Taylor Swift says the red scarf in All Too Well song is just a ‘metaphor’

Taylor Swift says the red scarf in her hit song All Too Well is just a ‘metaphor.’

The 32-year-old pop star released the track and its accompanying 10-minute short film towards the end of 2021 and sparked rumors that the ‘red scarf’ she sings about was still in the possession of ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal, 41.

However, she has now admitted that the garment was simply a storytelling device, with the color chosen after its parent album’s title.

Speaking on stage at the Toronto International Film Festival, she said: ‘Basically, the scarf is a metaphor and we turned it red because red is a very important color in this album, which is called ‘Red’.’

‘And, I think when I say it’s a metaphor … I’m just going to stop!’

The ‘Shake It Off’ hitmaker alleges in the lyrics that she left a scarf at the house of a sister to a man she was dating and fans believe that she is alluding to the ‘Brokeback Mountain’ actor – whom she dated from October 2010 until January 2011 – and his sister Maggie.

A storytelling device: ‘Basically, the scarf is a metaphor and we turned it red because red is a very important color in this album, which is called Red,’ the singer, 32, revealed; Pictured 2022

On the track, Taylor sings: ‘I walked through the door with you, the air was cold. But something about it felt like home somehow. And I left my scarf there at your sister’s house. And you’ve still got it in your drawer even now.’

However, at the time, Maggie admitted that she ‘never understood’ what the scarf was about and why she was repeatedly asked about it.

She said: ‘I never understood why everybody asked me about this scarf. I am in the dark about the scarf. It’s totally possible. I don’t know. I have been asked this before!’

He doesn’t have it: Swift released the track and its accompanying 10-minute short film towards the end of 2021, and sparked rumors that the ‘red scarf’ she sings about was still in the possession of ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal, 41; Pictured 2022

All Too Well originally debuted in a five-minute version on her hit 2012 album Red, but Taylor had originally written a 10-minute draft of the song with her cowriter Liz Rose, who helped her edit it down for the album.

After Taylor set about rerecording her catalogue, she finally recorded the original 10-minute version of All Too Well and included it as a bonus track on the album.

To accompany the new song, she created the nearly 15-minute short film to serve as its music video.

The film was deemed eligible for Oscar consideration in the best live action short film category, The Hollywood Reporter revealed last month.

True to life? The song is believed by fans to be inspired by her brief relationship with Jake, whom she dating from October 2010 to January 2011; Sadie Sink and Dylan O’Brien in All Too Well

The film appears to act out a version of Taylor’s relationship with Jake, with Sadie Sink, 20, playing the Taylor stand-in — referred to only as Her — while Dylan O’Brien plays a version of Jake, known as Him.

Taylor is also featured toward the end of the short as an older version of Sadie’s character, and she sports red hair to match.

In addition to making her directorial debut, Taylor also wrote and produced the short film.

Doppelgängers: Taylor, who made her directorial debut with the short and also wrote and produced it, appears in it as an older version of Sadie’s character