Taylor Swift Fans Are Losing It Over This Lyric In "Dancing With Our Hands Tied"
Taylor Swift, lyricist extraordinaire and writer of the soundtrack to our beating hearts, is obviously known for putting her personal life into her music. And when Taylor gets specific through lines in her songs, she opens even more doors to speculation galore. In one catchy yet tender ballad-with-a-beat off of her new album Reputation, she's giving us an inch, and we can't help but take a mile. The "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" "25 years old" lyric has Taylor Swift fans wondering who the songstress is referring to.
Taylor sets the scene for the sentimental song (which you can buy on iTunes right over here) in the opening verse, saying,
I, I loved you in secret / First sight, yeah, we love without reason / Oh, 25 years old / Oh, how were you to know and...
My, my love had been frozen / Deep blue, but you painted me golden / Oh, and you held me close / Oh, how was I to know what...
I could've spent forever with your hands in my pockets /Picture of your face in an invisible locket / You said there was nothing in the world that could stop it / I had a bad feeling / And darling, you had turned my bed into a sacred oasis / People started talking, putting us through our paces / I knew there was no one in the world who could take it / I had a bad feeling
So, who is this 25-year-old? Is she talking about herself or one of her famous beaus? There's a lot to unpack here. *Puts reading glasses on and shuffles random papers that mean absolutely nothing, but look important*
According to the timeline we have knowledge of, Taylor Swift was 25 years of age when she was dating Calvin Harris. But that doesn't mean she didn't have eyes for British actor Tom Hiddleston on some level at that time. Maybe she was a Loki fan prior to their meeting and eventual courtship. The song plays out like a breakup tune and reads like a tale of love that could never really be. Dancing with hands tied suggests she might have been or felt out of control of the situation. But survey (fans) says?
Yes, it's true. Even if the "25 years old" lyric isn't a reference to Taylor's own age, she has crossed romantic paths with 25-year-olds before. Her current boyfriend Joe Alwyn is all of 26 now, and they've been linked for months. There appear to be allusions to Joe throughout Taylor's latest releases, but there's something about "Dancing With Our Hands Tied" that leads us to believe she's talking about an ex. For one thing, she repeats that she had a "bad feeling" about the situation throughout, and that kind of comment wouldn't be so kind to dear Joe, now would it?
Taylor goes on in the song:
I'd kiss you as the lights went out / Swaying as the room burned down / I'd hold you as the water rushes in / If I could dance with you again / I'd kiss you as the lights went out / Swaying as the room burned down / I'd hold you as the water rushes in / If I could dance with you again
Dancing with our hands tied, hands tied / Yeah, we were dancing / Like it was the first time, first time / Yeah, we were dancing / Dancing with our hands tied, hands tied / Yeah, we were dancing / And I had a bad feeling / But we were dancing
There's heartbreak in between the lines of this emotionally-charged dance ditty if you ask me. Plus, using the past tense on the word "loved" and basically every other verb makes me think whatever was... isn't anymore. Sigh. Who knows?
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