Young, Wild & Free? Dissecting Taylor’s “22” Lyrics Meaning
22 (Taylor’s Version) isn’t one of the most deep and meaningful songs on Red. But it’s still an interesting look at growing up, maturing, and acting your age.
This track comes directly after All Too Well, and it’s a breath of levity after such a heavy memoir of a song.
Let’s dissect the 22 lyrics meaning, and see what we can learn about this age and what Taylor was thinking at the time.
22 (Taylor’s Version)
- Title: 22 (Taylor’s Version)
- Track: 6, Red (Taylor’s Version)
- Written By: Taylor Swift, Max Martin & Shellback
- Pen: Glitter gel pen
- Secret Message: “Ashley Dianna Claire Selena”
- Lyrics via Genius
22: Narrative Breakdown
- Setting: “The perfect night”
- Characters: Narrator (Taylor), friends (“you”), possibly a potential crush (“you”)
- Mood: Happy, carefree
- Conflict: The juxtaposition of being young vs. having adult responsibilities
- Inciting Incident: “feeling 22”
- Quest: Have fun, stay young
- Symbols & Metaphors: “22”, dancing, sleep/lack of sleep, “bad news”
- Theme: Being young and having fun
- Imagery: “breakfast at midnight,” “dancing like we’re 22,” “look like bad news”
What was the Hidden Message for 22?
The secret message for Taylor’s original version of “22” was “Ashley Dianna Claire Selena”. This is naming her friends: Ashley Avignone, Dianna Argon, Claire Winter Kislinger and Selena Gomez.
This was her “girl squad” at the time, whom she likely references in the song.
Who is 22 About?
22 is about Taylor’s group of girlfriends, going out and having fun on the “perfect night.”
What is 22 About?
22 is about being a young adult, and having responsibilities while also holding onto your youth and carefree qualities.
22 Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line
Verse one opens with the setting: it’s “the perfect night.” What’s it the “perfect night” for? “To dress up like hipsters.”
This pokes fun at hipsters, but in a playful way. In the era when this was written – 2012-ish – “hipsters” were at their peak, and there was a distinct style to their dress.
What else is the girl gang going to do? Make fun of their ex-boyfriends. This shows the friends’ cheeky side and their deep bond.
It’s also the “perfect night” for “breakfast at midnight,” which symbolizes something offbeat, quirky, and different. It could also reference partying all night, when the night doesn’t get started until the early morning.
It’s also a good time to “fall in love with strangers,” which references how easily you can fall in love (or lust) at this age.
Pre-Chorus: “Happy, Free, Confused and Lonely”
In the pre-chorus, Taylor describes what it feels like to be 22: “We’re happy, free, confused, and lonely at the same time.”
22 is a complicated age, where you’re technically an adult, with (usually) adult responsibilities, but you’re also young at heart, and are looking for your place in the world.
Being 22 is “miserable and magical.” This reflects the universal experience of young adulthood, when the miserable part is growing up, and the magical part is that doors open as you get older.
“Tonight’s the night when we forget about the deadlines,” means they’re shirking their adult responsibilities to really act their age. But what’s important to note is that at this point in her life, Taylor has way more deadlines and responsibilities than others her age.
“It’s time” references the central theme of the song: time moving, people growing, and staying the same vs. changing. She’s saying it’s time to finally act her age, which she hasn’t gotten to do much in her young life.
🧣Do you really know Red? Try the Red TV Lyrics Quiz! 🧣
Chorus: “Feelin’ Twenty-Two”
“I don’t know about you” addresses her friends and her audience directly. Taylor is “feelin’ twenty-two.” Are her cohorts feeling the same “miserable, magical” way?
They might be growing up, and there’s trials coming their way, but “everything will be alright if you keep me next to you.” If they stay together, and help each other, everything will turn out okay.
“You don’t know about me, but I bet you’ll want to” is a bit confusing. Is it referencing really “knowing” the real Taylor? If they’re really her girl gang, they already know her.
Is it referencing where Taylor is headed in life, and that she’ll be a good person to know later on?
It’s up for interpretation, but “knowing about” something – the learning – is the central part of growing.
As long as they keep “dancing” through life like they are at this exact moment (young adults, with the carefree attitudes and ambitions of youth), they’ll be okay. We’ll all be okay.
Verse 2: “Who’s Taylor Swift Anyway? Ew.”
The second verse sees them go to a club or a bar. It’s “too crowded” with too many “cool kids” (hipsters).
Taylor parodies the “cool kids” saying, “Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? Ew.” This is her poking fun at herself and her status in the “cool kid” world vs. her status with her fans.
There was a bit of a bias against her at this point in her career as she transitioned away from country and toward pop. This catty “who’s Taylor Swift?” is ironic now that we look back on it; now that the whole world knows who she is.
“We ditch the whole scene” means they leave where the “cool kids” are and go do their own thing. This is Taylor rejecting trends, and simply being herself.
They leave and “end up dreaming instead of sleeping,” meaning they talk about their ambitions and hopes (and maybe working on them) instead of “sleeping” (maybe representing being boring or lazy).
The pre-chorus describes their carefree night, when they “forget about the heartbreaks.” This could allude to romantic heartbreaks, but it could also refer to their “dreams” – their ambitions, and where they want to go.
Personal dreams get crushed, too, not just hearts. Taylor has experienced a lot of both kinds of being crushed.
Post-Chorus: “You Look Like Bad News”
The post-chorus ends with “you look like bad news.” That means this person is trouble, but it’s unclear if she’s met a boy who’s “trouble”, or if she’s referring to one of her friends that’s “bad news.”
There’s a few other interpretations here of who the “you” is that “looks like bad news”. The “you” could be:
- Her career, her success, and her fame. She has to have it – it’s been her lifelong goal – but it comes with its own set of problems.
- Her friends. She wants the cameraderie of girlfriends by her side, but she knows going out and being in the public eye is problematic. She has to have it, anyway. She has to go out and have fun like a normal 22 year-old, no matter what kind of press and attention it receives.
- Adulthood and maturity. Growing up looks “like bad news,” but she has to “have” it. She has to be mature and grown up, even if she’s only 22, because of what her life and her career is. There is no room for acting immature when she’s in the spotlight.
No matter who the “you” is that she has to have, she wants it. And at 22, if you see something you want – no matter how far out of reach – you grab it.
“I gotta have you” is repeated twice, which reflects the spontaneity of this age. Taylor always gets what she wants.
Final Chorus & Outro: “I Gotta Have You”
The song closes with repetitions of “twenty-two” and “I gotta have you.”
So what does 22 represent? The spontaneity, dream-like quality of being at this awkward age. She has to “have” 22 could mean that she has to live through it, though from an outsider’s perspective, there’s nothing in her life that looks like a normal 22 year-old life.
But what else is 22? Being physically an adult, but with childlike ambition. The world hasn’t crushed you yet – you still have hope. And for one glorious moment, on a night out with your friends, you believe you can have anything you’ve ever wanted.
“I gotta have you” means both that she sees what she wants and gets it, and also reflects being 22 itself. She doesn’t want to be anywhere else – she relishes this age, and all the complications that come with it.
She has to have this moment, right here, and she’ll grab it tight and won’t let go.
🧣Do you really know Red? Try the Red TV Lyrics Quiz! 🧣
Feeling 22 Meaning: Final Thoughts
What does “feelin’ 22” mean to Taylor? It’s complicated.
It’s being carefree, but also littered with the obligations that come with adulthood. It reflects the nostalgic childhood themes of Never Grow Up, but if Never Grow Up is holding on, 22 is letting go.
“22” is wanting to be out and about while the spotlight is always shining on you. It’s wanting to be spontaneous, but not always being able to (because of said spotlight).
Granted, Taylor’s experience of 22 is not like the rest of us. She’s in a special, privileged position, and she knows it. She just wants to feel her age, but – even in the Red era – she was not a normal person with a normal life.
22 is Taylor wanting that normal life, and not quite being able to grasp it.
More From Red (Taylor’s Version)
- Red Prologues: Original vs. Taylor’s Version
- State of Grace
- Red
- Treacherous
- I Knew You Were Trouble
- All Too Well [10 Minute Version]
- 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
- Better Man [From the Vault]
- Nothing New [From the Vault]
- Babe [From the Vault]
- Message in a Bottle [From the Vault]
- I Bet You Think About Me [From the Vault]
- Forever Winter [From the Vault]
- Run [From the Vault]
- The Very First Night [From the Vault]
