Like, Ever! “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” Meaning

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is one of Taylor’s peppiest breakup songs. Unlike many of the songs on the Red album that use imagery and metaphor to convey her feelings, this one just says it all directly: “it’s over, get over it.” 

This song is a breakup anthem for many, but what’s Taylor really saying in the lyrics? Why was this romance so toxic?

Here’s my full analysis of the We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together meaning, line by line. 

Cover image with a moody background of aged novel pages, with red flowy cursive title text reading: "Analyzing We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor's Version), from Swiftly Sung Stories"

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version)

  • Title: We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together (Taylor’s Version)
  • Track: 8, Red (Taylor’s Version) 
  • Written By: Taylor Swift 
  • Pen: Glitter Gel Pen
  • Secret Message: “When I stopped caring what you thought”
  • Lyrics via Genius 

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together Meaning: Narrative Breakdown

  • Setting: The morning after the breakup 
  • Characters: Narrator (Taylor), Subject (ex: “you,” “he”) 
  • Mood: Over it 
  • Conflict: The endless cycle of breaking up and getting back together  
  • Inciting Incident: He calls and wants to get back together 
  • Quest: Let him know once and for all: it’s over. 
  • Symbols & Metaphors: phone/calling, talk (gossip, venting), “falling for it,” taste in music (“indie records”), forever & never 
  • Theme: The end of the road – never again. 

WANEGBT (Taylor’s Version) Lyric Video

What was the Hidden Message for We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together? 

The secret message in the original liner notes for WANEGBT was:  “When I stopped caring what you thought.” 

This likely references the moment she was finally over him, and wrote the song in response. 

Who is We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together About? 

Swifties theorize it’s about Jake Gyllenhall, whom many of the songs on Red are about. 

There are a couple of specific clues that this might be the case, as we’ll discuss in the lyrics analysis below. 

What is We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together About?

It’s about finally realizing that you’re unhappy, and getting out of a toxic relationship cycle once and for all. 

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together Lyrics Meaning: Line by Line

The lyrics for Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (Taylor's Version), displayed on an aged novel page. A red editor's pen highlights important narrative and literary devices in the lyrics. The first verse reads: "I remember when we broke up the first time Sayin', "This is it, I've had enough" 'Cause, like, we hadn't seen each other in a month When you said you needed space, what? Then you come around again and say "Baby, I miss you and I swear I'm gonna change, trust me" Remember how that lasted for a day? I say, "I hate you," we break up, you call me, "I love you""

Taylor opens with an anecdote pulled from memory: the first time they broke up, she told herself that it was the last time (“This is it, I’ve had enough”).

At that point, they “hadn’t seen each other in a month” because he asked for “space.” 

She knows how ridiculous this sounds – she questions herself candidly: “What?” 

Then he came swooping back in, after they were over, and promised her things would be different. “Baby,” he says, “I miss you and I swear I’m gonna change, trust me.”

His pleading “trust me” is the height of irony – she doesn’t trust him at all, and he’s not trustworthy. 

However, she reluctantly gives in. It lasts “for a day,” and then it’s quickly over again. 

This loop repeats itself: she says “I hate you,” then the break up again, then he calls and promises he loves her. 

Lather, rinse, repeat. 

These anecdotes from their relationship color what’s yet to come. She’s giving us backstory and exposition on the relationship. She’s giving us all the reasons they’re “never ever getting back together.”

🧣Do you really know Red? Try the Red TV Lyrics Quiz! 🧣

Pre-Chorus & Chorus: “We Called it Off Again Last Night”

The lyrics for Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (Taylor's Version), displayed on an aged novel page. A red editor's pen highlights important narrative and literary devices in the lyrics. The first chorus reads: " Ooh, we called it off again last night, but Ooh, this time, I'm tellin' you, I'm tellin' you We are never, evеr, ever gettin' back togеther We are never, ever, ever gettin' back together You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me But we are never, ever, ever, ever gettin' back together Like, ever"

In the pre-chorus, we find out where Taylor is now: they just broke up again last night. So it’s the day after, and she promises herself that this is actually the last time it will ever happen. 

“We are never, evеr, ever gettin’ back togеther,” she proclaims. This is where we get a tiny hint to whom this song is about, and it comes with the use of “never ever.” 

She used this phrasing in All Too Well (“never-needy, ever-lovely) and I Almost Do (“never, ever occurred to you”), the former of which is almost certainly about Jake Gyllenhaal. 

“You go talk to your friends,” she says, which is like saying “go away and complain to someone else; stop doing it to me.” 

“Talk to my friends, talk to me” is a bit confusing: I don’t think she’s asking him to talk to her friends, unless her friends are her emotional and physical barrier, blocking him at every turn.

More likely, she’s referencing how she speaks to her friends about this: gossiping. “Talk to me” is also her speaking to her own friends (I think; I’m not sure). She certainly doesn’t want to speak to him directly; she’s made it very clear where she stands.

Verse 2: “I’m really gonna miss you pickin’ fights”

The lyrics for Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (Taylor's Version), displayed on an aged novel page. A red editor's pen highlights important narrative and literary devices in the lyrics. The 2nd verse reads: "I'm really gonna miss you pickin' fights And me fallin' for it, screaming that I'm right And you would hide away and find your peace of mind With some indie record that's much cooler than mine (Haha)"

The second verse gives us more exposition on the past and what their relationship was like.

He used to “pick fights” (intentionally start arguments), and she would metaphorically “fall for it,” meaning she took the bait. 

She would get intensely frustrated, “screaming that I’m right.” This is not a flattering portrait of a relationship – they’re a bad match, but there’s a lot of passion there. 

After the fight, he would “hide away” (maybe after he says he “needs space”?) and find his “peace of mind” (his solace) “with some indie record that’s much cooler than mine.”

“Indie record” could be a hipster reference, whom she directly referenced in a negative light in 22. But it’s also saying he thinks his “indie records” are cooler than both Taylor’s own music and the music that Taylor likes. 

If you’re dating Taylor Swift and don’t enjoy her music, that’s a big problem!

The “haha” at the end is sarcastic, as her music is so much more popular than “indie records,” even at this earlier point in her career when the original Red was released. 

Pre-Chorus: “You Called Me Up”

Ooh, you called me up again tonight, but

Ooh, this time, I’m tellin’ you, I’m tellin’ you (Oh)”

-Taylor Swift, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” (Taylor’s Version)

The pre-chorus changes one phrase: “called me up” vs. “called it off.”

This is playing with the two different meanings of “call,” one to mean phone call, and the other meaning to make a decision. 

Bridge: “Like, Ever”

The lyrics for Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (Taylor's Version), displayed on an aged novel page. A red editor's pen highlights important narrative and literary devices in the lyrics. The bridge reads: "I used to think that we were forever, ever And I used to say, "Never say never" Ugh, so he calls me up and he's, like, "I still love you" And I'm, like, I'm just, I mean, this is exhausting, you know? Like, we are never getting back together Like, ever (No)"

The bridge plays with “never” and “ever”, with “I used to think that we were forever, ever”.

She used to think that they would last. She thought they would never break up: “And I used to say, “Never say never.”

“Never say never” is a proverb meaning that there’s no way to know that something will or won’t happen in the future, and by refuting it from the start you’ll only come to regret it. But she is – unequivocally – saying “never” now.

Then her soliloquy comes in, and it’s her speaking voice, not her singing voice. This is the real Taylor, such as in the speaking part in Better Than Revenge. 

She recalls the actual telephone call, as if she’s relaying it to a friend (“talk to my friends”). We get her innermost thoughts about the situation: “this is exhausting.” She’s tired of playing this game of back and forth.

The soliloquy ends with “We are never getting back together, like, ever”, and then a firm ”no.”

This is her absolute declaration that she’s 100% over it; it’s done and dusted. 

The final chorus and outro repeat, reinforcing the message that it’s over. 

This song is her final message to him; her final goodbye. She’s told all her friends, and now she’s told the word: it’s over. For good.

Or is it? 

🧣Do you really know Red? Try the Red TV Lyrics Quiz! 🧣

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together Meaning: Final Thoughts

If the entire narrative of this toxic romance was told in All Too Well, and I Almost Do is the rumination, then WANEGBT is the “Dear John” letter. It’s her final goodbye, and the burning of the bridge to ensure she’s never tempted again.

Unlike a lot of Taylor’s breakup songs, this one is more lighthearted. But that’s because – in my opinion – she already went through the stages of grief post-breakup.

She went through denial with Treacherous, anger with I Knew You Were Trouble, bargaining with I Almost Do, and depression with All Too Well.

We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together is acceptance: it’s over. And for Taylor, it’s a damn good thing that it’s over: it’s just “exhausting.”

More From Red (Taylor’s Version) 

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