Is Taylor Swift's Song 'I Bet You Think About Me' About Her Ex Jake Gyllenhaal?
Swifties everywhere are thrilled that Taylor Swift is re-recording her first six albums and including never-before-heard tracks "from the vault" as she puts it. The songstress decided to create "Taylor's Versions" of her earlier work after accusing high-profile music manager Scooter Braun of buying her back catalog without Swift's consent. "The reason I'm re-recording my music next year is because I do want my music to live on ... but I only want that if I own it," she told Billboard in December 2019.
Of course, with old songs come old relationship drama and renewed speculation regarding which exes Swift is referencing in the new-old tunes. On November 12, 2021, the Grammy winner released "Red (Taylor's Version)" complete with six tracks that didn't originally make it onto the original 2012 "Red" release. It's a commonly held theory that the pop star's high-profile ex-boyfriend, "Brokeback Mountain" star Jake Gyllenhaal, inspired several songs on "Red," including a new track called "I Bet You Think About Me."
Given that Swift and Gyllenhaal's relationship lasted for three months at the end of 2010, Swiftie detectives pointed out that the timeline of the relationship and the music makes sense. They also suspect that the lyrics and images from the music video are serious Gyllenhaal hints and, as usual, their evidence is pretty convincing.
The lyrics seemingly say it all
Taylor Swift seems to directly reference Jake Gyllenhaal's upbringing in some of her more specific "I Bet You Think About Me" lyrics. The actor, who grew up in Hollywood, is the son of a screenwriter mother and director father. In her "Red (Taylor's Version)" track, Swift sings to a former lover, "You grew up in a silver-spoon gated community / Glamorous, shiny, bright Beverly Hills." This matches how Gyllenhaal was essentially born into fame.
She also alludes to her famous ex-boyfriend's love of indie music, musing, "I bet you think about me when you're out / At your cool indie music concerts every week." Swift makes a similar reference in another "Red" track, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (widely believed to be about Gyllenhaal) when she sings, "And you would hide away and find your peace of mind / With some indie record that's much cooler than mine."
The 'All Too Well' scarf is in the music video
Lore surrounding the one and only red scarf is essential in order to understand how songs from "Red" relate to Jake Gyllenhaal. Taylor Swift reportedly dated the actor from October 2010 until the end of that year, and per Us Weekly, Swift was spotted wearing a red scarf during a romantic stroll with Gyllenhaal over Thanksgiving in 2010.
In Swift's "All Too Well," a fan-favorite track from "Red" about which Gyllenhaal notably has a lot to say, there's a crucial lyric: "Left my scarf there at your sister's house / And you've still got it in your drawer even now." The actor has a famous older sister, Maggie Gyllenhaal, and she hosted her brother and Swift for dinner around that time.
The infamous "All Too Well" red scarf makes an eyebrow-raising appearance in the music video for "I Bet You Think About Me," which seems like a pretty big hint. During the scene, Swift gives the bride of her former lover the special scarf and takes several gulps of her drink while the other guests gasp. Though Swift has neither confirmed nor denied that the song is about Gyllenhaal, the lyrics and the scarf are both quite telling.