Taylor Swift Hints at the Reason for Her Breakup with Joe Alwyn in New Song

(Image credit: Getty)

published 27 May 2023

Taylor Swift, in a track called “You’re Losing Me”—released on the deluxe version of Midnights—might have hinted at the reasons behind her split from Joe Alwyn, Us Weekly reports. Swift and Alwyn broke up last month after six years together, and Swift has seemingly already moved on with fellow singer Matty Healy.

The lyrics to the new song say, in part, “You say, ‘I don’t understand’ and I say, ‘I know you don’t’ / We thought a cure would come through in time / Now, I fear it won’t,” Swift sings in the ballad’s first verse, “seemingly referring to a breakdown in communication in her relationship,” Us Weekly reports. “Remember lookin’ at this room, we loved it ‘cause of the light / Now, I just sit in the dark and wonder if it’s time.”

By the chorus, Swift hints that her “heart won’t start anymore” for her lover, “as a real heartbeat can be heard thumping in the background,” the outlet writes.

The second verse continues “I glared at you with storms in my eyes / How can you say that you love someone you can’t tell is dying? / I sent you signals and bit my nails down to the quick / My face was gray, but you wouldn’t admit that we were sick.”

The bridge of the song—“a notoriously poignant part in any of Swift’s music,” Us Weekly reports—continues “I gave you all my best of me, my endless empathy / And all I did was bleed as I tried to be the bravest soldier / Fighting in only your army / The front lines don’t you ignore me / I’m the best thing at this party.” Then comes what Us Weekly calls “the track’s most devastating lyric”: “And I wouldn’t marry me either / Pathological people pleaser / Who only wanted you to see her / And I’m fading thinking / Do something, babe, say something / Lose something, babe, risk something / Choose something, babe, I got nothing to believe, unless you’re choosing me.”

While Swift hasn’t confirmed who the song is about, it comes a month after a source exclusively told Us Weekly that the perils of celebrity contributed to the end of her relationship with Alwyn. “Joe is very shy and never liked all of the attention that came with dating one of the most popular singers in the world,” the insider says, noting that the actor “didn’t like having to be on all the time.”

Swift, for her part, “is handling the breakup really well and she’s feeling very optimistic about her future,” the source says. “She truly believes whatever is meant to be, will be, and knows everything happens for a reason.”

In addition to “You’re Losing Me,” the deluxe version of Midnights includes a remix of her song “Karma” featuring Ice Spice, “Hits Different” (a song previously only available on vinyl), and a new version of “Snow on the Beach” with Lana Del Rey.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.

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