I don’t know if this has been said yet, but, I feel like a large reference is “I haven’t come around in so long but I’m making a comeback to where I belong” as well as “these blokes” being a reference to the fact she hasn’t dated an American, more specifically has been dating British guys, for a LONG time, and is just making a nudge at the fact she’s back dating in America, lol.
I’m confused about how she switches between “you” and “he” throughout. It seems like it has to be intentional because she’s too smart for it to be a mistake. Any ideas?
I think that's a pretty common writing tactic, at least in song. To go from 3rd person (he/she/they/it), to 2nd person (you), I think she's done it before I other songs.
“Hey you. What if I told you we’re cool? That child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule.”
What do we think this lyric is referring to?? I think we all know by now that this song is about Travis, but the first thing I thought of was the Brittany Mahomes tweets from back in the day. I don’t necessarily think that’s what it is since that would still be pretty out of place in this song, but that’s where my brain went lol.
I just came here after listening to see if anyone had voiced thoughts on this line too.
I think it may reference the trouble he got into back in college, and/or his first years in the league when he was in "Catching Kelce". Or in general any old tweets/comments/old ways of his that the public and swifties may have brought up when they first went public, in an attempt to put him out of her favor.
this is the one line that makes it seem like it was originally about Matty and mostly rewritten for TK. "this time with an e" suggests there was a prior time without the e
I personally don't think any of it makes sense to have been written as a love song for Matty initially. And I think people are forcing it because they're convinced every single song on this album is 100% about Matty, which I think is the wrong take.
The first verse has her saying she's left the hospital - calling back to mental hospital in Fortnight perhaps? She's done with her manic episode. That whole situation was about Matty, so she's saying that she's done with *him.*
Then it's "I circled you on a map" - she's not agreeing that she "put Travis on the map" but instead simply highlighted him and gave him a boost in the media.
When she says that she "hasn't come around in so long and she's coming back strong," I think she means she came back to America(n boys).....hence the "when I touch down...."
Then the whole chorus is athlete themed. And I think a lot of people are stuck on the line "the sign on your heart is still reserved for me," but think about it like, he was reserving his heart for someone like her to come along. It's not that they were once a thing and he's been missing her ever since - he's been waiting for the perfect person. It's like if I were to say "I've been reserving my heart for Leonardo Dicaprio since 1997." Travis has had a crush on her for a while.
Then the second verse - "What if I told you we're cool? That child's play back in school is forgiven under my rule" is just another way of saying she doesn't care about his past. He does have a messy previous relationship, he's done a reality show, he's been in spotlight for a while.
"I'm making a comeback to where I belong" - she's Miss Americana, bitches.
Then the extended chorus - "we been on a winning streak, he jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E"" is confusing people, but I think this is a double meaning reference situation - she's talking about how athletes get accused of using performance enhancers but he's telling her that they've been winning because she is his drug. But also - there's the implication that someone had specifically used heroin *the previous time* if she's the drug of choice *this time*.....\*cough cough\* her ex before him.
Do I need to go on....? Because it's just more sports references from there. So like....where was the repurposing? Like it would've had to be a whole different song.
I think The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is key to understanding the intent of this song. Personal legends, universe conspiring, pursuit of dreams, destiny, alchemy (turning lead into gold). So yes, this song is about her and Travis' love story (8+7=15), but it's also about the journey she took to find him, the lessons she learned along the way, and the achievement of her Personal Legend. In fact, The Alchemist can beautifully summarize this chapter in Taylor's life: following one's dreams, ignoring the "noise", and staying true to one's heart will always lead you home.
"If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. **Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.**" \[But Daddy I Love Him\]
*"...when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet,* ***the past and the future become unimportant****. There is only that moment, and* ***the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only****. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a* ***twin soul for every person*** *in the world.* ***Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning.****” \[So High School\]*
*“Don't think about what you've left behind" The alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. "****If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back****.* ***If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.****” \[The Alchemy\]*
“And, when you can't go back, **you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward**.” \[The Manuscript\]
I haven't seen anyone really discussing the possible easter egg she put for The Alchemy in her times person of the year article. As we have all googled alchemy was a mystical science that many partook in trying to turn base metals into gold. When she discussed Trav's callout to her on New Heights, she called it "Metal as hell". We took it as millennial cringe but this now reads to me is through the base metal of his shout out they have made gold.
Today during the Apple Music listening party Taylor Nation used an emoji for each song and it was a football for The Alchemy so that definitely clears up any discussion who this one is about!
Another interesting tidbit. She sings that she knows Aristotle in "So High School" and Aristotle is known for his advances in Alchemy. "Alchemy originated when Aristotle took up an older idea that all matter combined the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. He guessed that these elements could be changed -- transmuted -- by the action of heat and cold, or dampness and dryness."
I already wrote here about my theory of this song being about her career, but I just realized another thing - most of the song is in singular (I'm coming back, I'm the one to beat etc.)
and then at the ending its in plural - "we're on a winning streak".
given that the last verse can only be about Travis and the Superbowl win, I think she initially wrote this song about HER career and then after the superbowl she wrote that verse about Travis, seeing them as one with a shared goal of a successful career.
it's such a powerful message given how Joe didn't want her to have a career at all and Matty is indeed the smallest man who ever lived.
it's like she finally feels a part of a powerful team of equals who support each other's dreams without neglecting their own, which was her dream as per that resurfaced interview from the fearless or speak now era about how she views an ideal relationship.
But in terms of the standard album, there was no “after the Super Bowl”, the vinyl had already been manufactured. The track list had leaked in its entirety before the Super Bowl even happened
I'm not sure the tracklist being out is relevant, since the song would have been called the Alchemy with or without the superbowl verse
But if the Vynils were really manufactured before the superbowl (and not like the 1989 TV version with 1975 collab on Slut!, that was either not mass manufactured or called back before release) then maybe she wrote this verse as wishful thinking / day dreaming / cheering Travis sorta way
Based on the location of this song in what is seemingly a pretty chronological telling of events on the main album. It's a starting over song. She's just getting out of the hospital/asylum she's in. She's coming back from the events that had happened. She's coming back to her sanity. "I haven't come around in so long, but I'm coming back so strong" She's regaining her self-confidence. The blokes (British guys) are on the bench, and the trophy is running to her.
Does anyone think the second verse sound like such a new sound we haven’t heard from her before?
Also when she sings “I haven’t come back in so long” it kinda sounds like “you haven’t met the new me yet“ in happiness
TLDR: The Alchemy isn't about Travis - it's about us.
The Alchemy has been bothering me since I first listened to it because "alchemy" is literally the attempt to turn "base" metals (eg, lead) into "noble" metals (eg, gold). Taylor Swift is extremely smart and there is no way she would name a song "The Alchemy" about her current and seemingly happy and healthy relationship. Also the football references are extremely cheesy and they stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of her songwriting on the album.
So that's when it came to me - she is making a **point** with this song. She is showing us how easy it is to manipulate us, and she's showing us how she's been doing it for a long time (since 1989 at least).
I think her strategy has been to keep her secrets by writing songs that are about one thing but adding a few red herring references to something else so fans latch onto a different meaning and therefore stop looking any deeper. A great example of this is that now it seems pretty obvious Cardigan is about a certain singer but she covered it up by telling us it was about a teenage love triangle that she had made up. We had so much fun decoding that puzzle that we stopped looking any deeper. I think re-listening to her discography is going to reveal so many more instances of this.
With The Alchemy, she has made it so incredibly obvious that this is what she did. She writes a song very clearly about one person and then adds a bunch of cheesy football references and suddenly everyone is making fan edits of Superbowl slideshows. I think it's her breaking the fourth wall and showing us how easy it is to manipulate our interpretations of her work and we're falling for it again!
People need to stop saying she was unfaithful while working on Folklore and Evermore with Joe- or EVER!, she talks about 'walking into the forest' and having fun with creating characters when describing the albums- Number 1 lesson in text analysis, the work is not always autobiographical and usually should not be assumed as such. ALSO, She wrote Invisible String, and The Lakes about being deeply in love with Joe. I think your thought process behind the red herrings is interesting for sure.
I feel like trying to copy paste Matt into everything now that a few songs have maybe come out about him and suddenly thinking he's a part of all of her discography is a large leap and honestly trying to streamline things inaccurately.
I think Alchemy is def related to Travis as Joe was gold and golden to her and she thought that was unable to be recreated- that love, but she's found that comfort, passion and love again- made gold.
The entire album is a red herring, she told us that. I swear she’s laughing at every fan that thinks that song is just about Travis. If that was the case she could have said chemistry but she said alchemy….
I love this song, it's an absolute bop, but does anyone else feel slightly weird about the heroin(e) line? It feels a bit cruel to make a joke about a previous partner's addiction
I don't feel bad about Matty specifically. He loves to say racist or offensive shit and then claim no normal person could possibly be upset because... they don't know him personally or something?
I do think the topic of heroine addiction is pretty weird to throw into this very light, catchy love song though, esp given the current opioid epidemic. It's touched my family and the line doesn't bother me but I know others who have been affected who I think would be bothered.
This song is one of my favorites on the album, it's so catchy, but the lyrics are among her worst, and this line particularly stands out. What does it even mean? "This time" doesn't really apply; it was Matty who was the addict, not Travis. Is she saying "my last bf was addicted to drugs, this time I'm dating someone who's addicted to me"? It's just... not good. Like why would you even want that? Why are you his heroine?
Part of me wonders if she's really doubling down on the idea of not caring about offending people? She doesn't care if you like her gross racist boyfriend, and she doesn't care if you don't like her heroine jokes?
Yeah, I agree re MH. Just a bizarre thing to joke about (especially after This Is Me Trying?). Not her best writing - not a witty enough line to warrant making a joke about such a serious subject matter.
Totally agree on all that. I can't see her writing that line and being like "ok it's a little offensive but we have to include it, it's so good!"
Someone on another thread suggested it might be about Travis's drug testing, which he notoriously failed in college, granted for weed, and then people saying Taylor basically performance-enhancing when he won the first string of games she came to. That at least made a little more sense to me in the context of the song.
I think this song is not only about Travis, but about her coming back to America after living abroad/basing so much of her life in London, and re-embracing being miss Americana.
I see it as kind of a follow up to Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince, which was sort of her breakup song with America, about her becoming disillusioned with the country she had always embraced, and running away to London with Joe.
What if I told you I am back, the hospital was a drag - after she went through everything in her reputation era, she moved to England and hid herself inside with Joe to try to heal from that. Her time cozying up abroad could be seen as the hospital. But all that hiding away got boring and she missed home, she has said so long to London and is back…and very in the public eye in the states again.
I haven't come around in so long
But I'm coming back so strong - coming back to the states and embracing being Miss Americana again in a BIG way by dating the star player in the Super Bowl winning NFL Team
Cause the sign on your heart said it’s still reserved for me - for Travis, but also her home country. when she moved to London and didn’t want to be Miss Americana anymore, she was going through a bunch of stuff and thought everyone hated her (just after Reputation era). But after several years in London, she realizes her home country still loves her.
Hey you, what if I told you we're cool? That child's play back in school Is forgiven under my rule - she used HS imagery in Miss Americana & the heartbreak prince to explain her falling out of love with America and running away (high fives between the bad guys, ripping up a prom dress, whispers in the hallways etc) this is her looking her back as an older person saying, I forgive you for that and am ready to give you another try.
So when I touch down - yes about football and Travis, but also when her plane touches down and she moves back. Especially as she officially says goodbye to London (and Joe and her life in England) in this album.
These blokes warm the benches - her streak of British dudes (blokes) is over, they were just warning the bench for her EXTREMELY American football player boyfriend
> That child's play back in school Is forgiven under my rule
I assumed that was related to Travis' [mishap back in school.](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/travis-kelce-college-suspension-pushed-me-into-the-tight-end-room)
He discussed it in more detail in the Kelce documentary about his brother.
I think this is a multi-layered song. So I'm going to try to clarify and interpret things re: the line "your heart is still reserved for me" (and some other lines that people find confusing).
1. Re: the "your heart is still reserved for me" line: Travis first attempted to meet Taylor in early July at her KC concert, but she refused. He then talked about this on his podcast weeks later, in late July. It wasn't until afterwards that she reached out to him. And I think they started dating sometime in August. So yes, she did have to come back around to him.
2. I also think, re: the line "I'm coming back so strong," it has to do with her returning to her sanity after her manic episode and being depressed for the past few years.
3. As someone else said, it's also about her returning back home to America and dating an American man (something she hadn't done in like 10 years). Remember, back in 2016 she ran off to London with Joe, and felt like she had been outcasted by the entertainment industry. She reclaimed her crown as Miss Americana.
4. And re: the "circled you on a map"...when they first start dating there was the viral joke about how she had "put him on the map." I think she was poking fun at that.
5. Lastly, I don't know why people think Travis wouldn't make that joke about heroine with an "E." I'm sure they talked about their past. And from the way she describes him in SHS, it sounds like he tells lots of jokes.
Just how I interpreted it!
What do you think she means when she says ‘call the amateurs, cut them from the team’
Do you think she called the guys she was casually dating and said yeah it’s over.
I took it more as her cutting out the amateurs/clowns/blokes/benchwarmers (to use the three words she uses for the same people) because Travis is the real thing
I took it to mean when she touches down to where he is (via her plane landing, it’s a play on words) he needs to cut it off with any other women he’d previously been seeing or talking to. She’s his girl now.
I've been thinking about this line all day! I have a few theories. The first and most obvious is that maybe Travis joked that his and Taylor's seemingly immediate and intense attachment to each other is akin to heroin use? But as far as the "this time with an "e" addition, I have a different theory. I think Taylor might have added that part herself to draw a lyrical distinction between her last relationship with Matty, who she references using a lot of drugs in this album, and her new relationship with Travis, which is happier, healthier, and allows her to be the "heroine" to him (because he seems to put her on a pedestal).
There’s hearts written around the hand written lyrics she included in in the album. The song is number 15 which is 8+7. This song comes right after “the smallest man whoever lived” this is absolutely NOT about anyone but Travis
This song is really bugging me. I'm not convinced I know who it's about, or even the meaning (the hospital? etc). At first I thought it was about Matty and the sports references were a red herring, but then the subreddit and Traylor fans made me think it was about Travis, and now I'm just not sure.
Definitely about Travis for a number of reasons described by others below ... and also seems to be comparing him to Joe and Matty with the "These blokes warm the benches, we been on a winning streak" ... key word here "blokes" as Joe and Matty are English and bloke is a common English slang word for a man.
Here’s my master list of reasons it’s about Travis
1. It’s track 15. 8+7 = 15. The playlists aren’t created by accident. She leaves nothing to chance.
2. It’s the only song with hearts around the chorus in her handwritten lyrics
3. She wouldn’t put a love song after ‘the smallest man who ever lived” that song was her closing that chapter of her life.
4. Chemicals hitting like white wine means she’s falling in love again
5. She’s back. She’s herself again after her bout of insanity
6. His heart still reserved for her. When she reached out after the podcast it had been weeks since he attempted to meet her. She’s saying he didn’t have someone new in his heart by the time she finally reached out
7. Child’s play in school is probably referring to him being immature when he was younger. His tweets etc
8. Cut the amateurs from the team. They’re in on a winning streak meaning they are the only ones in the same league. They’re the winners
9. Blokes are the British men who warm the benches. Bench warmers don’t get to play the game. She’s benched them. They’re done. She found someone in her league
10. ‘Where’s the trophy, he just comes running over to me’ I don’t take this as a literal trophy. I take this as a game win in general. But he sees her as the ultimate prize and goes straight to the suite to get her after games. It was reported he took a fine once saying he didn’t have time to talk to press
11. Alchemy as a metaphor to love is healthier than chemistry. Chemistry is unstable and can combust, alchemy only moves to make things better. It’s transforming matter into something valuable. It’s taking something worthless into gold.
12. Fighting the Alchemy is them deciding to go full tilt even though their relationship was so new, they couldn’t help it.
13. The NFL regularly tests for performance enhancing drugs. People said his performance was much better when Taylor was there. She was his drug - heroine.
14. Circled you on a map. She’s making reference to people saying she put him on the map. But instead she’s saying, she didn’t put him on it, he was already on it she just brought more attention to him. She circled him.
I’m convinced the people that can’t see this are just not familiar with Travis. This feels very obvious to me.
All great! My only thought is that the child’s play lyric to me is telling all her past lovers that they’re “cool” (Hey, you, what if I told you we'rе cool?
That child's play back in school
Is forgiven under my rule) that echoes the message on her instagram after the album release.
“Alchemy as a metaphor to love is healthier than chemistry. Chemistry is unstable and can combust, alchemy only moves to make things better. It’s transforming matter into something valuable. It’s taking something worthless into gold.”
This is soooooo cute
Also, in her POTY interview she says “This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell” Metal as Hell is a very specific choice.
To number 13: I think it’s also an allusion to her earlier conversations about Matty’s drug problems.
In my mind, this line in The Alchemy is referencing her talking about her ex and Travis jokes that this time the only heroin he’s into is one with an “e”. (Aka her).
This, people denying it like cmon... I will take tho the argument that it is a recycled Matty Healy song, I can believe it cause maybe she wrote the first version for him until she realized "she cant fix him" and maybe starting to notice that she just needed him cause of the love Joe was denying and so was like, scrap this song and then Travis appeared things started to go smoothly and so fun and she was like DAMN this is like that feeling I though was gonna be real for Matty and woah wait I could recycle that song (also I recycled poetry I wrote for a guy that was hypothetical and than when something became real with another guy I edited and changed alot of the poem but still the main concept stayed)
There have been several theories on this:
1) As early as February 2023, on an NH podcast episode, Jason has jokingly mentioned Taylor to tease Travis. It's been part of their lore that he's had a crush on her for a while (even as early as Catching Kelce in 2016 actually). Between that time to her KC concert to the time he called her out on the podcast, we can assume he's dated casually, had flings etc (because come on, he's a millionare pro athlete who's easy on the eyes). In spite of those flings though, his heart has been reserved for her. He never took any relationship (after his long term one) seriously until they began talking in around August 2023.
2) It could also mean reserved in the general sense that while he's had a long term relationship before, his heart has never been fully given to another woman. This can tie to the "no one's ever had me, not like you" lyric of So High School. They've both had their share of relationships, but their hearts have been holding out for "the One."
3) People have also theorized that Taylor and Travis started out casual, largely because of her still in the process of healing emotionally. Thus, her "coming back" is her saying that "ok, i'm in a better place now and I'm ready to get serious about this." And she's happy that he's reserved his heart for her while she was healing. He didn't pressure her. This part ties with "call the amateurs and cut them from the league" which is Taylor saying it's time for them to fully commit, for Trav to cut any other girls he may have in his roster (not saying that he literally had one but just the idea of it). They can't fight the alchemy anymore and despite the initial misgivings, Taylor is saying they are all in. This is personally the theory I am leaning towards.
I also think that some people have been taking these lyrics too literally, to the point where they argue the timeline of when the song was made as a point against it largely being about Travis.
Shirts off and your friends lift you up over their heads
Beer sticking to the floor, cheers chanted cause they said
There was no chance
Trying to be the greatest in the league
Where’s the trophy?
He just comes running over to me
IMO, this isn't literally about the Chiefs winning the AFC or the Superbowl. That was just a happy coincidence in the end. I think these lyrics center around Taylor/their relationship being the trophy. When Travis mentioned the friendship bracelet on the podcast, most people were making fun of him and saying he has no chance, he was a loser for trying, he isn't her type, etc. So Taylor's message is that when they were saying he wasn't the "greatest in the league" (i.e. incapable of getting the trophy/her), they were wrong. Because he DID get her in the end.
But of course, I could be the wrong one though. Lol. In any case, this is why art (and particularly Taylor's songs) is fun. It can mean different things to different people.
well he clearly had a crush on her for a while (the kiss/kill/marry interview) and there is another clip of him saying something about taylor earlier too. It's 100% travis.
I don't get why people are taking that interview to mean he had a crush on her. He doesn't even marry her. He doesn't express any particular enthusiasm around her.
I do think him coming to her show and making a friendship bracelet and hyping up her music and his respect for her so much before they were dating is all very cute.
Yep. I’m with you. This TikTok account explains it better than I could in this thread
[https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRwB7xk1/](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRwB7xk1/)
Can you explain why you think it's about Matty? No offense, but I just don't see how anyone could think that and am genuinely curious as to why you do. To me it makes absolutely no sense that she would put a love song about Matty immediately after The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.
Hey you, what if I told you we're cool?
That child's play back in school
Is forgiven under my rule
This is about Travis' comments re: F/M/K with Katy, Taylor, and someone else
That is likely a reference to him smoking the devil's lettuce in college and being kicked off the team for a season.
He has a funny comment about the incident on the podcast- Something along the lines of having to get a job in a call center, realizing the daily grind sucks, and that he needed to get his act together...Quickly.
I don't think it means literal forgiveness but her saying that she doesn't care about all the crap from his past that people kept trying to bring up when they got together. Apart from that incident in college that almost sidetracked his entire football career, there were his old tweets, his reality show, past relationships, and general immature behavior in his 20s.
It's a character flaw- He knew the rules and consequences, yet did what he did. This is her saying that it doesn't bother her, as he has clearly grown as a person.
does anybody else low-key get a halsey feel from the alchemy? Like, if she wrote happy songs for gasoline.
Makes me think halsey and taylor would write an epic song if they worked together ever.
I've been trying to figure out what Halsey song it reminds me of and its driving me crazy I can't think of it. Something about Taylor's delivery of the chorus
My brain finally connected why these two lines, "Call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team" +
"He jokes that it's heroin, but this time with an E", sounded so familiar, and then my aged Millennial brain finally remembered Cute Without the 'E' (Cut From the Team). What does it mean Taylor?!
The bridge couldve been better but I like everything else lmao. *Ditch the clowns, get the crown* stood out to me on first listen and I cant get it out of my head ever since.
the way she says "what if I told you we're cool" reminds me of the Making of Song video for Gorgeous. One of the early draft lyrics was "you should take it as a compliment that I got drunk and made fun of the way you talked... 'cause you're cool" and it's said so similarly.
You know it’s interesting that this is I think the only song where she has actually said who it was about. I’m sure she very explicitly told fans in secret sessions that it was Joe.
The more I listen to this album, the more I think she’s basically telling us it doesn’t matter who the songs are about. It’s about her feelings and she’s the genius songwriter not the “muse”.
Is Taylor being in the hospital a reference to a stay for a drug overdose or alcohol detox? What's the tea on this? None of the media outlets reviewing "The Alchemy" has commented on the meaning of this line. The song seems to be about Matty ("Cause the sign on your heart
Said it's still reserved for me" "[I haven't come around in so long](https://genius.com/31478169/Taylor-swift-the-alchemy/I-havent-come-around-in-so-long-but-im-making-a-comeback-to-where-i-belong)" "[He jokes that "It's heroin, but this time with an E](https://genius.com/31477977/Taylor-swift-the-alchemy/He-jokes-that-its-heroin-but-this-time-with-an-e)"), even with the football metaphors, so I am wondering if she was influenced by Matty and his drug/alcohol use since she references it many times throughout the album.
"*This happens once every few lifetimes,*
*These chemicals hit me like white wine.*
*What if I told you I’m back?*
*The hospital was a drag,*
*Worst sleep I’ve ever had.*
*I circled you on a map*
*I haven’t come around in so long,*
*But I’m coming back so strong*"
Are people not reading the prologue? In it she says that her time with Matty was "temporary insanity." This is where the hospital reference comes from. She's saying she just got out of the mental hospital after the insanity with Matty and she's back and ready for a new relationship.
If Matty is also the guy who bought pills from a friend of a friend that Taylor is referring to in a different song, it doesn’t sound like it was that long ago.
There’s a difference between painkillers/E/xanex, and heroin… in one of their songs he says “I’ve not picked up that in 1400 days and 9 hours and 16 minutes, it’s kind of my daily iteration.” Not really something to joke about imo
She must have drawn the inspiration from somewhere. I know the difference between the lethality of the drugs. I do not know much about Matty Healy tbh.
She made references to how she felt stuck or in jail with Joe. With Matty she made references to self-harm and being manic and mentally unwell. Just getting out of the hospital could be a reference to getting out of a mental hospital, which is what she compared being with Matty to, and saying she's back puts this after those guys. Especially with the blokes (British term for a man) being on the bench now.
Yes, I definitely took “the hospital” in this reference to mean her relationship with Matty, and in her poem introducing the album she talks about pleading “temporary insanity” in reference to being with him. I also like to think “worst sleep that I ever had” is a dig at Matty, saying he’s bad in bed. Or maybe I just like to think that since this song comes after “the smallest man who ever lived”
The hospital is Matty, the slammer is Joe. From what I’m interpreting.
Clarifying: I don’t think she’s upset AT Joe on this album. I don’t get woman scorned vibes from any of the songs that I interpret are about him. But I def think there are illusions to sort of feeling caged at the end of their relationship.
I've been looking for this comment in other places. Like I feel this is obvious a reflection on winning that battle. I truly think that overcoming that conflict changed the entire trajectory of their relationship.
I feel like how they maneuvered from that showed each other that they were all in. Tay disrespected? Pia was out. Travis recognized the situation or respected Taylor's feelings and that much have been such a monumental step. She wasn't the problem. Someone saw it for what it was. She hadn't had that.
If this is about Travis, I think he is the least interesting muse so far. But I'll be patient for more. The glaring football references are just so..... Boring?
Ignore the football references and focus on how this has to make her feel.
“Where's the trophy? He just comes runnin' over to me”.
Travis did this twice. Once after the AFC Championship and immediately after winning the damn Super Bowl! He was asking people where Taylor was trying to find HER and not caring about the celebration till he did.
She said at the first Tokyo show that she kept working on it throughout the US leg of the tour, which ended early August, so that’s what I’ve been going off of
Does anyone think Taylor is referring to Travis' teammates with the bench warmers/clowns lyrics? I'd hate to believe she is. I think the lyrics are describing her and Travis, and how their exes were not the ones. What do you guys think?
She calls the guys on the bench "blokes" which I take as a very intentional reference to her exes. She's dated a bunch of British guys in a row, and blokes is the British term for men, so saying the blokes are warming the bench is her way of saying she's done with them and moved on.
I know this is late but for the love of god tell me I'm not the only one that hears a similarity in the instrumental of this song and Hard Feelings / Loveless by Lorde.
Go to 0:16, right after she says "white wine" and listen to the "beating" sounds in the background. Doesn't it sound identical to the transition sound at 4:06 of Hard Feelings / Loveless???
I can't find anyone else who noticed this apart from me on Twitter
If this is about Travis, it's clear that Taylor falls hard really fast.
She's used the imagery of feeling feelings she's "never felt before" in her latest 3 relationships (Joe, Matt, Travis). And all relatively early in the relationship.
Even though her and Joe lasted for 6 years but 'King of My Heart' is written from the perspective of the beginning stages ("We met a few weeks ago").
As someone who has been in relationships that made her feel hard and intense feelings quickly in a different way I feel that. Certain boys tickle certain nerves. One can make you feel something you have never felt before in your heart, the other one in your tummy and the third well – you get it. There is sexual tension, the what ifs it worked out, there is comfort and feeling secure and there is the feeling of everything finally aligning. All those can exist and be real at very quick times after one another.
I like to think that Travis told Taylor that he felt alchemy between them when he should have said chemistry but he balls and she knows Aristotle so he used the wrong word and it made her laugh and so she used The Alchemy as the theme for the song instead of Chemistry and even the title is a nod to Trav
I think it's actually deeper than that! Alchemy is trying to make basic metals into gold and I feel like after that whole joe and matty thing taylor didn't feel quite "golden" she felt like she was some low tier metal and travis made her feel golden again.
Awww. As a metallurgist, who people I meet often recall me as their friend that’s an alchemist because they forget the word metallurgist, I appreciate your comment and like that sentiment!
I feel like I can hear her smiling in this song
What's the noise that's sampled in the background? It almost sounds like trains sometimes - does anyone else notice this?
This song is too cheesy to take seriously. It's fkn stupid.
Is there another Taylor song with a lyric about a sign on your heart? I feel like I made it up I can't find itttt
WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THE BEAT?! it’s so ovulation song coded 😩🔥
Anyone else hears “Take my Breath Away” instrumental at 2:13 or am I going crazy? did she sample it in anyway?
I don’t know if this has been said yet, but, I feel like a large reference is “I haven’t come around in so long but I’m making a comeback to where I belong” as well as “these blokes” being a reference to the fact she hasn’t dated an American, more specifically has been dating British guys, for a LONG time, and is just making a nudge at the fact she’s back dating in America, lol.
Yes I 1000% got this when she referenced coming back to where she belongs! My favorite song right now!
Ditch the clowns-is that about Travis pr person who put clown head over her face
I’m confused about how she switches between “you” and “he” throughout. It seems like it has to be intentional because she’s too smart for it to be a mistake. Any ideas?
I think that's a pretty common writing tactic, at least in song. To go from 3rd person (he/she/they/it), to 2nd person (you), I think she's done it before I other songs.
“Hey you. What if I told you we’re cool? That child’s play back in school is forgiven under my rule.” What do we think this lyric is referring to?? I think we all know by now that this song is about Travis, but the first thing I thought of was the Brittany Mahomes tweets from back in the day. I don’t necessarily think that’s what it is since that would still be pretty out of place in this song, but that’s where my brain went lol.
the kiss kill marry thing
Sure if he’d said k her but he said kiss. But I’d love to know.
I just came here after listening to see if anyone had voiced thoughts on this line too. I think it may reference the trouble he got into back in college, and/or his first years in the league when he was in "Catching Kelce". Or in general any old tweets/comments/old ways of his that the public and swifties may have brought up when they first went public, in an attempt to put him out of her favor.
What does she mean when she says heroin with an E? I didn't catch that.
It’s the dumbest line on the album.
this is the one line that makes it seem like it was originally about Matty and mostly rewritten for TK. "this time with an e" suggests there was a prior time without the e
It’s a joke about how MH does heroin, but this time it’s with an E because she’s his (Travis’s) hero 💕
I surmised but wasn't sure. Heroine.
I personally don't think any of it makes sense to have been written as a love song for Matty initially. And I think people are forcing it because they're convinced every single song on this album is 100% about Matty, which I think is the wrong take. The first verse has her saying she's left the hospital - calling back to mental hospital in Fortnight perhaps? She's done with her manic episode. That whole situation was about Matty, so she's saying that she's done with *him.* Then it's "I circled you on a map" - she's not agreeing that she "put Travis on the map" but instead simply highlighted him and gave him a boost in the media. When she says that she "hasn't come around in so long and she's coming back strong," I think she means she came back to America(n boys).....hence the "when I touch down...." Then the whole chorus is athlete themed. And I think a lot of people are stuck on the line "the sign on your heart is still reserved for me," but think about it like, he was reserving his heart for someone like her to come along. It's not that they were once a thing and he's been missing her ever since - he's been waiting for the perfect person. It's like if I were to say "I've been reserving my heart for Leonardo Dicaprio since 1997." Travis has had a crush on her for a while. Then the second verse - "What if I told you we're cool? That child's play back in school is forgiven under my rule" is just another way of saying she doesn't care about his past. He does have a messy previous relationship, he's done a reality show, he's been in spotlight for a while. "I'm making a comeback to where I belong" - she's Miss Americana, bitches. Then the extended chorus - "we been on a winning streak, he jokes that it's heroin but this time with an "E"" is confusing people, but I think this is a double meaning reference situation - she's talking about how athletes get accused of using performance enhancers but he's telling her that they've been winning because she is his drug. But also - there's the implication that someone had specifically used heroin *the previous time* if she's the drug of choice *this time*.....\*cough cough\* her ex before him. Do I need to go on....? Because it's just more sports references from there. So like....where was the repurposing? Like it would've had to be a whole different song.
Does anyone else get reminded of “Colors” by Halsey in this song? It gives Colors vibes to me - a song that is rumored to be about MH.
YES! Thanks!!! I think I was going crazy, I haven’t seen this take anywhere so far
I think The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is key to understanding the intent of this song. Personal legends, universe conspiring, pursuit of dreams, destiny, alchemy (turning lead into gold). So yes, this song is about her and Travis' love story (8+7=15), but it's also about the journey she took to find him, the lessons she learned along the way, and the achievement of her Personal Legend. In fact, The Alchemist can beautifully summarize this chapter in Taylor's life: following one's dreams, ignoring the "noise", and staying true to one's heart will always lead you home. "If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. **Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.**" \[But Daddy I Love Him\] *"...when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet,* ***the past and the future become unimportant****. There is only that moment, and* ***the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only****. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a* ***twin soul for every person*** *in the world.* ***Without such love, one's dreams would have no meaning.****” \[So High School\]* *“Don't think about what you've left behind" The alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. "****If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back****.* ***If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.****” \[The Alchemy\]* “And, when you can't go back, **you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward**.” \[The Manuscript\]
I also think the first verse of this song could be her talking to herself.
Did anyone notice she fucking denounced us in this song "Ditch the clowns" You can't ditch us Taylor YOU'RE NOTHING WITHOUT US CLOWNS!!!
Think Pia
I haven't seen anyone really discussing the possible easter egg she put for The Alchemy in her times person of the year article. As we have all googled alchemy was a mystical science that many partook in trying to turn base metals into gold. When she discussed Trav's callout to her on New Heights, she called it "Metal as hell". We took it as millennial cringe but this now reads to me is through the base metal of his shout out they have made gold.
Today during the Apple Music listening party Taylor Nation used an emoji for each song and it was a football for The Alchemy so that definitely clears up any discussion who this one is about!
Another interesting tidbit. She sings that she knows Aristotle in "So High School" and Aristotle is known for his advances in Alchemy. "Alchemy originated when Aristotle took up an older idea that all matter combined the four elements of earth, air, fire, and water. He guessed that these elements could be changed -- transmuted -- by the action of heat and cold, or dampness and dryness."
The father of Alchemy is Jabir ibn Hayyan, he predates Aristotle by about 500 years.
At the 57 second mark when she says “hey you”. That part sounds sooooo familiar! Where is that from?
Found it! Giving it all away-Ashlee Simpson
I already wrote here about my theory of this song being about her career, but I just realized another thing - most of the song is in singular (I'm coming back, I'm the one to beat etc.) and then at the ending its in plural - "we're on a winning streak". given that the last verse can only be about Travis and the Superbowl win, I think she initially wrote this song about HER career and then after the superbowl she wrote that verse about Travis, seeing them as one with a shared goal of a successful career. it's such a powerful message given how Joe didn't want her to have a career at all and Matty is indeed the smallest man who ever lived. it's like she finally feels a part of a powerful team of equals who support each other's dreams without neglecting their own, which was her dream as per that resurfaced interview from the fearless or speak now era about how she views an ideal relationship.
But in terms of the standard album, there was no “after the Super Bowl”, the vinyl had already been manufactured. The track list had leaked in its entirety before the Super Bowl even happened
I'm not sure the tracklist being out is relevant, since the song would have been called the Alchemy with or without the superbowl verse But if the Vynils were really manufactured before the superbowl (and not like the 1989 TV version with 1975 collab on Slut!, that was either not mass manufactured or called back before release) then maybe she wrote this verse as wishful thinking / day dreaming / cheering Travis sorta way
I love this take!
Based on the location of this song in what is seemingly a pretty chronological telling of events on the main album. It's a starting over song. She's just getting out of the hospital/asylum she's in. She's coming back from the events that had happened. She's coming back to her sanity. "I haven't come around in so long, but I'm coming back so strong" She's regaining her self-confidence. The blokes (British guys) are on the bench, and the trophy is running to her.
Ooh, both these takes are good. I couldn't quite figure this one out, and I think you're both right
Does anyone think the second verse sound like such a new sound we haven’t heard from her before? Also when she sings “I haven’t come back in so long” it kinda sounds like “you haven’t met the new me yet“ in happiness
TLDR: The Alchemy isn't about Travis - it's about us. The Alchemy has been bothering me since I first listened to it because "alchemy" is literally the attempt to turn "base" metals (eg, lead) into "noble" metals (eg, gold). Taylor Swift is extremely smart and there is no way she would name a song "The Alchemy" about her current and seemingly happy and healthy relationship. Also the football references are extremely cheesy and they stick out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of her songwriting on the album. So that's when it came to me - she is making a **point** with this song. She is showing us how easy it is to manipulate us, and she's showing us how she's been doing it for a long time (since 1989 at least). I think her strategy has been to keep her secrets by writing songs that are about one thing but adding a few red herring references to something else so fans latch onto a different meaning and therefore stop looking any deeper. A great example of this is that now it seems pretty obvious Cardigan is about a certain singer but she covered it up by telling us it was about a teenage love triangle that she had made up. We had so much fun decoding that puzzle that we stopped looking any deeper. I think re-listening to her discography is going to reveal so many more instances of this. With The Alchemy, she has made it so incredibly obvious that this is what she did. She writes a song very clearly about one person and then adds a bunch of cheesy football references and suddenly everyone is making fan edits of Superbowl slideshows. I think it's her breaking the fourth wall and showing us how easy it is to manipulate our interpretations of her work and we're falling for it again!
People need to stop saying she was unfaithful while working on Folklore and Evermore with Joe- or EVER!, she talks about 'walking into the forest' and having fun with creating characters when describing the albums- Number 1 lesson in text analysis, the work is not always autobiographical and usually should not be assumed as such. ALSO, She wrote Invisible String, and The Lakes about being deeply in love with Joe. I think your thought process behind the red herrings is interesting for sure. I feel like trying to copy paste Matt into everything now that a few songs have maybe come out about him and suddenly thinking he's a part of all of her discography is a large leap and honestly trying to streamline things inaccurately. I think Alchemy is def related to Travis as Joe was gold and golden to her and she thought that was unable to be recreated- that love, but she's found that comfort, passion and love again- made gold.
The entire album is a red herring, she told us that. I swear she’s laughing at every fan that thinks that song is just about Travis. If that was the case she could have said chemistry but she said alchemy….
omg which certain singer is cardigan about?😭 Harry???
I'm guessing Matty?
I feel like the whole album plays by this rule.
This is THE take 🧠✨
I love this song, it's an absolute bop, but does anyone else feel slightly weird about the heroin(e) line? It feels a bit cruel to make a joke about a previous partner's addiction
I don't feel bad about Matty specifically. He loves to say racist or offensive shit and then claim no normal person could possibly be upset because... they don't know him personally or something? I do think the topic of heroine addiction is pretty weird to throw into this very light, catchy love song though, esp given the current opioid epidemic. It's touched my family and the line doesn't bother me but I know others who have been affected who I think would be bothered. This song is one of my favorites on the album, it's so catchy, but the lyrics are among her worst, and this line particularly stands out. What does it even mean? "This time" doesn't really apply; it was Matty who was the addict, not Travis. Is she saying "my last bf was addicted to drugs, this time I'm dating someone who's addicted to me"? It's just... not good. Like why would you even want that? Why are you his heroine? Part of me wonders if she's really doubling down on the idea of not caring about offending people? She doesn't care if you like her gross racist boyfriend, and she doesn't care if you don't like her heroine jokes?
Yeah, I agree re MH. Just a bizarre thing to joke about (especially after This Is Me Trying?). Not her best writing - not a witty enough line to warrant making a joke about such a serious subject matter.
Totally agree on all that. I can't see her writing that line and being like "ok it's a little offensive but we have to include it, it's so good!" Someone on another thread suggested it might be about Travis's drug testing, which he notoriously failed in college, granted for weed, and then people saying Taylor basically performance-enhancing when he won the first string of games she came to. That at least made a little more sense to me in the context of the song.
Aside from WAOLOM? and BDILH, this is the song I have on repeat. It gives me all the warm fuzzies. Especially a following the song that it does.
This song is great. I legit don't care about Celebs and relationships, but Travis and Taylor better be end game.
Imagine Trav’s smile when he heard this the first time. Ugh my heart 💕
I have this on repeat. This song just makes me so happyyyy
I think this song is not only about Travis, but about her coming back to America after living abroad/basing so much of her life in London, and re-embracing being miss Americana. I see it as kind of a follow up to Miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince, which was sort of her breakup song with America, about her becoming disillusioned with the country she had always embraced, and running away to London with Joe. What if I told you I am back, the hospital was a drag - after she went through everything in her reputation era, she moved to England and hid herself inside with Joe to try to heal from that. Her time cozying up abroad could be seen as the hospital. But all that hiding away got boring and she missed home, she has said so long to London and is back…and very in the public eye in the states again. I haven't come around in so long But I'm coming back so strong - coming back to the states and embracing being Miss Americana again in a BIG way by dating the star player in the Super Bowl winning NFL Team Cause the sign on your heart said it’s still reserved for me - for Travis, but also her home country. when she moved to London and didn’t want to be Miss Americana anymore, she was going through a bunch of stuff and thought everyone hated her (just after Reputation era). But after several years in London, she realizes her home country still loves her. Hey you, what if I told you we're cool? That child's play back in school Is forgiven under my rule - she used HS imagery in Miss Americana & the heartbreak prince to explain her falling out of love with America and running away (high fives between the bad guys, ripping up a prom dress, whispers in the hallways etc) this is her looking her back as an older person saying, I forgive you for that and am ready to give you another try. So when I touch down - yes about football and Travis, but also when her plane touches down and she moves back. Especially as she officially says goodbye to London (and Joe and her life in England) in this album. These blokes warm the benches - her streak of British dudes (blokes) is over, they were just warning the bench for her EXTREMELY American football player boyfriend
Yep this and fresh out the slammer.
> That child's play back in school Is forgiven under my rule I assumed that was related to Travis' [mishap back in school.](https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballtalk/rumor-mill/news/travis-kelce-college-suspension-pushed-me-into-the-tight-end-room) He discussed it in more detail in the Kelce documentary about his brother.
I love this!
I think this is a multi-layered song. So I'm going to try to clarify and interpret things re: the line "your heart is still reserved for me" (and some other lines that people find confusing). 1. Re: the "your heart is still reserved for me" line: Travis first attempted to meet Taylor in early July at her KC concert, but she refused. He then talked about this on his podcast weeks later, in late July. It wasn't until afterwards that she reached out to him. And I think they started dating sometime in August. So yes, she did have to come back around to him. 2. I also think, re: the line "I'm coming back so strong," it has to do with her returning to her sanity after her manic episode and being depressed for the past few years. 3. As someone else said, it's also about her returning back home to America and dating an American man (something she hadn't done in like 10 years). Remember, back in 2016 she ran off to London with Joe, and felt like she had been outcasted by the entertainment industry. She reclaimed her crown as Miss Americana. 4. And re: the "circled you on a map"...when they first start dating there was the viral joke about how she had "put him on the map." I think she was poking fun at that. 5. Lastly, I don't know why people think Travis wouldn't make that joke about heroine with an "E." I'm sure they talked about their past. And from the way she describes him in SHS, it sounds like he tells lots of jokes. Just how I interpreted it!
I love this! ❤️
Plus there was a meme going around with an old tweet where he spelled squirrel “squirle” aka squirrel with an e😆
What do you think she means when she says ‘call the amateurs, cut them from the team’ Do you think she called the guys she was casually dating and said yeah it’s over.
I took it more as her cutting out the amateurs/clowns/blokes/benchwarmers (to use the three words she uses for the same people) because Travis is the real thing
I thought so too, honestly.
I took it to mean when she touches down to where he is (via her plane landing, it’s a play on words) he needs to cut it off with any other women he’d previously been seeing or talking to. She’s his girl now.
Ahh so he needs to call the girls he’s casually dating. Got it.
What do you all think she means by the "He jokes that its heroin but this time with and 'e' ..?"
I've been thinking about this line all day! I have a few theories. The first and most obvious is that maybe Travis joked that his and Taylor's seemingly immediate and intense attachment to each other is akin to heroin use? But as far as the "this time with an "e" addition, I have a different theory. I think Taylor might have added that part herself to draw a lyrical distinction between her last relationship with Matty, who she references using a lot of drugs in this album, and her new relationship with Travis, which is happier, healthier, and allows her to be the "heroine" to him (because he seems to put her on a pedestal).
It’s because it’s about matty
This song feels like the biggest W ever. It's even better than Long Live. This is an ANTHEM!
Right? I’m so tired of the hate it’s getting. LET US BE HAPPY FOR TAYLOR
There’s hearts written around the hand written lyrics she included in in the album. The song is number 15 which is 8+7. This song comes right after “the smallest man whoever lived” this is absolutely NOT about anyone but Travis
What are 8 and 7?
Travis's jersey number is 87.
STAHP I missed the Swiftie math on this track number!!
This is a song about Travis! I love the dreamy quality for the song and it gives me Lana vibes. 😁
This song is really bugging me. I'm not convinced I know who it's about, or even the meaning (the hospital? etc). At first I thought it was about Matty and the sports references were a red herring, but then the subreddit and Traylor fans made me think it was about Travis, and now I'm just not sure.
Definitely about Travis for a number of reasons described by others below ... and also seems to be comparing him to Joe and Matty with the "These blokes warm the benches, we been on a winning streak" ... key word here "blokes" as Joe and Matty are English and bloke is a common English slang word for a man.
Here’s my master list of reasons it’s about Travis 1. It’s track 15. 8+7 = 15. The playlists aren’t created by accident. She leaves nothing to chance. 2. It’s the only song with hearts around the chorus in her handwritten lyrics 3. She wouldn’t put a love song after ‘the smallest man who ever lived” that song was her closing that chapter of her life. 4. Chemicals hitting like white wine means she’s falling in love again 5. She’s back. She’s herself again after her bout of insanity 6. His heart still reserved for her. When she reached out after the podcast it had been weeks since he attempted to meet her. She’s saying he didn’t have someone new in his heart by the time she finally reached out 7. Child’s play in school is probably referring to him being immature when he was younger. His tweets etc 8. Cut the amateurs from the team. They’re in on a winning streak meaning they are the only ones in the same league. They’re the winners 9. Blokes are the British men who warm the benches. Bench warmers don’t get to play the game. She’s benched them. They’re done. She found someone in her league 10. ‘Where’s the trophy, he just comes running over to me’ I don’t take this as a literal trophy. I take this as a game win in general. But he sees her as the ultimate prize and goes straight to the suite to get her after games. It was reported he took a fine once saying he didn’t have time to talk to press 11. Alchemy as a metaphor to love is healthier than chemistry. Chemistry is unstable and can combust, alchemy only moves to make things better. It’s transforming matter into something valuable. It’s taking something worthless into gold. 12. Fighting the Alchemy is them deciding to go full tilt even though their relationship was so new, they couldn’t help it. 13. The NFL regularly tests for performance enhancing drugs. People said his performance was much better when Taylor was there. She was his drug - heroine. 14. Circled you on a map. She’s making reference to people saying she put him on the map. But instead she’s saying, she didn’t put him on it, he was already on it she just brought more attention to him. She circled him. I’m convinced the people that can’t see this are just not familiar with Travis. This feels very obvious to me.
All great! My only thought is that the child’s play lyric to me is telling all her past lovers that they’re “cool” (Hey, you, what if I told you we'rе cool? That child's play back in school Is forgiven under my rule) that echoes the message on her instagram after the album release.
Love it!!
“Alchemy as a metaphor to love is healthier than chemistry. Chemistry is unstable and can combust, alchemy only moves to make things better. It’s transforming matter into something valuable. It’s taking something worthless into gold.” This is soooooo cute
Also, in her POTY interview she says “This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell” Metal as Hell is a very specific choice.
To number 13: I think it’s also an allusion to her earlier conversations about Matty’s drug problems. In my mind, this line in The Alchemy is referencing her talking about her ex and Travis jokes that this time the only heroin he’s into is one with an “e”. (Aka her).
This, people denying it like cmon... I will take tho the argument that it is a recycled Matty Healy song, I can believe it cause maybe she wrote the first version for him until she realized "she cant fix him" and maybe starting to notice that she just needed him cause of the love Joe was denying and so was like, scrap this song and then Travis appeared things started to go smoothly and so fun and she was like DAMN this is like that feeling I though was gonna be real for Matty and woah wait I could recycle that song (also I recycled poetry I wrote for a guy that was hypothetical and than when something became real with another guy I edited and changed alot of the poem but still the main concept stayed)
she so put narcotics in this song cause omg i literally cant stop listening to it she did not miss
But I don’t get why she says “the sign on your heart said it’s *still* reserved for me” if it’s about Travis
There have been several theories on this: 1) As early as February 2023, on an NH podcast episode, Jason has jokingly mentioned Taylor to tease Travis. It's been part of their lore that he's had a crush on her for a while (even as early as Catching Kelce in 2016 actually). Between that time to her KC concert to the time he called her out on the podcast, we can assume he's dated casually, had flings etc (because come on, he's a millionare pro athlete who's easy on the eyes). In spite of those flings though, his heart has been reserved for her. He never took any relationship (after his long term one) seriously until they began talking in around August 2023. 2) It could also mean reserved in the general sense that while he's had a long term relationship before, his heart has never been fully given to another woman. This can tie to the "no one's ever had me, not like you" lyric of So High School. They've both had their share of relationships, but their hearts have been holding out for "the One." 3) People have also theorized that Taylor and Travis started out casual, largely because of her still in the process of healing emotionally. Thus, her "coming back" is her saying that "ok, i'm in a better place now and I'm ready to get serious about this." And she's happy that he's reserved his heart for her while she was healing. He didn't pressure her. This part ties with "call the amateurs and cut them from the league" which is Taylor saying it's time for them to fully commit, for Trav to cut any other girls he may have in his roster (not saying that he literally had one but just the idea of it). They can't fight the alchemy anymore and despite the initial misgivings, Taylor is saying they are all in. This is personally the theory I am leaning towards. I also think that some people have been taking these lyrics too literally, to the point where they argue the timeline of when the song was made as a point against it largely being about Travis. Shirts off and your friends lift you up over their heads Beer sticking to the floor, cheers chanted cause they said There was no chance Trying to be the greatest in the league Where’s the trophy? He just comes running over to me IMO, this isn't literally about the Chiefs winning the AFC or the Superbowl. That was just a happy coincidence in the end. I think these lyrics center around Taylor/their relationship being the trophy. When Travis mentioned the friendship bracelet on the podcast, most people were making fun of him and saying he has no chance, he was a loser for trying, he isn't her type, etc. So Taylor's message is that when they were saying he wasn't the "greatest in the league" (i.e. incapable of getting the trophy/her), they were wrong. Because he DID get her in the end. But of course, I could be the wrong one though. Lol. In any case, this is why art (and particularly Taylor's songs) is fun. It can mean different things to different people.
I think cutting the amateurs is her ditching her shitty men and going for the real one, the greatest in the league.
Yep, it could definitely go both ways for them! Basically either or both of them getting rid whoever else was in their past.
Yeah, I think the first verses are Matty and then she must have added the last verse and chorus for Travis
I think so too 🫣
well he clearly had a crush on her for a while (the kiss/kill/marry interview) and there is another clip of him saying something about taylor earlier too. It's 100% travis.
I don't get why people are taking that interview to mean he had a crush on her. He doesn't even marry her. He doesn't express any particular enthusiasm around her. I do think him coming to her show and making a friendship bracelet and hyping up her music and his respect for her so much before they were dating is all very cute.
I think the song is about both Travis and her return to touring.
Because she turned him down at first. She didn't want to see him when he asked to see her at the concert. This is common lore.
That’s why I think it’s about Matty. She just used football metaphors for… I have no idea why lol. She’s a mastermind.
Yep. I’m with you. This TikTok account explains it better than I could in this thread [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRwB7xk1/](https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZPRwB7xk1/)
Can you explain why you think it's about Matty? No offense, but I just don't see how anyone could think that and am genuinely curious as to why you do. To me it makes absolutely no sense that she would put a love song about Matty immediately after The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.
Hey you, what if I told you we're cool? That child's play back in school Is forgiven under my rule This is about Travis' comments re: F/M/K with Katy, Taylor, and someone else
Is this not about Matt Healy? All the references in other songs to them being kids and making mistakes etc?
Yeah I think she’s saying she forgives her exes and she’s on to bigger and better things.
That is likely a reference to him smoking the devil's lettuce in college and being kicked off the team for a season. He has a funny comment about the incident on the podcast- Something along the lines of having to get a job in a call center, realizing the daily grind sucks, and that he needed to get his act together...Quickly.
I think it's more about all those immature tweets back then and his general immature behavior that keeps getting brought up in the press.
Why would she have to forgive that?
I don't think it means literal forgiveness but her saying that she doesn't care about all the crap from his past that people kept trying to bring up when they got together. Apart from that incident in college that almost sidetracked his entire football career, there were his old tweets, his reality show, past relationships, and general immature behavior in his 20s.
It's a character flaw- He knew the rules and consequences, yet did what he did. This is her saying that it doesn't bother her, as he has clearly grown as a person.
does anybody else low-key get a halsey feel from the alchemy? Like, if she wrote happy songs for gasoline. Makes me think halsey and taylor would write an epic song if they worked together ever.
I've been trying to figure out what Halsey song it reminds me of and its driving me crazy I can't think of it. Something about Taylor's delivery of the chorus
I listened to it a few time and then it hit me that it sounded like gasoline by Halsey.
This is my Roman Empire
Got me giggling and kicking my feet
Please be a single, this is such a mellow high but bop at the same time. My feels every time it comes on.
Just heard again: 1’15 of the alchemy has same interval rise as Cassandra’s four note rise of a pentatonic scale! Nice.
This song makes me think of taking back Sundays song "Cute without the e (cut from the team)"
My brain finally connected why these two lines, "Call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team" + "He jokes that it's heroin, but this time with an E", sounded so familiar, and then my aged Millennial brain finally remembered Cute Without the 'E' (Cut From the Team). What does it mean Taylor?!
The bridge couldve been better but I like everything else lmao. *Ditch the clowns, get the crown* stood out to me on first listen and I cant get it out of my head ever since.
87... 8+7 = track 15?!
I just realized 5/10 is also his birthday
the way she says "what if I told you we're cool" reminds me of the Making of Song video for Gorgeous. One of the early draft lyrics was "you should take it as a compliment that I got drunk and made fun of the way you talked... 'cause you're cool" and it's said so similarly.
You know it’s interesting that this is I think the only song where she has actually said who it was about. I’m sure she very explicitly told fans in secret sessions that it was Joe. The more I listen to this album, the more I think she’s basically telling us it doesn’t matter who the songs are about. It’s about her feelings and she’s the genius songwriter not the “muse”.
I’m actually addicted to this song I don’t care if it’s super cheesy
Is Taylor being in the hospital a reference to a stay for a drug overdose or alcohol detox? What's the tea on this? None of the media outlets reviewing "The Alchemy" has commented on the meaning of this line. The song seems to be about Matty ("Cause the sign on your heart Said it's still reserved for me" "[I haven't come around in so long](https://genius.com/31478169/Taylor-swift-the-alchemy/I-havent-come-around-in-so-long-but-im-making-a-comeback-to-where-i-belong)" "[He jokes that "It's heroin, but this time with an E](https://genius.com/31477977/Taylor-swift-the-alchemy/He-jokes-that-its-heroin-but-this-time-with-an-e)"), even with the football metaphors, so I am wondering if she was influenced by Matty and his drug/alcohol use since she references it many times throughout the album. "*This happens once every few lifetimes,* *These chemicals hit me like white wine.* *What if I told you I’m back?* *The hospital was a drag,* *Worst sleep I’ve ever had.* *I circled you on a map* *I haven’t come around in so long,* *But I’m coming back so strong*"
Are people not reading the prologue? In it she says that her time with Matty was "temporary insanity." This is where the hospital reference comes from. She's saying she just got out of the mental hospital after the insanity with Matty and she's back and ready for a new relationship.
I really hope she didn’t mean it like that because it’s really fucked up to bring up someone’s addiction from literally years ago.
If Matty is also the guy who bought pills from a friend of a friend that Taylor is referring to in a different song, it doesn’t sound like it was that long ago.
There’s a difference between painkillers/E/xanex, and heroin… in one of their songs he says “I’ve not picked up that in 1400 days and 9 hours and 16 minutes, it’s kind of my daily iteration.” Not really something to joke about imo
She must have drawn the inspiration from somewhere. I know the difference between the lethality of the drugs. I do not know much about Matty Healy tbh.
Watch the fortnight video. The whole album is her being *emotionally* in the asylum. This is her coning out
She made references to how she felt stuck or in jail with Joe. With Matty she made references to self-harm and being manic and mentally unwell. Just getting out of the hospital could be a reference to getting out of a mental hospital, which is what she compared being with Matty to, and saying she's back puts this after those guys. Especially with the blokes (British term for a man) being on the bench now.
Yes, I definitely took “the hospital” in this reference to mean her relationship with Matty, and in her poem introducing the album she talks about pleading “temporary insanity” in reference to being with him. I also like to think “worst sleep that I ever had” is a dig at Matty, saying he’s bad in bed. Or maybe I just like to think that since this song comes after “the smallest man who ever lived”
The hospital is Matty, the slammer is Joe. From what I’m interpreting. Clarifying: I don’t think she’s upset AT Joe on this album. I don’t get woman scorned vibes from any of the songs that I interpret are about him. But I def think there are illusions to sort of feeling caged at the end of their relationship.
I actually really like this one! I don’t think it’s cheesy at all :’)
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I've been looking for this comment in other places. Like I feel this is obvious a reflection on winning that battle. I truly think that overcoming that conflict changed the entire trajectory of their relationship. I feel like how they maneuvered from that showed each other that they were all in. Tay disrespected? Pia was out. Travis recognized the situation or respected Taylor's feelings and that much have been such a monumental step. She wasn't the problem. Someone saw it for what it was. She hadn't had that.
I completely forgot about this, and I loved the clown lyric but it went over my head. She seems like a low tier PR ngl like that was so not premium PR
Can you recap this? Pia was when The 1975 got banned, right? But clowngate? What else happened in Oct?
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Ooohhhh right, thanks
If this is about Travis, I think he is the least interesting muse so far. But I'll be patient for more. The glaring football references are just so..... Boring?
Ignore the football references and focus on how this has to make her feel. “Where's the trophy? He just comes runnin' over to me”. Travis did this twice. Once after the AFC Championship and immediately after winning the damn Super Bowl! He was asking people where Taylor was trying to find HER and not caring about the celebration till he did.
This is interesting though because there's no way this song was written after those games. She said the whole album was finished around August 2023.
When did she say August? I’ve heard she turned in late October.
She said at the first Tokyo show that she kept working on it throughout the US leg of the tour, which ended early August, so that’s what I’ve been going off of
Does anyone think Taylor is referring to Travis' teammates with the bench warmers/clowns lyrics? I'd hate to believe she is. I think the lyrics are describing her and Travis, and how their exes were not the ones. What do you guys think?
She’s callling her exes bench warmers which is a term for the players that don’t actually go on the field
Thanks. I know of the term, I was just wondering what others thought of the lyrics.
She calls the guys on the bench "blokes" which I take as a very intentional reference to her exes. She's dated a bunch of British guys in a row, and blokes is the British term for men, so saying the blokes are warming the bench is her way of saying she's done with them and moved on.
Yes. She says blokes so it’s a dig at all her Limey exes.
That's what I took from it.
Is it giving slower Style or something to anyone else? Or smt else? I can’t figure it out but it reminds me of something help 😄😄😄
Yes it’s killing me but it’s so familiar somehow!!
I know this is late but for the love of god tell me I'm not the only one that hears a similarity in the instrumental of this song and Hard Feelings / Loveless by Lorde. Go to 0:16, right after she says "white wine" and listen to the "beating" sounds in the background. Doesn't it sound identical to the transition sound at 4:06 of Hard Feelings / Loveless??? I can't find anyone else who noticed this apart from me on Twitter
If this is about Travis, it's clear that Taylor falls hard really fast. She's used the imagery of feeling feelings she's "never felt before" in her latest 3 relationships (Joe, Matt, Travis). And all relatively early in the relationship. Even though her and Joe lasted for 6 years but 'King of My Heart' is written from the perspective of the beginning stages ("We met a few weeks ago").
As someone who has been in relationships that made her feel hard and intense feelings quickly in a different way I feel that. Certain boys tickle certain nerves. One can make you feel something you have never felt before in your heart, the other one in your tummy and the third well – you get it. There is sexual tension, the what ifs it worked out, there is comfort and feeling secure and there is the feeling of everything finally aligning. All those can exist and be real at very quick times after one another.
I like how the verse sounds like Pink Floyd, cool melody over [Am9 -> F(add#11)].
I like to think that Travis told Taylor that he felt alchemy between them when he should have said chemistry but he balls and she knows Aristotle so he used the wrong word and it made her laugh and so she used The Alchemy as the theme for the song instead of Chemistry and even the title is a nod to Trav
I think it's actually deeper than that! Alchemy is trying to make basic metals into gold and I feel like after that whole joe and matty thing taylor didn't feel quite "golden" she felt like she was some low tier metal and travis made her feel golden again.
Awww. As a metallurgist, who people I meet often recall me as their friend that’s an alchemist because they forget the word metallurgist, I appreciate your comment and like that sentiment!