Harry Styles put out a new song, and since I am nosy and know you're all wondering, let me go ahead and say what's on everybody's mind — is Harry Styles' new song "Carolina" about Taylor Swift? The short answer is that it doesn't seem to be, based on some big clues in the lyrics. But the long answer is that this just means we'll have to continue to keep our eyes and ears open for the response to Swift's "Style" that I feel absolutely sure is still coming. (Don't you dare ruin this for me.) In the meantime, let's take a look at this new track, just so we're all on the same page that it isn't a reference to Styles' Swiftian period.
The song was released on Tuesday via Styles' televised performance during TODAY, and if the screaming girls on set are any indication, it's come out to rave reviews. It has a similar mellow, poppy vibe to "Sign of the Times," his first single off of his upcoming solo album, but "Carolina" is slightly more upbeat, and it's clear from the chorus that whoever this girl is that he's singing about, he's been left with a good impression of her:
"She's a good girl
She's such a good girl
Yeah, she's a good girl
She feels so good"
That could definitely be about Swift, with her squeaky-clean image, but the lyrics that surround it are undeniably about someone else. The first line of the song, for example, mentions that "she's got a family in Carolina," while Swift grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania before insisting her family move to Nashville, so she could attempt a career in music. (Wonder how that ended up going, by the way...) Another line that's incongruous is, "She never saw herself as a west coaster / Moved all the way cause her grandma told her," because Swift is notoriously an east coaster. "Welcome to New York," anyone?
It's pretty clear by now that Swift isn't the subject of this track, but in case you needed even more convincing, there's the lyric, "There's not a drink that I think could sink her," which doesn't feel right for Swift, since she isn't known to be much of a drinker. And then finally, the nail in the coffin, which is the line, "I met her once and wrote a song about her." Um, yeah, those two definitely met more than once, so this is the definitive proof that "Carolina" is not about Taylor Swift.
But you're not off the hook yet, Harry Styles. I expect a retort to "Style" on my desk by May 12 when the rest of your album comes out. Is that understood?
