on March 26, 2021.

"You All Over Me"

2005

March 26, 2021 (2021-03-26)

Long Pond (Hudson Valley)

3:40

Republic

  • Taylor Swift
  • Scooter Carusoe

"You All Over Me" is an understated country, country pop, and roots rock ballad driven by acoustic guitars and a harmonica. Its lyrics describe the inability to move on from a past romantic relationship. Music critics commended the country production and Swift's songwriting for displaying a mature and authentic lyricism. The song peaked at number 35 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted in Australia, Canada, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Background and release[edit]

After signing a new contract with Republic Records, Taylor Swift began re-recording her six studio albums in November 2020.[2] The decision followed a public dispute in 2019 between Swift and the talent manager Scooter Braun, who acquired Big Machine Records, including the masters of her albums which the label had released.[3][4] On February 11, 2021, Swift announced the first of her re-recorded albums, Fearless (Taylor's Version), a re-recording of her second studio album Fearless (2008). She also revealed that the record contained six "From the Vault" tracks which were songs written for the original that did not make the final cut.[5] In the following day, Swift released "Love Story (Taylor's Version)", a re-recording from one of the original album's tracks.[6]


On March 24, 2021, Swift announced the first "From the Vault" track from Fearless (Taylor's Version), titled "You All Over Me", and that it features the American singer Maren Morris.[7][8] Swift originally wrote the song with Scooter Carusoe in 2005,[9] and a demo recording of it had previously been leaked online in 2017.[10] On March 25, 2021, a snippet of the song was played on Good Morning America.[9] It was released the next day alongside a dance remix of "Love Story (Taylor's Version)".[11] "You All Over Me" is listed as track 21 on the album, which came out on April 9, 2021.[12] On May 26, it was included on the streaming compilation, Fearless (Taylor's Version): The From the Vault Chapter, which features the five other "From the Vault" songs from the album.[13] On the June 3, 2023, show in Chicago as part of the Eras Tour, Swift performed "You All Over Me" with Morris as a "surprise song".[14]

Composition and lyrics[edit]

"You All Over Me" is 3 minutes and 40 seconds long.[12] Swift produced the song with Aaron Dessner, who recorded it with Bella Blasko at Long Pond Studios in Hudson Valley. Christopher Rowe recorded Swift's vocals at Kitty Committee Studio in London and Greg Kurstin and Julian Burg recorded Morris' vocals at No Expectations Studios in Los Angeles. Dessner engineered the track with Blasko and Jonathan Low. He also provided drum machine programming and instruments including acoustic, bass, electric, and high string guitars, keyboards, piano, percussion, and synthesizers. Other musicians on the song are Jonathan Kaufman (electric guitar, harmonica) and Eric Stick (drums). It was mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach and mastered by Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound in Edgewater.[1]


Musically, it is an acoustic, understated country,[15] country pop,[16] and roots rock ballad.[17] The instrumentation incorporates hushed percussion, a looping sequence of synth drums at the beginning,[18] propelling fiddles and guitars.[16] Lyrically, the track details Swift's inability to move on from a lover, constantly being reeled back in to the memories of the relationship.[10] The lyric "The way the tires turn stone on old county roads / They leave it muddy underneath, reminds me of you" details the messy trail left by the ending of a relationship. Some critics commented that "You All Over Me", particularly the lyric " 'Cause no amount of freedom gets you clean", served as a prequel to "Clean", the concluding track from Swift's 2014 album 1989, in which she describes finally feeling free of a romantic relationship.[19][20] The song concludes with Swift accepting the end of the relationship: "I lived, and I learned / And found out what it was to turn around / And see that we / Were never really meant to be."[10]

Critical reception[edit]

Critics praised "You All Over Me" for its authenticity and Swift's return to her country roots. Ellie Bate, writing for BuzzFeed News, described the song as a "cozy, nostalgic trip down memory lane", highlighted the similarities between the opening line and the opening line of the title track of Fearless ("There's something bout the way / The street looks when it's just rained"), and noted the fact that both lines reference rain on a sidewalk.[21] Writing for NME, Hannah Mylrea rated the song 4 out of 5 stars and described it as "a time capsule of the Fearless era" and "musical déjà vu", comparing the song to other Fearless tracks "Come In with the Rain" and "Forever & Always". Mylrea mentioned that Dessner's production of the song "runs the Fearless soundscape through a delicate Folklore-era filter", going on to compare the opening line of the song to Swift's "The Last Great American Dynasty" and highlighting its similarities to Folklore and Evermore.[16]


Several critics, such as Jason Lipshutz of Billboard, highlighted how the detailed lyrics and complex emotional narrative "You All Over Me" demonstrate "what set the singer-songwriter apart at a young age."[22] Chris Willman of Yahoo! Entertainment praised the sentimental and metaphorical lyrics as a reminder of "how almost-fully-formed as a song stylist" Swift is and praising the abrasive but subliminal production. Willman further highlighted how the song was written when Swift was high school student, exhibiting Swift's long-term strength as a songwriter.[19] Jackson Langford of MTV described the song's production and lyrics as "magical" and "intimate", comparing it to that of her alternative/folk albums Folklore and Evermore (both 2020), though felt that more country influence would have benefited the song.[23] In a review of Fearless (Taylor's Version), Kitty Empire, writing for The Guardian, described the vault tracks as "something of a mixed bag" but picked out "You All Over Me" as a highlight, describing its nostalgic country sound as "rewarding."[20]

Commercial performance[edit]

On the issue dated April 9, 2021, "You All Over Me" debuted at number 51 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Swift's 130th Hot 100 entry, extending her record as the female artist with the most songs on the chart. It also entered the Billboard Hot Country Songs at number six, scoring Swift her 25th top 10 entry on the chart and Morris's seventh; it was also the second consecutive single from Fearless (Taylor's Version) to land inside the top-10, after "Love Story (Taylor's Version)" debuted at number one. "You All Over Me" collected 9.2 million streams and sold 12,000 digital downloads in its first week, debuting atop both the Country Digital Song Sales and Country Streaming Songs charts. It is Swift's record-extending 16th chart-topper on the former and Morris's fourth.[24] On the Rolling Stone Top 100, it debuted at number 26, selling 76,100 units and garnering 8.3 million streams in its first week;[25] the next week, it fell to number 95[26] but rose to number 48 following the release of Fearless (Taylor's Version).[27] The song also achieved success internationally, reaching number 52 on the UK Singles Chart, 35 on both the Billboard Global 200 and on the Irish Top 50 Singles charts, 34 on the Australian Top 100 Singles Chart, and 29 on the Canadian Hot 100.