Taylor Swift is opening up about her love story with Joe Alwyn in her new song, "Lavender Haze," off her album "Midnights."
Ahead of the release, Swift said the song, which is the first track on the album, would speak about the experience of dating in the public eye. Alwyn and Swift have been linked since late 2016.
“I think a lot of people have to deal with this now, not just like ‘public figures,’ because we live in the era of social media,” she began. And if the world finds out that you’re in love with somebody, they’re going to weigh in on it.
"My relationship for six years, we’ve had to dodge weird rumors, tabloid stuff — and we just ignore it,” she said. “This song is sort of about the act of ignoring that stuff to protect the real stuff.”
Now that the song is out – along with the rest of the album and 7 bonus tracks — we can dive into the meaning of "Lavender Haze." Here's what to know about the song lyrics and what it says about Swift, Alwyn and how she feels about a potential engagement.
In the song, Swift says she wants to say in the ‘love glow’
Swift explained the title's meaning on Instagram: “Lavender haze means the ‘all-encompassing love glow.’”
She heard the term on an episode of “Mad Men,” saying, “It turns out that it’s a common phrase used in the ‘50s, where they would just describe being in love.”
The song is a push-and-pull between the desire to stay secluded and the intrusion of the outside world with their opinions (and their paparazzi photos).
“I just wanna stay / I just wanna stay in that lavender haze,” she said.
Swift addresses those engagement rumors on 'Lavender Haze'
This is a song about the world weighing in on a relationship — so naturally, Swift addresses what people are asking in the lyrics. And what the people are asking about is an engagement.
Are Swift and Alwyn getting married? She doesn't say; only that she finds the question "dizzying."
"All they keep asking me / Is if I’m gonna be your bride / The only kinda girl they see / Is a one-night or a wife / I find it dizzying," she sings.
She also sings, "The 1950s s--- they want from me," perhaps refuting the gender roles encapsulated by the era. Note that the song title itself is a term borrowed from the '50s.
Alwyn, though he said he prefers speaking about work over his personal life, did open up briefly about engagement rumors to the Wall Street Journal in 2020.
“If I had a pound for every time I think I’ve been told I’ve been engaged, then I’d have a lot of pound coins. I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say,” Alwyn said.
The song also addresses dating in the public eye
Continuing the theme, Swift sings about what it was like to date Alwyn under "scrutiny."
She and Alwyn began dating in 2016. Earlier that year, Swift had been linked to Tom Hiddleston and Calvin Harris, and was in headlines due to her feud with Kim Kardashian and Ye (the artist formerly known as Kanye West).
"I been under scrutiny / You handled it beautifully / All this s--- is new to me," she said.
According to Swift, Alwyn ignores chatter about her past and dating history.
"They’re bringing up my history / But you weren’t even listening," she sings.
Read the lyrics to 'Lavender Haze'
Meet me at midnight
Staring at the ceiling with you
Oh, you don’t ever say too much
And you don’t really read into
My melancholia
I’ve been under scrutiny (Yeah, oh, yeah)
You handle it beautifully (Yeah, oh, yeah)
All this shit is new to me (Yeah, oh, yeah)
I feel
A lavender haze creeping up on me
So real
I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say
No deal
The 1950s s--t they want for me
I just wanna stay in the lavender haze
All they keep asking me (All they keep asking me)
Is if I’m gonna be your bride
The only kind of girl they see (The only kind of girl they see)
Is a one night or a wife
I find it dizzying (Yeah, oh, yeah)
They’re bringing up my history (Yeah, oh, yeah)
But you aren’t even listening (Yeah, oh, yeah)
I feel
A lavender haze creeping up on me
So real
I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say
No deal
The 1950s s--t they want for me
I just wanna stay in the lavender haze
The lavender haze
Talking, talking, go viral
I just need this love spiral
Get it off your chest
Get it off my desk
Talking, talking, go viral
I just need this love spiral
Get it off your chest
Get it off my desk
I feel (I feel)
A lavender haze creeping up on me
So real
I’m damned if I do give a damn what people say
No deal (No deal)
The 1950s s--t they want for me
I just wanna stay in the lavender haze
Get it off your chest
Get it off my desk
The lavender haze
I just wanna stay
I just wanna stay
In that lavender haze