Taylor Swift sent fans into meltdown with the release of her extended album, The Life Of A Showgirl: The Encore, almost a year after it first debuted.
The “Encore” section includes four new songs - Patient Zero, Pink Clouding, Babylon, and Cleveland - with the deliciously cryptic, scathing, and insightful lyrics Swifties have come to expect from the popstar.
Swift revealed all four tunes came to life on a celebratory trip to Sweden with her The Life Of A Showgirl co-creators, Max Martin and Shellback.
“Really, we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs,” she said.
From lashing out at a “social-climbing” and “toxic” ex to getting the final hurrah over trolls, the 36-year-old’s latest tracks don’t disappoint. Here, we unpack what the lyrics mean:
Patient Zero
Patient Zero has already been making waves thanks to Swift enlisting the help of Dakota Johnson and Colin Farrell in the music video.
It tells the story of a jaded lover reflecting on her “toxic” ex and sending a warning to his future suitors, with Swift thought to be “patient zero” in the song.
She describes a man who "burst into your life like fireworks" before revealing his true colors, singing: “I know it seems like he shines so bright / But he's bathing in your reflected light / On a free solo social climb."
The mystery man also appears to be a cheater, as evidenced in the lyrics: “And when you saw another woman coming out of his place / I bet he kissed the rain off your face."
Swift offers her support to anyone who’s had enough of the man’s behaviour, telling them: “It’s not for me to tell someone else what to do / But if you’re sick of him / I got you.”
The chorus reiterates that sisterhood, with Swift singing: “But if you wanna party with somebody / Who might know about the devil on his shoulder under his halo / When the toxins take their hold.
“You'd rather die than let it go / But if you're sick of him, I got you / I was patient zero / I was patient zero.”
Pink Clouding
The term “pink clouding” can refer to a state of “early addiction recovery that involves feelings of euphoria and elation,” according to Healthline.
It is also linked to the feeling of “rose-tinted glasses” and the “honeymoon phase” typically seen in the first stages of dating.
Some fans wondered if the track could relate to Swift’s relationship with her new husband Travis Kelce, but a deeper look at the song’s themes of regret and heartbreak reveal it’s more likely about an ex.
Swift opens with pink imagery that feels reminiscent of her song Maroon, singing: “Met the magenta sunrise / Fuchsia forever intertwined / Threw the rosewood on the fire / Neither of us knew at the time / That I was a liar.”
The “lie” she tells herself appears to be that the man she is dating was “fine” - but she later admits they actually met “at a cursed time” and she wonders how she can apologise to the person.
Swift sings: “Years later, I still wonder how to tell you sorry / I didn’t wanna let you down / So I left you up there on a pink cloud.”
In the third verse, her regret is clear as she agonises: “To this day, I wake up scared that I left scars on a good person.”
Swifties have been debating over who she is singing about in the track, with the top contenders being Tom Hiddleston and Joe Alwyn.
Cleveland
Cleveland appears to be Swift flipping the proverbial middle finger to her critics as she rejoices at finding love with husband Kelce despite her apparent flaws.
Kelce is from Cleveland and has previously spoken fondly about his hometown. He and Swift recently bought a mansion in Bratenahl, near Cleveland Heights.
In Cleveland, Swift reels off a list of insults that have been directed at her over the years, in a move reminiscent of the opener of Shake It Off.
The criticisms range from her dancing to her dress sense and even her “annoying smile”, with Swift singing: “She’s not as hot as she was, but she was only a four / She was never a girls’ girl, she was just a - /.
“And with all of that money, why’s she dressed like trash? / When she smiles, it’s annoying, and have you seen her / Stumbling clumsily? Would you even call that dancing?”
Swift goes on to address that while some people might find her “insufferable, she has found someone who genuinely loves her.
“You only need to find one person in this entire world / Who doesn’t find you completely insufferable,” she says.
She then repeatedly sings, “He likes what he likes” and “So hate all you like / This is the love of my life.”
Babylon
Babylon is a potent parable about a protagonist ruminating on a relationship they took for granted.
Swift has returned once again to the motif of the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, an ancient paradise signifying excess that appears in the Bible, after previously referencing it in songs like cowboy like me and us.
It paints the picture of someone who leaves a small town in Virginia to chase a glamorous life, only to find themselves feeling empty and alone in a casino.
Swift sings: “You’re using nostalgia as a weapon to hurt yourself / But darling, you end up hurting everyone else.”
The character meets a woman who idolises them, but they refuse to make the relationship official: “Pretty as a picture that you didn’t post / Looking at you like you’re made of solid gold / Never official, you mention that you’re single to the girls at the bar.”
They only understand what they have lost when it’s gone, with Swift singing: “You hate this song, but you wake up on the train with your headphones gone / Then that melody is all you want.”
Fans have been wondering which of Swift’s exes the song could be about, speculating that it could be about Matty Healy licking his wounds or a look back on her time with Alwyn.
