What’s up?
It’s Sussan Mourad here with Clevver News and happy Folklore Friday everyone!
How are we all feeling since the big surprise release?!
I know a lot of us from Clevver were up late last night listening!
And just when we thought there weren’t any Taylor Swift Folklore Easter eggs, the Swifties
came through with both clues in the lyrics and how she hinted at the new album before
the official announcement.
Let’s start with the clues from before she dropped the album, we’ll get into some of
the lyrics in a bit.
While it seemed like Taylor just announced this album out of absolutely nowhere, in hindsight,
some fans realized she was actually dropping clues for us all along.
This person took us back to her post from April 27th where she wrote “Not a lot going
on at the moment.”
This fan pointed out that this was totally an Easter egg writing quote, “BYE THIS WAS
A FUCKING EASTER EGG THERE ARE 8 WORDS IN THE CAPTION AND IT WAS POSTED ON 4/27 WHICH
FLIPS TO 7/24 WHICH IS JULY 24TH AKA FOLKORE.”
Another fan found another classic Taylor hint, which in hindsight makes total sense, but
none of us saw this coming ok?!
They wrote quote, “HOLY LUCKY NUMBER 13! Taylor Swift will release her 8th studio album
tomorrow, July 24, which is 7-24.
7 + 2 + 4 = 13.
She named it #folklore which has 8 letters in it saying it's her
8th album!!!
Isn't she genius?
Say NO and don't ever talk to me!!!”
She definitely is a genius!
And this fan is clearly very good at math!
Alright these next few might be a little bit of a stretch, but Twitter and Tumblr have
been going off so let’s talk about them.
As we have seen now, many of Taylor’s Folklore pictures show her with two pigtail buns on
each side of her head.
Some fans believe that a picture Taylor posted of cinnamon buns she baked in May was foreshadowing
the hairstyle she would later wear for her new album’s photoshoot.
And while we’re down this rabbit hole, other fans think there might have been a Folklore
Easter egg in the Lover music video.
I’m not sure that this is true because Taylor revealed in her IG captions that she wrote
this entire album in isolation these past few months, but hey, an Easter egg is an Easter
egg these days.
At the 3:40 mark of the Lover music video, the camera zooms out to show seven rooms of
different colors that correlate to the colors of Swift’s first seven albums: Taylor Swift,
Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, Reputation, and Lover.
And some fans noticed that a small white and grey room in the middle of the house could’ve
been a Folklore Easter egg.
Ok and the last pre-release Folklore clue we’re gonna talk about before getting into
the song and the music video is that some fans think that Joe Alwyn may have co-wrote
some of the songs on the album.
In her post she revealed that a writer named William Bowery co-wrote two of her songs from
Folklore but fans were quick to realize that there is no info on a songwriter with that
name.
Additionally, Taylor and Joe actually met at the Bowery Hotel in New York City.
This fan tweeted saying quote, “Guys William Bowery is none other than our very own Joe
Alwyn.
William is his great grandfather's name and Bowery is a hotel in ny.
Im attaching receipts.
Cardigan tonight.”
And this person hilariously shared these photos writing quote, “Nils Sjöberg & William
Bowery; yup that's the tweet.”
Alright, speaking of Joe, that brings us to the lyrics so let’s talk about the album
itself now that it’s actually out!
There are some fans on Twitter that actually think Joe and Taylor could’ve split up based
on some of the lyrics in the album.
I mean, there are some questionable lines like “Waking up alone.
But we were something, don’t you think so?”
It totally could be about a past experience and Taylor even noted in one of her IG captions
that some of these songs are written from the perspective of different characters, including
people she has never met, people she wishes she never met, and people she's known.
She also called the album quote “a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream
of consciousness.”
So some of these songs could be stories that aren’t even about her, and there are also
definitely some songs about love on the album, I mean we’ve all listened to Invisible String
by now!
But that didn’t stop some fans from worrying that she and Joe broke up.
One person tweeted saying quote, “Wait, did @taylorswift13 and Joe breakup?
Some of these lyrics are giving me maaaajor breakup vibes.
Either way, I’m one thousand percent listening to this album on repeat”
Another fan wrote quote, “idk maybe i’m not listening right but did taylor swift and
joe alwyn break up??”
And this person chimed in tweeting quote, “Am I the only one who seems to see that
TAYLOR SWIFT’s released album songs are all about break ups??!!!!!
And that she had gone over it??
Wait is she telling us Joe and her are over?????
Cause I am not mentally prepared at alll @taylorswift13 myggggaaaddd your lyrics are.”
But other fans came to the rescue reiterating what I said before writing quote, “she said
in her post, these songs aren’t just about her own experiences, they were about people
she’d never met, she’s just telling stories.
and joe liked a post of hers today, i’m not worried :)”
And Joe has in fact been liking Taylor’s photos since she announced the album, which
is definitely something considering they are a private couple.
Fans might have been getting a little ahead of themselves with that one.
Another reason why it doesn’t seem likely that Taylor and Joe split up is because people
also think the song Invisible String is about their relationship.
If you listen closely to the lyrics, when Taylor talks about their three year anniversary,
showing him around Nashville, and it seems like they are stronger than ever.
Taylor sings quote, “Gold was the color of the leaves, When I showed you around Centennial
Park, Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven.”
In that same song though, fans think Taylor may have alluded to her ex Joe Jonas and his
wife Sophie Turner.
This fan wrote quote, “Taylor Swift seemingly refers to Joe Jonas in ‘invisible string’
lyrics revealing that she bought presents for Joe and Sophie’s baby #folklore
“For the boys who broke my heart / now I send their babies presents”
Now that’s an Easter egg I can get on board with.
It seems like the song is all about the broken path that leads you to the person you are
supposed to be with and how, while you didn’t know it, there was an invisible string tying
you together all along.
And Joe Jonas certainly was a part of Taylor’s journey!
We all remember that whole breaking up with her "over the phone in 25 seconds when she
was 18" thing.
Sophie has also previously shared that she's a T. Swift fan and the two of them appeared
together on The Graham Norton Show in 2019.
Anyway, those are some other stories for another day.
Let’s move on to another clue fans have found in some of the Folklore lyrics.
We all know that Taylor Swift is close with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds and now some
people think that Taylor actually revealed the name of Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds'
baby on her new album!
Blake and Ryan have famously kept the name of their third child private since the baby
was born back in fall of 2019, but the Swifties might actually be onto something with this
one.
The song Betty does feature lyrics that say the names of Blake and Ryan’s other two
kids, Inez and James.
And so fans think Betty is their third child’s name.
One person tweeted saying quote, “Inez?
James?
Is Betty a song for Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds third baby girl (whose name we don't
know yet)?
#Folklore”
Another fan wrote quote, “The way that Taylor used the names Inez and James in Betty because
those are the names of Blake and Ryan’s children.
she really does love those kids”
And this person chimed in saying quote, “I just realised that Blake Lively daughters
are called James and Inez so is Betty her youngest daughter name???”
And I mean, it’s definitely possible! Taylor, Blake, and Ryan haven’t confirmed it, but
hey, that would be pretty cool to have a Taylor Swift song named after you before you even
turn 1.
GOALS!
Ok now, let’s quickly chat about the Cardigan music video.
Along with dropping a surprise album, Taylor blessed us with a music video for the 2nd
track on the album.
And of course, there are some Easter eggs buried in the video.
While some fans think Taylor and Joe broke up, others think this music video may hint
that they got married during the lockdown!
Taylor wears a flowy white dress for the entire video and after her album Lover hinted at
wedding vows, some people think this was a sign that she may be married.
The song lyrics also mention finding the right fit saying quote, “And when I felt like
I was an old cardigan/ Under someone's bed/ You put me on and said I was your favourite."
Others have also found parallels between parts of Taylor’s video and parts of Harry Styles
video for his song “Falling.”
And interestingly enough, the video did drop while fans were also celebrating the 10 year
One Direction anniversary.
Could be nothing, but could be something!
There are other little Easter eggs in the video like the clock hands being at 1 and
3 for her lucky number 13 and a photo of her grandfather.
And aside from all the Easter eggs and clues, which we could literally talk about for hours,
fans are just absolutely loving the album.
They are sharing their love and support for Taylor and this beautiful piece of art on
social media and I know I’ll be listening to it all weekend!
Obviously we couldn’t get to ALL the Easter eggs so please share with me other ones you’ve
found!
And if you want more on Taylor Swift and Folklore, click right over here for another Clevver
News video.
Also please share your thoughts about the album down in the comments below.
Do you have any favorite tracks after your first impression?!
Let me know!
I’m your host Sussan Mourad, bye guys!