Songfacts®:

• "The Very First Night" finds Taylor Swift fondly reminiscing about a past relationship, including their first date. She wishes she could go back in time and experience that giddy, love-struck feeling again.
• So which ex is Swift singing about? The most likely candidate is Jake Gyllenhaal, whom Swift dated for three months in 2010. There are two hints the actor is the subject of her song.
  
  But don't forget about the night out in LA
  Dance in the kitchen, chase me down through the hallway
  
  This echoes a lyric in "All Too Well," which is believed to be about Gyllenhaal.
  
  Cause there we are again in the middle of the night
  We're dancing 'round the kitchen in the refrigerator light
  
  Swift also sings of trying to move on, but can't erase the happy memories of their relationship.
  
  I drive down different roads
  But they all lead back to you
  
  Swift's duet partner on "The Last Time," Gary Lightbody, sings a similar couplet. That's another Red song thought to be about Gyllenhaal.
  
  I'm not sure how I got there
  All roads, they lead me here
• Swift co-wrote the uptempo dance-pop song with Espen Lind and Amund Bjorklund, who comprise the Norwegian songwriting and music production team Espionage. Their resumé also includes Beyoncé's "Irreplaceable," Chris Brown's "With You," and Train's Hey Soul Sister."
• Espionage also co-produced the country-pop stomp with:
  
  Veteran British music producer Danny D. As D Mob, he peaked at #10 on the Hot 100 in 1990 with the dance classic "C'mon and Get My Love."
  
  Tim Blacksmith of the British record production and remixing trio Blacksmith. Other Danny D and Tim Blacksmith co-produced tracks include Sabrina Carpenter's "Almost Love" and Katy Perry's "Resilient."
• Red found Swift experimenting with new sounds as she looked to move beyond her traditional country-pop style. The producers' electronic programming and banjo bridged the gap between the superstar's Nashville roots and her desire to adopt contemporary sounds. "I want to be deep in my feels, but I also want to dance," Swift said.
• The song didn't make the original tracklisting for Red, but following a dispute over the ownership of the masters to her back catalog, Swift began re-recording her first six studio albums. She released Red (Taylor's Version) on November 12, 2021, with "The Very First Night" one of nine tracks not on the original record.