Entertainment

Taylor Swift's "Call It What You Want" Is (Probably) About Joe Alwyn & Here Are All The Clues

by Nicole Pomarico
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

In case Swifties were getting impatient waiting for the singer's new album, Taylor Swift dropped a new song on Thursday night to hold them over. And with that, comes a series of questions. Namely, is Swift's "Call It What You Want" about Joe Alwyn? Usually people speculate the song is about one of her exes, her current boyfriend, or one of her frenemies (aka the other halves of her celebrity feuds). And this time around is no different, as fans seem to think the track is about her current boyfriend, Alwyn.

Swift loves to tell a story in her music, and, this time around, she's pretty obviously addressing that awkward time last year when she fell off the face of the earth following her feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian over the lyrics to West's "Famous." In "Call It What You Want," Swift sings about how her castle had crumbled overnight, she'd been called a liar, and that nobody had heard from her in months, but she's doing better than ever.

Why? Oh, nothing big — just that she's seemingly met a guy who makes all that stuff "fade to nothing," and, now that they're in love, she doesn't have to worry about drama queens and jokers anymore. Enter Alwyn.

Unfortunately, there's not a lot than fans (or anyone) knows about Alwyn or his relationship with Swift. It's nearly impossible to find photos of them together, and they've never appeared on each other's social media. The only way to gather details on what their life as a couple is like? Swift's lyrics. And it sounds like "Call It What You Want" is going to be a big source of information on that topic.

From the song alone — if it is about Alwyn, of course — we already know that he may have swooped in when the drama was getting a little too real, offering her a welcome distraction in the form of making pillow forts and laughing together. It sounds like such a happy relationship for her, and, if you've been keeping up with Swift's love life, you probably know that hasn't always been the case with other men she's dated.

And best of all? The way Swift included lines like, "I want to wear his initial on a chain around my neck/Not because he owns me/Because he really knows me" and "you don't have to save me." It sounds like she and Alwyn are together because they want to be, not because they're co-dependent on each other, and that's a really healthy place to be. Way to go, Swift.

If you're a fan who was concerned about Swift during her hiatus from social media and public life, then it seems like we can all rest assured that she was well taken care of. She's been busy building what sounds like a very mature yet legendary romance with Alwyn, and, even though their entire relationship remains a mystery, it definitely sounds like keeping things low key has been working for her. You know, even if the rest of us are here, dying over these blurry paparazzi photos that keep popping up because they're the only evidence that exists of them being together.

Swift might be known for her heartbroken ballads, but this song about finding the kind of love at the time you need it most is a nice change of pace... especially since it includes a little salt sprinkled in about those who have wronged her. Hopefully, there's plenty more to be revealed about Alwyn in the remaining tracks on Reputation, and, with just a week left to go, there's not much longer until we find out.