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Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce began their romance before The Tortured Poets Department dropped in April 2024, making it the first album that featured songs inspired by their love.
Swift and Kelce started dating in summer 2023 after the Kansas City Chiefs tight end revealed he wanted to give the singer his number via a friendship bracelet at her Eras Tour. Though he was unsuccessful at the time, the pair eventually connected. Swift ultimately began attending Kelce’s football games and cheered on the athlete all the way to Super Bowl LVIII.
Swift announced her 11th studio album in February 2024 after she took home her 13th Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. While the majority of TTPD is about past loves including Matty Healy and Joe Alwyn, “The Alchemy” and “So High School” are inspired by Kelce.
Kelce, who proposed in August 2025, was also privy to a sneak peek of Swift’s then0upcoming 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, which dropped in October 2025. Swift and Kelce’s love story was seemingly featured in multiple tracks, including “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Opalite,” “Wood,” “Wish List,” “Honey” and more.
Less than one year after LOAS dropped, Swift and Kelce planned to get married at Madison Square Garden in July 2026.
Keep scrolling to see what songs Swift has written about Kelce:
‘The Alchemy’
Using clever wordplay, Swift uses football references in her lyrics to give a shout-out to her boyfriend, who is a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs. “So when I touchdown, call the amateurs and cut them from the team / Ditch the clowns, get the crown / Baby I’m the one to beat,” she sings, “Because the sign on your heart said it’s still reserved for me / Honestly, who are we to fight The Alchemy?”
The pop star also appears to reference her moment on the field with Kelce after he won Super Bowl LVIII in February. “Shirts off and your friends lift you up over their heads / Beer sticking to the floor / Cheers chanting ‘cause they said there was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league, where’s the trophy?”
‘So High School’
In the second batch of surprise songs dropped hours later, Swift seemingly references Kelce (a lover of comedies and video games) again on the track “So High School,” where she compares falling for the athlete to being 16 again.
“I’m watching American Pie with you on a Saturday night / Your friends are around so be quiet / I’m trying to stifle my sighs,” she croons on the upbeat track. ‘Cause I feel so high school every time I look at you / But look at you.”
Additionally, the lyric video for “So High School” is entirely in Swift’s thematic black and white color scheme, save for one line, where she sings, “Cheeks pink in the twinkling lights.” Eagle-eyed Swifties noticed that the letters TK and TS were highlighted in pink, leading fans to speculate that these are Swift and Kelce’s initials.
“So High School” also features the lyric, “You knew what you wanted and, boy, you got her,” which fans think references the start of Swift’s romance with Kelce, wherein he sought her out at a concert using a friendship bracelet.
Swift appears to reference a viral video of Kelce being asked to play “Kiss, Marry, Kill” with her, Ariana Grande and Katy Perry back in 2016. “Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me (Kill me) / It’s just a game, but really (Really) / I’m bettin’ on all three for us two (All three),” she sings. (For the record, he opted to “kiss” Swift at the time, “kill” Grande and “marry” Swift’s once-rival Perry.)
Swift continues with the teenage metaphors (and football references) in the bridge, singing, “Truth, dare, spin bottles / You know how to ball, I’m no Aristotle / Brand new, full throttle / Teach me while your boys play Grand Theft Auto.” She refers to his dad, Ed, when she sings: “I feel like laughing in the middle of practice / To that impression you did of your dad again / I’m hearing voices like a madman.”
‘The Fate of Ophelia’
While the opening track of The Life of a Showgirl references the Shakespearean heroine of the same name, the song is also seemingly inspired by Swift’s romance with Kelce. The song explores how Swift escaped from having a similar outcome to the Hamlet character.
“Late one night / You dug me out of my grave and / Saved my heart from the fate of
/ Ophelia,” Swift sings on the chorus. “Keep it 100 on the land, thе sea, the sky / Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes / Don’t care where the hell you’ve been ’cause now, you’re mine.”
‘Elizabeth Taylor’
While Elizabeth Taylor was famously married several times, Swift sings on the track about finally finding The One but shares her anxieties about suffering a heartbreak again.
“And if you ever leave me high and dry / I’d cry my eyes violet, Elizabeth Taylor / Tell me for real, do you think it’s forever? / Been No. 1, but I never had two / And I can’t have fun if I can’t have,” she belts. “Be my NY when Hollywood hates me / You’re only as hot as your last hit, baby / Been No. 1, but I never had two / And I can’t have fun if I can’t have you.”
‘Opalite’
Kelce has shared that “Opalite” is his favorite song from The Life of Showgirl. The title is a reference to the football player’s October birthstone.
“You were dancing through the lightning strikes / Sleepless in the onyx night / But now the sky is opalite,” Swift sings on the chorus. “Never met no one likе you before / You had to make your own sunshinе / But now the sky is opalite.”
“Opalite” also talks about Kelce’s struggles in a previous relationship, which fans have theorized was a nod to his ex Kayla Nicole.
“You couldn’t understand it / Why you felt alone / You were in it for real / She was in her phone / You were just a pose,” Swift sings in the second verse. “And don’t we try to love love / And give it all we got / You finally left the table / And what a simple thought / You’re starving ’til you’re not.”
After the album’s release, Swift explained her inspiration behind the song and its connection to Kelce.
“Opal can be man-made just like diamonds, and so, Travis’ birthstone is an opal. I’ve always fixated on that, [and] I’ve always loved that stone,” she revealed on the U.K.’s Capital FM. “I thought it was kind of a cool metaphor that, like, it’s a man-made opal and happiness can also be man-made too. That’s what the song is about, the juxtaposition of those two.”
‘Eldest Daughter’
On the fifth track of The Life of a Showgirl, Swift seemingly gave credit to Kelce for changing her mindset about how to navigate her personal and private life.
“When I said I don’t believe in marriage / That was a lie,” she sings, later adding, “I’m never gonna let you down / I’m never gonna leave you out / So many traitors, smooth operators / But I’m never gonna break that vow.”
‘Wish List’
Fans have theorized that the track, which is stylized with dollar signs instead of the letter “s,” is about Swift’s dream to settle down and start a family.
“I just want you, huh / Have a couple kids, got the whole block lookin’ like you / We tell the world to leave us the f*** alone, and they do,” Swift sings in the chorus. “Got me dreamin’ ’bout a driveway with a basketball hoop / Boss up, settle down, got a wish.”
‘Wood’
“Wood” is hands down Swift’s raunchiest track on The Life of a Showgirl. Alongside the double entendres and reference to a “redwood tree,” there is a nod to Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast.
“And baby, I’ll admit I’ve been a little superstitious / The curse on me was broken by your magic wand,” she sings in the pre-chorus. “Seems to be that you and me, we make our own luck / New heights of manhood / I ain’t gotta knock on wood.”
‘Honey’
Swift talks about how she hasn’t liked the use of pet names in the past from others but doesn’t mind her current partner doing so since they’re in it for the long haul.
“You can call me honey / If you want because I’m the one you want,” she repeatedly sings on the tune.
Kelce previously called Swift “sweetie” during her debut “New Heights” appearance in August 2025.
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