After only getting a few days to prepare for new music, Taylor Swift fans feasted on the singer’s The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, the deluxe edition of TLOAS featuring four new songs, in the wee hours of Sept. 25. And there was *a lot* to chew on, with all four songs giving fans lyrics to dissect, discuss, and theorize about. The third new track to be featured on the album, “Pink Clouding,” is no exception. The song is very clearly about an ex, but who is “Pink Clouding” about, specifically? Rest assured, Swifties have thoughts.
Swift has plenty of iconic songs about exes: “Mr. Perfectly Fine,” “All Too Well,” “Dear John,” and “So Long, London,” just to name a few. But unlike many of her songs that are seemingly dedicated to past relationships, “Pink Clouding” isn’t about calling out the ways she was wronged or hurt — it’s an apology. (“Back To December,” anyone?)
In the song, Swift sings directly to the subject of the song, explaining that she was still hurt from a past relationship and was using the new person she was with to ease the pain and feel good again. (FYI, “pink clouding” is a term used in addiction recovery, typically associated with strong happy and optimistic feelings.) In hindsight, she regrets it. The song is full of lyrics that own up to what she believes to be her own wrongdoing:
- Neither of us knew at the time / That I was a liar
- Years later, I still wonder how to tell you sorry / I didn’t wanna let you down / So I left you up there on a pink cloud
- You met me at a cursed time / I told you I was fine
- And you were so good / That’s why you haunt me like you should
- I hope you realized my kind of trouble wasn’t worth it / And the way I treated you, you never deserved it
- And I swear to God, to this day / I wake up scared that I left scars on a good person
- I hope you landed safely on the ground, hey / And I hope you’re so happy now
As far as songs about exes go, this is probably as flattering as it gets. But which of Swift’s exes could it be about? Here are fans’ top theories:
- Tom Hiddleston
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This is by far the leading theory among Swifties, and for good reason. So many things line up here: Swift and Hiddleston famously met amid the collapse of Swift’s relationship with DJ and music producer Calvin Harris. Swift’s breakup with Harris was messy — so much drama played out in the press at the time — so it would make sense that she’d turn to a good person (as she says in her song) for some relief. In fact, Swift already wrote a song that many fans believe to be about Hiddleston: “Getaway Car,” in which she sings about using a short-lived relationship to escape her last situation. But while “Getaway Car” may explain why she did what she did to Hiddleston, it’s possible that “Pink Clouding” could finally be her apologizing for it.
- Taylor Lautner
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Another ex who Taylor Swift has only had praise for, Taylor Lautner is also theorized to be the subject of “Pink Clouding.” Swift and Lautner dated for a few months all the way back in 2009, and have remained friendly since then. (Remember when Lautner starred in Swift’s “I Can See You” music video and helped her debut it onstage at the Eras Tour in 2023? Yeah, they’re tight.) Which brings us back to “Back To December,” the original Swift apology song, in which she sings to an ex (whom Lautner himself confirmed was him) to apologize for how she ended their relationship. Considering Swift sings in “Pink Clouding” that “years later, I still wonder how to tell you sorry,” could she still be thinking about that breakup after all this time? Some fans think so.
- Joe Alwyn
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This theory centers mostly on imagery — namely, colors. Looking back to Midnights, Swift confirmed her song “Lavender Haze” was about her then-boyfriend Alwyn. Considering pink and purple are pretty similar, and clouding could be another word for haze, some fans are drawing the connection and seeing “Pink Clouding” and “Lavender Haze” as sister tracks about the same person. Plus, fans are connecting the song’s title to the aesthetic of her Lover album, which was all about her relationship with Alwyn. Perhaps now that Swift has had a few years to process the breakup, she’s reflecting on their time together in a new light?
- Harry Styles
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Mr. Styles has quite the list of Swift songs that are inspired by him — and some fans just added “Pink Clouding” to that list, too. For starters, many fans are saying the song is sonically aligned with the synth-y pop that hallmarks 1989, the album that heavily references Swift and Styles’s history. Plus, fans are pointing to Swift’s line about “trouble” in “Pink Clouding” as a possible subtle reference to Styles, since she once hinted that her song “Trouble” is about Styles. Sure, that one’s a bit of a stretch, but hey, in the world of Swifties, all theories are welcome!