Erika Fox

The Hidden Messages Taylor Swift Has Left in Lyrics and What They Mean

Erika Fox

5/24/2023

Taylor Swift is famous for leaving “easter eggs”, or secret messages, for her fans (“Swifties”), and these fans are experts at figuring them out. Whether the egg is as uncomplicated as a future album title appearing in a music video (a sign reading “Lover” can be spotted in the background of the ME! music video) or as complex as Taylor using Koi fish imagery over time to hint at her upcoming Speak Now rerecord release date, the message will be received.

These easter eggs are part of the reason that Taylor Swift has one of the most engaged fanbases to ever exist. But how did this all start? The first easter eggs Taylor ever left consisted of her capitalizing seemingly random letters in her lyric booklets, in such a way where if a fan were to sit down and pull them all out, a message would be revealed.

Listen to Taylor herself explain her original easter eggs:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=O3YGh73XQU8%3Fstart%3D177

Here, I will detail every example of this kind of Taylor Swift easter egg. Now, you may be thinking, these capital letters are not the only Taylor has used lyrics to communicate a message to her fans- but that is an article for another day.

The following hidden message solutions were pulled from a Taylor Swift wiki page, linked here. The original source of these codes is Taylor Swift, obviously.

Taylor Swift (“Debut”), the codes

  1. Tim McGraw : Can’t tell me nothin’.
  2. Picture to Burn : Date nice boys.
  3. Teardrops on My Guitar : He will never know.
  4. A Place in This World : I found it.
  5. Cold as You : Time to let go.
  6. The Outside : You are not alone.
  7. Tied Together with a Smile : You are loved.
  8. Stay Beautiful : Shake n bake.
  9. Should’ve Said No : Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam, Sam.
  10. Mary’s Song (Oh My My My) : Sometimes, love is forever.
  11. Our Song : Live in love.

Taylor Swift, the Meanings

Can’t tell me nothin’ is the title of a Tim McGraw song, allegedly Taylor’s favorite. With this code, Taylor is giving us more information about what she is talking about in the song, as in Tim McGraw, Taylor sings:

When you think Tim McGraw/ I hope you think my favorite song

-Taylor Swift, “Tim McGraw”

I think this code is pretty self-explanatory. It sneaks an extra dig in, reiterating that the muse of Picture to Burn was in fact, not a nice boy.

I’m grouping these together, as they all fall into a similar category where the message is essentially a rephrasing of the core message of the song. Not much to discuss here.

This code is a very sweet acknowledgement from Taylor that as she had released her debut album, she had found her Place in This World as a recording artist. However, she has since rescinded this sentiment, stating on her 2023 Eras Tour that “I wrote [A Place In This World] when I was 13, but I think I relate to it more 20 years later”.

Who knows what this one means. It is most likely an inside joke between Taylor and Cory, the muse behind this song.

With this, Taylor reveals the muse of Should’ve Said No to be Sam Armstrong, a high school boyfriend of hers. Sam himself confirmed this with a string of tweets, where he appears to brag about once dating Taylor. Although, I don’t think being the muse of this cheating anthem is anything to boast about.

Fearless, the codes

  1. Fearless : I loved you before I met you.
  2. Fifteen : I cried while recording this.
  3. Love Story : Someday I’ll find this.
  4. Hey Stephen : Love and theft.
  5. White Horse : All I ever wanted was the truth.
  6. You Belong With Me : Love is blind, so you couldn’t see me.
  7. Breathe : I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.
  8. Tell Me Why : Guess I was fooled by your smile.
  9. You’re Not Sorry : She can have you.
  10. The Way I Loved You : We can’t go back.
  11. Forever & Always : If you play these games, we’re both going to lose.
  12. The Best Day : God bless Andrea Swift.
  13. Change : You made things change for me.
  14. Jump Then Fall : Last summer was magical.
  15. Untouchable : We always want what we can’t reach.
  16. Forever & Always (Piano) : Still miss who I thought he was.
  17. Come in with the Rain : Won’t admit that I wish you’d come back.
  18. SuperStar : I’ll never tell.
  19. The Other Side of the Door : What I was really thinking when I slammed the door.

Fearless, the Meanings

For Fearless, there’s not really a need to discuss the codes one at a time, as most of them fall into the category that is pretty self-explanatory, where the code is either an easily understood added detail to the song or is essentially just the meaning of the song wrapped up in one neat little line. However, there are a few interesting things to call out, such as that Forever and Always, represented on Fearless as both an original and piano version, got two different codes. The Best Day’s code consists of a direct shout our to Andrea Swift, Taylor Swift’s mother and the muse of that song. Breathe’s code has a double meaning, as “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” can serve both as a summary of the message of that song, or as a continuation of that song’s outro, where Taylor and Colbie Caillat repeatedly sing “Sorry” in harmony.

Speak Now, the codes

  1. Mine : Toby
  2. Sparks Fly : Portland, Oregon.
  3. Back To December : Tay.
  4. Speak Now : You always regret what you don’t say.
  5. Dear John : Loved you from the very first day.
  6. Mean : I thought you got me.
  7. The Story of Us : CMT Music Awards.
  8. Never Grow Up : I moved out in July.
  9. Enchanted : Adam.
  10. Better Than Revenge : You thought I would forget.
  11. Innocent : Life is full of little interruptions.
  12. Haunted : Still to this day.
  13. Last Kiss : Forever and always.
  14. Long Live : For you.

Speak Now, the meanings

There are definitely some cryptic codes on this list. But to start off, here are the ones that don’t really require additional explanation:

Now for the deeper ones:

This is the second time Taylor has used a male name in a code, but unlike her use of “Sam” for Should’ve Said No on her debut album, Toby does not refer to the subject of Mine. Instead, this code lends a nod to Toby Hemingway, the actor who stars alongside Taylor in the Mine music video.

Taylor allegedly wrote Sparks Fly when she was 16 after opening up for Jake Owen in Portland, Oregon. After that night, she made the following post on mySpace:

Tuesday, October 31, 2006 Happy Halloween Happy Halloween! I’m sitting at the airport in Portland, Oregon.. About to get on a red-eye flight (Oh yes, I just said red-eye. Meaning, all night. This should be interesting…) to Toronto, Canada for another weekend of Rascal Flatts shows. Tonight was awesome. It was a show in Portland at a bar called Duke’s, I opened up for Jake Owen.And a little back-story, I’ve had his album on repeat for the past couple of months.. It’s an amazing album and I literally cannot stop listening to it. I’ve got every line memorized, and if you see me on a plane.. Chances are, I’m listening to some song off that album, at a volume level that’s probably going to cause long-term hearing damage someday. ANYWAY. I got to walk in on his sound check and meet him. Turns out he’s extremely cool, and had bought my album on iTunes. And since I had to leave after one song of his set, he played my favorite song “8 Second Ride” first. Which is another reason why he’s awesome. And just to let everyone know, YES, I did dress up for Halloween. Yes, I stood onstage in an angel costume with huge wings (that really conflicted with my guitar playing). And I convinced my two guitar players Todd and Kevin to put on those little headbands with the devil ears attached. Haha. Oh yeah, it was great. It’s so awesome playing to a crowd and seeing some people who know the words to EVERY SONG! I love that the album is out, and I love that y’all are listening to it. You guys are so awesome, and I really appreciate all of your comments. I love you all so much. Thanks for everything.

– Taylor Swift, MySpace

The original lyrics of Sparks Fly allude more to the song being about this night. In the first verse, the words in the published version “You’re the kind of reckless that should send me running/But I kinda know that I won’t get far” were transformed from “You say my name for the first time, baby/And I fall in love in an empty bar“.

No, “Tay.” is not Taylor Swift referencing herself. Back to December is about her romance with Taylor Lautner.

The Story of Us is about how Taylor felt when seated not far from her ex, John Mayer, at the CMT Music Awards. She has made the following quote about the experience:

The “Story of Us” is a song that I wrote about an awkward situation where, well… Let me just preface by saying that I have happened to run into exes in strange places lately. This is about one of those situations where the strange place that I ran into him was an awards show.

I was seated a couple of seats away from him and there was so much that needed to be said, and neither one of us was willing to say it. We were both acting like we were engaged in conversations with people that we don’t even know. It was just miserable. I was telling my Mom about it later, and I said I felt like I was standing alone in a crowded room. And then I was like, “Gotta go. Bye!” And my Mom is used to that at this point so, that’s what this song is about.

– Taylor Swift

Enchanted is allegedly about Adam Young, the lead singer of Owl City, whom she never actually dated, only had an “Enchanted” encounter with. Adam responded to Taylor by covering the song.

  • Innocent : Life is full of little interruptions.

In Innocent, Taylor forgives Kanye West for intercepting her at the 2009 Video Music Awards after winning over Beyoncé for “You Belong With Me” (Note, this was before the 2016 beef). I think that was more than a little interruption, Taylor.

By referencing Forever and Always, a track off of Fearless, here, Taylor hints that Last Kiss and Forever and Always are about the same person. That person is allegedly Joe Jonas.

Long Live is Taylor’s love letter to her fans. By “For you.”, Taylor is literally dedicating the song to the reader, a fan.

Red, the codes

  1. State of Grace : I love you doesn’t count after goodbye.
  2. Red : SAG.
  3. Treacherous : Won’t stop till it’s over.
  4. I Knew You Were Trouble : When you saw me dancing.
  5. All Too Well : Maple Latte.
  6. 22 : Ashley Dianna Claire Selena.
  7. I Almost Do : Wrote this instead of calling.
  8. We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together : When I stopped caring what you thought.
  9. Stay Stay Stay : Daydreaming about real love.
  10. The Last Time : LA on your break.
  11. Holy Ground : When you came to the show in SD.
  12. Sad Beautiful Tragic : While you were on a train.
  13. The Lucky One : Wouldn’t you like to know?
  14. Everything Has Changed : Hyannis Port.
  15. Starlight : For Ethel.
  16. Begin Again : I wear heels now.

Red, the meanings

Here are the codes I do not feel need an explanation:

Now, jumping into to the tricker ones:

This code has several potential meanings. SAG could be short for Sagittarius, the Zodiac fire sign Taylor shares with ex Jake Gyllenhaal (she references this in State of Grace, “twin fire signs”). It could stand for “Screen Actors Guild”, an org of which Jake is a member. It could stand for “Swift and Gyllenhaal”. Or all of the above.

Not a lot to unpack here, but just want to call out that here Taylor interestingly offers different context than what she gives in the song. Instead of just “when you walked in”, the lyric following the phrase “I Knew You Were Trouble” in the song, she fills us in on the other perspective.

“Won’t stop till it’s over” at first glance is one of those more self-explanatory codes, where Taylor may be remarking that the Treacherous nature of this relationship did not let up until its ending. But “Won’t stop till it’s over” is a repeated lyric from the song Sweet Disposition by The Temper Traps, a band her ex Jake Gyllenhaal reportedly loves. This song is also referenced in All Too Well when she refers to her lover’s “Sweet Disposition”.

This code is thought to be a reference to Jake Gyllenhaal and Taylor’s heavily photographed Park Slope stroll, where she is holding a drink, perhaps a Maple Latte.

  • 22 : Ashley Dianna Claire Selena

These names refer to Taylor’s friends: Ashley Avignone, Dianna Agron,  Claire Kislinger and Selena Gomez, who she sings about partying with in this song.

This code likely refers to when Jake Gyllenhaal missed Taylor’s 21st birthday party, as he was in Los Angeles promoting a movie.

This song is thought to be about Taylor resolving all negative feelings between her and her ex Joe Jonas, when he came to her October 20, 2011, show in San Diego. This show was part of the Speak Now tour, where Taylor wrote lyrics on her arm every night. Fans noticed that after this SD show, the lyrics became generally lighter in tone.

Sad Beautiful Tragic depicts a failed relationship using train metaphors, and train sounds can be heard on the track.

With these codes, Taylor often lets us know who inspired the song the code goes with. This code is likely Taylor teasing the reader, that this time, she is not going to tell.

Hyannis Port is a family compound of the Kennedy’s in Massachusetts that served as a presidential getaway for JFK. This code almost certainly hints that this song is about her romance with Conor Kennedy.

With this code, Taylor dedicates Starlight to Ethel Kennedy. Taylor was inspired to write the song after seeing a photo of Ethel dancing with her husband Bobby Kennedy. Taylor also dated their grandson, Conor Kennedy.

In Begin Again, Taylor sings, “Took a deep breath in the mirror
/He didn’t like it when I wore high heels/But I do”. With this code, she leaves a cheeky remark that this “he” (likely Gyllenhaal) no longer has control over her.

1989, the codes

  1. Welcome to New York : We begin our story in New York.
  2. Blank Space : There once was a girl known by everyone and no one.
  3. Style : Her heart belonged to someone who couldn’t stay.
  4. Out of the Woods : They loved each other recklessly.
  5. All You Had to Do Was Stay : They paid the price.
  6. Shake It Off : She danced to forget him.
  7. I Wish You Would : He drove past her street each night.
  8. Bad Blood : She made friends and enemies.
  9. Wildest Dreams : He only saw her in his dreams.
  10. How You Get the Girl : Then one day he came back.
  11. This Love : Timing is a funny thing.
  12. I Know Places : And everyone was watching.
  13. Clean : She lost him, but she found herself and somehow, that was everything.

1989, the meaning

The codes from 1989 all work together to summarize what the album is about. Here is the story compiled:

We begin our story in New York. There once was a girl known by everyone and no one. Her heart belonged to someone who couldn’t stay. They loved each other recklessly. They paid the price. She danced to forget him. He drove past her street each night. She made friends and enemies. He only saw her in his dreams. Then one day he came back. Timing is a funny thing. And everyone was watching. She lost him, but she found herself and somehow, that was everything.

– Taylor Swift, 1989

This boy she mentions is thought to be Harry Styles.

Reputation – Midnights ???

1989 was the last album where Taylor left codes in the liner notes. Reputation was when the Old Taylor stopped coming to the phone…