TAYLOR SWIFT
Decoding her folklore
Surprising fans with her eighth studio album on July 24, Taylor Swift included a personal essay with the release, musing about the meaning the album’s title, Folklore. “The lines between fantasy and reality blur and the boundaries between truth and fiction become almost indescribable,” she wrote. “Someone’s secrets written in the sky for all to behold.”
As with any Swift album, there were secrets and hidden meanings aplenty for Swiftie sleuths to find among the album’s 16 tracks. Answering questions during the video premiere for lead single ‘Cardigan’, the singer explained that for this album she “put the Easter eggs in the lyrics, more than just the videos”. Behold, a guide to just some of the hidden hints fans think she dropped about her personal life if her latest offering.
Who is William Bowery?
Alongside frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff and The National’s Aaron Dessner and Bon Iver, there are two co-writing credits for a mysterious William Bowery. “He’s a songwriter and actually because of social distancing, I’ve never met him,” Dessner said in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I don’t actually know to be totally honest … She enjoys little mysteries.” Almost as much as fans enjoy solving them. It was quickly uncovered that Swift’s boyfriend Joe Alwyn’s great-grandfather was named William, and he was a composer and music teacher. Additionally, Swift, 30, and Alwyn, 29, had their first date at the Bowery Hotel in New York City, leading many to believe Bowery is an alias for Alwyn.
All About Joe
The most obvious references to Alwyn are in the song ‘Invisible String’. “Teal was the
colour of your shirt / When you were sixteen at the yogurt shop / You used to work at to make a little money,” sings Swift. In a 2019 interview with Red magazine, Alwyn talked about working at a UK frozen yogurt shop called Snog. Some fans went further, speculating Swift is pregnant. Their proof ? She hasn’t shown off her midsection in recent photos and they claim to spy a baby bump visible in her ‘Cardigan’ music video. Also, on the song ‘Peace’, she sings, “give you my wild, give you my child.”
Feud with Scott and Scooter
Two songs seem to reference the singer’s falling out with Scott Borchetta and Scooter Braun after the singer left music label Big Machine. On ‘My Tears Ricochet’, she references her “stolen lullabies”, a nod to the fact that Big Machine owns the masters to Taylor’s first six albums. Another telling lyric? “And if I’m dead to you, why are you at the wake? / Cursing my name, wishing I stayed / Look at how my tears ricochet.” On ‘Mad Woman’ she lets loose again, singing, “It’s obvious that wanting me dead / Has really brought you two together”.
Blake & Ryan’s baby Betty
With the song ‘Betty’, fans suspected that the singer revealed the name of close friends Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds’ newest daughter – and they would be correct. A source tells WHO’s sister magazine People that the song was named in part for the couple’s third daughter, born in October last year. The track also features the names of the couple’s other girls, James, 5, and Inez, 3. This isn’t the first time the kids have had a cameo in a Swift song. The track ‘Gorgeous’ from her 2017 album Reputation begins with a recording of baby James saying “gorgeous”.