Taylor Swift’s Most Popular Songs About John Mayer
After dating more age-appropriate celebrities like Joe Jonas, Lucas Till, and Taylor Lautner, Taylor Swift was linked to musician John Mayer. They allegedly dated for a few months in 2009-2010. The pair first connected after Mayer tweeted at Swift, hoping to write a song with her. They then proceeded to work together for months, on stage and in the studio.
Rumors about Swift and Mayer as a couple weren’t substantiated until the 2009 Jingle Ball performance of the song in question, “Half of My Heart,” in December 2009. Months later, and both had moved on. However, a few of Swift’s songs from this era are presumed to be about Mayer. Discover which tracks they are and how they charted on the Billboard Hot 100.
‘Ours’
The sixth single off Speak Now, the 2010 album in which Swift received the sole songwriting for every track, is “Ours.” On the country ballad, the artist sings about a romance that others judge. She comforts her partner as she tells him how special their relationship really is, singing, “Don’t you worry your pretty little mind/People throw rocks at things that shine.”
In addition to the timing, references like the subject’s tattoos and “the gap between your teeth,” as well as the overall theme of a taboo relationship, led fans and critics to believe that this song is about Mayer. “Ours” peaked at No. 13, spending 20 weeks on the Billboard chart.
‘The Story of Us’
Swift offered enough explanation behind the Speak Now single “The Story of Us” to determine who she’s singing to. She told USA Today, “‘The Story of Us’ is about running into someone I had been in a relationship with at an awards show, and we were seated a few seats away from each other.” She wanted to talk to the person, but “we both had these silent shields up.”
As both Mayer and Swift attended the CMT Awards in June 2010, and she told the publication it was “the last song I wrote on the album,” this fits. Furthermore, she stated it was about the same person as the next song on this list. “The Story of Us” spent 12 weeks on the Billboard chart, peaking at No. 41.
‘Dear John’
Given the title, it was easy for even the most casual listener to realize who the Speak Now track “Dear John” is about. Swift sings about a relationship gone wrong, holding the subject responsible for hurting her. Most notable is her mention of their age difference in lines such as “Don’t you think 19’s too young/To be played by your dark, twisted games?”
Mayer himself responded years later when asked how he felt about the track, which spent a week on the chart at No. 54. He told Rolling Stone he “was really caught off-guard, and it really humiliated me” when she called him out, saying, “I never did anything to deserve that. It was a really lousy thing for her to do.”
