Every Song Taylor Swift Has Written About Joe Alwyn (So Far)
The invisible string connecting Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn was reportedly severed in April 2023. In less Swiftian terms: Taylor and Joe have officially broken up.
At the time, Entertainment Tonight was the first to report the split, citing a source close to the former couple who said they actually broke up in an amicable/“not dramatic” way. “The relationship had just run its course,” the source claimed. “It’s why [Joe] hasn’t been spotted at any [Eras Tour] shows.”
Taylor and Joe were together for six years—and those years happened to be incredibly productive ones for Taylor as a songwriter. So it seems like the only natural way to honor their time together is with a look back at the songs their love inspired. We weren’t kidding about how productive Taylor has been since she started seeing Joe (who is apparently QUITE the muse), so our deep dive back through Taylor’s catalog turned up a LOT of tracks, ranging from songs that are Fully and Publicly Confirmed to Be About Joe to many that are Not Confirmed but Almost Universally Assumed to Be Fully About Joe to a few best described as Not *About* Joe but Not Totally *Not* About Joe.
The list is broken down by ~eras~ so you can brush up on Taylor and Joe's exact timeline through song—especially since fans are theorizing that her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, calls back to their relationship. ??
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Anonymous sources, tortured man clubs, cheating rumors—it's all just a lot.
[table-of-contents] stripped
Reputation
“…Ready for It?”
How about Joe it is: Completely. This song is literally Taylor being like, “Hey, Joe, ready for this epic and hot romance that’s about to happen? Because it’s definitely about to happen.”
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Some, some boys are tryin’ too hard / He don’t try at all though / Younger than my exes but he act like such a man, so / I see nothing better, I keep him forever.”
“End Game” featuring Ed Sheeran and Future
How about Joe it is: At least one-third. The song also features verses from Ed Sheeran and Future, neither of whom seem to be referring to Joe at all. Taylor’s verse, however—pure Joe.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “And I can’t let you go, your handprint’s on my soul / It’s like your eyes are liquor, it’s like your body is gold / You’ve been calling my bluff on all my usual tricks / So here’s the truth from my red lips.”
“Don’t Blame Me”
How about Joe it is: Practically biblically, considering some of the imagery in the song (or unhealthily, if you gravitate more toward the addiction metaphor). Either way, it’s about the intensity of falling for someone and it’s on Reputation, which means it’s about Joe.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “I’ve been breakin’ hearts a long time and / Toyin’ with them older guys / Just playthings for me to use / Something happened for the first time, in / The darkest little paradise / Shakin’, pacin’, I just need you.”
“Delicate”
How about Joe it is: Iconically. Hard stop. Their dive bar origin story has become mythic among Swifties.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Dark jeans and your Nikes, look at you / Oh, damn, never seen that color blue / Just think of the fun things we could do.”
“Gorgeous”
How about Joe it is: 100 percent. “Gorgeous” is the story of Joe and Taylor’s electric, tipsy, dancing-on-the-edge-of-infidelity meet-cute.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Ocean blue eyes looking in mine / I feel like I might sink and drown and die.”
“So It Goes…”
How about Joe it is: Again, totally about Joe. There’s a reference to the bar meet-cute. Allusions to the struggles of dating while famous. A promise from Taylor to be there for Joe on his worst days. Even a nod to the “J” necklace Joe gifted Taylor early in their ’ship. So many bases covered.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Met you in a bar / All eyes on me, your illusionist / All eyes on us / I make all your gray days clear and / Wear you like a necklace.”
“King of My Heart”
How about Joe it is: Hint: *He’s* the king from the title.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Your love is a secret I’m hoping, dreaming, dying to keep / Change my priorities / The taste of your lips is my idea of luxury.”
“Dancing With Our Hands Tied”
How about Joe it is: It’s mostly about Joe, but it’s also about the intersection of loving Joe and dealing with the reality of being Taylor Swift levels of famous and all things that prompted her pre-Reputation withdrawal from public view.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “I loved you in secret / First sight, yeah, we love without reason / Oh, 25 years old / Oh, how were you to know, and / My, my love had been frozen / Deep blue, but you painted me golden.”
“Dress”
How about Joe it is: The only thing “Dress” might be about more than Joe Alwyn is Taylor Swift’s unabashed horniness for Joe Alwyn.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Flashback when you met me / Your buzz cut and my hair bleached / Even in my worst times / You could see the best of me.”
“Call It What You Want”
How about Joe it is: It’s about both Joe and the downfall of Taylor’s reputation before she met Joe—truly hitting all the album’s biggest themes.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “’Cause my baby’s fit like a daydream / Walkin’ with his head down, I’m the one he’s walkin’ to / So call it what you want, yeah, call it what you want to.”
“New Year’s Day”
How about Joe it is: Completely Joe-focused, specifically on Taylor’s vision for a very Real Couple future with him (and several reminders of her early insecurity about losing him).
Joe-est lyric/reference: “You squeeze my hand three times in the back of the taxi / I can tell that it’s gonna be a long road / I’ll be there if you’re the toast of the town, babe / Or if you strike out and you’re crawling home.”
Lover
“Cruel Summer”
How about Joe it is: It’s probably honestly more about Taylor’s inner life and headspace during the beginnings of their romance in summer of 2016 (which was just a terrible time for her in many ways), but Joe was there, being the person she was falling for/feeling deeply insecure about falling for/alllllmost breaking her soul until he saved it by looking up grinning like a devil (you’re picturing the exact face right now, right?).
Joe-est lyric/reference: “And I screamed for whatever it’s worth / ‘I love you,’ ain’t that the worst thing you ever heard? / He looks up grinning like a devil.”
“Lover”
How about Joe it is: He’s her lover. It’s all him (except the house, which is all about flexing her ability to plant Easter eggs multiple albums out).
Joe-est lyric/reference: “I’m highly suspicious that everyone who sees you wants you / I’ve loved you three summers now, honey, but I want ’em all.”
“The Archer”
How about Joe it is: Not a ton, honestly. “The Archer” is really more about Taylor reckoning with the roles she’s played in other relationships/situations in life and reflecting on her flaws/past mistakes (and then hoping her hardest that she won’t repeat them with Joe).
Joe-est lyric/reference: “All the king’s horses, all the king’s men / Couldn’t put me together again / ’Cause all of my enemies started out friends / Help me hold on to you.”
“I Think He Knows”
How about Joe it is: Mostly Joe. A little “Mastermind” foreshadowing.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “He got that boyish look that I like in a man / I am an architect, I’m drawing up the plans / It’s like I’m 17, nobody understands.”
“Paper Rings”
How about Joe it is: 95 percent Joe, 4 percent Joe’s friends and family, 1 percent Taylor confessing to stalking.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “I’m with you even if it makes me blue / Which takes me back / To the color that we painted your brother’s wall / Honey, without all the exes, fights, and flaws / We wouldn’t be standing here so tall.”
“Cornelia Street”
How about Joe it is: In addition to being about Joe, “Cornelia Street” highlights a low moment in the ’ship early on that’s become as important to their musical mythology as the dive bar.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Back when we were card sharks, playing games / I thought you were leading me on / I packed my bags, left Cornelia Street / Before you even knew I was gone.”
“London Boy”
How about Joe it is: Despite the title that seems totally Joe-focused, there’s also a fair amount of Taylor just gushing about British things she likes in addition to the titular boy.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “But something happened, I heard him laughing / I saw the dimples first and then I heard the accent / They say home is where the heart is / But that’s not where mine lives / You know I love a London boy.”
“Afterglow”
How about Joe it is: Joe might be (and we assume is—especially considering the reference to the color blue, which Taylor frequently associates with Joe in songs) the other party in the fight that inspired this song, but it’s much more about Taylor self-reflecting, owning her bad behavior, and apologizing after a blowup.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “I blew things out of proportion, now you’re blue / Put you in jail for something you didn’t do.”
“Daylight”
How about Joe it is: Again, Joe is a factor in the song, but it’s much more about Taylor’s inner journey to learning what real love and a healthy relationship meant for her (while Joe as an individual is associated with blue in her songs, their relationship/real love is associated with gold).
Joe-est lyric/reference: “I once believed love would be (burning red) / But it’s golden / Like daylight, like daylight / Like daylight, daylight.”
“All of the Girls You Loved Before”
How about Joe it is: It’s actually, like, 50 percent about Joe and 50 percent an anthem to his exes (and not even in a salty way).
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Your past and mine are parallel lines / Stars all aligned and they intertwined / And taught you / The way you call me ‘baby’ / Treat me like a lady / All that I can say is / All of the girls you loved before (ooh) / Made you the one I’ve fallen for.”
Folklore
“Invisible String”
How about Joe it is: If anything, the song is even more about fate and the universe leading you to your Right Person than about Joe and Taylor specifically. But it *does* also include several specifics about their lives (and a dive bar callback).
Joe-est lyric/reference: “A string that pulled me / Out of all the wrong arms right into that dive bar / Something wrapped all of my past mistakes in barbed wire / Chains around my demons, wool to brave the seasons / One single thread of gold tied me to you.”
“Peace”
How about Joe it is: “Peace” is more about Taylor grappling with her inability to ever give Joe (or any other partner) true peace and normalcy, no matter how hard she tries—and wondering if anything else she does in a relationship (but specifically in her relationship with Joe) can ever fully make up for that fact.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “But I’m a fire, and I’ll keep your brittle heart warm / If your cascade ocean wave blues come.”
“The Lakes”
How about Joe it is: “The Lakes” is mostly art, creating art, and wishing you could do that without the hum of social media and other modern distractions in the background. But the lakes in question are a special place for Taylor and Joe (they spent their three-year anniversary there) and she explicitly dubs him her muse in the song.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die / I don’t belong, and my beloved, neither do you / Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry / I’m setting off but not without my muse.”
Evermore
“Willow”
How about Joe it is: Unclear. A lot of the songs on Folklore and Evermore were not autobiographical at all, but there are enough references in “Willow” to make an argument for some Joe inspiration in the track.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Wherever you stray / I follow / I’m begging for you to take my hand / Wreck my plans / That’s my man.”
“Long Story Short”
How about Joe it is: This song covers a lot of the bleh things Taylor went through during the lows of her pre-Reputation and pre-meeting-Joe-Alwyn era. While the focus isn’t fully on Joe, he gets credit for being the right decision after all the wrong ones.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Pushed from the precipice / Clung to the nearest lips / Long story short, it was the wrong guy / Now I’m all about you.”
“Evermore”
How about Joe it is: This song is also more about going through a rough patch that just doesn’t seem like it’s going to ever end/get better, but once again, Joe makes an appearance as the personified silver lining he’s clearly been for Taylor when she needs it most.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “And when I was shipwrecked (can’t think of all the cost) / I thought of you (all the things that will be lost now) / In the cracks of light (can we just get a pause?) / I dreamed of you (to be certain we’ll be tall again).”
Midnights
“Lavender Haze”
How about Joe it is: This is Taylor’s confirmed ode to her and Joe’s love bubble and the value of keeping their love private and not letting outside forces affect it.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “All they keep askin’ me (all they keep askin’ me) / Is if I’m gonna be your bride / The only kind of girl they see (only kind of girl they see) / Is a one-night or a wife.”
“Karma”
How about Joe it is: Barely at all, tbh. But Taylor includes Joe in her list of great things in her life that prove she has good karma, so….
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Karma is the guy on the screen / Coming straight home to me” AND “’Cause karma is my boyfriend (karma is my boyfriend) / Karma is a god.”
“Sweet Nothing”
How about Joe it is: The song is about how amazing it is that Joe is the calm, steady presence in her life and the person she can count on not to have ulterior motives with her. Oh, and he also co-wrote it, so he must agree that he’s those things.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Everyone’s up to something / I find myself running home to your sweet nothings / Outside, they’re push and shoving / You’re in the kitchen humming / All that you ever wanted from me was sweet nothing.”
“Mastermind”
How about Joe it is: Remember how Taylor implied fate brought her and Joe together in “Invisible String”? Well, in “Mastermind,” she clarifies that fate might have gotten them to the same room, but then she took over from there (from the touch of a hand referenced in “Gorgeous,” it seems). The song also makes it clear that Joe was aware of and on board with her scheming.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “And the touch of a hand lit the fuse / Of a chain reaction of countermoves / To assess the equation of you / Checkmate, I couldn’t lose.”
“The Great War”
How about Joe it is: Not every moment of Joe and Taylor’s relationship was perfect, and Taylor wrote candidly about one of their worst fights in “The Great War,” which is about the relationship and Taylor’s conflict resolution skills more than Joe specifically, but he’s definitely in there.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “Soldier down on that icy ground / Looked up at me with honor and truth / Broken and blue, so I called off the troops / That was the night I nearly lost you / I really thought I lost you.”
“Glitch”
How about Joe it is: Very. In addition to having a very accurate, to-the-day reference to how long they’d been together at the time the song was written, “Glitch” reiterates the idea that Taylor thought she and Joe were meant to be friends before the feelings started flying and her plans/preconceived notions went right in the trash.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “I was supposed to sweat you out / In search of glorious happenings of happenstance on someone else’s playground / But it’s been 2,190 days of our love blackout.”
“You’re Losing Me”
How about Joe it is: Seemingly very, considering the timing of the post-breakup release and references to a relationship that died a slow, painful death.
Joe-est lyric/reference: “How long could we be a sad song / Till we were too far gone to bring back to life? / I gave you all my best me’s, my endless empathy.”
The Tortured Poets Department
“So Long, London”
How about Joe it is: Incredibly. Fans have dubbed "So Long, London" the antithesis of Lover's "London Boy," both lyrically and sonically. The track details the pain that comes from the city and the relationship that started (and ended) in it.
Joe-est lyric/reference: "You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waitin' for the proof / You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days / And I'm just getting color back into my face / I'm just mad as hell 'cause I loved this place for / So long, London."
“Fresh Out the Slammer”
]
How about Joe it is: I'd say it's 50/50—the song details how Taylor called up a specific person after a breakup, and Swifties speculate that it could be about her 'ship with Matty Healy after she ended things with Joe.
Joe-est lyric/reference: "All those nights, he kept me goin' / Swirled you into all of my poems / Now we're at the starting line, I did my time."
“loml”
How about Joe it is: This somber piano-driven ballad is a devastating account of the end of a relationship. Taylor never actually refers to its subject as the "love of my life," but the "loss of my life" as she recalls talks of getting married and having children with said person.
Joe-est lyric/reference: "You shit-talked me under the table / Talkin' rings and talkin' cradles / I wish I could un-recall / How we almost had it all."
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”
How about Joe it is: A little bit. This uptempo track seemingly samples the sound of Taylor's in-ear monitors during live performances, and its lyrics call back to putting on a show despite being heartbroken. I.e. Taylor embarking on her incredibly successful Eras Tour after her breakup with Joe.
Joe-est lyric/reference: "He said he'd love me all his life / But that life was too short / Breaking down, I hit the floor / All the piеces of me shatterеd as the crowd was chanting, 'More.'"
“The Albatross”
How about Joe it is: Partly—it seems like it could be about multiple lovers or an ambiguous subject as she muses, "They tried to warn you about me."
Joe-est lyric/reference: "You couldn't conceive it / You were sleeping soundly / When they dragged you from your bed / And I tried to warn you about them."
“How Did It End?”
How about Joe it is: The entire song details how outsiders asked how a certain relationship ended, as well as the people who made up the partnership. There wasn't much public info on Taylor's split from Joe, aside from multiple reports citing anonymous sources.
Joe-est lyric/reference: "We were blind to unforeseen circumstances / We learned thе right steps to different dancеs / And fell victim to interlopers' glances / Lost the game of chance, what are the chances?"
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