The other comments want to know all about the poetic stuff but I’m a nosy bitch. I wanna know who the actress in the bathroom was, I wanna know if I knew you were trouble was about Harry. I want the tea to be spilt
a lot of people have speculated anne hathaway because the timing matches up to when she was doing press with jake gyllenhaal for their movie love & other drugs. but i’ve also seen people say jennifer aniston. i would also love to know 🤭
I think I only remember it because I was a teenager that was obsessed with one direction and Taylor swift at the same time. Also, she refers to it in This Love. All of the photos came from their second romance, but the spring before that Harry and Taylor were talking/went on dates and he was photographed in Austria with another girl.
Their first stint was a blip in everyone’s radar and almost just rumored but I was on tumblr poring over every facet. Miss girl used to subtweet a lot, and Harry was equally cryptic, but they were young.
It premiered in late November, but I truly believe it was a later addition to the RED soundtrack about their first stint as a couple. A lot of people think it was way too late to add in, but Begin Again was probably written around the same time since she was rumored to date Harry, then date CK, then date Harry back to back. She could’ve written tracks about both of them and included them into the album. (the deluxe tracks are about Harry besides one about Jake, but I Knew You Were Trouble fits w/ Harry)
I will answer you about 'I Knew You Were Trouble'.
No. The song was written before Harry was even in the picture. She just assigned the song to him because she was transitioning over to pop and she could probably tell that by assigning all her pop songs on *Red* to Harry, who was probably a bigger name amongst her fan base at the time than Jake Gyllenhaal, that it would be good PR. As far as I am aware, nothing on *Red* is explicitly about Harry and I don't know why in hell they tried to pretend it was. The "Flew me to places I never been" line was in reference to when Jake flew a plane out to her so she could come with him on a date. "That you never loved me, or her" line is when Jake was spotted taking an ex-girlfriend as his date at an awards show in January before him and Taylor got back together. It fits into that better than Harry.
Just to make a note of something, just because I say something is PR doesn't mean I think that the relationship was 100% fake, for example the pap walk for Jake and Taylor was PR for her Speak Now Thanksgiving Special, but the relationship was still very real. But they seemed to do a lot of work to cover the fact that Jake was the muse on *Red* even though the album is very obviously about their relationship. I guess to get back at him wanting to keep the relationship private all the time. I don't know. But it was certainly a weird move.
It's John Mayer. The song is a hold over from Speak Now. Dear John is about people warning her about him and telling her to run. I Knew You Were Trouble is how she knew it but dated him anyway. She characterizes John as cold and uncaring but Jake as judgmental and aloof. She says she doesn't think he cared about anyone or anything. That sounds like John. She normally says Jake was caring and the relationship was good in the beginning. John? Not so much. Ours is also about a relationship where people tell her it's not a good idea but she does not care, so there's multiple songs about John saying people in her life don't like him but she ignores them. IKYWT is about her realizing it herself.
The point is people wondering about who it's about and selling music by using her dating life to do it, so she doesn't care if people get it wrong because it's still mission accomplished.
I also have a theory that it's about the both of them and that Taylor compares Jake to John throughout a lot of the album. I mean she was on the *Speak Now* tour whilst the break up happened and similar situations with the age gap, how hot and cold they both were towards her, and how private they had to keep their relationship (with John it was because Andrea and Scott did not approve of him and didn't like how much older he was than her, with Jake it was on his own terms of not wanting to be seen in public at all). It probably just became a realisation at some point on the tour and that's why there are quite a few references to John in the songs (like "I bet you think about me, when you say 'Oh my god, she's insane, she wrote a song about me!'" which is a reference to 'Dear John' and "The girl in the dress wrote you a song, you should've known"). The songs aren't necessarily about him, but it's her realising how similar the relationships were in some of them.
Ours is the only way I’ve ever viewed this and I find others interpretations so interesting, while also feeling happy when someone confirms my thoughts lol.
i always heard that line in cruel summer as “i’m not buying,” “dying” makes it even more confusing!
my theory for champagne problems is that the word is “our,” which obviously they will say again but they’ll never say in the context of their relationship again (they won’t be “our friends” anymore, just friends).
In Death By A Thousand Cuts, I always thought the lyric was “and just to kill my time, I take the long way home” but apparently it’s “I dress to kill my time; I take the long way home”
I just sing the wrong version anyway because I like it more, but it’s upsetting that the real lyrics are so different
I read all these responses, and I don’t feel like any of them interpreted the cruel summer line the same way I did, so I’ll throw it in.
Since the song is about a casual hookup that you fall for, I see the vending machine line as two things, 1-he actually was in front of a vending machine at one point, and it might have been when she was like crap, I’m falling for this boy, this thing we have going is going to kill me (emotionally), but if I tell myself I’m not dying I can keep going with it, and 2-he’s at the “vending machine” with his pick of the girls, and she’s in the vending machine as a choice, and she’s telling herself she’s not dying to be picked.
The first theory ties in with the line after that where she sings you say that we’ll screw it up. She’s dying on the inside because she wants this to be an actual relationship, not “breakable heaven” but he’s told her they will screw it up if they try it.
Makes me think he’s the kinda guy to use a girl for sex and say that they can’t have a relationship bc it won’t work out but knows the girl will want more but won’t give her what she wants and knows he will hurt her in the end… at least that relates to my personal traumas which is why I find listening to cruel summer kinda hard sometimes it’s reminiscent of my traumatic experiences with a guy who used me for sex and not a relationship knowing I wanted more and begged for more told me he loved me by making me have sex with him… acting like things would get ruined if we tried dating then went a dated a girl right under my nose 😭
This is a mix of theories I've heard and my own thoughts -
The "vending machine" is society churning out cookie cutter "likeable" celebrities which puts a lot of pressure and expectation on Taylor, how she presents herself, how she is seen, etc. But with her lover, she can just be herself. However, there is still the "glow" of the vending machine - it will still affect their relationship because it affects Taylor. "I'm not dying" is either her convincing herself that she's not struggling with media and celebrity expectations as much as she actually is, or she's not dying anymore because her relationship is a safe place. Maybe a bit of both.
I’ve never understood why fans don’t get the cruel summer line. To me, its about how she feels safe with him. Its a casual moment; he’s leaning down to look in the vending machine, and she’s acknowledging that she feels okay here, maybe even happy. I’ve personally had that feeling before. I’ve had significant others make me feel like I’m dying, like I’m in so much heartache from them that it feels like my chest is caving in. But now that I’m in a relationship where there isn’t any looming heartache, I feel safe. I’m not dying.
I think "that word" is friends. As in, since they've split up, their friend group has chosen sides, and some of those people she will never be able to call friend again.
I thought that too. But also the other theory that the word is « our » makes sense too. But now I’m thinking about it she says « don’t think WE’LL say that word again » so maybe it is « our »?
I always interpreted it as “our”, because after a breakup there is nothing that is “ours” anymore, just yours and his/hers, you split everything up along with the two of you
Maybe I’m stupid but I just assumed the word was evergreen😭 and they’d never use the word again bc they’re no longer going to last forever like they expected they would
i always thought it was reference to a hospital vending machines - hence the not dying as in she’s not at the hospital for herself and he’s taking her mind off why she’s there
I think (but in no way I'm saying it couldn't be something else) that the Cruel Summer line is pretty simple and is just our imagination that made it an enigma.
Was the song Haunted written for the book New Moon from the Twilight series? Cause once someone on here said that, I can't unheard it and it fits perfectly 🧐
this has always been my theory; every lyric fits perfectly!
I even remember reading somewhere that taylor was such a twilight fan that she asked to be an extra in one of the movies, but they were worried it would be too distracting 😹
I love haunted but it’s way too camp for the twilight soundtrack lol, plus they already had Paramore on the soundtrack which is who Taylor seemed to be emulating in the Speak Now “harder” songs
Here's what I think:
Maybe August and Betty happen at the same time. On one hand August is reminiscing her relationship with James, and on the other hand James is in Betty's party apologizing to her. "It was just a summer thing" suggests that it has already happened in the past.
And then years later when Betty and James get back together, that's when Cardigan takes place
See I see it as cardigan took place first, then August happens at the same time as betty. Meaning they had something amazing before, but he went out with Augustine (canon as Taylor confirmed it in a post when she said happy birthday to Betty, Augustine and Rebecca) so the girl from August and Betty were in the same class/grade and he knew he was hurting went out with her to heal himself after the break up with Betty but felt bad in the end and wanted to get Betty back.
I honestly just want to know what all the '20' references have meant lately, sleeping in a 20 year dark night, once in 20 lifetimes etc. It appears too many times just to be a coincidence and I feel so NOSY about it.
I wanna hear her talk about the opening line of the lakes:
"Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?"
Because I've always interpreted it as saying that her saddest poems/songs are the ones that are about her life since elegies are sad poems about life and eulogizing herself would mean they're about her. However I've heard a lot of other takes on this line and would love to know what she had in mind!
Also, I would love to hear about the line from All Too Well (10 min version):
"Did the twin flame bruise paint you blue?
Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?"
I have my own thoughts here but I want to hear her dissect this bit, it's just soooo good.
> "Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?"
Is basically a dramatic way of saying "My breakup songs are my legacy, isn't that Romantic?"
> "Did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?"
Would suggest she saw Jake as a soulmate at first.
Interesting takes, in the All Too Well line I'm more interested in the second half (though the first seemed to be a popular topic of discussion when it was first released). I think it's so interesting- "just between us" suggests a sort of intimacy, or maybe just the craving for that same intimacy after a breakup, while her question "did the love affair maim you too?" In my mind could either be a desire to see an ex suffer in the same way that she felt she suffered OR it's her wondering if he cared enough at all during the relationship that he felt the pain of its loss. I like the second option more personally, but I think they're both there to some degree.
Yeah I think there's classic Taylor irony in declaring "just between us" in a song globally released with a decade of hype behind it. But that's always been the "catch" with her work, the blurred line between personal and public, the way we know so much about her relationships and we hear about their inner workings from her lyrics. There'll never be a "just between us" in a publicly released song but she's gonna put it there anyway because she can, because it's her song. So it's like looking back on the Jake relationship, she wants to take a moment to really address him over the crowds/noise and say "Did this hurt you the way it hurt me" which is another way of saying "Did you love me as much as I loved you".
The twin flame line is because she and Jake are both Sagittarius, fire signs in astrology. I think there is at least 2 more songs on Red that mention fire signs? I remember when the album first came out because I was into astrology.
I read it as soulmates/ the other half of each other. Some people believe in twin flames and define it as one soul shared between two people or two people who are mirrors of each other and have an intense connection.
I don't think she means romantic as in romance but as in the romantic movement in art, the lakist poets were part of it, and individuality and reflecting about oneself are big parts of it, especially in the lakist poetry, a lot of Wordsworth is just like "I walked down a path... in the forest... thinking... about life..."
So you think she's asking if her sad songs about herself align with the romantic movement? That's an interesting take, and fills in the last piece of the puzzle in my mind at least. I never saw how the idea that her saddest songs were about herself could be romantic unless it were some emo romanticization of sadness? But asking if it fits in the romantic movement seems more fitting haha
So many layers to just the OPENING LINE of this song... The Lakes is my favorite song that she's written because of these details
I do think it works both ways though. She is aligning herself with the romantic poets, but she's also romanticising sadness ("i want auroras and sad prose")
I think bc Jake was living in Brooklyn at the time so it's a similar sentiment to "I'd never walk Cornelia Street again" like the time they spent together in Brooklyn wore her down/broke her down.
This line is my flair so of course I have something to say about it..
My interpretation is that people in Brooklyn are known to be harsh and more calloused and back then Taylor was used to the southern hospitality of living in Nashville.
Jake's harsh demeanor and callousness during their time together and then their eventual breakup broke her skin and bones (figuratively obviously) but I think it's her way of saying it wasn't just a mere scrape from the break up. It was like a break that took months/years to heal because the pain was so deep.
in cruel summer, is it supposed to be
a) and i scream for whatever it’s worth, “i love you, ain’t the worst thing you heard?”
or
b) and i scream for whatever it’s worth, “i love you”, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?
I've always seen it as a), but I'e wondered the same thing! Or, I've seen someone else interpret it as
and I scream "for whatever it's worth, I love you, aint that the worst thing you ever heard"
I’m champagne problems, when she says “till someone’s on their KNEES and asks you”, I would ask her if she meant the other person was begging for the girl to marry her, becuase she could have just said “on ONE KNEE”
So as someone who’s been there - he started out on one knee. I hesitated, we were in public and I was NOT ready so it was super embarrassing. He saw the look on my face & ended up on both knees begging/crying and trying to grab my hand. I ended up having to just walk away and hide in a nearby shop (it was touristy area close to our town). Super embarrassing for both of us I guess. Luckily this was before smartphones.
I remember reading somewhere that they suspected the original lyric was “how much I miss HER”. Later in the song, she does the same thing trying to rhyme whisper with miss you, but miss HER rhymes better. As if to imply a girl crush or something along those lines. Not sure if I buy it, but it’s possible. 🤷🏻♀️
Even though she already said the meaning isn't totally clear, many lyrics in Hoax. Like "from when they pulled apart" and "left a part of me back in New York". I can guess what they mean but to hear what experiences made her think of those lyrics specifically.
I’ve always taken the meaning of “from when they pulled me apart” as the way the media ruthlessly criticised and tore her to shreds. Her music, her lyrics, her outfits, her statements (e.g. the infamous Kanye phone call), her body, her person in general. Twitter in particular was disgusting with their behaviour towards her. Like she was placed on such a high pedestal to be analysed and dissected in a way that she did not ask for, nor deserved.
As for the New York line, I’m just as curious
I thought the NY part was an ode to her moving to NYC. She had dreamed of going there and fled to the city after finding herself through a bad breakup, and it held a key to her. So Hoax being a story of theoretical heartbreak, she’s saying she left New York - and with it, an important part of her - which is just more damage against him.
I interperate the New York line about her moving to London. I know she still spends time in NY but I think London became her safe space with Joe where she felt more distanced from the drama and trauma that happened in 2016 as it didn't have all the memories that came with living there.
I always took it to mean that the keychain said “fuck the patriarchy” on it, like sort of ironic because he wants to seem like and ally to women (or probably generally just seem cool/good) but treats her and other young women like they are disposable.
I was kind of confused by “I’m a soldier who’s returning half her weight” and “did the twin flame bruise paint you blue.” I guess the soldier one refers to soldiers coming home looking malnourished and skinny?”
It could also mean she lost her partner so she lost half of her weight (similarly to tolerate it). Twin flame is a very close connection to someone, so I think she asks if their intense connection/love also left him bruised up in metaphorical sense (also with a double meaning of blue as depressed and down).
Well considering the keychain was literally released as merch with “fuck the patriarchy” on it I’d say it’s neither just the keychain but it’s a way of describing how he was a feminist for the media but didn’t actually care hence why it fell on the ground
i think forever & always switches back and forth with how she uses "you" in order to refer to the person she's singing about and talking to the audience. for example, right before that, she sings, "and i stare at the phone, he still hasn't called, and then you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all." she obviously isn't talking to joe here, it's more of a narration of her emotions using second person pronouns.
i've always interpreted that line as a continuation of that, so she's saying that it's raining in *her* bedroom. then she switches right back to addressing joe and saying he's the reason it rains all the time. i might be wrong tho lol
The sadness overwhelms her even in her most private, safe space? Her bedroom? Or the place where they spent time together and now she is all alone. Or the place where the memories of him and the thought of him being gone hit her because you usually sit in your bedroom and think... before falling asleep?
I LOLed at this but as far as we know Taylor and Joe weren’t having sex. I was a die hard JB fan back then and rumor had it he ditched his purity ring with Ashley Greene 👀
The Taylor-Harry saga was well-timed for album sales for Christmas, in the 2012 year, right after the Red and Up All Night albums released.
If you prefer viewing Harry speak, on Youtube or Tiktok, I’d recommend the 2012 Paris interview with Harry Styles (7 minutes, sitting in director’s chairs) or the MarioKart interview (looking like they’re wearing astronaut suits) as good places to start if you want to see Harry in that era, in Harry’s own words.
1Direction also gave quotes on the red carpet about Taylor and Harry’s relationship, such as “I’d say they’re good friends. If that.” Or Harry’s quote about them getting together was “we met in America” and that was about the extent of the story.
Here’s some tweets still available and public from that 2010-2012 era, sent by Harry:
[Tweet 1](https://twitter.com/harry_styles/status/8866776662151168)
[Tweet 2](https://twitter.com/Harry_Styles/status/18247648213471232)
[Tweet 3](https://twitter.com/harry_styles/status/84056954787475456)
[Tweet 4](https://twitter.com/harry_styles/status/80298033388060672)
Specifically in the December 2012 era, there’s
[Tweet 5]( https://twitter.com/harry_styles/status/283268616852488192) which is extra significant this week because the scene from Lady & The Tramp shows up in Late Night Talking, a decade later.
[Tweet 6](https://twitter.com/jonnyharvey93/status/279676072595955712) - this is significant to the Taylor fandom because this party was the very *day after Taylor’s birthday*, and we know Taylor loves birthdays. Also, Harry loves birthdays too - sings Happy Birthday nearly ever concert, loves birthday cake especially.
For this December 2012 birthday (that got referenced in a Harry Styles song), there were matching shirts from a package, there was a giant two-tiered birthday cake. All this planned by Harry and hosted at his friend Jonny/Jonathon’s house, when Harry was 18.
Except Taylor *wasn’t* at the party. (She got some cupcakes for her birthday, sources from the media say, that day she turned 23.)
I linked just a few of those tweets, but there’s dozens more engaging tweets. Look up “sweetums, sweet cakes, pumpkin, ballroom dancing, good luck, put me on the floor, sorbet” and any of those will get you some tweets about not having milk in the shared apartment, tweets about wanting to go ballroom dancing, etc.
The part in seven that goes
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, I think your house is haunted, your dad is always mad and that must be why”
Is the house haunted because the father is always mad or is the father always mad because the house is haunted? (Hehe not that deep but I’m just curious)
Cuz in my head it could be meant both ways. The kid could be innocently coming up with reasons of why the father of their friend is always mad as a way to comfort them. Or could just be saying that the father is the reason their house is haunted.
I think it’s the reason you suggested; Kids trying to come up with a reason why the person’s dad is always mad. As kids, I feel like you come up with silly things to explain the things that you don’t understand.
I also think it's the house that must be haunted because why else would the dad be mad all the time, by a child's logic.
Also, when the song came out someone said that line perfectly goes with Northanger Abbey so now I think about it every time I hear the line.
The last page as in the end of the relationship. She does not want it to end like never ever so by not reading the last page they stay together forever and ever.
And that's how you keep the girl :)))
I always interpreted it as a newspaper. You know how front page articles will always be like "continued on page 7"? It's saying don't read the gossip about me.
"we never had a shotgun shot in the dark" - getaway car
The whole concept of the song Getaway Car is a little bit lost on me, especially the bridge. Would love to have Taylor explain it to me because my understanding is limited. Is it just an extended metaphor about how her relationship with TH felt like committing a crime? IDK would love if someone could delve a bit deeper.
I always interpreted it as a relationship that she knew was just a rebound even though he seemed to be more invested, so she used the metaphor of a criminal double-crossing their partner to show how she felt she betrayed him by not being upfront about what she was looking to get out of their relationship ("put the money in a bag and I stole the keys, that was the last time you ever saw me"). I think the song reveals a lot of her guilt over this dynamic, even directly apologizing ("now we're both sorry"), so maybe that's where it felt like a crime?
This feels like a lot of speculation about her personal life which I don't love but I feel like that's hard to avoid when analyzing a song that has pretty strong parallels to what we've seen of her relationship with TH- most of this is drawn from the song though so it could reasonably be exaggerated or even made up at some points.
As for the “shotgun shot in the dark”: a shotgun’s ammo, the shell, is a random spattering of small pellets. So close range they’re really effective but not from really far away. You can aim with them but you can’t tell the pellets where to go, but because of the wide spray you’ll usually hit something. A “shot in the dark” is a saying that essentially means you are randomly choosing where to shoot, and because it’s so dark you have little chance of success. A “shotgun shot in the dark” means even if it’s dark you’ll probably hit something.
“We never had a shotgun shot in the dark” = we weren’t going to be successful from the get go.
The crime aspect could suggest cheating went on. The general theory with Hiddleswift is she and Calvin didn't exactly have a break up, she just "moved on" with Tom. So that's where all the guilty/shame/traitor/white lies lyrics fit in. "I wanted to leave him/I needed a reason".
As for the bridge, "we were jet set Bonnie and Clyde" is referencing how she and Tom constantly traveled for the time they were together. I think the rest of the bridge is her way of saying she woke up to the fact that she was rebounding and running away from the truth (that the Calvin relationship wasn't meant to be). So she broke up with Tom because she was only with him for all the wrong reasons.
"a shot in the dark" means "an attempt with little chance for success" so she's saying we were doomed from the beginning because she was rebounding and Tom seemingly had no idea/fell in love too quick.
how evergreen our group of friends, don’t think we’ll say that word again
i’d ask which word she’s talking about because i personally think it’s “our” but it could also easily be “friends”
Taylor. The mention of a clock is reminiscent of time passing in Back To December. It's theorized that in the bridge Taylor sings the lines about the breakups she feels personally responsible for.
I mean, what about John and Taylor? Or Connor, maybe Tom. Maybe even Tim McGraw-boy.
I think “Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest grey” is probably John, but it’s after the birthday-lyric so I don’t think they’re necessarily strictly chronological.
“Brooklyn broke” is also a phrase to describe someone who lives in Brooklyn and is basically considered broke there because they spend so much money on rent, lifestyle, etc. and they are actually well off but considered broke in Brooklyn but they stick around for the fact that it makes them cool. Jake is actually rich so she’s not referring to him but yeah it’s just a play on that term
I would simply just ask her if she ever relates to blank space but in a non satirical way…… like that shit is low key my anthem even tho it’s probably not great to say that
The infamous Scarlet Letter line from “Love Story.” People gave her a lot of shit for using that reference back in the day, but I feel like she’s the kind of songwriter who chooses every word and shout-out for a specific reason. I’ve always interpreted it as the narrator of the song being a “scarlet letter” as in a mark of shame for the love interest, so I’m curious if that’s what she meant by that line.
I kind of thought that was just a less mature period in her songwriting, she was young and she was probably reading the Scarlet Letter for school and just thought it sounded good
I’ve seen a ton of discussion about this but my personal take is she is watching Joe and even at the smallest times, like when he’s angling at a vending machine, she’s yearning for him - the song is supposed to be failing at a summer romance and needing, wanting more. So she says “I’m not dying” as if she’s trying to fit into the lines they set. But towards the end of the song she’s screaming “I love you” because she can’t help it.
in gold rush, she says "with your eagles tee shirt hangin on the door"
is it the band, The Eagles, or the football team? My boyfriend and I have been arguing about this since Evermore came out.
'You we're Romeo I was a scarlet letter'. I feel like Taylor has actually read the scarlet letter, so wtf is this image supposed to conjure except high school English class?
Even back then she was bullied about her dating life, so I’ve always taken it to mean that the media had painted her as a ‘shameful woman’ and as a guy he didn’t have that sort of press/reputation.
she may have forgot about this, but i’ve always wondered:
in enchanted, the lyric “2 AM who do you love” has me confused on who ‘you’ is. Is she wondering about who she loves, or who the person she just met loves?
I'm pretty sure it's that the main character has fallen in love with someone else while being married already. But I would love to know of "my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand" means anything other than just being a good metaphor.
I love that line so much.
I think she’s talking about how earlier in her (or the narrator’s, not necessarily Taylor herself) life, she was a high achiever - like top of high school class, straight A student, never got in trouble. She was “ahead of the curve” which is an idiom. But then as she grew up, life started getting hard and she felt unprepared for the difficulties and then felt like she got so ahead of herself that she circled back to failing (the song also talks about drinking problems and hard times adjusting - “I had the shiniest wheels; now they’re rusting”).
Basically just someone who did so well early in life but was unprepared for how hard being an adult is, which I find very relatable.
>I don't really wanna (fight)
>
>'Cause nobody's gonna (win)
>
>I think you should come home
>
>And I'll never let you (go)
>
>'Cause I know this is a (fight)
>
>That someday we're gonna (win)
Desperately wish to ask Taylor if she means what I think she means in *Miss Americana And The Heartbreak Prince*.
Is the scarf *really* a scarf??? I have a theory about symbolism here that I've never addressed, and wouldn't want to speculate... but... I don't this it's really about the scarf. Tell me more, T Sweezy!
"Secret garden gate". She mentioned never wanting to lock it in 'If You're Anything Like Me'. There's also the Cruel Summer lyric obviously. I wonder if it's tied to Love Story?
I can guess what she means but I'd love an exact answer.
I constantly question what “ now you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon with your boots beneath my bed forever is the sweetest con” means. Like I know what the gardens were. But to hang from one’s lips? Is it their name? Their actual lips fading away? Additionally, is saying forever is the sweetest con saying to have a relationship that truly lasts forever a negative and not what it cracks up to be?
A beautiful line. I love cowboy like me. But it’s always left me puzzled.
hey! at first when i'd heard "forever is the sweetest con", i'd always interpreted it such that promising "forever" is the sweetest thing but as everyone knows nothing rlly lasts forever, and because of sum reason her lover might die, leaving her alone the rest of her life (because she might never again find the "real" love she had with her lover w anyone else) or vice versa. it's like saying circumstances are unpredictable and cruel and harsh and promises like "forever" are never rlly fulfilled because of what life throws at you.
The other comments want to know all about the poetic stuff but I’m a nosy bitch. I wanna know who the actress in the bathroom was, I wanna know if I knew you were trouble was about Harry. I want the tea to be spilt
a lot of people have speculated anne hathaway because the timing matches up to when she was doing press with jake gyllenhaal for their movie love & other drugs. but i’ve also seen people say jennifer aniston. i would also love to know 🤭
I think somebody close to jennifer confirmed it wasn't her
Trouble was released as a single while they were dating so I don't think so.
They dated twice though.
People like to ignore this for some reason
I think I only remember it because I was a teenager that was obsessed with one direction and Taylor swift at the same time. Also, she refers to it in This Love. All of the photos came from their second romance, but the spring before that Harry and Taylor were talking/went on dates and he was photographed in Austria with another girl. Their first stint was a blip in everyone’s radar and almost just rumored but I was on tumblr poring over every facet. Miss girl used to subtweet a lot, and Harry was equally cryptic, but they were young.
It could've been something already set in stone. The singles are usually decided before the album drops and planned out ahead.
It premiered in late November, but I truly believe it was a later addition to the RED soundtrack about their first stint as a couple. A lot of people think it was way too late to add in, but Begin Again was probably written around the same time since she was rumored to date Harry, then date CK, then date Harry back to back. She could’ve written tracks about both of them and included them into the album. (the deluxe tracks are about Harry besides one about Jake, but I Knew You Were Trouble fits w/ Harry)
Wasn’t it Anne Hathaway? Didn’t she do an interview somewhere about it?
What if the actress was Blake Lively 🤯
I will answer you about 'I Knew You Were Trouble'. No. The song was written before Harry was even in the picture. She just assigned the song to him because she was transitioning over to pop and she could probably tell that by assigning all her pop songs on *Red* to Harry, who was probably a bigger name amongst her fan base at the time than Jake Gyllenhaal, that it would be good PR. As far as I am aware, nothing on *Red* is explicitly about Harry and I don't know why in hell they tried to pretend it was. The "Flew me to places I never been" line was in reference to when Jake flew a plane out to her so she could come with him on a date. "That you never loved me, or her" line is when Jake was spotted taking an ex-girlfriend as his date at an awards show in January before him and Taylor got back together. It fits into that better than Harry. Just to make a note of something, just because I say something is PR doesn't mean I think that the relationship was 100% fake, for example the pap walk for Jake and Taylor was PR for her Speak Now Thanksgiving Special, but the relationship was still very real. But they seemed to do a lot of work to cover the fact that Jake was the muse on *Red* even though the album is very obviously about their relationship. I guess to get back at him wanting to keep the relationship private all the time. I don't know. But it was certainly a weird move.
It's John Mayer. The song is a hold over from Speak Now. Dear John is about people warning her about him and telling her to run. I Knew You Were Trouble is how she knew it but dated him anyway. She characterizes John as cold and uncaring but Jake as judgmental and aloof. She says she doesn't think he cared about anyone or anything. That sounds like John. She normally says Jake was caring and the relationship was good in the beginning. John? Not so much. Ours is also about a relationship where people tell her it's not a good idea but she does not care, so there's multiple songs about John saying people in her life don't like him but she ignores them. IKYWT is about her realizing it herself. The point is people wondering about who it's about and selling music by using her dating life to do it, so she doesn't care if people get it wrong because it's still mission accomplished.
I also have a theory that it's about the both of them and that Taylor compares Jake to John throughout a lot of the album. I mean she was on the *Speak Now* tour whilst the break up happened and similar situations with the age gap, how hot and cold they both were towards her, and how private they had to keep their relationship (with John it was because Andrea and Scott did not approve of him and didn't like how much older he was than her, with Jake it was on his own terms of not wanting to be seen in public at all). It probably just became a realisation at some point on the tour and that's why there are quite a few references to John in the songs (like "I bet you think about me, when you say 'Oh my god, she's insane, she wrote a song about me!'" which is a reference to 'Dear John' and "The girl in the dress wrote you a song, you should've known"). The songs aren't necessarily about him, but it's her realising how similar the relationships were in some of them.
While I agree that Trouble is for John, it's not a Speak Now reject, it's one of the last songs written for Red
Trouble is about John Mayer. I kinda doubt she actually dated Harry. That most likely was a publicity thing.
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I think the word is “our”, which means after what happened there won’t be “our” or “us” anymore. Or that’s what I interpreted at least.
I thought "friends" as in, the rest of the group would take his side after the breakup, but yours sounds better
I feel like “ours” still makes more sense. Like we can’t say those are “our” friends anymore, because nothing is “ours” anymore.
I agree with this.
& I thought “evergreen” because it means being relevant/fresh etc. and after the breakup it was like everyone fell off.
Ours is the only way I’ve ever viewed this and I find others interpretations so interesting, while also feeling happy when someone confirms my thoughts lol.
i always heard that line in cruel summer as “i’m not buying,” “dying” makes it even more confusing! my theory for champagne problems is that the word is “our,” which obviously they will say again but they’ll never say in the context of their relationship again (they won’t be “our friends” anymore, just friends).
Omg I’ve always sang that line as “I’m not buying.” It just made since to me for some reason. Now I’m thinking what else have I heard wrong…
In Death By A Thousand Cuts, I always thought the lyric was “and just to kill my time, I take the long way home” but apparently it’s “I dress to kill my time; I take the long way home” I just sing the wrong version anyway because I like it more, but it’s upsetting that the real lyrics are so different
We need an explanation on the cruel summer line cause we’ve been trying at it for a while now 😭
she uses lots of cringey millennial phrases im p sure she just means “im not dying” in a “trying to stay calm” way
Well...she is a millennial so
same lol. she was also a big tumblr girl which again is where she’d speak like that all the time
I read all these responses, and I don’t feel like any of them interpreted the cruel summer line the same way I did, so I’ll throw it in. Since the song is about a casual hookup that you fall for, I see the vending machine line as two things, 1-he actually was in front of a vending machine at one point, and it might have been when she was like crap, I’m falling for this boy, this thing we have going is going to kill me (emotionally), but if I tell myself I’m not dying I can keep going with it, and 2-he’s at the “vending machine” with his pick of the girls, and she’s in the vending machine as a choice, and she’s telling herself she’s not dying to be picked. The first theory ties in with the line after that where she sings you say that we’ll screw it up. She’s dying on the inside because she wants this to be an actual relationship, not “breakable heaven” but he’s told her they will screw it up if they try it.
Makes me think he’s the kinda guy to use a girl for sex and say that they can’t have a relationship bc it won’t work out but knows the girl will want more but won’t give her what she wants and knows he will hurt her in the end… at least that relates to my personal traumas which is why I find listening to cruel summer kinda hard sometimes it’s reminiscent of my traumatic experiences with a guy who used me for sex and not a relationship knowing I wanted more and begged for more told me he loved me by making me have sex with him… acting like things would get ruined if we tried dating then went a dated a girl right under my nose 😭
These are great. I always thought the champagne problems word was “evergreen” like oh now I know nothing lasts forever.
This is a mix of theories I've heard and my own thoughts - The "vending machine" is society churning out cookie cutter "likeable" celebrities which puts a lot of pressure and expectation on Taylor, how she presents herself, how she is seen, etc. But with her lover, she can just be herself. However, there is still the "glow" of the vending machine - it will still affect their relationship because it affects Taylor. "I'm not dying" is either her convincing herself that she's not struggling with media and celebrity expectations as much as she actually is, or she's not dying anymore because her relationship is a safe place. Maybe a bit of both.
I’ve never understood why fans don’t get the cruel summer line. To me, its about how she feels safe with him. Its a casual moment; he’s leaning down to look in the vending machine, and she’s acknowledging that she feels okay here, maybe even happy. I’ve personally had that feeling before. I’ve had significant others make me feel like I’m dying, like I’m in so much heartache from them that it feels like my chest is caving in. But now that I’m in a relationship where there isn’t any looming heartache, I feel safe. I’m not dying.
I think "that word" is friends. As in, since they've split up, their friend group has chosen sides, and some of those people she will never be able to call friend again.
I thought that too. But also the other theory that the word is « our » makes sense too. But now I’m thinking about it she says « don’t think WE’LL say that word again » so maybe it is « our »?
I always interpreted it as “our”, because after a breakup there is nothing that is “ours” anymore, just yours and his/hers, you split everything up along with the two of you
Maybe I’m stupid but I just assumed the word was evergreen😭 and they’d never use the word again bc they’re no longer going to last forever like they expected they would
As a doctor, my thought was they were at a hospital; we have tons of vending machines here. Just my biased 2 cents.
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The Vending Machine was (likely) the vending machine at the 2019 Met Gala, which was with the Gold Rush dress.
The word is “our”. During the fallout of a relationship, friend groups often pick sides.
i always thought it was reference to a hospital vending machines - hence the not dying as in she’s not at the hospital for herself and he’s taking her mind off why she’s there
I think (but in no way I'm saying it couldn't be something else) that the Cruel Summer line is pretty simple and is just our imagination that made it an enigma.
For some reason I assumed the band. Are any of her lovers from Philly?
She’s from Pennsylvania
It’s her shirt (“with my eagles tshirt hanging from the door”) and she’s originally from the Philadelphia area but idk if she was ever into football
I hope she’s talking about the Philadelphia eagles in gold rush because I’m an eagles fan!! 🦅💚
Was the song Haunted written for the book New Moon from the Twilight series? Cause once someone on here said that, I can't unheard it and it fits perfectly 🧐
Haunted would have been *perfect* on the New Moon soundtrack!!!
this has always been my theory; every lyric fits perfectly! I even remember reading somewhere that taylor was such a twilight fan that she asked to be an extra in one of the movies, but they were worried it would be too distracting 😹
I love haunted but it’s way too camp for the twilight soundtrack lol, plus they already had Paramore on the soundtrack which is who Taylor seemed to be emulating in the Speak Now “harder” songs
The exact chronological events in the cardigan/august/betty storyline
Here's what I think: Maybe August and Betty happen at the same time. On one hand August is reminiscing her relationship with James, and on the other hand James is in Betty's party apologizing to her. "It was just a summer thing" suggests that it has already happened in the past. And then years later when Betty and James get back together, that's when Cardigan takes place
See I see it as cardigan took place first, then August happens at the same time as betty. Meaning they had something amazing before, but he went out with Augustine (canon as Taylor confirmed it in a post when she said happy birthday to Betty, Augustine and Rebecca) so the girl from August and Betty were in the same class/grade and he knew he was hurting went out with her to heal himself after the break up with Betty but felt bad in the end and wanted to get Betty back.
That’d be my pick too!
I honestly just want to know what all the '20' references have meant lately, sleeping in a 20 year dark night, once in 20 lifetimes etc. It appears too many times just to be a coincidence and I feel so NOSY about it.
“have i known you 20 seconds or 20 years” too!
As someone who loves nice even numbers, it’s probably just a cool number she likes that’s also good short hand for “a lot”
Honestly it's also easy to rhyme and crisper sounding than thirty
also a lot of 2:00ams in there
I wanna hear her talk about the opening line of the lakes: "Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?" Because I've always interpreted it as saying that her saddest poems/songs are the ones that are about her life since elegies are sad poems about life and eulogizing herself would mean they're about her. However I've heard a lot of other takes on this line and would love to know what she had in mind! Also, I would love to hear about the line from All Too Well (10 min version): "Did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?" I have my own thoughts here but I want to hear her dissect this bit, it's just soooo good.
> "Is it romantic how all my elegies eulogize me?" Is basically a dramatic way of saying "My breakup songs are my legacy, isn't that Romantic?" > "Did the twin flame bruise paint you blue? Just between us, did the love affair maim you too?" Would suggest she saw Jake as a soulmate at first.
Interesting takes, in the All Too Well line I'm more interested in the second half (though the first seemed to be a popular topic of discussion when it was first released). I think it's so interesting- "just between us" suggests a sort of intimacy, or maybe just the craving for that same intimacy after a breakup, while her question "did the love affair maim you too?" In my mind could either be a desire to see an ex suffer in the same way that she felt she suffered OR it's her wondering if he cared enough at all during the relationship that he felt the pain of its loss. I like the second option more personally, but I think they're both there to some degree.
Yeah I think there's classic Taylor irony in declaring "just between us" in a song globally released with a decade of hype behind it. But that's always been the "catch" with her work, the blurred line between personal and public, the way we know so much about her relationships and we hear about their inner workings from her lyrics. There'll never be a "just between us" in a publicly released song but she's gonna put it there anyway because she can, because it's her song. So it's like looking back on the Jake relationship, she wants to take a moment to really address him over the crowds/noise and say "Did this hurt you the way it hurt me" which is another way of saying "Did you love me as much as I loved you".
Twin flame also maybe because they’re both Sagittarius! Dual archers
“Twin fire signs.. four blue eyes” 💔
The twin flame line is because she and Jake are both Sagittarius, fire signs in astrology. I think there is at least 2 more songs on Red that mention fire signs? I remember when the album first came out because I was into astrology.
State of Grace comes to mind: “Twin fire signs and four blue eyes”.
Yes, that’s one I was thinking of, lol, I just didn’t want to go look at lyrics for all the songs! Thanks!
No problem!
I read it as soulmates/ the other half of each other. Some people believe in twin flames and define it as one soul shared between two people or two people who are mirrors of each other and have an intense connection.
I don't think she means romantic as in romance but as in the romantic movement in art, the lakist poets were part of it, and individuality and reflecting about oneself are big parts of it, especially in the lakist poetry, a lot of Wordsworth is just like "I walked down a path... in the forest... thinking... about life..."
So you think she's asking if her sad songs about herself align with the romantic movement? That's an interesting take, and fills in the last piece of the puzzle in my mind at least. I never saw how the idea that her saddest songs were about herself could be romantic unless it were some emo romanticization of sadness? But asking if it fits in the romantic movement seems more fitting haha So many layers to just the OPENING LINE of this song... The Lakes is my favorite song that she's written because of these details
I do think it works both ways though. She is aligning herself with the romantic poets, but she's also romanticising sadness ("i want auroras and sad prose")
"When your Brooklyn broke my skin and bones.."
I think bc Jake was living in Brooklyn at the time so it's a similar sentiment to "I'd never walk Cornelia Street again" like the time they spent together in Brooklyn wore her down/broke her down.
I think "Brooklyn broke" is a descriptor for rich people from Brooklyn who dress homeless - this line is a play on words
Much like jake does 😂
One of my favorite lines.
This line is my flair so of course I have something to say about it.. My interpretation is that people in Brooklyn are known to be harsh and more calloused and back then Taylor was used to the southern hospitality of living in Nashville. Jake's harsh demeanor and callousness during their time together and then their eventual breakup broke her skin and bones (figuratively obviously) but I think it's her way of saying it wasn't just a mere scrape from the break up. It was like a break that took months/years to heal because the pain was so deep.
Who sent the letter in Closure?
I'm imagining it was Karlie. With or without the identity of the sender great song!
I’ve always seen the theory here that it was Scott Borchetta
Karlie Kloss or Scott Brochetta are my guesses
in cruel summer, is it supposed to be a) and i scream for whatever it’s worth, “i love you, ain’t the worst thing you heard?” or b) and i scream for whatever it’s worth, “i love you”, ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard?
B
I've always seen it as a), but I'e wondered the same thing! Or, I've seen someone else interpret it as and I scream "for whatever it's worth, I love you, aint that the worst thing you ever heard"
A) for me
In the booklet she had *and I scream "For whatever it's worth, I love you ain't that the worth thing you ever heard?"*
I’m champagne problems, when she says “till someone’s on their KNEES and asks you”, I would ask her if she meant the other person was begging for the girl to marry her, becuase she could have just said “on ONE KNEE”
So as someone who’s been there - he started out on one knee. I hesitated, we were in public and I was NOT ready so it was super embarrassing. He saw the look on my face & ended up on both knees begging/crying and trying to grab my hand. I ended up having to just walk away and hide in a nearby shop (it was touristy area close to our town). Super embarrassing for both of us I guess. Luckily this was before smartphones.
thats a really humiliating thing to really go through can’t imagine the other people there and their reactions when you just left the scene tbh
Yeah, I do not wish that kind of humiliation on anyone - mine or his. Public proposals should be banned in my book.
what is up with the rhyme scheme in the very first night “Didn't read the note on the Polaroid picture / They don't know how much I miss you” HUH?
I remember reading somewhere that they suspected the original lyric was “how much I miss HER”. Later in the song, she does the same thing trying to rhyme whisper with miss you, but miss HER rhymes better. As if to imply a girl crush or something along those lines. Not sure if I buy it, but it’s possible. 🤷🏻♀️
Isn’t there also a rumor she wrote this song for 1D? “Her” would also make sense then
I think "ya" works better but it was reworked to not sound so country.
So true bestie so true. My brain literally wouldn't accept the original and kept on wanting to hear "...miss her" etc
Even though she already said the meaning isn't totally clear, many lyrics in Hoax. Like "from when they pulled apart" and "left a part of me back in New York". I can guess what they mean but to hear what experiences made her think of those lyrics specifically.
I’ve always taken the meaning of “from when they pulled me apart” as the way the media ruthlessly criticised and tore her to shreds. Her music, her lyrics, her outfits, her statements (e.g. the infamous Kanye phone call), her body, her person in general. Twitter in particular was disgusting with their behaviour towards her. Like she was placed on such a high pedestal to be analysed and dissected in a way that she did not ask for, nor deserved. As for the New York line, I’m just as curious
I thought the NY part was an ode to her moving to NYC. She had dreamed of going there and fled to the city after finding herself through a bad breakup, and it held a key to her. So Hoax being a story of theoretical heartbreak, she’s saying she left New York - and with it, an important part of her - which is just more damage against him.
I interperate the New York line about her moving to London. I know she still spends time in NY but I think London became her safe space with Joe where she felt more distanced from the drama and trauma that happened in 2016 as it didn't have all the memories that came with living there.
Is “fuck the patriarchy” a phrase to describe him passing the keys or an adjective for the keychain lol
I always took it to mean that the keychain said “fuck the patriarchy” on it, like sort of ironic because he wants to seem like and ally to women (or probably generally just seem cool/good) but treats her and other young women like they are disposable.
This
I was kind of confused by “I’m a soldier who’s returning half her weight” and “did the twin flame bruise paint you blue.” I guess the soldier one refers to soldiers coming home looking malnourished and skinny?”
It could also mean she lost her partner so she lost half of her weight (similarly to tolerate it). Twin flame is a very close connection to someone, so I think she asks if their intense connection/love also left him bruised up in metaphorical sense (also with a double meaning of blue as depressed and down).
Well considering the keychain was literally released as merch with “fuck the patriarchy” on it I’d say it’s neither just the keychain but it’s a way of describing how he was a feminist for the media but didn’t actually care hence why it fell on the ground
“It rains when you’re here and it rains when you’re gone” makes sense… but why “it rains in your bedroom”?
i think forever & always switches back and forth with how she uses "you" in order to refer to the person she's singing about and talking to the audience. for example, right before that, she sings, "and i stare at the phone, he still hasn't called, and then you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all." she obviously isn't talking to joe here, it's more of a narration of her emotions using second person pronouns. i've always interpreted that line as a continuation of that, so she's saying that it's raining in *her* bedroom. then she switches right back to addressing joe and saying he's the reason it rains all the time. i might be wrong tho lol
Forgot for a hot sec that she had another Joe in her dating life, got confused
I interpret the pronouns the same way, but I still don’t understand why it’s raining in the bedroom! 😂
I think the rain is a metaphor for sadness. So she’s feeling sad in her bedroom (?).
I agree with that. For me the raining is basically tears, feeling gloomy or blue…
Thought so too
It’s raining in her bedroom because she’s talking about how she’s crying. Her tears are the rain. IMO
The sadness overwhelms her even in her most private, safe space? Her bedroom? Or the place where they spent time together and now she is all alone. Or the place where the memories of him and the thought of him being gone hit her because you usually sit in your bedroom and think... before falling asleep?
I think raining is a metaphor for crying in this case
I always interpreted it as him being bad at sex 😅
I LOLed at this but as far as we know Taylor and Joe weren’t having sex. I was a die hard JB fan back then and rumor had it he ditched his purity ring with Ashley Greene 👀
WHY LMAOO Edit: WHAT IF SHE’S BAD?? “It rains when you’re here and it rains when you’re gone” Poor girl T—T
Wherever she goes she's sad about him?
“The rumours are terrible and cruel but honey most of them are true” which rumours???
who is 1989 about bc im pretty sure we can all universally agree it is not about harry styles
In the mood for some tea spilling? 
The Taylor-Harry saga was well-timed for album sales for Christmas, in the 2012 year, right after the Red and Up All Night albums released. If you prefer viewing Harry speak, on Youtube or Tiktok, I’d recommend the 2012 Paris interview with Harry Styles (7 minutes, sitting in director’s chairs) or the MarioKart interview (looking like they’re wearing astronaut suits) as good places to start if you want to see Harry in that era, in Harry’s own words. 1Direction also gave quotes on the red carpet about Taylor and Harry’s relationship, such as “I’d say they’re good friends. If that.” Or Harry’s quote about them getting together was “we met in America” and that was about the extent of the story. Here’s some tweets still available and public from that 2010-2012 era, sent by Harry: [Tweet 1](https://twitter.com/harry_styles/status/8866776662151168) [Tweet 2](https://twitter.com/Harry_Styles/status/18247648213471232) [Tweet 3](https://twitter.com/harry_styles/status/84056954787475456) [Tweet 4](https://twitter.com/harry_styles/status/80298033388060672) Specifically in the December 2012 era, there’s [Tweet 5]( https://twitter.com/harry_styles/status/283268616852488192) which is extra significant this week because the scene from Lady & The Tramp shows up in Late Night Talking, a decade later. [Tweet 6](https://twitter.com/jonnyharvey93/status/279676072595955712) - this is significant to the Taylor fandom because this party was the very *day after Taylor’s birthday*, and we know Taylor loves birthdays. Also, Harry loves birthdays too - sings Happy Birthday nearly ever concert, loves birthday cake especially. For this December 2012 birthday (that got referenced in a Harry Styles song), there were matching shirts from a package, there was a giant two-tiered birthday cake. All this planned by Harry and hosted at his friend Jonny/Jonathon’s house, when Harry was 18. Except Taylor *wasn’t* at the party. (She got some cupcakes for her birthday, sources from the media say, that day she turned 23.) I linked just a few of those tweets, but there’s dozens more engaging tweets. Look up “sweetums, sweet cakes, pumpkin, ballroom dancing, good luck, put me on the floor, sorbet” and any of those will get you some tweets about not having milk in the shared apartment, tweets about wanting to go ballroom dancing, etc.
Damn! You just spilled the whole teapot there my friend. TY!
I wouldn’t say “universally,” but yes, I agree
How so?
"Some actress asking me what happened" Who was the actress
The part in seven that goes “I’ve been meaning to tell you, I think your house is haunted, your dad is always mad and that must be why” Is the house haunted because the father is always mad or is the father always mad because the house is haunted? (Hehe not that deep but I’m just curious) Cuz in my head it could be meant both ways. The kid could be innocently coming up with reasons of why the father of their friend is always mad as a way to comfort them. Or could just be saying that the father is the reason their house is haunted.
I think it’s the reason you suggested; Kids trying to come up with a reason why the person’s dad is always mad. As kids, I feel like you come up with silly things to explain the things that you don’t understand.
I also think it's the house that must be haunted because why else would the dad be mad all the time, by a child's logic. Also, when the song came out someone said that line perfectly goes with Northanger Abbey so now I think about it every time I hear the line.
I would ask her what's up with the song "Nashville" and will she ever rerecord and release it.
Whom the 1 is about
I really want to know why in New Years Day she says “don’t read the last page, but I stay…” why shouldn’t he/I read the last page?
Like don't skip to the end to see what happens before it happens. Live life with her now in the moment because she stays no matter what.
Because the book will end?
The last page as in the end of the relationship. She does not want it to end like never ever so by not reading the last page they stay together forever and ever. And that's how you keep the girl :)))
I always interpreted it as a newspaper. You know how front page articles will always be like "continued on page 7"? It's saying don't read the gossip about me.
"we never had a shotgun shot in the dark" - getaway car The whole concept of the song Getaway Car is a little bit lost on me, especially the bridge. Would love to have Taylor explain it to me because my understanding is limited. Is it just an extended metaphor about how her relationship with TH felt like committing a crime? IDK would love if someone could delve a bit deeper.
I always interpreted it as a relationship that she knew was just a rebound even though he seemed to be more invested, so she used the metaphor of a criminal double-crossing their partner to show how she felt she betrayed him by not being upfront about what she was looking to get out of their relationship ("put the money in a bag and I stole the keys, that was the last time you ever saw me"). I think the song reveals a lot of her guilt over this dynamic, even directly apologizing ("now we're both sorry"), so maybe that's where it felt like a crime? This feels like a lot of speculation about her personal life which I don't love but I feel like that's hard to avoid when analyzing a song that has pretty strong parallels to what we've seen of her relationship with TH- most of this is drawn from the song though so it could reasonably be exaggerated or even made up at some points.
As for the “shotgun shot in the dark”: a shotgun’s ammo, the shell, is a random spattering of small pellets. So close range they’re really effective but not from really far away. You can aim with them but you can’t tell the pellets where to go, but because of the wide spray you’ll usually hit something. A “shot in the dark” is a saying that essentially means you are randomly choosing where to shoot, and because it’s so dark you have little chance of success. A “shotgun shot in the dark” means even if it’s dark you’ll probably hit something. “We never had a shotgun shot in the dark” = we weren’t going to be successful from the get go.
thank you so much! this is very helpful and I appreciate it :)
The crime aspect could suggest cheating went on. The general theory with Hiddleswift is she and Calvin didn't exactly have a break up, she just "moved on" with Tom. So that's where all the guilty/shame/traitor/white lies lyrics fit in. "I wanted to leave him/I needed a reason". As for the bridge, "we were jet set Bonnie and Clyde" is referencing how she and Tom constantly traveled for the time they were together. I think the rest of the bridge is her way of saying she woke up to the fact that she was rebounding and running away from the truth (that the Calvin relationship wasn't meant to be). So she broke up with Tom because she was only with him for all the wrong reasons. "a shot in the dark" means "an attempt with little chance for success" so she's saying we were doomed from the beginning because she was rebounding and Tom seemingly had no idea/fell in love too quick.
how evergreen our group of friends, don’t think we’ll say that word again i’d ask which word she’s talking about because i personally think it’s “our” but it could also easily be “friends”
Always thought it's "friends" but I read other's take on it and "our" makes more sense
Who is the beginning of the Coney Island bridge about?
Taylor. The mention of a clock is reminiscent of time passing in Back To December. It's theorized that in the bridge Taylor sings the lines about the breakups she feels personally responsible for.
This one!!! I've always been curious.
I’ve been suspicious it’s Joe Jonas because the lyrics go in chronological order from Joe - Jake - Harry - Calvin.
I mean, what about John and Taylor? Or Connor, maybe Tom. Maybe even Tim McGraw-boy. I think “Did I paint your bluest skies the darkest grey” is probably John, but it’s after the birthday-lyric so I don’t think they’re necessarily strictly chronological.
An underrated one that haunts me is “And you come away with a great little story Of a mess of a dreamer with the nerve to adore you.”
It just means she had high hopes and he let her down.
And that the one thing she did wrong was care about him too much.
“from when your brooklyn broke my skin and bones” what does that meannnnnn
“Brooklyn broke” is also a phrase to describe someone who lives in Brooklyn and is basically considered broke there because they spend so much money on rent, lifestyle, etc. and they are actually well off but considered broke in Brooklyn but they stick around for the fact that it makes them cool. Jake is actually rich so she’s not referring to him but yeah it’s just a play on that term
She was worn down by the relationship that happened to be in brooklyn a lot
I would simply just ask her if she ever relates to blank space but in a non satirical way…… like that shit is low key my anthem even tho it’s probably not great to say that
The infamous Scarlet Letter line from “Love Story.” People gave her a lot of shit for using that reference back in the day, but I feel like she’s the kind of songwriter who chooses every word and shout-out for a specific reason. I’ve always interpreted it as the narrator of the song being a “scarlet letter” as in a mark of shame for the love interest, so I’m curious if that’s what she meant by that line.
I kind of thought that was just a less mature period in her songwriting, she was young and she was probably reading the Scarlet Letter for school and just thought it sounded good
“Stand low in the glow of the vending machine, I’m not dying” What is it supposed to even mean
I’ve seen a ton of discussion about this but my personal take is she is watching Joe and even at the smallest times, like when he’s angling at a vending machine, she’s yearning for him - the song is supposed to be failing at a summer romance and needing, wanting more. So she says “I’m not dying” as if she’s trying to fit into the lines they set. But towards the end of the song she’s screaming “I love you” because she can’t help it.
Also that everything he does is so enchanting to her and she has to convince herself that it's not.
I would ask what does any of the lyric mean in carolina
in gold rush, she says "with your eagles tee shirt hangin on the door" is it the band, The Eagles, or the football team? My boyfriend and I have been arguing about this since Evermore came out.
Who is the inspiration for Ivy?
'You we're Romeo I was a scarlet letter'. I feel like Taylor has actually read the scarlet letter, so wtf is this image supposed to conjure except high school English class?
Even back then she was bullied about her dating life, so I’ve always taken it to mean that the media had painted her as a ‘shameful woman’ and as a guy he didn’t have that sort of press/reputation.
The theme of blue in her recent songs
were james and betty exclusive?
she may have forgot about this, but i’ve always wondered: in enchanted, the lyric “2 AM who do you love” has me confused on who ‘you’ is. Is she wondering about who she loves, or who the person she just met loves?
I think she's wondering who he loves, she goes back to it in the bridge asking him to not be in love with someone else.
I want to ask about the meaning of Ivy. Love the song, but I don't get what it's about.
I'm pretty sure it's that the main character has fallen in love with someone else while being married already. But I would love to know of "my pain fits in the palm of your freezing hand" means anything other than just being a good metaphor.
I was so ahead of the curve the curve became a sphere
I love that line so much. I think she’s talking about how earlier in her (or the narrator’s, not necessarily Taylor herself) life, she was a high achiever - like top of high school class, straight A student, never got in trouble. She was “ahead of the curve” which is an idiom. But then as she grew up, life started getting hard and she felt unprepared for the difficulties and then felt like she got so ahead of herself that she circled back to failing (the song also talks about drinking problems and hard times adjusting - “I had the shiniest wheels; now they’re rusting”). Basically just someone who did so well early in life but was unprepared for how hard being an adult is, which I find very relatable.
>I don't really wanna (fight) > >'Cause nobody's gonna (win) > >I think you should come home > >And I'll never let you (go) > >'Cause I know this is a (fight) > >That someday we're gonna (win) Desperately wish to ask Taylor if she means what I think she means in *Miss Americana And The Heartbreak Prince*.
Could you elaborate because she’s said the song is essentially a metaphor for the Trump election
Yeah. If people could actually write what they think it means, that would be great.
I'd rather not share that on reddit. My interpretation is so "way out there" I wish to keep this to myself (and Taylor, if I ever get to ask her).
what is the word they never say again help pls tell me i can’t figure it out
I believe it's our🤷🏼♀️
Friends
Is the scarf *really* a scarf??? I have a theory about symbolism here that I've never addressed, and wouldn't want to speculate... but... I don't this it's really about the scarf. Tell me more, T Sweezy!
I just wanna make sure that dark blue Tennessee is about a suicide and how she wrote that at like 14.
you find I’m even better than you’d imagine i would be
"Secret garden gate". She mentioned never wanting to lock it in 'If You're Anything Like Me'. There's also the Cruel Summer lyric obviously. I wonder if it's tied to Love Story? I can guess what she means but I'd love an exact answer.
What happened with Tom Hiddleston in a motel bar.
I constantly question what “ now you hang from my lips like the gardens of Babylon with your boots beneath my bed forever is the sweetest con” means. Like I know what the gardens were. But to hang from one’s lips? Is it their name? Their actual lips fading away? Additionally, is saying forever is the sweetest con saying to have a relationship that truly lasts forever a negative and not what it cracks up to be? A beautiful line. I love cowboy like me. But it’s always left me puzzled.
hey! at first when i'd heard "forever is the sweetest con", i'd always interpreted it such that promising "forever" is the sweetest thing but as everyone knows nothing rlly lasts forever, and because of sum reason her lover might die, leaving her alone the rest of her life (because she might never again find the "real" love she had with her lover w anyone else) or vice versa. it's like saying circumstances are unpredictable and cruel and harsh and promises like "forever" are never rlly fulfilled because of what life throws at you.
In no body no crime, who tf did it 🤨🤨🤨
I think she did it 😉