“Mr. Perfectly Fine” by Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift done messed up and let it be known that this song (“Mr. Perfectly Fine”) is in fact based on a real-life experience. Indeed even if she hadn’t done so, being who she is, the rumor mill would have got to churning regardless. 

But despite Taylor being involved in a number of high-profile romances throughout the years, the good news for us who are tasked with trying to narrow down who this song may be about is that it was written circa 2008. 

That greatly minimizes the possibilities concerning who “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is. And accordingly, the consensus has pretty much been that she is singing about fellow pop star, Joe Jonas of Jonas Brothers fame. 

Verily this theory has already been confirmed, in a roundabout way, by his current wife, Hollywood actress Sophie Turner.

And no, said confirmation was not anything flattering, which is understandable considering how the subject of this song is depicted. 

“Mr. Perfectly Fine”

The titular appellation, as far as his character goes, is twofold – one positive, we can say, while the other, main meaning is actually negative.

As a premise, this guy did initially appear as being “perfect”. For example, he is attractive. But as to what really got the singer hooked on him, that would be his words. He is one of those types of dudes who claimed to be truly in love with her and promised her forever. 

And we say ‘one of those types of dudes’ because those feelings did in fact prove to be false. Or stated more plainly, his actions did not agree with her words.

So contrastingly, he proceeds to summarily dismiss Taylor and move on to “a brand-new girl”. And what has the singer shocked isn’t necessarily that he dumped her. Rather, in bringing us to the main meaning behind the title, he is acting “perfectly fine” in the aftermath.

Meanwhile Taylor is totally in her feelings – “Miss Misery” as compared to his “Mr. Totally Fine” – after being left behind. 

As revealed in the bridge, she was totally committed to this relationship thus accordingly, she is heartbroken after all that has transpired.

Addressee is Cruel and Conceited

And that being said, it may not even be Joe Jonas being presented as a liar and playa which has Sophie pissed off. No, our dear reader, Tay Tay ain’t about to let someone who dogged her out get off the hook that easily. 

So the third verse gets more personal in terms displaying his unsavory characteristics. And it depicts Jonas, if you will, as someone who is, simply put, conceited out of his mind. 

This is an idea that is further buttressed in the chorus – a passage in which he is also termed as being “casually cruel”.

And at the end of the day, all lyrics considered what we have here is the story of a naïve girl being left devastated by a guy who comes off as a seasoned playa. Indeed Taylor Swift was only 18 when all of this transpired. But then again, being her agemate, so was Joe Jonas.

Conclusion…

So conclusively, in the world of romance we can say that some wounds never heal. Taylor Swift and Joe Jonas parted ways well over a decade before this song was finally made public. And in the years that followed, both of them have dated numerous other people. 

But the fact that Swift released a track years later about a romantic event that transpired in 2008 would imply that she still has associated feelings, mainly due to the way Jonas left her. 

Either that, and/or she thinks the tune is really good and needs to be heard by fans. But either way she’s still brave, as far as modern-day A+ list musicians go, by making a song about her heart actually being broken, by an individual we’re all familiar with at that.

When was “Mr. Perfectly Fine” released?

“Mr. Perfectly Fine” can be found on a project known as “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)”. 

Yes, “Fearless” is also the name of an album that Swift dropped back in 2008. But what the Taylor’s Version entails is that she re-recorded the tracks therein due to what – for simplicity’s sake – we will define as a contract dispute with celebrity manager Scooter Braun. 

Also she added six previously-unreleased songs to the album – “From the Vault”, as she calls them – all of which were originally conceived during the Fearless days. And “Mr. Perfectly Fine” is one of those six songs. Taylor officially released it (the re-recorded version) on the 7th of April, 2021. It’s full title is: “Mr. Perfectly Fine (Taylor’s Version) [From the Vault]”.

Writing Credits for “Mr. Perfectly Fine”

Taylor Swift wrote “Mr. Perfectly Fine”. And she also produced the track in conjunction with Jack Antonoff, who has been a regular collaborator throughout her mega-successful career.

Taylor’s Success

Taylor Swift has been on a tear leading up to the release of this track. For instance, she dropped two new albums – respectively “Folklore” and “Evermore” – in 2020, at a time when the industry as a whole has been slowed down by the coronavirus. 

And just four months after releasing the latter she also came out with the aforementioned “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)”, all of the above via Republic Records, who she just signed with in 2019.

And as a testament to Tay Tay’s stardom, both “Folklore” and “Evermore” topped the Billboard 200 and UK Singles Chart.