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    Posted on Nov 8, 2017

    Here Are All The Possible Hidden Meanings In Taylor Swift's Album Tracklist

    She unveiled the tracklist today, so of course theorising has begun.

    With just two days until the release of Reputation, Taylor Swift has unveiled the official tracklist for the album.

    And as with every other part of this album cycle, people are already theorising the hell out of what the track titles and their placements on the list mean.

    Channel 4

    So, without further ado, here are the best theories so far.

    1. Many people think there are two halves to the album: The first half referencing her media persona, and the second her ~true self.~

    The theory of there being "two Taylors" has endured throughout this era. It suggests that there is a public Taylor Swift constructed by the media, and the real version who no one knows. It began with the release of the album artwork, where half of Taylor's face was covered in newsprint and the other completely clean, as if to convey the notion that people only know "one side of the story."

    People therefore think that the first six tracks reference the "media" Taylor, before "So It Goes..." signals a shift in the album where her real persona comes out.

    Big Machine Records

    This theory could stand up, based on the songs we've heard so far.

    Big Machine Records

    "Look What You Made Me Do", for example, seemed to be a response to her public reputation – something that was bolstered in the video where she played and killed off different versions of her past personas. Then, just this week, she said the video was an attempt to examine how "ridiculous" it'd be if everything that was written about her was true.

    And when "...Ready For It?" was released, many people theorised that the lyrics in the verses were satirical, and told from the same perspective of the man-eating, serial-dating character from "Blank Space" that Taylor claims is a media construct.

    A to Z Lyrics

    However, "Gorgeous" and "Call It What You Want", from the second half of the album, are entirely different.

    Big Machine Records

    These are two love songs, where the lyrics are much more recognisably Taylor Swift, veering away from the aggressiveness of "...Ready For It?" and "Look What You Made Me Do".

    2. The theory that the album will be split into two halves stacks up even more when we bring in another theory, established after the release of the "Look What You Made Me Do" video.

    Big Machine Records

    At the end of the video, all 15 different versions of Taylor stand in a lineup, which led to darkbluetennesseas theorising that each Taylor represented a different song on the album. When Taylor herself liked the post on Tumblr, this theory was then taken as gospel.

    Well, the Taylor who corresponds with "So It Goes..." is the Taylor from the VMAs incident in 2009, when she was interrupted by Kanye West.

    Big Machine Records

    This incident was a key moment in Taylor's career, and when their feud reignited in 2016, the fallout led to the implosion of her public reputation. So it'd be somewhat appropriate if this song was the one to address all that, rounding off the first half of the album before moving on to the second, more personal half.

    3. However, just to throw a spanner in the works, it can't be ignored that the title of "So It Goes..." also has a connection to two songs from 1989.

    Big Machine Records

    If you cast your minds all the way back to the 1989 era, you may remember the song "Style" and the bonus track "You Are In Love."

    "Style" contains the lyric: "So it goes / He can't keep his wild eyes on the road."


    And "You Are In Love" has the lyric: "And so it goes / You two are in a snowglobe dancing round and round."


    Which has got people debating whether "So It Goes..." will be an epic continuation of "You Are In Love", or "Style" 2.0.

    I can’t help but sing «and SO IT GOES, you two are dancing in a snow globe round and round» when I read that title.…


    "So It Goes..." made me think of that line in You Are In Love where they're dancing in a snow globe and sxksjdj thi…

    'So It Goes.." sounds like Style 2.0 i think

    4. Apparently "Dress" is sexy AF.

    Twitter: @captureits

    Some alleged lyrics were leaked over the weekend and if they're legit, "Dress" might just be the sexiest song Taylor has ever released. The lyrics in question? "I bought this dress just so you could take it off."

    Then there's the fact that fans who attended her Secret Sessions reported that not only did Taylor's manager cover his ears when the song was played, but her mum actually left the room.

    5. There's an Ed Sheeran collaboration – and we all missed this potential massive hint.

    Anna Webber / Getty Images

    Ed could have been dropping clues about the collab all the way back in March, when he seemed to have some scarily accurate insight into when Reputation might be released – a full five months before Taylor made the announcement. Speaking to NME, Ed said: "Taylor isn't going to be releasing until probably the end of the year." Well, turns out he knew because he's on the damn thing.

    6. And it also seems that Taylor dropped a massive hint about the track "King of My Heart" in the "...Ready For It?" video.

    Big Machine Records / Via
    Big Machine Records / Via

    7. However, this song might not be the romantic ode to her boyfriend that it appears to be.

    Big Machine Records

    Everyone's assuming that this track is one of devotion to her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, but Taylor has actually used the trope of kings and queens in a non-favourable way for years. Take, for example, "Blank Space". Remember how this song was a satirical response to her reputation as a man-eater and serial dater? Well, in it she uses the lyric "You're the king, baby I'm your queen," before "turning the tables" and causing the relationship to implode.

    Then, most recently in "Call It What You Want", Taylor sings: "All the drama queens taking swings / All the jokers dressing up as kings."

    Big Machine Records

    So what appears to be a love song ~might not be.~

    8. Going back to the lineup theory, this really does seem to stack up now that we know the names of the tracks and the corresponding Taylors.

    Some things of note: "I Did Something Bad" would correspond quite well with the Taylor on a cross. "Delicate" corresponding with Fearless-era Taylor would work if it is indeed the sweet and whimsical love song it appears. But the most convincing? "Dancing With My Hands Tied" corresponds with "Out of the Woods" zombie Taylor, because who can forget the lyrics: "We moved the furniture so we could dance / Baby like we stood a chance." RIP me.

    9. "New Year's Day" seems to follow the tradition of the final tracks on Taylor's albums representing fresh starts.

    Instagram: @taylorswift

    On Red, the final track was "Begin Again", which was about Taylor falling in love after being heartbroken. On 1989, the final track was "Clean", about her finally getting over a traumatic relationship and feeling strong enough to move on. And on Fearless, the final track was literally called "Change".

    So "New Year's Day" appears to follow that tradition – after all, it is synonymous with evolving, fresh starts, and looking forward.

    10. But it could also be a nod to the album's theme of duality, as Mess of a Dreamer expertly points out.

    11. But we also now know that "New Year's Day" is the title of the track that Taylor told a fan could be used as her wedding song.

    Twitter: @Lyyssaaaa13

    So it could very well be a love song of epic proportions.

    It's not too long until we get answers...


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