3 Reasons Taylor Swift Fans Think ‘Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve’ Is About John Mayer
As all her fans (and critics) know, Taylor Swift often draws inspiration from her previous relationships in her music. Among those high-profile exes? Another artist, John Mayer.
While Swift leaves the subjects of her songs up for interpretation, she leaves plenty of clues. The Easter eggs on her 2022 album Midnights are at an all-time high. One bonus track, “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” seemingly refers to her time with Mayer.
Taylor Swift references being 19 in ‘Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve’
The most obvious clue comes in the second verse of the song. Swift sings: “I damn sure never would’ve danced with the devil at nineteen.” Her age allows fans to pinpoint exactly when she was with the subject of “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve.”
Swift and Mayer first connected in March 2009. At the time, the young country artist was — you guessed it — 19 years old. Mayer tweeted about her, writing, “Taylor Swift would make a killer Stevie Nicks in contrast to my Tom Petty of a song.”
As Swift was blowing up. She’d released her second album, 2008’s Fearless, to much acclaim, and its lead single, “Love Story,” had risen up the Billboard Hot 100. Mayer, on the other hand, was a Grammy-winning artist known for songs like “Waiting on the World to Change.” Understandably, Swift was excited to work with Mayer, of whom she was a “big fan.”
The duo teamed up for “Half of My Heart,” released in June 2009. Quickly, rumors about a romance between the two began to spread. However, the pair quickly called things off.
The number 19 is significant in more ways than one. Swift made the track the nineteenth on the Midnights (3am Edition), further indicating a connection. Additionally, Swift released the song when she was 32 — the same age Mayer was when they dated (as Billboard points out).
‘Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve’ references ‘Half of my Heart’
In the third verse of “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” Swift sings about stained glass windows. “God rest my soul, I miss who I used to be / The tomb won’t close, stained glass windows in my mind / I regret you all the time,” she sings.
Swift relies heavily on religious symbolism with this line as she talks about Mayer being the proverbial ghost she’s had to deal with through the years. But there’s an even more obvious connection.
In parts of the music video for “Half of My Heart,” Mayer is in a church. There are, notably, stained glass windows in said church. A coincidence? It’s hard to say.
Taylor Swift also makes callbacks to ‘Dear John,’ her other track about John Mayer
When Swift and Mayer called it quits, she was working on her third album, Speak Now. A popular track from the record, “Dear John” is one of the most direct songs in her canon. It’s hard to argue the song is about Mayer.
On the track, Swift references her age, singing, “Don’t you think nineteen’s too young / To be played by your dark, twisted games when I loved you so?” Additionally, she sings about paint in both songs. “But I swore I was fine, you paint me a blue sky,” is a lyric from “Dear John.” She comes back to this allusion with “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve”: “If I was some paint, did it splatter / On a promising grown man?”
