Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, is here, and it is filled with the kind of hidden messages and personal references that fans love to find. The album, released on October 3, acts as a vibrant soundtrack to the behind-the-scenes life she led during her massive Eras Tour. From playful jabs at fellow artists to loving nods to her fiancé, Travis Kelce, and nostalgic looks back at her youth, the lyrics are a treasure trove of Easter eggs.
The Story Behind “Actually Romantic”
One track, “Actually Romantic,” has quickly become a major topic of conversation. While the title sounds loving, the song is widely seen as a response to another artist, Charli XCX. The lyrics seem to directly reference past tensions.
Swift sings, “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave,” and, “High-fived my ex and then you said you’re glad he ghosted me.” The line, “Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face,” is believed to be about Charli XCX’s 2024 track “Sympathy Is a Knife,” which included lyrics about not wanting to see a certain someone “backstage at my boyfriend’s show.”
Rather than sounding angry, Swift frames the attention as a form of flattery. In the chorus, she sings, “I know you think it comes off vicious / But it’s precious, adorable / Like a toy chihuahua barking at me from a tiny purse.” On a track-by-track commentary for Amazon Music, Swift explained the song’s meaning.
“‘Actually Romantic’ is a song about realizing that someone else has kind of had a one-sided adversarial relationship with you that you didn’t know about,” she said. “It’s actually pretty romantic if you really, really think about it.”
A Deep Dive into High School Memories in “Ruin the Friendship”
In a poignant shift, the song “Ruin the Friendship” tells a heartbreaking story of regret and loss. It is not about a soured friendship, but about a childhood friend Swift wished she had pursued romantically.
The song is packed with specific details from her teenage years in Tennessee. She mentions driving “85 / Gallatin Road and the lakeside beach,” a likely reference to a road in her hometown of Hendersonville. A mention of a 50 Cent song playing sets the scene firmly in the 2000s. The story takes a sad turn when her real-life best friend, Abigail, calls with “bad news.”
Swift flies home for the friend’s funeral, lamenting, “It was not an invitation / But as the 50 Cent song played / Should’ve kissed you anyway.” The song ends with a piece of life advice: “My advice is always ruin the friendship / Better that than regret it / For all time.”
Travis Kelce’s Presence Across the Album
Fiancé Travis Kelce is a joyful muse throughout much of the album. The very first track, “The Fate of Ophelia,” uses Shakespeare’s tragic character to explain how Kelce rescued her from sadness. The lyrics, “Keep it one hundred,” are a direct link to Kelce’s own Instagram caption from July, where he posted photos of them with the phrase “kept it 100.”
The song “Opalite” is reportedly Kelce’s favorite on the album. The title is a reference to his October birthstone, opal. In “Wood,” the references are even clearer. She sings, “New Heights of manhood,” a shout-out to his podcast with his brother, and uses the line, “Girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet / To know a hard rock is on the way,” to playfully hint at their engagement.
In “Wi$h Li$t,” Swift sings about her hopes for a future family, with lyrics like, “Have a couple kids / Got the whole block looking like you / We tell the world to leave us the fuck alone … and they do.”
Literary and Personal Name-Drops
The album’s second track is named after the legendary actress Elizabeth Taylor. While the song doesn’t deeply explore Taylor’s life, it does use her as a symbol of dramatic love and fame, referencing her iconic perfume with the line, “All my white diamonds and lovers are forever.”
The song “Father Figure” uses an interpolation of George Michael’s 1987 hit of the same name. His estate publicly supported Swift’s use of the song, stating, “When we heard the track we had no hesitation in agreeing to this association between two great artists and we know George would have felt the same.”
The final track, which shares the album’s title “The Life of a Showgirl,” features a collaboration with Sabrina Carpenter and includes audio from the final night of Swift’s Eras Tour, where she gave a shout-out to Carpenter from the stage.
Nods to Album Rollouts and Fan Culture
Swift even includes meta-references to her own album marketing. In “Honey,” the lyrics “Summertime spritz, pink skies” and “Wintergreen kiss, all mine” are believed to be descriptions of the colored vinyl variants released for the album, such as the “summertime spritz pink shimmer” and “wintergreen and onyx marbled” editions.
In “Eldest Daughter,” Swift offers commentary on internet culture, singing, “Everybody’s so punk on the internet / Everyone’s unbothered till they’re not / Every joke’s just trolling and memes / Sad as it seems, apathy is hot.” This serves as a preamble to her declaring her own softness in the face of love.
Also Read: Is Taylor Swift’s New Song ‘Actually Romantic’ About Charli XCX? Lyrics, Meaning Explained
