Taylor Swift's "Folklore" Bonus Track "The Lakes" is Totally About Joe Alwyn

Photo credit: Getty Images
Photo credit: Getty Images

From Seventeen

Taylor Swift is not done giving. After releasing a surprise new album last month, the singer is back with a bonus track and, of course, the lyrics seemed to be packed with easter eggs.

"The Lakes" was included in the physical edition of "Folklore," which became available on Friday, August 7th. Already, fans have dissected the new tune and it seems to be about her bae, Joe Alwyn. I mean, mere hours before the new song was released, Joe, who rarely posts on social media, just so happened to share a photo in front of a lake.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Joe Alwyn (@joe.alwyn) on Aug 6, 2020 at 9:45am PDT

I'm sorry, but there's NO WAY that's a coincidence.

Anyway, get a load of these lyrics, provided by Genius:

[Verse 1]
Is it romantic how all of my elegies eulogize me?
I'm not cut out for all these cynical clones
These hunters with cell phones

In the first verse, Taylor is most likely speaking about her propensity to write breakup songs. Elegies are poems for the dead, so she may be referring to her poems (songs) about her dead relationships. Then, in the third line, it seems like she's talking about cancel culture, which Taylor has been the victim of more than once.

[Chorus]
Take me to the lakes, where all the poets went to die
I don't belong and, my beloved, neither do you
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry
I'm setting off, but not without my muse

"The lakes" mentioned most likely refer to Lake District, which, according to many is considered the most romantic place in the UK, where Joe is from. According to Genius, many poets lived by Lake District in the beginning of the 19th century. Taylor could also be referring to Windermere Lake, which is the largest lake in the UK.

This is the second time Taylor has references "the lakes" in "Folklore." In "Invisible String," which is also thought to be about Joe, she sings, "Bold was the waitress on our three-year trip/Getting lunch down by the Lakes." Many fans think Joe and Taylor spent their three-year anniversary by the lake, and that could possible have been where Joe took his Instagram pic.

[Verse 2]
What should be over burrowed under my skin
In heart-stopping waves of hurt
I've come too far to watch some namedropping sleaze
Tell me what are my words worth

Here, it seems like Taylor is once against expressing her disapproval for those who have bad-mouthed her in the past, much like she did in her song, "I Did Something Bad." This specific "namedropping sleaze," is most likely Scooter Braun, who she has most recently been feuding with.

[Chorus]
Take me to the lakes, where all the poets went to die
I don't belong and, my beloved, neither do you
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry
I'm setting off, but not without my muse

[Bridge]
I want auroras and sad prose
I want to watch wisteria grow right over my bare feet
'Cause I haven't moved in years
And I want you right here
A red rose grew up out of ice frozen ground
With no one around to tweet it
While I bathe in cliffside pools
With my calamitous love and insurmountable grief

Taylor has used roses and flowers to represent her relationship with Joe before. In "Call It What You Want," which is also said to be about him, she sang, "All my flowers grew back as thorns/Windows boarded up after the storm/He built a fire just to keep me warm."

It seems like there, as well as in "The Lakes," Taylor is saying that her love with Joe was able to blossom despite the fact that she may have been in a bad place when they first met.

[Chorus]
Take me to the lakes, where all the poets went to die
I don't belong and, my beloved, neither do you
Those Windermere peaks look like a perfect place to cry
I'm setting off, but not without my muse
No, not without you

Of course, the verdict is in, and fans seem to be sure that "The Lakes" has Joe Alwyn written all over it.

Follow Carolyn on Instagram.

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