7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
'The Life of a Showgirl' Tracklist Meanings and Theories
Taylor Swift shared the tracklist for her new album, The Life of a Showgirl, and the time has come to analyze all the song titles. Like, you might think there's not much to go on based on track names alone, but trust: Swifties already have some very impressive theories about what / who these songs are about.
This is an obvious reference to Shakespeare's Ophelia, who was driven to madness by Hamlet and ended up drowning. An extremely tragic end, which Taylor seems to be referencing in her album art:
Here's a famous painting of Ophelia at the Tate for reference—the similarities are undeniable!
Elizabeth Taylor was one of the biggest stars in Old Hollywood, known for her gorgeous violet eyes. And what is the charm on Taylor's "Sweet and Vanilla Perfume" variant, you ask? A violet eye:
Fans also think Tay is referencing Elizabeth Taylor in her album art, as well as in her main cover (which also references Ophelia).
And then there's the fact that the official Elizabeth Taylor Instagram account posted this back in May:
Seems significant that "Opalite" is the track directly after "Elizabeth Taylor" since Taylor was gifted an Opal ring for her birthday and literally commented that it was worthy of Elizabeth Taylor:
More importantly, opal is Travis Kelce's birthstone—and Tay wore a pair of opal earrings at a Chiefs game back in 2024:
There aren't that many theories on "Father Figure" just yet, but there are these "Father Figure" edits of Travis Kelce to consider....
So, "Eldest Daughter" is track 5 on The Life of a Showgirl, and if you're a Swiftie you know that's hugely significant.
There's already an assumption that the song will be heartbreaking, and fans think it could be about the pressure Taylor's under:
I mean, goes without saying that everyone's speculating this song is about Blake Lively based on her and Taylor's rumored (emphasis on "rumored!") falling out, but there's literally no proof so let's wait and see!
Fans are pointing out that Taylor has previously used the word "romantic" with negative connotations, so "Actually Romantic" could be a love song.
There's also the fact that the song's name is engraved on a charm, which presumably means it has special significance.
The verdict on this one? "Wi$h Li$t" is about Taylor Swift getting her Masters back.
Can't lie, "Wood" has people confused.
But one complete genius realized that Taylor Swift literally put "wood behind the arrow" on a charm, which has a very specific meaning:
Hard to interpret one simple word, but here's the thing: Taylor used the British spelling ("cancelled") instead of the American ("canceled"). Feel free to read into that!
Mmmmkay, so not much to go on here, but a few things to note:
THE title track! Seems fair to assume this song is life of a showgirl. Something both Taylor and Sabrina can relate to.
That's all, but we'll be updating this as more theories emerge!
