Taylor Swift dropped the second single, "Ready for It?," from her upcoming 6th studio album, “Reputation” on Sunday morning and people are already parsing the lyrics as to who the pop star is referencing to this time.
If the record breaking single “Look What You Made Me Do,” is obviously about Kanye West and Katy Perry, “Ready for It,” could be about Taylor’s under the radar boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, and may also have a reference to ex Harry Styles of One Direction.
Entertainment Weekly looked line by line into the lyrics of “Ready for It?” and identified several words that apparently refer to the personal life of the Grammy Award winning singer, Joe Alwyn, and a number of her ex-boyfriends.
On her current beau
These opening lines of “Ready for It?,” "Knew he was a killer/ First time that I saw him...,” are interpreted as references to Taylor’s current beau, Joe Alwyn and his debut role in the movie "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk." In the movie, Alwyn, played U.S. soldier suffering from PTSD as a consequence of the Iraq war.
The lines "Younger than my exes/ But he acts like such a man, so..." are easily assumed to refer to two of Taylor’s past boyfriends, Tom Hiddleston, age 36 and Calvin Harris, age 33, who are older than Alwyn, age 26.
The lyrics, "I know I'm gonna be with you/ So I take my time...,” are said to refer to Taylor’s decision to make her relationship with Alwyn low key.
According to PEOPLE Magazine, Swift’s decision to keep her current relationship quiet is making her happy. Both are said to choose to get to know each other slowly and without any pressure.
This is in contrast to the high profile romantic engagements Taylor Swift’s had in the past.
On Liz Taylor and Richard Burton
Taylor is said to be captivated by the love story of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and she has them in her new song.
“Burton to this Taylor/ Every love I've known in comparison is a failure..." This is assumed to be a comparison between her current relationship and that of her favorite Hollywood couple.
On Harry Styles
The following lines are said to refer to Harry Styles of One Direction, “Wonder how many girls he had loved and left haunted/ but if he’s a ghost then I can be a phantom / Holdin’ him for ransom.” Styles has a song called "Two Ghosts," which was said to be about his romance with Taylor.
Already a hit
It would appear, regardless of who Taylor is referencing this time, that her “Ready for It?” single will become another hit. EW reports “ Ready for It?” topped “Look What You Made Me Do” in the top spot of the U.S. iTunes chart hours after it was released.
