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John Mayer Critiques Taylor Swift’s “Lover” Lyrics & Fans Are Mad

Kaitlin Reilly
Last Updated November 18, 2019, 10:20 PM
Photo: Christopher Polk/Variety/Shutterstock.
Taylor Swift is one of the most celebrated lyricists of modern pop music. (If her “All Too Well” line “So casually cruel in the name of being honest” doesn’t hit you right in the feelings, you may not have feelings.) However, just because fans constantly quote Swiftisms, doesn’t mean every line she writes is a slam dunk — at least, according to John Mayer, who has some issues with Swift’s new single. 
Swift’s “Lover” is the titular single off her 2019 album, and is a sweet, romantic song about building a life with a new beau. The opening line of the song is “We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘til January / This is our place, we make the rules.” 
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Mayer — who allegedly dated Swift briefly in 2009 and is the possible subject of her Speak Now track “Dear John” — has some issues with that statement. He expressed his thoughts in his Instagram Stories show Current Mood, alongside guest and “Lover” remixer Shawn Mendes. 
“Love the song,” Mayer said of the new Swift track. “I really like the song. I get a little chuckle because she says, ‘We can keep the Christmas lights up ’til January.’ And I go, ‘You’re insane. Everyone keeps their Christmas lights up until January.’”
To be fair...he’s right. It’s more than acceptable to have your Christmas lights up until at least January 1st, if not throughout the entire month. If Swift really wanted to get into the rebellious spirit here, she probably should have said February — it’s even the same syllables. 
Swifties weren’t totally delighted by Mayer’s criticism, given his connection to the artist. Some even came for Mendes for "laughing" at Mayer's (pretty light!) criticism.
It isn’t the first time that Mayer has weighed in on Swift’s music. In a 2012 interview with Rolling Stone, Mayer said he was "humiliated" when he learned he was the possible subject of Swift's "Dear John," which features lyrics like "Don't you think I was too young to be messed with / The girl in the dress / Cried the whole way home?"
More recently, at a live iHeartRadio performance in 2018, Mayer spoke of Swift’s then-new album reputation, calling it “fine.”
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“It's still fine,” he said of Swift’s album. “It's a fine piece of work."
Hmm, I wonder if that’s exactly how Swift describes Mayer.
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