On Sept. 25, Taylor Swift released The Life Of A Showgirl: Encore â a four-song extension of her 2025 album, The Life Of A Showgirl. And if you were expecting Swift to drop a song about her husband Travis Kelce, then you’re in luck. Track 2 of the expansion, “Cleveland!”, is a direct nod to Kelce â and the lyrics about him have Swifties swooning.
If thereâs one thing about Swift, itâs that the grind seriously doesnât stop with her. Nearly three months into married life, the pop superstar is already back to her roots: writing and, of course, giving her fans something new to dissect. (Whatâs new?) But this time, it seems her husband, Travis Kelce, is the newest source of inspiration for her lyrics â at least, thatâs what âCleveland!â implies.
Along with âCleveland!â, Swift released âPatient Zero,â âPink Clouding,â and âBabylonâ â all bangers, if you ask me. But what makes Swiftâs âCleveland!â stand out is that itâs not just a typical love song about Kelce â itâs about their wedding, his Ohio roots, and the fact she doesnât give a f*ck about the scrutiny. And honestly? That’s super cute.
The song gets straight to the point. It opens with, âSheâs not as hot as she was, but she was only a fourâ. It continues: âShe was never a girlâs girl, she was just a ââ. Right off the bat, Swift starts quoting the criticism sheâs received about her appearance, as well as how the public has perceived her relationships and friendships. It breaks my heart, yes, but itâs meant to represent her life in the public eye.
But Swift doesnât only reference the negative comments about her appearance. At another point in the song, she references criticism about her dancing: âStumbling clumsily? Would you even call that dancing,â she sings in the pre-chorus.Â
With these lyrics, Swift makes it known that public scrutiny can be hard to deal with â but it can be a little less hard when youâre tackling it with someone you love. The chorus sings, âSomething we all can agree on,â and âbut my baby likes what he likes.â Clearly, Swift is letting everyone know that the only opinions that matter to her are her own and her husbandâs. (As it should be, TBH!)
The chorus continues with one of the cutest lyrics in the entire song: âHe already took me to Cleveland and showed me The Heights, so hate all you like, this is the love of my life.â Clearly, Swift is focused on one thing: her husband and his roots. The two grew up living completely different lives â one as a superstar, and the other as a competitive athlete living in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. And this song seems like an ode to that: She wants to focus on the life theyâre building together, without all the outside noise. You can’t help but swoon!
At the end of the song, Swift even references their wedding with the lyrics, âNow Iâm wearing white, so hate all you like, this is the love of my life.â Meaning? Sheâs a wife now â she doesn’t GAF about what anyone has to say about her appearance, career, and relationship.Â
Swift has written many love songs before â most of which were about her sad and troubled relationships growing up. But now, Swift is in a happy, healthy marriage â and sheâs celebrating it. She doesnât care what anyone has to say because sheâs happy with him (and I love that for her).
But the same goes for Kelce: he doesnât seem to care about what anyone says because he loves Swift the way she is. I mean, the two are in their newlywed era, for goodness sake! Why should they care about what critics are saying?
Anyway, if youâre wondering where I am for the next 24 hours, you can find me listening to her new songs on repeat.Â