Taylor Swift‘s highly-anticipated album The Tortured Poets Department dropped today (April 19), and Swifties are already filling Reddit threads with speculations and theories. One of those speculations is that the song “The Alchemy” is about her current boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
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There seem to be thinly veiled football metaphors throughout the lyrics, which fuels the surface-level theories. However, if there’s one thing Swifties love to do it’s dig for hidden meaning until they hit bedrock. That’s exactly what they’re doing for “The Alchemy,” and the Taylor Swift Reddit already has a megathread dedicated singularly to this song.
The general consensus among fans is that the song isn’t solely about Travis Kelce. Instead, it’s addressing multiple people—Kelce, Matty Healy, and Joe Alwyn, according to some fans—and while she’s in a relationship with someone who really cares about her, she’s still fighting through moments from a past relationship, hence “the alchemy.”
Is Taylor Swift Talking About Her Relationship, or Her Return to Touring on “The Alchemy”?
One fan stated that Swift’s music doesn’t have to “fit” an individual person, and that much of her music is not autobiographical. A bold statement for the Swiftie community, who seem to assign many of her songs to real moments in her life, using her albums as a peek into more personal moments.
On the other hand, many fans theorized that “The Alchemy” has too many football references to not be a subtle nod to her new relationship. She also uses the word “blokes” in the lyrics, and fans speculate she’s talking about her “two British exes,” Healy and Alwyn. So, there’s something to be said for the multiple subjects theory.
The other theory is that “The Alchemy” is about Taylor Swift’s triumphant return to making music and touring, and also her overall return to the United States after living in the U.K. during her relationship with Joe Alwyn.
Lines like, What if I told you I’m back? and I haven’t come around in so long / But I’m coming back so strong have led fans to believe she’s talking to them personally. She may be referencing the new album or the Eras Tour, using this song as a celebration of her return with brand new music as well as a celebration of her new relationship. With the line, ‘Cause the sign on your heart / Said it’s still reserved for me, fans are thinking she’s sending a love letter to her U.S. fans, making a return to the spotlight here where they waited to welcome her back with open arms.
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