Taylor Swift Reputation: Fans seek out hidden messages in new album
New tracks like 'Getaway Car' thought to be about star's split from actor Tom Hiddleston
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Taylor Swift fans have speculated that songs on her new album Reputation refer to her former flames Tom Hiddleston and Calvin Harris, as well as her current beau Joe Alwyn.
Swift is well known for writing songs about her previous romances and has previously penned tracks about John Mayer, Joe Jonas, Harry Styles and Jake Gyllenhaal.
On her new album track 'Getaway Car', she sings: “The ties were black/the lies were white,” which is potentially a reference to the black tie Met Gala, where Swift was filmed dancing with Hiddleston.
Their highly publicised romance came hot on the heels of her split from DJ Calvin Harris and another line in the song seems to refer to the love triangle, as she sings: “With three of us, honey, it's a sideshow” - the Swift, Harris and Hiddleston love triangle was popular tabloid fodder in the summer of 2016.
One fan wrote on Twitter: “So is #getawaycar telling Tom he shouldn't have been surprised she left him... She was just trying to get away from Calvin?”
Another wrote: “So #GetawayCar is definitely about Tom Hiddleston, right?”
Other listeners speculated 'Dancing With Our Hands Tied' is about Harris, citing her reference to a locket the DJ gave her when they were dating.
She also mentions she was 25 at the start of their relationship.
They also cited 'I Did Something Bad' as a track about her famous ex, which includes the lyrics: “If he drops my name, then I owe him nothing.”
This could refer to the fact Swift was a secret contributor to Harris's song 'This Is What You Came For' and the Twitter tirade he went on after she confirmed her participation.
She also sings: “If a man talks shit, then I owe him nothing” and “If he spends my change, then he had it coming.”
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One Twitter user wrote: “Umm CALVIN she's talking about you. FYI,” as another said: “Calvin don't listen to I did something bad” and another wrote: “Wherever Calvin Harris is right now I have a feeling he's drunk.”
Swift also appears to refer to her current British boyfriend Alwyn in a number of tracks including 'Delicate', in which she sings “Do the girls back home touch you like I do?” and on 'Dress', when she sings “Flashback to when you met me/Your buzz cut/And my hair bleached.”
Alwyn had a buzzcut while filming Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk while Swift had bleached hair for the first half of 2016 when they met.
The song 'Gorgeous', also rumoured to be about Alwyn, features a special cameo by James Reynolds, the daughter of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds.
The start of the song features a child shouting “Gorgeous!” and the notes on her album list James as the “baby voice intro”.
Reputation is out now.
PA
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