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Taylor Swift’s 1989 Song Meanings

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at PS Berks chapter.

Song: Welcome to New York

Hidden Message: We begin our story in new york

Song: Blank Space

Hidden Message: There once was a girl known by everyone and no one

Song: Style

Hidden Message: her heart belonged to someone who couldn’t stay

Who It’s About: Harry Styles

Evidence: “james dean daydream/long hair slick back white tshirt”/his last name is STYLEs

Song: Out of the Woods

Hidden Message: They loved each other recklessly

Who It’s About: Harry Styles!

Song: All You Had to Do Was Stay…on that boat

Hidden Message: They paid the price

Who It’s About: Harry Styles

Song: Shake It Off

Hidden Message: She danced to forget him

Song: I Wish You Would

Hidden Message: He drove past her street each night

Who It’s About: about someone that lived 2 blocks from her

Who It’s About: Joe Jonas?

“I wish I never hung up the phone like I did”/27-second phone call break-up

“you wanna run and hide”/”made you run and hide like a scared little boy” (Forever and Always)

Who It’s About: Who I Almost Do is about? (Jake Gyllenhaal or John Mayer)

“youre thinking that I hate you now cuz you still don’t know what I never said”/”you think I either moved on or hate you, it takes everything in my not to call you” (I Almost Do)

Song: Bad Blood

Hidden Message: She made friends and enemies

Who It’s About: Katy Perry!

Song: Wildest Dreams

Hidden Message: He only saw her in his dreams

Who It’s About: John Mayer? (6’3”) “he’s so tall and handsome as hell/he’s so bad but he does it so well”

“I think the way I used to approach relationships was very idealistic. I used to go into them thinking, ‘Maybe this is the one — we’ll get married and have a family, this could be forever,’” she said in Rolling Stone about the song.

Song: How You Get the Girl

Hidden Message: Then one day he came back

Who It’s About: Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber? Lena and Jack?

Song: This Love

Hidden Message: Timing is a funny thing

Who It’s About: Harry Styles? Conor Kennedy?

boat and ocean references, harry left her on a boat and got a ship tattoo with her

“clear blue water high tide came and brought you in/current swept you out again/losing group on sinking ships you showed up just time”

Song: I Know Places

Hidden Message: And everyone was watching

Who It’s About: Harry Styles! Foxes and fox sweater

Song: Clean

Hidden Message: She lost him but she found herself and somehow that was everything

Who It’s About: Jake Gyllenhaal!

Kristy is a senior at Penn State Berks.