Who is i knew you were trouble about reddit

Song Discussion #55: I Knew You Were Trouble from TaylorSwift

Ah yes.

This number 2 peaking, electro-dubstep-rock-pop, Max Martin-filled track is the third single from Taylor Swift’s Red following We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together, and Begin Again. Described by Taylor herself as “chaotic”, I Knew You Were Trouble is a song that I find to be better performed then it is to listen from the studio. Let me explain.

I Knew You Were Trouble opens with a soft and simple electric guitar intro, and gradually has a few more elements added in as a build-up, such as a well done bass line, and a crescendo-ing chorus up to the “drop”.

My issue with this song comes from the lackluster drop, especially in the peak of the pop-drop trend. It really acts as more of a double-edged sword though. With enough wubs, the song may have sounded more dated then it already does now. It plays on a soft line, never hitting the same levels of EDM as Where Have You Been or As Long As You Love Me, both of which very heavily influenced by the rise of EDM producers/DJs. Instead, I Knew You Were Trouble takes a light influence and mixes it with some of Taylor’s rock influences seen throughout her album.

What the song was missing though, was a change in sound. The drop didn’t change, and the only big change was Taylor’s belt at the end of the bridge, (which is probably my favorite part of the song, with just enough edge on it to cut a bit deeper than the drop). The live performances fill in some of those low parts of the song, either

adding to the drops, or more recently,

raising the bridge’s long note from a bb5 to an eb5. The video here includes a really nice acoustic performance where Taylor probably does best, but she doesn’t go up to the higher note.

Overall, the song is a lot of fun, and it was a radio friendly monster, and proved to be very chart friendly, but it still lacked something in it, and I think she found that in her live performances, whether it be some added emotion, some added beats, or some added vocal prowess.

Am I the only one that is upset that “I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version)” is not written (or titled) as “I Knew You Were Trouble. (Taylor’s Version)”?

I mean I always stream Taylor’s Version but I’m just upset that it doesn’t have the same title as the original.

"I Knew You Were Trouble" music video! from TaylorSwift

I knew this song was trouble when I pressed play.

OG YouTube

TV YouTube

TV Dolby Atmos

Comparison Video (from 7:58 to 11:50)

L/R Split Audio

I’ve been, at the very worst, somewhat mixed on all of the Taylor’s Version’s we’ve discussed before this (You Belong With Me, State of Grace, etc.), but this is the first that I’m just gonna say outright that I’m unhappy with the re-recording. They completely neutered this song. Everything that made it edgy and interesting before was totally taken away in the re-recording, in my opinion.

It’s something about the synth and the mixing being different in the new one… the original’s bass drop has this quality of being sort of feedback-y with some echo that’s missing in Taylor’s Version. When I listen to the split audio, the chorus on the original version is so much more powerful. And even though I’ve liked that her vocals were more prominent on most of Taylor’s Versions, I don’t think it works for this song.

Yeah, I’m just not crazy about this re-recording. This wasn’t a song I was super attached to in the first place or anything, but I think this one was a disappointment. Do you guys agree with my feelings about this one, or do you love it? And if you agree, can you pinpoint why it feels a little “off”?

Links to previous discussions!

Fearless- | Fearless | Fifteen | Love Story | Hey Stephen | White Horse | You Belong With Me | Breathe | Tell Me Why | You’re Not Sorry | The Way I Loved You | Forever & Always | The Best Day | Change | Jump Then Fall | Untouchable | Forever & Always (Piano Version) | Come In With The Rain | Superstar | The Other Side Of The Door | Today Was A Fairytale |

Red- | State Of Grace | Red | Treacherous | I Knew You Were Trouble | All Too Well | 22 | I Almost Do | We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together | Stay Stay Stay | The Last Time | Holy Ground | Sad Beautiful Tragic | The Lucky One | Everything Has Changed | Starlight | Begin Again | The Moment I Knew | Come Back…Be Here | Girl At Home | State of Grace (Acoustic Version) | Bonus: Better Man and Babe |

I was comparing the original to TV IKYWT when I noticed the original title has a period at the end written as “I Knew You Were Trouble.” as opposed to Taylor’s version “I Knew You Were Trouble (Taylor’s Version)” that does not include the period. I assumed it was because it’s a complete sentence, but her other song titles that are technically sentences (including RED song WANEGBT, INTHAF, IFTYE) but I don’t see any.

This is such a small detail, but as a long time Taylor Swift lover (lol) I can’t stop thinking about this and how I’ve never noticed it before. Has it even always been written like this???? I’m questioning everything I thought I knew.

Has anyone ever noticed this before? Is it symbolic to the song, or maybe Taylor didn’t noticed it? It’s inconsistent with every song title (including TV) she has so it makes me think it was a mistake-but maybe not?

So I noticed just today that I Knew You Were Trouble has a period at the end of it on the tracklist of Red. And we know Taylor never does anything on accident. I also noticed that Come Back...Be Here from the Deluxe Edition of Red has three dots so...13! But that's not everything. IKYWT is track #4 while CBBH is track #18 and guess what 18-4 equals? 22!

Now, if we look at the lyrics from 22, what does she so famously say? "You look like bad news, I gotta have you" sound familiar? 22 is also connected to IKYWT. Not convinced yet? The secret message written on the lyrics sheet for IKYWT is "when you saw me dancing" and in 22 that's exactly what she talks about: "we just keep dancing like we're twenty-two"

The album as whole is mostly about Jake Gyllenhaal and there rumors that some songs may directed towards Conor Kennedy. BUT! Jake and Taylor broke up somewhere around December 2010 and January 2011 but Connor and Taylor didn't date until the summer of 2012. The Red album was released in October of 2012, but Taylor turned "22" in December 2011. SO, this could mean that A, Taylor was indeed talking about Connor in these three songs but they didn't date until summer of 2012 or B, she was talking about a completely different person and maybe someone who she never spoke publicly about. Now while Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor did have a long distance relationship for a while since he was filming a movie at the time, the times simply don't coincide. He didn't show up to her party in 2010 (The Moment I Knew) but Taylor was only turning 21 at that time so it wouldn't make sense for this trio of songs to be related to him directly.

Let me know if you have any more ideas, theories, or overall input!

Two of my all-time favorite Taylor songs are IKYWT and Style and I always wonder every time I listen to them:

One, did we ever figure out who IKYWT was about? I've heard both John Mayer and Harry Styles, does anyone have the info on that? Wasn't Red written before Taylor and Harry started dating?

Two, in Style does Taylor insinuate that Harry and Taylor hooked up (once? A few times?) after they had broken up? Is that what she getting at or am I completely off track lol

Honestly just looked for the tea/speculation on these songs since I'm relatively new to the fandom lol

I've had this discussion with so many people over the years, both casual fans and hardcore Swifties. I always assumed it was about John Mayer because of the timeline of Red's release, but I didn't realize that Taylor had possibly been dating Harry before red. So now to me it's a toss-up. What do y'all think?