Few artists can weave personal narratives into song — and have them expertly dissected by the most loyal of fans — like Taylor Swift can. The songstress hasn’t minced words in her songs, especially when it comes to reflecting on past relationships. Now that Taylor’s version of 1989 has finally dropped, fans have been having quite the time digging deep into the lyrical meaning of five previously unreleased tracks, but one in particular has fans losing it.
“Did anyone else GASP when listening to Is It Over Now? Because I sure did,” wrote one fan on TikTok who stayed up late to listen to the five new tracks just as they hit streaming services. And they weren’t alone. Fans quickly latched onto this one track and started putting the puzzle pieces together.
“Is It Over Now” might sound like any other Swift song to the untrained ear, but Swifties are convinced the song is about someone she dated all the way back in 2012. The culprit? None other than Harry Styles.
Let’s recap for those less familiar with Swift’s dating history. She dated the One Direction star over a decade ago, first for a blip in the spring of 2012 and then from November 2012 to January 2013. Even though the two only dated for three months, their relationship regularly made headlines, and the lyrics of “Is It Over Now” seem to address headline after headline.
“You dream of my mouth before it called you a lying traitor. You search in every maiden’s bed for somethin’ greater, baby,” Swift sings in the pre-chorus, alluding to an alleged incident involving Styles kissing another woman the first time they briefly dated. According to a source from Vanity Fair at the time, the relationship crumbled after Styles tried to do some damage control and texted Swift about a photo of him kissing a “friend,” model Emily Ostilly, goodbye in April 2012. She even changes the word “maiden” to “model” the second time she sings this chorus, all-but-confirming the reference to fans.
In the second verse, Swift sings, “When you lost control, red blood white snow,” which fans were quick to point out alludes to a snowmobile crash the two experienced. This isn’t the first time Swift has referenced this incident, either. In the 1989 track “Out of the Woods,” she sings, “Remember when you hit the brakes too soon. Twenty stitches in a hospital room.”
She also seems to reference to a highly publicized spat the two had while on a boat in the British Virgin Islands. Longtime Swifties believe the line “Blue dress, on a boat, your new girl is my clone,” is a nod to a photo that went viral of the singer wearing a blue dress sitting alone following the relationship-ending fight.
While Swift has rarely directly talked about the inspiration for any of her songs, it is hard to argue that this is about anyone else other than Styles, especially given that the two dated and broke up as she was writing 1989. Tracks from that album including the very on the nose “Style,” “I Know Places,” “Out of the Woods,” and “Wonderland” all seemingly reference their short-lived romance. The good news is, the two seem to be on friendly terms now, and Swift’s romantic life with Travis Kelce is clearly very much on an upswing.
Before you go, click here to see all the celebrity couples who have stayed together after cheating scandals.
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