annashay 
Taylor Swift has entered her The Life of a Showgirl era, dropping a 12-song album full of Easter eggs that fans are racing to decode.
“One thing about this album that I think is really exciting is that, oftentimes when I make a record, we then take all this time to plan out how we’re going to put it out,” Swift, 35, said on Friday, October 3, interview on the U.K.’s Hits Radio station. “There’s a little lag time between when I made it and when it enters the world. Oftentimes, your life can change drastically between that point and this other point.”
She added, “With this one, the coolest part is that it is absolutely the place that I am in my life. The music matches the moment I’m in. It’s so much easier to come in here [for an interview] and talk about the music that completely, accurately reflects what’s going on in my life.”
Swift, who called The Life of a Showgirl a “complete and totally snapshot” of her life, wrote the entirety of the record during the European leg of her Eras Tour in 2024. Many of the songs chart Swift’s experience off the stage — including her blossoming romance with Travis Kelce. Swift and Kelce, 35, started dating in summer 2023, getting engaged two years later in August.
Keep scrolling for all the biggest Easter eggs — and fan theories — you might have missed from The Life of a Showgirl:
‘The Fate of Ophelia’
As fans predicted, the first Showgirl single is inspired by the Hamlet heroine of the same name who died by drowning. William Shakespeare’s character had notably been a pawn to many men in her life, though Swift rewrote Ophelia’s history.
“This song has some of my favorite moments in it, like, there’s a post-hook section that goes, ‘Keep it 100 on the land, the sea, the sky / pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes,’” Swift said on the U.K’.s Magic radio station, using the same “Keep it 100” reference from her recent Spotify pop-up that Kelce had also used as an Instagram caption this summer.
She added, “When we wrote that, I was like, ‘Yes! This is why I do music.’ This is a song about feeling for a long time that you might have met a similar fate to Ophelia, who was driven mad over the years, slowly, by love. Instead, we reference her fate, but we talk about someone saving you from that fate and how euphoric that feels to look at … and feel like you’ve been rescued by this fortuitous turn of events where you end up finding a person that changed that for you.”
Due to Swift’s interpretation, fans have deduced that “The Fate of Ophelia” is the first (of many) Showgirl songs about her romance with Kelce who has saved her from, well, dying alone.
‘Elizabeth Taylor’
The lyrics to “Elizabeth Taylor,” named after the iconic actress, point to Swift finally finding a “forever” type of love.
“Hey-ey, what could you possibly get for the girl who has everything and nothing all at once? / Babe, I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust (Just kidding),” she sings. “We hit the best booth at Musso and Frank’s / They say I’m bad news, I just say, ‘Thanks’ / And you look at me like you’re hypnotized / And I think you know why.”
In another line, she belts, “All the right guys promised they’d stay / Under bright lights, they withered away, but you bloom.”
All signs point to another Kelce-inspired hit.
‘Opalite’
Even before Showgirl was released, Kelce proclaimed that “Opalite” was his top track.
“He loves that one. I have favorite words, favorite phrases [and] things I’ll put in an endless file of lyrics that I’m constantly going to go and cherry-pick from when I’m writing,” she told the U.K.’s Capital FM of adding the man-made gemstone to her repertoire. “Opal can be man-made just like diamonds, and so, Travis’ birthstone is an opal. I’ve always fixated on that, [and] I’ve always loved that stone.”
Swift explained, “I thought it was kind of a cool metaphor that, like, it’s a man-made opal and happiness can also be man-made, too. That’s what the song is about, the juxtaposition of those two.”
Fans also think Swift seemingly referred to Kelce’s past partners who weren’t The One — potentially referencing mentioned Kelce’s ex-girlfriend Kayla Nicole based on the lyrics, “You couldn’t understand it, why you felt alone / You were in it for real, she was in her phone / And you were just a pose.” (Kelce dated Nicole for several years before he pursued Swift.)
Perhaps Kelce likes the song so much since he was the muse?
‘Father Figure’
Swift and cowriters Max Martin and Shellback used an interpolation of George Michael’s 1987 song of the same name.
“Lyrically, I had such a blast writing this record because each song is like its own choose your own adventure. Each song feels like an era of its own,” Swift said in an Amazon Music explanation. “It’s just a very dramatic, sweeping, epic record full of 12 songs, but each one really packs a punch, and each one is really its own kind of movie.”
With “Father Figure,” many of the lyrics were a long time coming.
“I remember writing the lyrics, sitting there being like [laughs to herself]. It’s the stuff that I’ve always wanted to say,” she quipped. “The first line of the second verse is my favorite line in terms of a visual. You think about what it means, and then you realize it’s just a very descriptive way to say something, and I love that line. I also love the key change chorus lyrics. I love stepping into a character like that.”
Listening to the lyrics, it is clear that “Father Figure” is about an individual and their music industry mentor, though the exact people are unclear.
“When I found you / You were young / We were lost in the cold / Pulled up to you in the Jag,” Swift sings. “Turned your rags into gold / The winding road leads to the chateau / You remind me of a younger me / I saw potential.”
A handful of fans believe that “Father Figure” is about Swift’s onetime friendship with Olivia Rodrigo, which appeared to falter after Rodrigo, 22, used an interpolation of Swift’s “New Year’s Day” on a Sour track and seemingly channeled “Cruel Summer” on another. Rodrigo has since retroactively credited Swift on both songs.
Other Swifties thought the song was a nod to Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta, who notably sold Swift’s discography to Scooter Braun in 2019. (Braun, 44, later sold the catalog to Shamrock Capital for $300 million, who reached a deal with Swift to buy it back in May.)
“I saw a change in you / My dear boy / They don’t make loyalty like they used to,” she sings. “Your thoughtless ambition sparked the ignition / Our foolish decisions which led to misguided visions.”
‘Eldest Daughter’
Swift, who even called Ophelia an eldest daughter in “The Fate of Ophelia,” said her Showgirl track No. 5 was all about roles in society.
“It’s a love song about the roles we play in our public lives, because nowadays everyone has a public life,” she said on Amazon Music. “There’s the life you show to others, or what you share on social media, and there’s the ‘you’ that only those closest know, those who have earned that right.”
She added, “It’s very difficult to be sincere in public, because that’s not exactly what our culture values. People reward you for seeming tough, indifferent, too busy to care. And maybe you really are like that in some things, but everyone has things that matter and people who matter.”
In the song, Swift details navigating her public and private life — and seemingly credits Kelce for changing her mindset.
“When I said I don’t believe in marriage / That was a lie,” she sings, later adding, “I’m never gonna let you down. I’m never gonna leave you out / So many traitors, smooth operators / But I’m never gonna break that vow.”
‘Ruin the Friendship’
While fans initially thought “Ruin the Friendship” would describe Swift’s falling-out with Blake Lively, that appears to be incorrect. (Us confirmed earlier this year that the two women’s friendship dissipated after Swift was dragged into Lively’s ongoing harassment suit against It Ends With Us director Justin Baldoni. Swift has denied any involvement in the film and the case.)
Instead, “Ruin the Friendship” appears to be an ode to Swift’s high school friend Jeff Lang, who overdosed in 2010 after suffering from mental health struggles.
“When I left school, I lost track of you, Abigail called me with the bad news,” she sings, seemingly referencing BFF Abigail Anderson Berard. “Goodbye, and we’ll never know why / It was not an invitation / But I flew home anyway / With so much left to say.”
‘Actually Romantic’
While, on first glance fans presumed “Actually Romantic” would be about Kelce, it’s likely about Charli XCX.
“I heard you call me boring Barbie when the coke’s got your brain / High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me,” she sings, which fans immediately connected to Charli. “Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face / Some people might be offended. But it’s actually sweet / All the time you’ve spent on me / It’s honestly wild / All the effort you’ve put in / It’s actually romantic / I really got to hand it to you / No man has ever loved me like you do.”
Charli, who is married to the bandmate of Swift’s ex Matty Healy, has long denied any bad blood with Swift. However, fans thought Charli’s “Sympathy Is a Knife” featured references to Swift.
‘Wish List’
“Wish List,” stylized with dollar signs instead of the letter “s,” is Swift’s self-proclaimed favorite song.
“It’s a really dreamy song. It’s a really romantic song,” she said on the U.K.’s Heart Radio, later revealing on Magic Radio that it’s a “very accurate stance on where [she’s] at in life.”
Fans have guessed “Wish List” is another song about Kelce and their future family dreams. (A source previously told Us that Swift and Kelce were planning to have kids after they tie the knot.)
“I just want you, huh / Have a couple kids, got the whole block lookin’ like you / We tell the world to leave us the f*** alone, and they do,” Swift sings in the chorus. “Got me dreamin’ ’bout a driveway with a basketball hoop / Boss up, settle down, got a wish.”
‘Wood’
“Wood” is certainly one of Swift’s raciest songs to date and features several presumed references to Kelce.
“And baby, I’ll admit I’ve been a little superstitious / The curse on me was broken by your magic wand,” she sings in the pre-chorus. “Seems to be that you and me, we make our own luck / New Heights of manhood / I ain’t gotta knock on wood.”
Travis and his brother, Jason Kelce, have a podcast called “New Heights,” which was the catalyst of the couple’s romance. The podcast is also where Swift first announced in August that Showgirl was on the way.
‘Cancelled!’
The tenth track title is written in all-capital letters, and has fans guessing about the inspiration. A cohort of Swifties have connected “Cancelled!” to Brittany Mahomes, who is married to Travis’ Chiefs teammate Patrick Mahomes. (Swift and Brittany, 30, initially bonded at NFL games, and their friendship has since blossomed beyond football.)
“Good thing I like my friends cancelled / I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal / Like my whiskey sour / And poison thorny flowers,” Swift sings. “Welcome to my underworld / Where it gets quite dark / At least you know exactly who your friends are / They’re the ones with matching scars.”
Fans theorized the Gucci name-drop referenced Brittany and Patrick’s branded outfits at the 2024 US Open, which they attended in New York City with Swift and Travis. (Brittany is no stranger to controversy throughout her spouse’s NFL career, though she’s remained mum about any issues.)
‘Honey’
Swifties believe “Honey” is peppered with even more references to Swift’s romance with Travis.
“When anyone called me ‘Sweetheart’ / It was passive-aggressive at the bar / And the bitch was tellin’ me to back off,” she sings. “If anyone called me ‘Honey’ / It was standin’ in the bathroom, white teeth / They were sayin’ that skirt don’t fit me / And I cried the whole way home.”
In a separate verse, Swift says her partner “can call me ‘Honey’ if you want because I’m the one you want.”
“You can be my forever-night stand,” she croons. “You give it different meaning, ’cause you mean it when you talk / Sweetie, it’s yours, kicking in doors / Take it to the floor, give me more.”
Fans also got a glimpse of Travis calling Swift “sweetie” in footage from her “New Heights” appearance.
‘The Life of a Showgirl’
The album’s title track, which features former Eras Tour opening act Sabrina Carpenter, has been presumed to be a love letter to Swift’s career.
“I’m married to the hustle / And now I know the life of a showgirl, babe,” she sings. “And I’ll never know another.”
The song ends with Swift mimicking her closing speech from Eras shows, “Thank you for an unforgettable night. We will see you next time. Give it up for the band, and the dancers — and of course, Sabrina. That’s our show. We love you so much. Goodnight.”
At the end of each Eras concert, Swift would tell her fans a similar message before exiting the stage.
