 Swift was very fond of Caillat 's 2007 debut album , Coco . Swift explained , " When it came out , I fell in love with the way that she makes music . " Swift later contacted her management and asked if she could write a song with Caillat . They confirmed Caillat would be available due to a then upcoming concert in Nashville , Tennessee and , coincidentally , on the same day , Swift had a vacation day . According to Swift , " Breathe " is about having to depart from a someone , however , not blaming anyone . Swift believed the scenario was one of the most difficult goodbyes , " when it 's nobody 's fault . It just has to end . " Swift explained , " It was total therapy because I came in and I was like look , ' One of my best friends , I 'm gonna have to not see anymore and it 's not gonna be part of what I do . It 's the hardest thing to go through . It 's crazy listening to the song because you would think it 's about a relationship and it 's really about losing a friend and having a fallout . " Caillat and Swift said one of the beauties of the song was that many people would be able to relate to it because it is never specific as why the departure is occurring or whose fault it was . 
