An Analysis of Meaning in Taylor Swift’s All Too Well Based on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics Theory and Its Implementation in Daily Life

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze the meaning in Taylor Swift’s song “All Too Well” using Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) theory, focusing on the three metafunctions namely ideational, interpersonal, and textual to reveal how language expresses emotions, experiences, and relationships within the song and in everyday communication. This study used a qualitative content analysis approach. The song lyrics were taken from Taylor Swift’s official website and analyzed using Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics framework (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2014). Data were coded into ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunctions to identify how linguistic elements create meaning. The findings show that the ideational metafunction represents real experiences of love and loss, the interpersonal metafunction builds emotional connections between the singer and listeners, and the textual metafunction organizes the lyrics cohesively through repetition and narrative flow. Together, they create a unified message of emotional memory and human connection. This study can be applied in the fields of linguistics, literature, education, and media studies. It helps readers understand how language functions in music, social communication, and teaching contexts, particularly in analyzing emotional expressions, narrative construction, and meaning-making in both songs and daily discourse. This study uniquely connects Halliday’s SFL theory with real-life communication by demonstrating how linguistic metafunctions used in song lyrics reflect how people express emotions and identity in everyday life, including digital communication. It contributes to expanding the application of SFL beyond academic contexts into modern social interaction.