Released: November 21, 2011

Songwriter: Taylor Swift

Producer: Taylor Swift

[Verse 1]
Long were the nights when
My days once revolved around you
Counting my footsteps
Praying the floor won't fall through... again
And my mother accused me of losing my mind
But I swore I was fine
You paint me a blue sky
Then go back and turn it to rain
And I lived in your chess game
But you changed your rules everyday
Wonderin' which version of you I might get on the phone, tonight
Well I stopped pickin' up and this song is to let you know why

[Chorus]
Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone
Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?
The girl in the dress cried the whole way home
I shoulda' known

[Verse 2]
Well maybe it's me
And my blind optimism to blame
Or maybe it's you and your sick need
To give love and take it away
And you'll add my name to your long list of traitors
Who don't understand
And I look back in regret how I ignored when they said
"Run as fast as you can"

[Chorus]
Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone
Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?
The girl in the dress cried the whole way home
Dear John, I see it all now, it was wrong
Don't you think nineteen's too young
To be played by your dark, twisted games
When I loved you so?
I shoulda' known

[Bridge]
You are an expert at sorry
And keeping the lines blurry
Never impressed by me acing your tests
All the girls that you've run dry have tired lifeless eyes
'Cause you burned them out
But I took your matches
Before fire could catch me
So don't look now
I'm shining like fireworks
Over your sad empty town, yeah-yeah
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

[Chorus]
Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone
Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?
The girl in the dress cried the whole way home

[Outro]
I see it all now that you're gone
Don't you think I was too young to be messed with?
The girl in the dress
Wrote you a song, you shoulda' known
Don't you think I was too young?
You shoulda' known

Taylor Swift

One of the defining artists of the 2010s, Taylor Alison Swift, born December 13th, 1989, is an American singer-songwriter and actress who has achieved success in both country and pop. Raised on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania, Swift moved to Nashville, Tennessee at age fourteen to pursue a career in country music. Scott Borchetta signed Swift to his then-nonexistent label Big Machine Records after seeing her perform at the Bluebird Cafe in November 2004.

Swift debuted in June 2006 with “Tim McGraw,” an ode to a lover who would be leaving town. The song served as an introduction to her self-titled debut album, which touched upon topics like heartbreak and bullying Swift faced at school. Her honesty and relatability appealed to fans from all walks of life, and went on to become the longest-charting album of the 2000s, spending 227 weeks on the Billboard 200.

Swift’s sophomore effort, Fearless, came in November 2008 and cemented her status as a country superstar, while tracks like “Love Story” and “You Belong With Me” also garnered mainstream attention. Not only did the record become her first number one, but it also became the most-awarded country album of all time, winning accolades such as the Grammy award for Album of the Year. Until Billie Eilish’s 2020 win, then-20-year-old Swift was the youngest person to have ever received the honor.