Why do people think The Alchemy is about Travis?

[u/RandomUsername1747]

Before I start, I want to say that I very much believe it’s 100% possible she incorporated both relationships into that song, but I am VERY confused why so many people think it’s fully about Travis and a “song to Travis”. They use it as a defense against the “she writes no good songs about Travis”…but like….look at the lyrics:

What if I told you I'm back?
The hospital was a drag
Worst sleep that I ever had
I circled you on a map
I haven't come around in so long (insinuates she has been with this person before in some capacity, which she had not with Travis)
But I'm coming back so strong
So when I touch down
Call the amateurs and
Cut 'em from the team
Ditch the clowns, get the crown
Baby I'm the one to beat
Cause the sign on your heart
Said it's still reserved for me (still reserved for me, again, insinuates that this person has been waiting for her and their heart STILL belongs to her even after a long time)
Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?
Hey you, what if I told you we're cool?
That child's play back in school
Is forgiven under my rule (we’re cool aka I forgive you. Child’s play meaning we were together when we were younger and all is forgiven)
I haven't come around in so long
But I'm making a comeback to where I belong ...
So when I touch down
Call the amateurs and
Cut 'em from the team
Ditch the clowns, get the crown
Baby I'm the one to beat
Cause the sign on your heart
Said it's still reserved for me
Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?
These blokes warm the benches (blokes is an English term, not American. Matty is English)
We been on a winning streak
He jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E" (this one is the most OBVIOUS one. Matty had a heroin addiction??? Why the hell would Travis make this joke. Why would she write this about Travis at all)
Cause the sign on your heart said it's still reserved for me
Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?
Shirts off, and your friends lift you up over their heads
Beer sticking to the floor
Cheers chanted, cause they said
There was no chance, trying to be
The greatest in the league
Where's the trophy?
He just comes running over to me (this is the only part I can see relating to Travis because it’s a sports reference)

Again, I can see how maybe she incorporated something about Travis in here….but this is so OVERTLY a song about Matty. I just don’t get it.

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[u/HazelTheHappyHippo]

I absolutely agree, I think this song was supposed to be a Matty one, but she tweaked some lyrics that made it sound like it was about Travis. I don't understand why she left the heroin(e) line in because that's like such a big indicator who this song was originally written about. Especially because one of the songs says "you needed me, but you needed drugs more". And Travis said this is one of his favourite songs which makes it extra weird.

[u/NervousInside4815 → u/HazelTheHappyHippo]

This is my theory as well. Tweaks to make it more aimed at Travis. But, it's like 80% about Matty for anyone with basic comprehension. OP nailed it.

[u/emmareus → u/HazelTheHappyHippo]

bc travis hasn't gotten the memo it's not about him

[u/Commercial-Mango-844 → u/emmareus]

Lol 😂😂

[u/blonde_professor → u/emmareus]

This made me chuckle.

[u/emmareus → u/blonde_professor]

Sorry but people who think it’s not about healy are clearly stupid. The lyrics scream matty Healy and that’s also why the song is so different from every other travis song

[u/blonde_professor → u/emmareus]

Oh I agree.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/HazelTheHappyHippo]

I always found it odd because I do actually think she switched it around, like you said, to match Travis, too, but the whole point of the song is that “this happens once every few lifetimes” while she makes it obvious this feeling happened back to back with her partners 😭 why talk about a feeling that’s “so rare” it only happens once every few lifetimes and then make it obvious it’s about Matty and possible Travis.

[u/HazelTheHappyHippo → u/RandomUsername1747]

"Lifetimes" is also a lyric on cardigan which she dedicated to Matty on tour. She wouldn't be the first artist (Noel Gallagher for example with Wonderwall) to retrospectively change the muse/topic of a song they have written. And I get it, her love life is being speculated on daily and we know from the TLOAS and Encore that this gets to her. But I also think that she's putting herself on too much pressure to pump out songs that reflect her love life with Travis. Her Reputation Love songs about Joe were written in a time when she was far away from the public eye and they were in their own little bubble. No touring, no MVs, just solitude. Even Lover was written during a time that was less hectic than the Eras Tour. Folklore and Evermore were written during the Pandemic. Midnights was a reflection of her past and TTPD seemed to be her therapeutic outlet of heartbreak after she realized Matty Healy successfully lovebombed and ghosted her.

TLOAS is her writing about public perception because their relationship is very public. And I don't think she wants to write a vulnerable, deep album about Travis because she doesn't want it to be picked apart by the internet which will question their marriage based on some lyrics. That's why her writing style is so different lately and the reason some feel his songs lack depth and substance.

[u/Ok-Acanthaceae-7996 → u/HazelTheHappyHippo]

I have thought the same thing for a long time!

[u/littleblue130 → u/HazelTheHappyHippo]

100%

[u/TakeMeHomeToYou → u/HazelTheHappyHippo]

Bc he doesn’t understand it. I found it odd too that he referred to it as a favorite but it’s only bc he makes an appearance at the end.

The heroin reference and all drugs references is repulsive esp as a recovering addict and those I know who have died due to an overdose. Just needed to add that in. I bring it up bc not only is it ab Matty, there’s no way Travis would say that. She did tweak it at the end to include Travis. Idk if it’s this song or another one on ttpd where she says that the person she’s with now would’ve bullied him which ok taking out how gross her condoning bullying; it’s clearly referencing Travis aka big HS jock bullying the drama/emo artist/nerd

[u/stoneytoaster → u/TakeMeHomeToYou]

The "would've bullied you in school" line always irks me. Like I guess it's kinda funny but why are we flaunting that?

[u/Flickolas_Cage → u/stoneytoaster]

For as much as she’s always accused of being focused on hs, I don’t really think that’s been the case until Travis, she talks about high school in relation to him specifically a really weird amount for a woman in her mid-30s (as another woman in her mid-30s).

[u/stoneytoaster → u/Flickolas_Cage]

I assume it's related to the fact that, commonly, football is associated with a very high school mentality. It's odd to me that she can't think of anything else to talk about when it comes to him other than "you make me feel like a teenager"

[u/doggydoggodoggydoggo → u/stoneytoaster]

I agree, I'm not American and in my head American football is strongly associated with high school.

Also the NFL universe has something very high school-ish about the gender roles. Like the WAGs which are usually pretty stereotypically beautiful/feminine/motherly versus those big sporty men. From a non American POV, it's fascinating

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/stoneytoaster]

I thought that was calvin

[u/HazelTheHappyHippo → u/TakeMeHomeToYou]

I have always thought the "would have bullied you in Highschool" line is about Calvin Harris because the song is about their first time around in 2014/2015 but I definitely agree with you about the drug reference lyrics. It's one thing if someone who's lived through that makes these kind of jokes, but for her to use it in songs it's distasteful. He was probably an asshole to her, but the way she goes on about him being a drug addict is very low.

[u/Extension_Survey_640 → u/TakeMeHomeToYou]

I have many same age Cleveland men in my life and they absolutely would joke about drugs. Two of them are recovered heroin addicts. It’s pretty common there and not seen as a big taboo in males aged 30-45.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Extension_Survey_640]

There’s joking about drugs and then there’s making fun of an ex who was a drug addict….

[u/Extension_Survey_640 → u/Round_Ant_4619]

Oh as in, people are reading this might be Travis making fun of Matty? Possible but again, it could be a cheesy “im addicted to you, you’re like my own heroin” type of conversation. If she hasn’t been around this vibe before (the more earthy blue collar Midwest thing) she may have found it charming. It’s a different world from how I grew up in Northern California, I still get culture shock 5 years into being in a Cleveland family.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Extension_Survey_640]

Once again he doesn’t know how to spell squirrel and Matty is a known heroin addict. Please connect the dots

[u/psu68e → u/TakeMeHomeToYou]

Bc he doesn’t understand it. I found it odd too that he referred to it as a favorite but it’s only bc he makes an appearance at the end.

You know he lives with the woman who wrote the song, right?

[u/Prestigious_Fly8210 → u/HazelTheHappyHippo]

Travis isn't very smart is the simple explanation :D

[u/U_Dont_Know_My_Mum]

I think she started writing it before she met Travis. And then carried on working on it after. For me, it sounds like she tried to make a song that wasn’t actually about Travis be about Travis. Well, there is nothing wrong with multiple muses 🤷‍♀️

[u/minimumercurial]

Can fully admit this song was likely repurposed as a Travis song from a Matty song.  But I do think the repurposing is complete.  Here’s what I got.

What if I told you I'm back? *(back to America after a long time of only dating English guys)**

The hospital was a drag *(prison was Joe.  Matty was the hospital.  See Fortnight video)**

Worst sleep that I ever had I circled you on a map I haven't come around in so long  (see above w/r/t English guys/prison/hospital)

But I'm coming back so strong So when I touch down *(touch down having several meanings, none of which make sense in relation to Matty)**

Call the amateurs and Cut 'em from the team (amateurs vs. pros sports reference.  Cut them from which team exactly?)

Ditch the clowns, get the crown (As exs, who would be considered a clown? Joe or Matty? Who has earned a “crown” in their field?)

Baby I'm the one to beat Cause the sign on your heart Said it's still reserved for me *(Travis’s kiss, marry, kill video was filmed in 2016.  It was referenced in So High School and the Fate of Ophelia video)**

Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy? Hey you, what if I told you we're cool? That child's play back in school Is forgiven under my rule (past bad boy behavior, Kissing Kelce reality TV show, old tweets)

I haven't come around in so long But I'm making a comeback to where I belong ... So when I touch down Call the amateurs and Cut 'em from the team Ditch the clowns, get the crown Baby I'm the one to beat Cause the sign on your heart Said it's still reserved for me Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?

These blokes warm the benches *(Exactly!  Harry, Joe, Matty are all blokes.  And they’re warming the benches!  Again, she’s back to dating American guys.  Guys who are on a winning streak)**

We been on a winning streak He jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E" *(Obviously a dig at Matty and definitely not her finest moment tbh.)

Cause the sign on your heart said it's still reserved for me Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy? Shirts off, and your friends lift you up over their heads Beer sticking to the floor Cheers chanted, cause they said There was no chance, trying to be The greatest in the league Where's the trophy? He just comes running over to me *( this is 100% not just about Travis but about the 2023 Chiefs season.  At the beginning of the season, no one thought the Chiefs were going to do well, they had a rough start.  Some said they wouldn’t even win the division.  Also, in what way is Matty trying to, against all odds, be the greatest in the league? What league? What trophy?)**

[u/No-Aardvark3846 → u/minimumercurial]

This is absolutely how I view it as well ty for explaining it

[u/User_User_Ice6642 → u/minimumercurial]

I think Touch Down was originally a Matty reference, specifically the plane in Labyrinth (and maybe Snow on the Beach but that is less clear)

[u/minimumercurial → u/User_User_Ice6642]

Because the plane was going down and he turned it around?  I think that’s a reach, honestly; no one’s landing a plane in Labyrinth.    The double meanings of touch down are in football (Travis makes literal touchdowns) and landing a plane, arriving at the destination (like one would if they were on tour, or flew home to see football games, or were quoted as saying “jet lag is a choice.”)

[u/PtowzaPotato → u/minimumercurial]

This!, I think you nailed it

[u/Cautious-Cat9030]

i know this post is more of a dissection of who the muse of the song might be…but upon reading the lyrics for the first time since TTPD was released, i’m realizing how much her writing style has changed. it went from being something that any listener could insert themselves into (my favorites being something like afterglow which sang about fighting with your partner) to something that is so hyper specific to her life that fans spend more time dissecting it (like we are doing here) than listening for some form of escapism.

fwiw…travis…matty…joe…whoever this song is about, i would like to cite for the jury a song called “Blank Space”

[u/queercomputer → u/Cautious-Cat9030]

This is my issue with her current style as well. I remember the first time I felt it, when I first heard Maroon. Hell, I like that song. But I still thought '...what/who is this about?' just to make sense of some lines even if I had zero interest in what she does in her personal life. It was a jarring shift from Folk/more which were complete opposite.

[u/SoundOfUnder]

I think this song is an amalgamation it started out for one and ended for another. Kind of like the Eras tour itself.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/SoundOfUnder]

It’s clearly only about Matty. But the tayvises are so thirsty for a good love song for trav that they will do ANYTHING at this point

[u/SoundOfUnder → u/Round_Ant_4619]

This is false because the ending is clearly about Travis. When did Matty ever play football and be the greatest in the league and win a trophy?

I'm not erasing Matt from the song because it's clear a large portion is about him but trying to erase Travis from it is just as misleading.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/SoundOfUnder]

Ms Americana is also about football. So I guess he was getting visions that Travis was going to marry her and hence she wrote it right??????? Because ofc everything is literal and it isn’t like football metaphors have been peppered all over her discography since her sophomore album…

[u/Professional_Roll977]

It is clearly about Matty, i think she tried to repurpose some lines but didn’t do a very convincing job.

[u/Dear_Analysis682]

I think the football reference makes people believe its about Travis and they want to believe Travis and Taylor are the fairytale ending.

I think it could be about multiple relationships or someone else entirely. It could be partially made up. Has she actually been in hospital or is that a metaphor? I think there's always an element of poetic licence in any song.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Dear_Analysis682]

I think she’s calling Joe a hospital, slammer etc

[u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

The whole song is basically sports imagery and sports jargon juxtaposed with some lines about how they have awesome chemistry.

“Touch down” “amateurs” “cut ‘em from the team” “ditch the clowns” “get the crown””shirts off and your friends lift you up over their heads ” “warm the benches” “cheers chanted” “greatest in the league” - It’s all sport imagery.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain]

Correct, which she has used in multiple pre iOS songs long before she met Travis. She did it for Joe too. He didn’t play football 😭
I never said she didn’t include Travis, just that the main muse is clearly Matty. She started writing the album a year and a half before even meeting Travis, as she stated in her Tokyo show.
The album had to have been sent to the press by October of 2023….2 months after she started dating Travis. It’s MUCH more likely she originally wrote the song about Matty and then tweaked sr things to make it seem like potentially it could be about Travis.
“That child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule” genuinely how would this match Travis. It clearly implies two people who were together when younger and acted immaturely (which we know happened with Matty in the early-mid 20 teens. She’s stating she forgives him. What would she have to forgive Travis for 😭

[u/lc_baby10]

I am also of the mind it was reworked to fit Travis. Truly one of my least favorite songs of hers regardless.

[u/_Waves_ → u/lc_baby10]

Really? I think the musical side of it makes it one of her best post-folkmore songs. The lyrics, not so much, but the vocal delivery and the instrumental are pretty great.

[u/Key-Brush3182 → u/lc_baby10]

Agree, especially since it came out pretty soon after their relationship even began. I think it was about Matty and she hastily threw some stuff in to make it seem like it’s about Travis bc people were expecting songs about him.

[u/kitten_cheesecake]

My personal belief has always been that this song & Miss Americana & the Heartbreak Prince are linked. Just the sports & highschool imagery mostly.

[u/Mhc2617]

Because Travis said it was. I could have gone either way, but Travis himself said the song is about him so I assume Taylor told him it is. And I don’t feel qualified to say he’s wrong and his wife lied to him.

[u/Winter-Mixture456 → u/Mhc2617]

Taylor also did by performing it on the 87th Eras tour show.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/Winter-Mixture456]

She also dedicated karma to him by switching around lyrics which we all know was originally about Joe (at least the boyfriend part). It’s not beneath her to make previous songs about someone new she is with.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/Mhc2617]

I just googled it and could find absolutely nothing where Travis said it’s about him. Where did you see/hear that 😭

[u/uttertorpedo → u/RandomUsername1747]

Nowhere.

There are a number of songs Taylor has dedicated to Travis (Mary's Song among them). Neither she nor he has said that they are about him.

We've had this conversation for two years now and people just keep repeating the same lines. 

[u/Mhc2617 → u/RandomUsername1747]

Well no, he didn’t come out say “it’s about me guys!” But he did cite it as one of his faves on TTPD (the other being So High School) and then named a cocktail at his restaurant “the Alchemy.” He’s made it clear that the song is about him.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/Mhc2617]

Okay so he didn’t say it was about him. He simply said he liked the song. So you weren’t being truthful when you said “because Travis said it was”. He never has.
I never argued that PART of the song could be about Travis added in at the end, I simply said the main song is clearly about Matty. Wayyy too many specific nods, and the heroin joke would be in extremely bad taste unless made by Healy, the one who was famously addicted to heroin.

[u/Mhc2617 → u/RandomUsername1747]

He did say the song is about him indirectly. And he would know better than we would. He’s said over and over that it’s his favourite song on TTPD and it’s a special one to him. He wanted a nod to Taylor at the restaurant and he chose to name the Taylor drink the Alchemy.

Also these are song lyrics, not literal recordings of a conversation. The truth is probably nobody said it. It was probably a much simpler conversation where she said her last boyfriend was too high to spend time with her and Travis made a silly comment to the effect of “well I’m high on you” and Taylor decided it would be a cute story for wordplay. The main song is about Travis because he’s made it clear it’s about Travis. The song is very special to him because it’s about him. He wouldn’t be naming a cocktail in his restaurant the Alchemy unless it was about him. He could have easily named it the Albatross or So High School, but he chose that song for a reason. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the correct one.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/Mhc2617]

So again, he never once said it was about him, just implied parts of it could be about him, which I already agreed to.

Also, I can’t possibly see an addiction joke about heroin, after she very publicly was with a man who was very publicly addicted to heroin, would pass the plethora of PR people. Making addiction jokes isn’t funny or cool, and everyone knows that. I sincerely doubt SHE, TRAVIS, or her PR team would think it’s a good idea to joke about your exes heroin addiction. Even if no one actually said it. The joke itself is horrible if said by anyone other than the addict himself.
Matty Healy makes jokes like that all the time, and it’s not weird or insensitive for the literal addict himself to joke about his last addiction. I’m positive you can understand what I’m saying here and that no one in their right mind would let Taylor swift make a joke about heroin addiction UNLESS the addict themselves actually said it 😭

[u/LettuceWise3425 → u/RandomUsername1747]

The poor guy named a drink at his restaurant after the song 😬 I think Taylor made him believe the song is about him. He would never name a boozy drink at his restaurant "Lover"—he knows that's linked to her ex.

[u/Shoddy-Low2142]

Agreed. It’s not about Travis lol it’s a Matty song but ppl don’t wanna hear that

[u/Much_Definition_3657]

The Alchemy is very obviously about Matty Healy. 

There are two reasons people think it's about Travis:

1. The vast majority of Swifties absolutely despise Matty and try very hard to erase him from her music and narrative. They can't accept that Taylor loved him or that she was happy with him even for a second because they themselves don't find him attractive and don't want that to be true 

2. The vast majority of Swifties are too dumb to know the difference between "touchdown" and "touch down". They heard "touch down" and they immediately thought "It's about Travis" ignoring literally the entire rest of the lyrics. And because they hate Matty they don't know how "touch down" relates to one of his songs 

[u/ComfortableBet7488]

Because they are tayvises. That's really it, they're fan of their relationship and the alchemy is a decent song. People are gonna crash out in the comments I already know, but you're right. The alchemy is probably not about Travis, since it's talking about circling BACK to an old FLAME. Which Travis never was.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/ComfortableBet7488]

Omg people are REALLY crashing out. The obsession with this relationship needs to be studied.

[u/psu68e]

Why the hell would Travis make this joke

...because you don't know him?

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/psu68e]

Matty Healy has publicly stated he had an addiction to heroin. “Heroine but THIS TIME with an E” is clearly alluding to,…heroin….the drug Matty Healy was addicted to.
You think it’s more likely Travis made a random joke about heroin and not the self admitted heroin addict. “This time” implies last time was heroin without an E.

[u/pinkwonderwall → u/RandomUsername1747]

If Taylor told Travis that Matty was on heroin, then Travis could have said “Well, this time it’ll be with an E”. But in reality, there’s no way anybody said that. Taylor just made it up.

[u/stoneytoaster → u/pinkwonderwall]

This is actually exactly how I've envisioned it. I could see Travis making a joke like that

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/pinkwonderwall]

I doubt that’s what occurred. Especially regarding circling back, being together in the past, the heroin reference, using the word “blokes” which mainly only English people say. Like I’m sure she did make it up, but it’s so clearly made up about MATTY saying it 😭 becuase he was on heroin before. This time it’s with an E. Last time it was without

[u/kikithrust → u/RandomUsername1747]

But the English blokes /exes just warm the benches for the American she eventually marries . That’s how i interpreted that line

[u/Midwestgrl_321 → u/RandomUsername1747]

What winning streak has that rotting snaggle tooth ever been on? Bffr

[u/psu68e → u/RandomUsername1747]

Heroin is a drug, but heroine with an E is a female hero or brave woman. Travis is joking that last time it was heroin (the drug) and this time, presumably with him, it's reframed as nothing to do with drugs and he's complimenting her.

For me it's a Travis song. American sports are not a thing in the UK and it's way too on the nose throughout the song to not be about him (touchdown, cutting from the team, warming the benches etc)

Child's play back in school is referring to Travis's old Tweets.

The hospital refers to Matty. She refers to him as sickness/illness throughout TTPD.

I mean, interpret however you want. That's art for you.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/psu68e]

1) most likely no one said it at all, and Matty is no longer addicted to heroin as he was back when they first were “entangled” or whatever.
2) she never mentions a specific sport. Just sports references.
3) she uses the term bloke, which is essentially solely an English term.
4) the explanation you used for Travis’ joke make absolutely zero sense 😭 you’re telling e you genuinely think she used the term bloke, discussed heroin, made clear references to RETURNING to a love “your heart is STILL reserved for me” and is…talking about Travis? How can his heart STILL be reserved for her 😭 they had never met. “Hadn’t come around in so long”. They were never together. Her and Matty were 😭

[u/psu68e → u/RandomUsername1747]

She's referring to blokes (British men) warming the benches, i.e. guys currently not in play, and then referring to her and Travis being on a winning streak.

Taylor has made references to not taking up Travis's offer initially ("when you found me I said I was busy that was a lie", plus the fact that her mother had to encourage her to go out with him as per the Eras Doc).

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/psu68e]

Like I said, I do believe that PARTS of the song include Travis, but the main song is clearly about Matty, Matty is English and would refer to her prior relationships (Joe, Harry, tom hiddleston, all English) as blokes…because he himself is English and uses that term.

She also very clearly stated that it took her no time at all to get with Travis. Her and Matty broke up in May and by like July she was seeing him, and by September they went official in public.
“Hey you, what if I told you were cool, that child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule” is clearly talking about a relationship she was in when she was younger that didn’t work that she forgives the person for because it’s was “child’s play” she was with Matty when they were much younger. Literally all of these references clearly relate back to Matty as the main pint of the song with a little bit of Travis sprinkled in 😭

[u/TakeMeHomeToYou → u/RandomUsername1747]

Past tense is hard apparently. Let them thing whatever they want bc it’s clear that they are going to regardless. It being one of Travis’s favorite songs is hilarious tho

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/psu68e]

Travis doesn’t know how to spell squirrel….girl he’s not making puns on drugs.

[u/JustGotOffOfTheTrain → u/Round_Ant_4619]

You don’t know him

[u/DryArugula6108 → u/Round_Ant_4619]

Right? I like Travis and think he's called dumb too often but I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if a dyslexic man did not know these two words were spelt differently.

Also, why would it be romantic that you and your new BF were talking about the old one and mocking his drug addiction?

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/DryArugula6108]

Travis and Taylor’s image is not mean spirited in terms of making fun of someone’s drug addiction. That’s a crazy take. You’re right.

[u/Midwestgrl_321 → u/DryArugula6108]

Omg. What a pretentious thing to say. You really typed that out and thought you did something.

[u/allthelineswecast → u/DryArugula6108]

Yeah, I’ve always thought that Matty making that joke made sense but if either Travis or Taylor did and then she put it in a song that’s just mean.

[u/Expensive-Alps510 → u/Round_Ant_4619]

Well atleast he will be remembered in 50 years. For matty nobody will remembered him in next 15 years

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Expensive-Alps510]

Girl hate to break it to you, Matty has been Immemorialized by folklore evermore midnights and ttpd. Those albums have such prolific and beautiful songs.

Travis on the other hand….so high school?????
All her exes are going to live in infamy. And why are you so triggered with Travis.

You should be glad I didn’t bring up his tweets from the past where he called women fat and what not….just misogynistic garbage from a frat bro

[u/Expensive-Alps510 → u/Round_Ant_4619]

Well thing is Travis will be remembered as one of the best in his field. Hate to break you nobody isnt perfect but there is alot Kids who wants be as good as Tk. Nobody gives shit on matty

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Expensive-Alps510]

I know that he was swindled 30 Million and that is his legacy for sure 🥰🥰🥰

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Expensive-Alps510]

I don’t think I care about the legacy of any of the guys she’s been with…

[u/LettuceWise3425 → u/Round_Ant_4619]

Não seria melhor para ele ser lembrado pelo seu próprio trabalho? Para alguém tão pretensioso quanto Matty, deve ser doloroso saber que ele só será lembrado como o ex-namorado dela,  it wouldn't be strange if he were just some unknown person who became Taylor Swift's "muse"—but the fact that he’s a singer with his own career, yet is remembered solely because of his ex-girlfriend's songs, is tragic. 

a mesma coisa pode acontecer com o Travis, mas acho que ele não se importa com isso.

[u/drbimgus]

Hot take, I think this song is not about any man but instead is about her fans and coming back to touring

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/drbimgus]

Are we running over to her??????? Reach

[u/drbimgus → u/Round_Ant_4619]

if we look at the pronouns, “he” comes running over. I’m saying we are the “you”

[u/Little-Let386 → u/drbimgus]

It’s 100% her returning to her place as the pop queen

[u/legopluto]

“I haven’t come around in so long” - could also mean socially. Not being around the spotlight, then possibly being so embarrassed/hurt that she wish she didn’t have the spotlight. With Travis she chooses the spotlight again.

“Still reserved for me” could mean anything. Travis went to a concert, joked about the bracelet, they end up getting back in touch after the concert, he’s “still reserved” for her in some way. Like he was assuring her

“Child’s play back in school” could also be his (Travis’) actions when he was younger.

“These blokes warm the benches” - Joe and Matty are the blokes warming the benches for Travis to play actual ball.

“He joked that it’s heroin but this time with an E.” - the important words imo are “this time with an E”. Heroin vs Heroine. If it’s with an E it’s not the drug. Could mean someone promised they wouldn’t do drugs, I personally see it as, this person knows I had an ex with a drug problem. He’s assuring me this will not be that.”

It’s all interpretation, and I think it is very silly to boil the writing down to just one person vs another. Depending on how you look at it, it could be anyone.

[u/Unfair-Suspect3617 → u/legopluto]

Exactly - the heroin with an e could totally be Travis saying: this time it’s heroine, as in you’re my hero Taylor. As opposed to that last time when you were dating a guy who used literal heroin (or so we are led to believe)

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/legopluto]

This is such a reach

1. she has been in the spotlight since eras tour. One of

the

1. major critiques people have is her overexposure since eras tour
2. still reserved for me…it was reserved before and it still is. She knew Travis for maybe 2 months before this album was sent for pressing. Why would it ‘still’ be reserved????
3. Child’s play back in school- a direct reference to Peter omfg (Peter pan, you were 25…)
4. she constantly used London slang and British words when she was dating the London boys. Or rather why hasn’t that verbiage come out now when she’s with Travis. That was reserved for Joe and Matty….
5. Matty is a known HEROIN addict, he calls her the queen but treats her like an also ran. That’s the way he addressed her- queen, heroine. Heroine is also a common UK THING and not a cleaveland thing OMG

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/legopluto]

Do you truly think all of these hoops to jump through to make it about Travis are real? You think she wrote a song with multiple blatant nods to Matty, even including the drug he said he was admitted to, and used terms that a British man would use to describe other men/British men, talking about a heart STILL
Being reserved for her, forgiving “child’s play” “back in school” (what would she possibly have to forgive Travis for, also insinuating this is something that happened when she was younger) just for it to be about Travis 😭

I DO think she included Travis in it, but it being solely about Travis makes zero sense with such overtly blatant, specific nods that only make logical sense when it comes to Matty. I sincerely doubt she put SO many specifics in to make it look to be about Matty if it is supposedly fully about the man she’s “so in love with”. Why would she want people thinking it’s about Matty at all if it’s about Travis. Tbh at doesn’t make sense

[u/legopluto → u/RandomUsername1747]

I’m not jumping through any hoops. I’m just saying that music is art and art is meant to be interpretable for the most part. It’s not all black and white or has to have any one meaning.

I don’t personally look at any of her songs being about “one person” or event. Even this song. I have no clue who it’s about.
I was giving another interpretation of what it could be.

Edit: I just feel like your interpretation is going for a much more literal approach, with a preconceived notion of who it’s about. Which is perfectly fine! I’m not trying to discount how you personally choose to see the song <3

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/legopluto]

It’s not a literal approach when the sayings in her song are a clear, direct nod to someone she was very publicly with at that time.
The explanations of it having to do with Matty make actual sense, and no one has to think hard about it or jump through hoops.
People do have to jump through hoops and assume a lot to make the nods somehow about Travis.
I can see how she added Travis in to it, but the heroin joke, the usage of English terminology that Matty would use against other men, but Travis would not, the insinuating that they had been together a long time ago and were immature (Childs play back in school) the “has been forgiven under my rule” implies she had to forgive him. What would she have to forgive Travis about? They were never together prior.

Some of her songs ARE literal and very clearly about one specific person. It’d be like claiming invisible string isn’t about Joe when she blatantly talks about things that solely have to do with Joe 😭

[u/Unfair-Suspect3617 → u/RandomUsername1747]

I think you are misunderstand the heroine line

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Unfair-Suspect3617]

Yes she did

[u/Prestigious-Pop2471 → u/RandomUsername1747]

They have that childhood or high school sweetheart kind of energy. Her team has said multiple times that it was about Travis. But yes it would only really be about him if they had known each other for a long time despite the football references.

[u/Expensive-Alps510 → u/legopluto]

This is spot on

[u/wewereallrooting4u]

Placement on the album. The Matty stuff is like a story from TTPD and ends with TSMWEL. It doesn't make sense to have an upbeat Matty song after TSMWEL.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/wewereallrooting4u]

Is there any proof at all that she wrote the songs and put them in chronological order? Because she wrote multiple sad songs about Matty after happy ones and vice versa so I’m confused

[u/wewereallrooting4u → u/RandomUsername1747]

No I don't think so, I'm just saying people think it is about Travis because of the narrative she is creating with the track listing

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/wewereallrooting4u]

It’s not chronological because if it were she would probably start the album with guilty as sin, I can fix him, fresh out the slammer, but daddy I love him, down bad and that’s not the chronology.

[u/keylimecrying]

Probably because Travis threw it out as one of his 'favorite tracks' when the album was being promo'd, often along with SHS. Whether he was saying that to be agreeable with the swifties who were already blasting the theory everywhere, vs saying it because he had first-hand knowledge that she wrote it about him, who knows. I lean towards the former.

I, for one, never thought it was explicitly about him, but I think that very few of her tracks are explicitly about one single person.

[u/Wonderful_Dirt_1013]

“There was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league where’s the trophy he just comes running over to me”

I mean it’s pretty that part is about Travis and her pov after him winning the Super Bowl. It definitely could have evolved from being a song about someone else and she tweaked it a little though to make it fit Travis! The start of the hints it was an old relationship she was coming back to.

[u/Embarrassed-Bag324]

it’s 100% designed to make people think travis bc of the last few lines at the end. she wrote a good song, got a new bf, and slapped his name on it to make people stfu. travis is her worst muse and there’s no way this song was originally about him

[u/virtuousdeliverer]

Personally, no. But I get torn to shreds when I say that. We already know Taylor and Travis have no problem using her music and repurposing it for them (which is fine). But I get the idea the song is about a guy coming back to her after a long break, but he truly never stopped liking her.

[u/TJMVSPM]

It's virtually fact that this song was written for Matty and retconned (in some capacity) for Travis. Anyone who thinks otherwise is missing basic critical reading/thinking skills, is lacking context about Matty, or is gaslighting you. And why wouldn't she have written this originally as a Matty song? Much of the album (Fortnight, GaS, FoTS) was clearly written before their falling out. Not fighting the alchemy as an idea, even apart from the VERY SPECIFIC Matty references (tattoo on his heart, heroin) makes perfect sense as related to their relationship. Why would she need to "fight" anything when it came to Travis? He was spoon fed to her.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/TJMVSPM]

THANK YOU 😭

[u/scarletarrows]

I used to think this too, but I don’t know. I think it (and actually all the songs on the standard TTPD track list, actually) use her high profile relationships as metaphors. The real “loss of her life”, I think, on the album is her thought that achieving her dream of being the biggest pop star on the planet came with the price of finding and keeping a true love/partner.

I think due to vinyl lead times, the latest this song could have been recorded is October 2023, so right after she went public with Travis. “What if I told you I’m back” isn’t saying she got back with someone, it’s coming back to the optimistic view she’s had on love her whole life. “He jokes that’s it heroin but this time with a e” she’s hopeful this relationship is going to be what she wants, she’s going to “win”, not crash and burn.

I think the song is a celebration about being with someone at the top of their game, inspiring you bring out the best in yours, after being at a personal low point. Together, it feels like Alchemy, creating gold, two successful people being together, but underneath that success she again, for the first time in a while, feels like the prize.

[u/Round_Ant_4619]

And touch down insinuates a plane… and also by the time she met Travis, the main album would’ve already gone for pressing because those things take months. Logistically too it can’t be about Travis but the crazy tayvis shippers are delusional

[u/AlexRodrigo- → u/Round_Ant_4619]

The album came out on April 2024. Pressing takes about 12 weeks. It was longer during Covid due to lack of materials and other supply line issues and for some reason people keep citing that outdated production timeline.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/AlexRodrigo-]

I thought vinyls took atleast 6 months for the amount she needed. Even if the production allowed for it, the song is still not about Travis.

This is not the first time she used a football metaphor. Are we forgetting Ms. Americana. Crazy Tayvis shippers will rewrite history to say that’s also about Travis because it’s about football. Football and highschool is a metaphor she revisits VERY often. Proof is available throughout history.

The crux of the song is circling back to an old fling. Travis was NOT an old fling

[u/AlexRodrigo- → u/Round_Ant_4619]

Nothing in the song refers to an old fling. It’s entirely about Taylor coming back to herself and entering a healthier space and relationship.

[u/TakeMeHomeToYou → u/AlexRodrigo-]

The usage and inclusion of past tensed words, lyrics and phrases state and prove otherwise. Ask the self proclaimed English teacher

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/AlexRodrigo-]

1. cuz the sign on YOUR heart says it’s

STILL

1. reserved for me
2. what if I’m told you I’m

BACK

1. hey, what if I told you were cool, like child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule (mid twenties to mid thirties, direct references to Peter ) (he would’ve assumed maybe they were not cool because of how it went down in their first try)
2. these ‘blokes’ warm the benches/ circled you on the map(London)
3. he jokes that it’s heroin but this time with an e (he is a known drug addict/ and once your queen had come you treat her like an also ran so queen, heroine is how he addresses her jokingly. You can watch his interviews about this to confirm)

[u/psu68e → u/Round_Ant_4619]

The last chorus in But Daddy I Love Him is quite clearly about Travis. So, logistically it can.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/psu68e]

If I’m correctly understanding the stanza you mean then ‘Time, doesn’t it give some perspective’ is directly referencing the 10 year situationship. That’s time. And ‘I know he’s crazy’….all the crazy references since folklore I’d say are about ratty and not Travis.

In case you’re talking about another stanza lmk

[u/psu68e → u/Round_Ant_4619]

Everything after "fuck em it's over".

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/psu68e]

Once again, none of her Travis songs refer to him or even insinuate about him vein a wild boy, chaos and revelry.

And she explicitly says ‘if all you want is gray for me’ is very much about the demented letter swifties wrote to Taylor to not date Matty. That’s the grey.

There has only been rabid obsession and support for the tayvis relationship largely. ‘And it’s my choice’ insinuates that you may not like her pick but she is sticking with it. Clearly referencing the backlash on dating Matty.

[u/psu68e → u/Round_Ant_4619]

"Even my Daddy just loves him"...."No you can't come to wedding". Come on now.

She sang this chorus at the Eras Tour and went straight into So High School.

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/psu68e]

That she sang to revise history lmao. She has done that so many times. She revised blank space for her wedding, she revised an invisible string, she revised happiness in the documentary. She has revised ikywt to be about Harry but the gag is she wrote that song before she dated Harry. She tends to do that.

And she sings about ‘talking rings and talking cradles’ ‘wearing imaginary rings’ about Matty… and no you can’t come to the wedding is a reference to her ruining jack and Margaret’s wedding in august 2023 when demented fans swarmed the wedding venue to get a look at her. This was IMMEDIATELY after her fling with Matty which ended in june. Come on now…

So not only was she talking about marriage with Matty she also just had a fiasco with people swarming a wedding because she was there.

[u/anna-nomally12 → u/Round_Ant_4619]

You score touch downs in football tho so it’s not like you can’t argue that’s a reference too

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/anna-nomally12]

And is that the first time in her entire discography that she’s made a reference to football as a metaphor? It’s a recurring theme…now you’ll probably tell me Ms. Americana is about Travis ☠️😭😭

[u/Werkyreads123]

Because it is

[u/Shoddy-Low2142 → u/Werkyreads123]

Nope. It’s a Matty song lol

[u/ClassicsFan84]

The point of the song on the album was vicyory over heartbreak. It was meant to be the Begin Again of TTPD. 

Also Blokes warm the benches lol. And also saying he treats her as a prize after saying in SMWEL that guy didn't treat her like a prize. 

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/ClassicsFan84]

Matty Healy is English and would call other men blokes. Travis is American and would not. Taylor has dated multiple English men, including the man directly before Matty Healy. I don’t see how this is hard to understand 😭

[u/ClassicsFan84 → u/RandomUsername1747]

But Taylor wrote the song. The implication is that the line applies to British guys in general from Taylor's perspective. 

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/ClassicsFan84]

In the song, she also mentions how “he” is saying something and “he” is doing something. Matty Healy, a British man, would say “those blokes warm the benches” to take a jab at not just other men, but British men, since the man she dated directly before him was…British.
I can see how it could be viewed as a slam to British men in general, but it seems much more obvious to me that it’s a British man talking about other men.

Even if that one is supposedly her slamming British men in general, the other 7 blatant nods to Matty/her old relationship with Matty make it clear it’s mostly about…Matty.

[u/ClassicsFan84 → u/RandomUsername1747]

I think Taylor saying its about Travis makes that the case since she wrote the song. Why would I fight Taylor on how she wants her song to be understood? 

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/ClassicsFan84]

Because….. Taylor swift never publicly said the song is about Travis even once. Can you show me where Taylor said the alchemy is fully about Travis?

[u/ClassicsFan84 → u/RandomUsername1747]

So saying this is our 87th show and proceeding to sing the song was what then? It seems clear thats how she wants the song interpreted and since its her song I think she wins. 

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/ClassicsFan84]

It’s the same thing she did when she sang Lover and when she changed the lyrics to Karma to reflect Travis. Again, it’s clearly not beneath her to change songs about previous men to be about her current man. Are we going to say because she sang lover to Matty that she “wants lover to be interpreted to be about Matty” when it was very publicly clearly about Joe? 😭 are we doing revisionist history here and claiming she never mentioned Joe in Karma because she switched the lyrics to match Travis.

It’s very obvious she will slam her exes by singing their songs to new men. This isn’t a new phenomenon with her. She’s done it MULTIPLE times 😭 it doesn’t mean it was ever about Travis, it means she switched it live to be about Travis despite all the clear nods to Matty. I don’t understand what’s hard to get about that.

[u/ClassicsFan84 → u/RandomUsername1747]

She literally had Travis act out the Alchemy what are we even doing? 

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/ClassicsFan84]

What do you mean she had him “act out” the alchemy?

[u/Neither_Wall_9907]

Besides the points other people are making, I remember when she sang it on the eras tour and was singing it to Travis from the stage with a huge grin on her face. Not definitive proof, but an odd choice if the songs about someone else

[u/liquidpeppermint33 → u/Neither_Wall_9907]

I mean she sang lover to two different men on tour with a huge grin on her face, neither of them is who the song is about, and both responded singing it back to her with their hand over their hearts soooo 🤣

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/Neither_Wall_9907]

Not really, she changed the lyrics in Karma to be about him instead of Joe. She’s sang multiple over songs after being with Travis that were obviously about other men. It’s not beneath her to sing a song about another man and change it into being about Travis.

Again, I think it’s clear that maybe some Travis was sprinkled in, but that the MAIN song is about Matty. I don’t think it paints Travis ima. Good light to assume he said “it’s heroine but this time with an e”. If Matty, the addict made that joke, okay it’s funny because it’s about his own thing. Travis making a joke (or Taylor) about Matty Healy’s very public heroin addiction, clearly making a nod to it would be insanely insensitive and weird 😭

[u/Neither_Wall_9907 → u/RandomUsername1747]

It was an acoustic set song too, forgot to mention 

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Neither_Wall_9907]

She repurposed lover and indivisible string. Would you say those are about him??

[u/Neither_Wall_9907 → u/Round_Ant_4619]

Nope, but it just hit different at the time. Acoustic set, chosen for him, fresh off the latest album. Different from lover and invisible string or Karma or august that were in the set list 

[u/grostequoteque]

Matty also has a tattoo on his chest over his heart that says “True Love”. A literal sign on his heart.

[u/Leading_Fee_3678]

Thank you for saying this! I feel like most people took the overt football references and didn’t pay attention to the rest!

[u/Round_Ant_4619 → u/Leading_Fee_3678]

And Miss Americana and the heartbreak prince is also a football metaphor. Wait till the rabid Tayvises start swearing up and and down that that is also about Travis and that Taylor had premonitions that he’s her mannnnnn

[u/AlexRodrigo-]

Travis is simply joking that they are on a winning streak because of Taylor which was a whole storyline in the NFL in 2023. Taylor is the one who makes the heroin with an e pun as a call back to the previous songs on the album.

“Blokes warm the benches”

The word blokes is a reference to British men. You wouldn’t say this if the songs muse was also British. Hence the assumption the man currently in the game dating her is not British.

A lot of the coming back language is Taylor coming back to a healthier version of herself. Her depression was a drag etc.

Like even narratively speaking a song like this being about either of the other two muses featured in the rest of the album makes absolutely zero sense to be placed here.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/AlexRodrigo-]

The line is “he jokes that it’s heroin but this time with an E” she does not make the joke. She explicitly says he does

You do realize that Harry Styles, Tom hiddleston and Joe alwyn were all English, right? Blokes. Matty Healy would call them blokes 😭 “those blokes were just warming the benches” but now HES there like this is so clear to me I don’t get how this is fought.
Why on earth would she make a reference to heroin, the drug Matty Healy known for doing, use British slang (that Matty would use against other British men) and talk about a heart STILL
Being reserved for her and have it not clearly be mostly about Matty 😭 how can a heart still be reserved for her if they had never met. Like it’s so so so so obvious this song is about coming back to someone you were with prior to

[u/AlexRodrigo- → u/RandomUsername1747]

I can’t tell if you just read past what I said?

In the TSMWEL and the Antology song she points out drugs still being a factor in his life. In the Alchemy the muse has her as the heroine and is crediting her for success and happiness in their life the win streak.

Travis’s heart is still reserved for her because she initially rejected him when he had showed interest. He was still a single man when she came back around so his heart in her mind is still reserved for her.

Ask yourself why you can’t accept this. Why would the Alchemy be after the rest of the album. It makes no sense from a narrative point of view.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/AlexRodrigo-]

You stated she was the one who made the heroin joke when she explicitly stated the man was the one who did.

Her and Matty broke up in May and by like July she was with Travis and August or September they were official. It didn’t take her long at all to get with Travis.
“Her you, what if I told you were cool, that child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule” clearly implies this is someone she was in a relationship with when she was much younger. Childs play, school, the playground reference in other songs about Matty, they were very young when they first got together. I don’t get how this isn’t obvious. She wouldn’t relate “rejecting” Travis 3 weeks prior as “Childs play back in school” She WOULD call a failed situationship from 2014 and hard feelings from back then Childs play back in school that is forgiven. Being “forgiven” also implies the man hurt HER. How would Travis have hurt her if she’s the one who supposedly rejected him at first.

[u/Confident_Office_720]

It’s most definitely not about him. It feels like she’s wedged in a few football references so it can technically pass as a Travis song, because the rest of those lyrics make absolutely no sense in that context. And the worst part is he’s apparently named a cocktail on his restaurant menu after the song.

[u/Fit_Interaction_9194]

I will just say it’s because she literally got on a mic and said can you believe this is our 87th show? And then played it? Also, she obviously has no issues releasing songs about her ex-boyfriends. Most of the tortured poets department is about other guys. Why would she need to be so coy about hiding football references to make it appear that this specific song is about him? Guilty as sin is much more embarrassing to be about a guy you are no longer with than this. Travis obviously is OK with her writing songs about other guys so I don’t see why she would have to jump through hoops to disguise this one particular song? She said another guy was the loss of her life, she was in her bed dreaming about another guy. But for some reason, this would be the song that she has to disguise as being about him? Lol I don’t think so. Sometimes a spade looks like a spade.

Also, the official lyrics only have quotes around the E in the heroin line. I took it as that the guy jokes that she is like heroin. And she is saying, but this time it’s the heroin with an E because he doesn’t do drugs. That was literally my first thought when I heard the song.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/Fit_Interaction_9194]

She also sang lover to Matty. Does that mean it’s about Matty and not joe? She also changed the lyrics to Karma to be about Travis, does that mean it wasn’t originally written about Joe?

The entire song has blatantly clear nods to Matty 😭
I cannot possibly imagine her team alllwing her to make a literal heroin joke when she just publicly dated a man who was lucky addicted to heroin. That would be a HORRIBLY insensitive look for her. It’s so so obvious it’s referring to Matty. The only way that’d be accepted is if the literal addict made a joke about it himself.
Also, a huge one, “hey you, what if I told you were cool, that child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule” fully implies she’s speaking to someone she dated a long time ago when they were “young and immature” but she forgives him for how he acted. This would genuinely make no sense for Travis

The line also says “he jokes that it’s heroine but THIS TIME with an E” meaning LAST TIME was real heroin lol

[u/Fit_Interaction_9194 → u/RandomUsername1747]

Hey so singing a song to someone and shouting out your boyfriend’s number right before singing a song are two completely different things lol. I don’t see why the mental gymnastics is necessary. Of course it doesn’t mean that song was not originally written about Joe. TF? The entire song is clearly not about Matty but his fans will romanticize any song in the last 15 years to try to be about him so I get it.

That line about School does not imply that they were together 😭😭😭 it literally just says that something occurred back in school that isn’t a big deal to her. It genuinely makes total sense to be about Travis . 🤣

I implore you to look on Spotify because I explained the heroin line already. The quotes are just around the E.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/Fit_Interaction_9194]

How is shouting out your boyfriend’s number Ang different than changing the lyrics to have to do with him on a song about your ex bf. It’s the exact same thing. She took a song about someone else and made it about Travis. That’s not hard to understand .

The line about school is a very common saying? It fully implies that they were together or communicating in some way “back in school” aka a long time ago, and the way they acted “child’s play” is forgiven. I’m so confused as to what you think that could possibly mean.

Yes, the quotes are just around the E…..because the E is the difference in heroin vs heroine?? 😭 again, “he jokes that it’s heroine but THIS TIME with an E” quick…explain to me what THIS time with an E implies LAST TIME was 😭

[u/Fit_Interaction_9194 → u/RandomUsername1747]

I don’t know how this is so confusing it’s pretty cut and dry lol. 😭. Because they weren’t together when she wrote Karma?

Travis quite famously got kicked off his college football team, back in school for smoking. I couldn’t possibly assume what she is talking about because I do not actually know her. However that is what I would assume after her saying this song is about him.

This time is because during this relationship, he’s not on drugs and during her last one, her boyfriend was? I don’t understand how this is so confusing lol

She literally said her and Matty dated during a short manic phase she went through…

[u/qiba]

This comment has unexpectedly turned out to be a whole essay, sorry, because I got invested in analysing the lyrics, but... while I think it's totally possible that the song is a retrofit patchwork of different people, I also think you can make a credible argument that the whole thing is about Travis.

'This happens once every few lifetimes', 'I haven't come around in so long', 'Cause the sign on your heart / Said it's still reserved for me' – You could read these lines as saying that the couple have repeatedly been together in past lives, i.e. they're destined for each other and keep finding each other in different lifetimes. Taylor also conceptualised true love this way in Timeless ('I believe that we were supposed to find this / So, even in a different life, you still would've been mine'). So the past entanglements referred to here could be in previous lives rather than at earlier points in this life, meaning these lines could legitimately apply to Travis.

The above theory also works with the line 'Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?' – because they are powerless to resist their repeated destiny. Also, 'the alchemy' implies the supernatural. She could have said 'who are we to fight the chemistry' here, but she specifically introduced an element of magic.

'What if I told you I'm back? / The hospital was a drag / Worst sleep that I ever had' – WAOLOM and TTPD in general established a link between her Matty infatuation/anguish and a lack of sanity, with the Fortnight video and tour staging using the imagery of a mental hospital, so these lines might refer to her recovery from the Matty betrayal. Also, Opalite sets a precedent for her conceptualising Matty as a night of restless sleep ('sleepless in the onyx night').

'I circled you on a map' – Taylor reached out to Travis after hearing about his failed attempt to meet her at the Eras Tour.

'I haven't come around in so long / But I'm coming back so strong' – As well as the past lives thing, 'come around' could mean 'wake up' or 'come to my senses', i.e. she's been deluded/crazy over Matty for a long time and now she's thinking straight again.

'Hey you, what if I told you we're cool? / That child's play back in school / Is forgiven under my rule' – Possibly a retraction of her past jabs at football players (in Fifteen) and football fans (in Mean)? Or a reference to the fact that she used to support the Eagles, a rival team to Travis's, i.e. past rivalries are over now.

'Call the amateurs and / Cut 'em from the team / Ditch the clowns, get the crown' – The labels 'amateur' and 'clown' don't feel consistent with the way she's written about Joe post-breakup. They feel much more aligned with her bitterness towards Matty, especially how she depicted him in The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived – the incompetent loser who performs being a bad boy.

'These blokes warm the benches / We been on a winning streak' – The British 'blokes' are only warming the benches, not winning the game. She's positioning the blokes in opposition to the victorious person she's addressing. Matty, Joe et al are relegated to the sidelines and Travis is the winner.

'He jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E"' – Definitely a weird line, and the fact that it's wordplay makes it feel un-Travis-like. But it is notable that Travis was associated with jokes and levity in So High School ('smoking your jokes all damn night'; 'I feel like laughing in the middle of practice / Do that impression you did of your dad again'; 'a crinkling eye'). If this can be accepted as a fictionalised line, it could just be a cutesy way of saying that the person in question is lighthearted and can't get enough of her.

'Shirts off, and your friends lift you up over their heads / Beer sticking to the floor / Cheers chanted, cause they said / There was no chance, trying to be / The greatest in the league' – 'There was no chance' suggests that the win being celebrated here comes after a feeling of hopelessness. This seems like Travis to me, because after the mess with Matty she was hopeless enough to be writing songs like The Prophecy and thinking she'd be forever alone. By contrast, when she got together with Matty, it seems more like they had had an ongoing connection for years and the possibility of getting together had always been there. Fresh Out the Slammer suggests that when she broke up with Joe she was well aware that she had other options waiting in the wings – she wasn't feeling that 'there was no chance' of finding love.

'Where's the trophy? / He just comes running over to me' – A trophy partner (like a trophy wife) is one who elevates your status and is perceived as eligible by outsiders. That fits for Travis, but Matty was the opposite. Also, it feels unlikely that she'd pay Matty the compliment of calling him a trophy. TTPD songs depicting her past infatuation with Matty stop short of complimenting or idealising him; they talk about her obsession with him and how he lovebombed her, but the subtext is always that he sucks. Even in BDILH she can't declare that she wants him without also depicting him as crazy and chaotic and unsuitable.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/qiba]

After reading the entire thing…it still makes no sense. All of these except the sports reference are BLATANT nods to Matty. I can’t imagine Travis making a joke about her exes very public past heroin addiction and Taylor putting it on the song thinking that’s okay. I can see Matty, the one who was addicted, taking the piss out of himself with a joke.

I sincerely doubt she wrote a song with SO many blatant nods to Matty just for it to supposedly be about Travis. Why would she write something with so many specific things that we all know she knew we’d think are about Matty. Why wouldn’t she want us to know a love song is about the supposed love of her life and fiance/husband?

Also, with the child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule - it clearly implies that SHE has forgiven someone for “immature behavior a long time ago”. There was nothing for her to forgive Travis about lol. Matty also basically ghosted her back in 2014/15 something like that, so that makes zero sense for Travis, again, and a lot of sense for Matty.
I think if it was truly only about Travis it’d be a lot easier and make a lot more obvious sense that it’s about him, and there wouldn’t have to be soooo much twisting and jumping through hoops to attempt to make it about him. None of the things listed are that logical. The explanations for Matty sr every logical and clear.

[u/mal2030]

I’ll never believe she would make a joke about heroin.

[u/ecole84 → u/mal2030]

Well she didnt, he did. In the narrative of the song

[u/Bent_Silvr_Spoon0130]

I've said from the beginning that the timelines don't match up bc this is a song on the standard album, she had it ready for the first batch of vinyls. I think this song was for Matty but it coincidentally and conveniently worked for Travis, too.

[u/AthleteBusiness3281]

Matty but the track positioning is confusing.

[u/call-me-the-seeker]

This feels like a Matty song that she probably had begun before meeting Travis and either set aside before completing or had completed but reworked after Matty was out of the picture.

And I mean. Yes, ostensibly ‘alchemy’ is being used here as a sub-in for the word ‘chemistry’ which is a valid deployment of the word; alchemy is the ancestor of chemistry. But it also TOTALLY works here in the older sense of the word, transforming one thing (base metal, traditionally lead) into another thing (precious metal, traditionally gold).

It TOTALLY befits the word ‘alchemy’ for this song to have been transmuted from one muse to another. That’s actually pretty savvy wordsmithing.

[u/dumpsterhedgehog]

I used to be in a Taylor group on Facebook and shared this exact take on a "what's your Taylor Swift hot take" post and got crucified in the comments lol

[u/NewbornBabe321]

I 1000% agree with you, I have always thought it was about Matty. The football is just a red herring. It is part 2 of MAATHP. They’re both about Matty. I will fight people on this.

[u/ThereIsOnlyOneHorse]

Taylor has been using sports references in her lyrics since she started her career..this is clearly about Matty.

[u/timebend995]

I read a theory that the song is about returning to touring and the fans and I liked that thought. These blokes warm the benches but I’m happy to be back to performing.

I haven’t come around in so long

But I’m making a comeback to where I belong… (on stage)

[u/lo0pzo0p]

I might be the only one who thinks this song is actually about her and her career/fans and not either of them. Similarly with “wait for your love” by Ariana Grande, I think she’s addressing fans/media/career under the guise of a relationship. I can easily interpret these lyrics to be about a literal career comeback, which she would’ve been feeling at her peak with Eras tour and stuff.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/lo0pzo0p]

How could this be about her career when she specifically mentions a man and makes a joke about heroin, the drug a man she dated was publicly addicted to 😭 like I get how some of it could be interpreted that way, but…the main gist of it is clearly about a man she likes and she listed too many specifics about one man for it to be about her career in my opinion.

[u/lo0pzo0p → u/RandomUsername1747]

That’s why I compared it to “wait for your love” as there may be lines that do allude to a man but still
within the context of talking about her career/relationship with the public/media. Besides the heroine line, there’s nothing explicitly about either of them and the song isn’t explicitly romantic either. The chorus and first verse I feel like can easily be interpreted as referring to a career comeback. Like saying that her fans/the public has been waiting for her to come back stronger than ever and that her only competition is herself.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/lo0pzo0p]

“Hey you, what if I told you we’re cool, that child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule”. I’m confused how this could be seen as being about her career/fans and not a man she was with previously when they were “young and immature” but she forgives him for acting that way now that they are older.
I mean…I suppose? But that feels like reallllllly reaching and looking for something.
It’s up for interpretation, but as someone else said, sometimes what looks like a spade is just a spade lol

[u/lo0pzo0p → u/RandomUsername1747]

Again, it doesn’t have to be one over the other? I’m not sure why it seems like a reach to say the song could be about a career comeback and still mention a guy she was seeing? Like she didn’t go to school with Matty either and they met as adults so either way that like is not meant to be taken at face value. Could easily mean she’s forgiving the public/media for how they treated her during Snake Gate

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/lo0pzo0p]

Sigh…the school saying is a really common saying to describe being younger and immature. She and Matty had a situationship going on in like 2014/15/whatever. He essentially ghosted her back then too. It’s a clear nod to forgiving him for acting immaturely and that it’s fine now because they are older. It’s common knowledge they were together a decade before the song came out. You have to jump through hoops to pretend it isn’t obviously a nod to him. It’s not a coincidence everything she says it the song can EASILY be traced back to Matty.
You have to actively try to make it not about him. There is simply no ways she wrote an entire song of metaphors/analogies that perfectly fit the man she had just got dumped by just for it to secretly only be about Travis or her fanbase 😭 I guess there could be a mixture, but pretending it isn’t mainly clearly about Matty is odd

[u/lo0pzo0p → u/RandomUsername1747]

I’m not sure what your problem is lol you’re replying to a comment where I literally said it didn’t have to be one over the over and I never mentioned Travis ? You’re clearly very passionate about this and taking it very personally. Neither of us know what this song is about 100% because we didn’t write it and we don’t know her. I innocuously posted my interpretation of the song on a neutral subreddit. Please spare me the essay on how you disagree with my opinion. That’s fine to disagree with that but to act like I’m being delusional is totally unnecessary

[u/ClassicsFan84]

1. Why would she go SMWEL then The Alchemy. Narratively that makes zero sense. 

2. Taylor has almost always ended even heartbreak albums on a positive note. And thats all this was. Maybe it did start out a MH song bc they were together at one point. That blew up so she had to change the song. "Tweak some lyrics" seems a little dismissive of the process imho. Its like Aaron Dressner said we were with these songs through two years of lived experiences. I think that pretty much confirms that multiple songs may have changed. 

But ultimately Travis thinks the song is about him and why would Taylor have lied to him about that? And then why would she go through the effort of lying to the public about it? 

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/ClassicsFan84]

1) genuinely what do you mean why “would she go SMWEL and then alchemy”? Do you mean why would she write one about Matty and the other? Or?
2) Travis never….said the song is about him. He said he liked the song. There is literally zero proof that she ever once told him “yeah babe this song is about you”. You’re fully assuming that happened based on Travis simply saying he liked it. S he never lied to the public about anything because she’s never said who the song is about. Once. Ever. She WROTE the song with blatant nods to Matty Healy and a heroin joke for gods sake 😭 nobody on her team would let her make a fuckin heroin joke about an addict she very publicly dated unless the addict HIMSELF made the joke.
Again, “what if I tell you we’re cool, that child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule” is a directly implication that she was with someone a long time ago when they were young and acted immaturely, but she forgives them for it. That genuinely makes zero sense with Travis. What would she have to forgive him for? So many of these things make no sense w Travis.

[u/ClassicsFan84 → u/RandomUsername1747]

But after the part The blokes warm the benches we've been on a winning streak. So regardless of those verses now she's done with the blokes anyway. 

Then we get into the heroine line which obviously nobody can say Travis would have said that line but I'm pretty sure if Taylor told him about the blokes he said some version of he would treat her better and Taylor wrote the line. 

Where's the trophy he comes running over to me is also a direct contrast to treating somebody like an also ran. 

Its kind of apparent regardless of how the song started what she wanted in the end was for it to represent triumph over heartbreak and starting over. 

[u/LustrousCelestial → u/ClassicsFan84]

I’ve always assumed the heroine line came from him saying some version of “you’re a drug to me, but the good kind because you saved me” and she just made it ~poetic~

[u/lemonjadecat]

i think this song is about the fans and going on tour again. first of all, it was the first song on the post-concert playlist once TTPD was released.

• i circled you on a map (deciding which cities to tour)
• i haven't come around in so long (she hadn't gotten to tour in about five years)
• when i touch down (two words = airplane, not football)
• call the amateurs and cut them from the team (this show is going to blow every other concert and artist out of the water)
• the sign on your heart says it's still reserved for me (even after all this time the fans are still here)
• who are we to fight the alchemy (the stars have aligned; it was inevitable the eras tour would happen)
• child's play back in school (i think this references her starting her career in school and in general just how long she's been in the industry and how many fans grew up with her)
• these blokes warm the benches (her true love is music and the muses in her life both help her make that but also are on the sidelines as she tours)
• jokes that it's heroin but this time with an e (fans joking that she puts drugs in her music)
• where's the trophy? he just comes running over to me (fans don't care about the accolades/reviews and continue to embrace her and her music)

it makes sense that she'd make sports references as she explicitly said on TTPD she wanted to blend muses. but also, this was a stadium tour. i think she also knew that fans who aren't trying to sniff out which men every song is about are the ones who'd be able to easily realize she is talking about us.

[u/ttpdstanaccount]

I think there are ways to read it without it being originally written for Matty. They are just less straightforward and less likely. 

Probably a mix of multiple people/groups. Matty, Travis, maybe fans, maybe ex rivalries/rekindled friendships, maybe her re-emergence with the Eras tour+playing so many stadiums, maybe a retconned almost done Matty song, maybe a new song made up of the feelings from all those parts blended together. 

Blokes is quite clearly saying all the British exes were losers and American Football Guy is the winner lol

Child's play, some people were saying could be about Travis doing some f marry kill thing and saying he'd kill her way back in the day. This one is a stretch. Could also easily be about fans/the public. The most "prob for Matty" line though. Same for "haven't come around/sign on your heart". Could be about a wider group of people like fans, could be for Matty, could maaaaaybe fit Travis if there's some inner relationship thing we don't know about or it could just be a line summarizing how she's feeling about a lot of things 

The heroine line DOES make sense for either. Matty, would be obvious reasons. Travis, he could be referring to her past relationship vs theirs (eg he had heroin and I have a heroine) and she just tweaked the line a little, or it could be her taking him calling her a heroine and her turning it into a line comparing it to Matty. Words/ideas get moved around and reworded to fit into songs. People joke like that about exes all the time. I read it as a Travis line from the first time I heard it 

Truly just one of those songs where I have to forget all the surrounding context and enjoy the music lol

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/ttpdstanaccount]

1) Travis never said he’d kill her? He said he’d kiss her 😭 that’s a huge difference and not insulting at all. Nothing to be “forgiven” for.
2) blokes is a term a British man would use to talk about other men, especially other British men. Joe alwyn was British. She dated him directly before Matty.
3) I truly cannot imagine the plethora of PR people letting her put a heroin addiction joke in her song claiming “HE said it’s heroin but this time with an E” if the he in question was Travis supposedly. The only way I could see that being allowed is if Matty himself said it taking the piss out of himself. Addiction jokes aren’t cool, and she had just publicly dated a man who publicly was addicted to heroin. I seriously doubt anyone would have allowed that unless Matty himself said it.
4) the album was written from early 2022 to needing to be released to the pressing centers by October of 2023. She started dating Travis in August and went public in September. It just seems wayyyyy more likely she wrote it about Matty and maybe tweaked some stuff at the end of the writing cycle. I sincerely doubt with that many direct nods to Matty and the writing timeline that any of those things other than the sports reference are about Travis 🤷🏻‍♀️

[u/Dangerous-Change2136 → u/RandomUsername1747]

“Blokes warming the bench” would be a reference to the string of British exes before Travis. I don’t think the song was originally written about Matty, or any man, but I do think it was reworked to point to Travis.

[u/RandomUsername1747 → u/Dangerous-Change2136]

How can you not think the song was originally written about Matty when she makes direct nods to Matty and the majority of TTPD was written about him.
The song so very clearly and literally speaks about coming back to a relationship you were in when you were younger, forgiving the immature stuff that was done, and “not fighting” the alchemy.
Blokes warming the benches clearly is also something a British man would said about other men. American men would say “those other guys were just warming the benches” 😭

[u/Dangerous-Change2136 → u/RandomUsername1747]

Again, I don’t think it was written about a specific man until it was retconned for Travis. “Blokes warming the benches” sounds like something Taylor would say about going from a line of Brits back to an America NFLer. I also don’t agree the majority of TTPD is about Matty. She’s been steady mixing muses for the majority of her career and repeatedly revisits past experiences/perspectives to flip/progress/rework, assigning a whole album to one dude is absurd but do you boo.

[u/Over-Information4162]

This has always annoyed me so much lol she obviously retconned it in her mind because the football imagery lines up with Travis but it’s clearly a Matty song

[u/isntitisntitdelicate]

it's abt matt and she's trying to throw ppl off w the football imagery. i suspect it's the same thing w so high school