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Taylor Swift's 'Reputation': All the Kimye, Joe Alwyn, Calvin Harris, and Tom Hiddleston References


It’s finally here, people: Taylor Swift‘s sixth studio album, Reputation. And it was well worth the wait because the record is good, plain and simple—a delectable collection of techno-heavy bops with poignant, petty, and wildly romantic lyrics. Like all Swift albums, though, fans will most likely care more about the words to these songs than the sonics.

So that’s where we come in: We went ahead and scoured Swift’s new album for all the Joe Alwyn, Calvin Harris, Tom Hiddleston, and Kimye references—and there are a ton of ’em. Swift isn’t playing games this time around, and we love her for it. Dig in.

“Delicate”: This song is one of many odes to Alwyn on this album. She references his blue eyes (“Damn, never seen that color blue”), the women in England (“Do the girls back home touch you like I do?”), and the brevity of their relationship (“Is it too soon to do this yet?”).

“Dress”: “Flashback to when you met me / Your buzz cut / And my hair bleached,” Swift reveals toward the end of this song. Alwyn had a buzzcut while filming Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk, and Swift had bleached-blond hair for the first half of 2016. The “gold tattoo” reference could also be a nod to Alwyn’s golden blond hair.

“Don’t Blame Me”: There’s no specific references, but this entire song discusses how Swift’s “drug” is her “baby,” so it’s obvious who this is about.

“King of My Heart”: The “king” in this song is not American, because Swift says she’s his “American queen.” She also says this king “fancies” her, which is a British term. And we don’t have to remind you that Alwyn is British.

“Gorgeous”: “Gorgeous” is perhaps the most obvious tribute to Alwyn on the record. It includes lines explicitly referring to his accent (“I got drunk and made fun of the way you talk”) and his eyes (“Ocean blue eyes”).

“…Ready for It?”: Our money’s on this being yet another Alwyn song. The man on this track is “younger than her exes” (Alwyn is 26), and she references an “island.” (The U.K., where Alwyn lives, is an island.) Also, the concept of “games” comes up in this song, which might be a wink to Alwyn’s movie Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk.

“New Year’s Day”: There’s no direct references here, but it’s a very mushy, sweet love song—who do think is the subject?

“End Game”: Similar to “Ready for It,” the “game” reference here is a possible hat-tip to Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk.

“So It Goes…”: Swift says, “I’ll wear you like a necklace” on this tune, possibly referring to the “J” pendant she’s been spotted wearing at the Reputation secret sessions (and at her best friend Abigail’s wedding). Also, she talks about how she and this guy have done “numbers” on each other; Swift used numbers in the “…Ready for It?” video to reference herself (1989) and Alwyn (1991, his birth date).

“Call It What You Want”: The most obvious Alwyn reference on this tune is, “I want to wear his initial on a chain round my neck,” which references the “J” pendant mentioned in “So It Goes…” However, “My baby’s fit like a daydream / Walking with his head down” could also be a shout-out to Billy Lynn’s Halftime Walk.

“Dancing With Our Hands Tied”: Swift references a locket on this song, and Harris infamously gave Swift a locket when they were dating. She also mentions she was 25 at the start of this relationship, which is how old she was when she started dating Harris.

“I Did Something Bad”: “If he drops my name, then I owe him nothing,” Swift sings on this tune, which might be a reference to Harris’ Twitter tirade against her after the “This Is What You Came For” drama exploded. (Remember: Swift was a secret contributor to the song, but all hell broke loose when she confirmed her participation in it.) Harris has also gone on the record several times about Swift and their relationship. Other lyrics from this song that point to Harris: “If a man talks shit, then I owe him nothing” and “If he spends my change, then he had it coming.” (Because Harris is listed as the artist and producer on “This Is What You Came For,” he’ll receive more money for the song than Swift, even though she contributed to it.) Also, the title of the song, “I Did Something Bad,” is damning, since Harris said in July 2016 it was hurtful Swift’s team was going out of their way to make him “look bad.”

“Don’t Blame Me”: Swift talks about toying with “older guys” on this song. Harris is 33.

“End Game”: “I’ve got some big enemies,” she sings. That’s sort of self-explanatory.

“Gorgeous”: “I’ve got a boyfriend / He’s older than us / He’s in the club doing I don’t know what.” Harris, Swift’s ex-boyfriend, is a DJ (and presumably always in clubs)…and he’s older.

“Call It What You Want”: “All the liars are calling me one,” Swift sings here. It’s not far-fetched to think this is yet another mention of the “This Is What You Came For” falling out.

“Getaway Car”: “The ties were black / the lies were white,” Swift says at the top of this song, which could be a reference to the Met Gala, the star-studded, black-tie event where she and Hiddleston first got together. The “getaway car” here might personify Swift’s relationship with Hiddleston, which she presumably jumped into to end her time with Harris. “There were sirens in the beat of your heart,” Swift also a notes—a reference to that “I Heart T. Swift” shirt, perhaps? Another obvious jab: “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.

“Don’t Blame Me”: Same as Harris. Hiddleston is 36—another “older guy” Swift “toyed” with.

“I Did Something Bad”: “They’re burning all the witches even if you aren’t one / They got their pitchforks and proof / Their receipts and reasons,” Swift laments toward the end of this song—a clear nod to when Kim Kardashian posted a conversation between West and Swift to Snapchat about the song “Famous.” Kardashian asserted the conversation proved Swift consented to the “that bitch” line on “Famous,” but Swift said it didn’t.

“This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”: “It was so nice being friends again / There I was giving you a second chance” could possibly be referring to the fact Swift and West briefly made up in 2015 (she presented him with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at that year’s MTV Video Music Awards). She also clearly nods to the infamous phone call she and West had here: “Friends don’t try to trick you / Get you on the phone and mind-twist you.” And her lyric, “Here’s a toast to my real friends” mirrors this line in West’s song, “Runaway”: “Let’s have a toast for the douchebags.” It’s also plausible that Swift references West and Jay Z’s falling out when she sings, “I’m not the only friend you’ve lost lately / If only you weren’t so shady.”

“End Game”: Similar to Harris, the “I’ve got some big enemies” line could be about West and Kardashian.

“Look What You Made Me Do”: “Don’t like your tilted stage,” Swift quips here, which is assumed to be a dig at West’s Life of Pablo Tour, where he had a tilted stage. Plus, she sings about how the “old Taylor” can’t come to the “phone”—and West and Swift’s infamous feud is about the contents of a phone call.

“Call It What You Want”: “All the liars are calling me one / All the drama queens taking swings / All the jokers dressing up as kings,” Swift notes here. Swift contests what Kimye said about the Snapchat-leaked phone call isn’t true—this lyric could be a reference to that.

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