On The Precipice: Taylor’s “I Almost Do” Lyrics Meaning

I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version) is a sad look at lost love that still tugs at your heart. In the lyrics, Taylor details how she misses a romance that deeply hurt her, and how she’s often tempted to get it back.

But besides the longing and holding back, this song contains some deeper meanings. As a writer and English teacher, this song is interesting to analyze within the scope of the Red era and beyond.

Here’s my full analysis of the I Almost Do lyrics meaning, line by line.

Cover image with a moody background of aged novel pages, with red flowy cursive title text reading: "Analyzing I Almost Do (Taylor's Version), from Swiftly Sung Stories"

I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version)

Title: I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version)
Track: 7, Red (Taylor’s Version)
Written By: Taylor Swift
Pen: Fountain
Secret Message: “Wrote this instead of calling”
Lyrics via Genius

I Almost Do Song Meaning: Narrative Breakdown

Setting: Taylor’s sleepless nights of hopes and dreams.
Characters: Narrator (Taylor), subject (“you”, ex-lover)
Mood: Nostalgic, tense, reflective
Conflict: She wants him but knows he’s not good for her
Inciting Incident: Thinking about what he’s up to late at night
Quest: Let him know that she wants him, but can’t let herself have him
Symbols & Metaphors: city, time of night, calling, mess
Theme: Longing with trepidation.
Imagery: “chair by the window lookin’ out at the city,” “touchin’ my face”, “run to you.”

I Almost Do (Taylor’s Version) Lyric Video

What was the Hidden Message for I Almost Do?

The secret message in the original liner notes for I Almost Do was “Wrote this instead of calling”.

It’s a good thing she did, because clearly this romance was not good for her, and she should not have called and rekindled it!

Who is I Almost Do About?

I Almost Do is about someone Taylor had a very painful breakup with. It’s not clear exactly who it’s about, but given the timing, it could be about Jake Gyllenhaal.

What is I Almost Do About?

I Almost Do is about missing someone – wanting to call, to get back together, to rekindle the romance – but knowing it’s the wrong thing to do.

Taylor has said, “I Almost Do is a song I wrote about the conflict that you feel when you want to take someone back, and you want to give it another try, but you know you can’t. And you can’t because you know it’s hurt you so deeply that you know that you couldn’t bear to go through that again”

I Almost Do Song Meaning: Line by Line

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's I Almost Do, penned on an aged novel page with red editor's pen highlighting important uses of metaphor, imagery and other literary devices. The first verse and first chorus read:
"I bet, this time of night, you're still up

I bet you're tired from a long, hard week

I bet you're sittin' in your chair by the window lookin' out at the city

And I bet sometimes you wonder 'bout me

And I just wanna tell you

It takes everything in me not to call you

And I wish I could run to you

And I hope you know that

Every time I don't, I almost do

I almost do"

Verse one opens in the setting of Taylor’s sleepless night. Midnights and 2am are important in the Taylorverse, representing the racing thoughts of lost love and longing (see 2am in Back to December and “sleepless nights” of Treacherous).

On this sleepless night, she wonders what her ex is up to. She pictures him in his “chair by the window lookin’ out at the city”. This could represent a real setting: a New York City (or Brooklyn) apartment.

But it could also represent his metaphoric searching for her, gazing out over the city where she resides.

The song itself is her message to him, revealed in the chorus. “I just wanna tell you / it takes everything in me not to call you.” She’s trying hard to push down these feelings and not reach out (“call”) to him. She knows that’s dangerous.

She wishes she could “run” to him – to go seek shelter in his arms – but her conscience holds her back.

She wants him to know that she almost does, all the time. “Every time I don’t, I almost do.” She holds herself back, every time. Will she be able to keep up this resistance?

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Verse 2: “I Can’t Say Hello to You and Risk Another Goodbye”

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's I Almost Do, penned on an aged novel page with red editor's pen highlighting important uses of metaphor, imagery and other literary devices. The second verse reads: "I bet you think I either moved on or hate you

'Cause each time you reach out, there's no reply

I bet it never, ever occurred to you

That I can't say hello to you and risk another goodbye"

The second verse wonders not where he’s at physically, but where he’s at emotionally. “I bet you think I either moved on or hate you” But she doesn’t hate him, and she hasn’t moved on.

She might not reply each time he reaches out, but it’s not because she has someone new or despises him: it’s out of caution and self-preservation.

“I bet it never, ever occurred to you / That I can’t say hello to you and risk another goodbye” details how oblivious he is – he hurt her so deeply, and doesn’t even know it.

He wants to open up that wound again, but she can’t even speak to him because it will just “maim” her all over again.

Bridge: “We Made Quite a Mess, Babe”

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's I Almost Do, penned on an aged novel page with red editor's pen highlighting important uses of metaphor, imagery and other literary devices. The bridge reads: "Oh, we made quite a mess, babe

It's probably better off this way

And I confess, babe

In my dreams, you're touchin' my face

And asking me if I'd wanna try again with you

And I almost do"

The bridge details a bit of what went wrong: “we made quite a mess, babe.”

The “babe” is a term of endearment, and shows how close to her heart he still is. But they “made a mess” of their relationship, and a mess of her heart.

“It’s probably better” that she doesn’t let him in again. But she dreams about it: “you’re touchin’ my face, and asking me if I’d wanna try again with you.” This is her deeply-held fantasy that he wants her back, symbolized with the intimate gesture of touching her face.

She’s so tempted, she “almost” does it. She almost lets him in once again.

Outro: “I Hope Sometimes You Wonder ‘Bout Me”

The lyrics to Taylor Swift's I Almost Do, penned on an aged novel page with red editor's pen highlighting important uses of metaphor, imagery and other literary devices. The outro reads: "I bet, this time of night, you’re still up

I bet you're tired from a long, hard week

I bet you're sittin' in your chair by the window lookin' out at the city

And I hope sometimes you wonder 'bout me"

The outro loops back around to the subject staring out the window, bookending the narrative with this scene of loneliness and longing.

But Taylor herself is still up, too, thinking the same things.

“I bet” turns to “I hope” in the final line: “I hope sometimes you wonder about me.” She doesn’t want to disappear from his mind. She can’t re-engage, but she wants a piece of her to still be with him, always.

Is that piece of her the infamous scarf? Or is it something less tangible, like a memory?

I Almost Do Lyrics Meaning: Final Thoughts

If the full narrative of this romance is told in All Too Well, then I Almost Do adds one more scene: a sleepless, restless night of longing.

Both songs ask the same rhetorical question: does he still think about her? She obviously still thinks about him.

But as All Too Well describes how she moved on except for the memories, I Almost Do describes the temptations she had to face to get to a better place.

She’s a bit more grounded and realistic in these lyrics: she knows the memories were real, and she knows that she can’t survive another round of the death and rebirth of their relationship.

In the end, she doesn’t call. She ruminates, and fantasizes, and preserves her self worth in holding back.

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