When a brand new Taylor Swift song comes out, fans are excited to play it 100 times in a row, learn the lyrics, and the best part of all, figure out what the song means. Sometimes the songs have Easter Eggs from past music, or they reveal something about Taylor's love life, or they're so poetic that it seems like there are many different meanings. When T-Swift released her 2020 album folklore, it was impossible not to enjoy every song as the album is melancholy and beautiful.
The song "Cardigan" stands out for its interesting lyrics and mellow tone. Taylor Swift's "Cardigan" music video involvement is impressive and fans love the singer-songwriter's creativity. Fans have figured out a few different possible interpretations of this beautifully written song. Keep reading to find out why fans debate what Taylor Swift's "Cardigan" really means.
Is "Cardigan" About Heartbreak?
Fans know that Taylor Swift wrote songs about Joe Alwyn, and it's always fun to figure out the meaning behind her insightful words.
A Taylor Swift fan started a Reddit thread about "Cardigan" and wanted fans to chime in with their thoughts and opinions on this fascinating song.
Reddit user clockworkgirl91 responded to a fan question about the lyrics "the smell of smoke would hang around this long" and wrote that it seems that the song is about heartbreak
The fan wrote, "this could mean the smoke from the wreckage of their relationship that went up in flames. with any other writer that's exactly what it would mean. but taylor uses a lot of ocean imagery when it comes to failed relationships--sinking ships, and drowning in someone's currents. being swallowed by the ocean has an air of depressing finality to it."
Is "Cardigan" About Taylor Swift's Large Fanbase?
A Taylor Swift fan thinks "Cardigan" is about Taylor Swift's fans. According to Cheat Sheet, a fan shared their interpretation of the song on TikTok and said, “Just realized cardigan is a song for the FANS! I knew you ‘playing hide and seek’ (all the Easter Eggs she leaves) ‘giving me your weekends’ ([she] always mentions at shows how she knows there’s a hundred things we could have done with our Saturday nights). She is the cardigan!"
The fan continued, "When she felt like the world hated her, WE put her on and said she was our favorite. And the fans who left during the Kanye drama, she knew they would come back to her.”
Reddit user dmnaf shared their love for this fan theory as Taylor wondered if people were "sick" of her and she realized that her fans still love her music and want her to continue on her path.
Many people love this theory and think that it makes a lot of sense. Reddit user kateconard shared her thoughts and said that it seems like the song could also be about how much Taylor Swift adores music and how music is there for her no matter what. This is an interesting interpretation since fans know that Taylor has been through a lot, from public breakups to being judged for everything that she does.
Taylor Swift's Characters Betty And James
One thing that Taylor Swift fans love about the folklore album is the love triangle between her fictional characters. Betty and James are a couple but they get caught up with someone else.
Taylor Swift explained the love triangle and said that the third person is named Augustine or Augusta and they are the main character in her song "August."
According to Glamour, the singer said that Betty is telling her story in the song "Cardigan," so this seems to be the correct way to interpret the song since Taylor herself talked about it.
Taylor said, "What happened in my head is that ‘Cardigan’ is Betty's perspective from like 20 to 30 years later looking back on this love that was this tumultuous thing. In my head, I think Betty and James ended up together, right? In my head, she ends up with him, but he really put her through it."
Reddit user cliffheart started a Reddit thread talking about the song's meaning and talked about James and Betty's romance. The fan interpreted the lyrics "you put me on and said I was your favorite" as Betty feeling like James would take care of her and cheer her up when she was having a tough time.
While the Betty and James love triangle is described in "Cardigan," fans can also listen to "August" and "Betty" as these Taylor Swift songs complete the story.
