I Swear Harry Is An Angel 👼

My short ‘…Ready For It?’ lyric analysis and how it’s definitely about Harry:

The line about the girls he had loved and left fits her description of him in the 1989 vault songs, especially ‘Is It Over Now?’ with the models and Taylor clones he has been sleeping with.

The haunted and ghost line?!?! That is a 1989 staple line, on reddit I saw someone making a whole ass data sheet about the amount of times she says ghosts-related terms in all of the albums and 1989 had the highest ratio/percentage compared to the rest. Also, Harry’s ‘Two Ghosts’?!?!?

Ghosts = haylor.

“Some boys trying to hard, he don’t try at all” = similar to lyrics in ‘Slut’, “In a world of boys, he’s a gentleman”.

“Younger than all my exes but is such a man” = Harry is her youngest ex (let’s pretend she forgot about Conor Kennedy and it wasn’t a true ex anyway). Joe is older than Harry. Checkmate.

Wildest dreams tea, also I had this theory that they secretly went to an island in 2016, when they still had their situationship going on.

Idk about that robber and heist line but it’s definitely not about Joe lol. Sounds like she’s painting herself as a criminal and him gladly joining along. Like… eloping. Or running away from a crime.

Burton and Taylor is about Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, known for their on-off intense relationship that spanned years. Is she talking about Joe, who she only knew at best for 6 months? (album was released Nov 2017 but she only got with Joe in Sept 2016 and she probably wrote the song earlier). OFC NOT.

The themes in this song does not match all the Joe-confirmed songs about him later too. We can only surmise, she’s singing about another dude.

‘Every love I’ve known in comparison is a failure, I forget their names now’ - Taylor’s being annoying and hyperbolic when she wrote this (don’t take her seriously) but yeah that’s why you are still writing about Harry in 2022 with Question..? and Maroon. Also I’m pretty sure she forgot about Conor, Calvin, Tom Hiddleston, and most of the dudes she dated before Harry.

Games = their on-off situationship. I said what I said.

There it is, my 5 minute song lyric analysis. Hope y’all are enlightened.

The vaults songs are amazing in the sense that they showcase so perfectly how back and forth their relationship was. They can be almost ruthless, because that was the feeling in the heat of the moment… and then things were good again. For all that she blames him, she also lays her part on it. They both suck at communicating back then.

By the time 1989 was as out they were on good terms, and while I think a big part of letting it be publicly known she was on good terms with him during 1989 initial promo was because the message and image she wanted to project, it was also because she never really saw him as the sole villain in the story… as charged as their story was the fact that they remain friendly nowadays? A true testament of how they really see each other. Theirs wasn’t a story of unforgivable mistakes but a sad story of really bad timing and not being ready for something so striking

haylor being a thing again in 1989 era 2.0 but it’s the “wrong” haylor is actually so on brand for them 😭🫠

“So if you couldn’t tell by the aggressive colorblocking of everything, we are currently in the Red era! You know, it’s so crazy to sort of have my feelings about my work evolve as time passes, you know? It’s just like anything else. It’s just like anything in life, where in the moment it’s one thing, five minutes later it’s another thing, a year later it’s a totally different thing, 10 years later it’s a different thing, 15 years later—when you get into this place, you make something you’re so proud of, the Red album, I have always been so incredibly proud of. When I wrote it, I was 21 and 22 reflecting back on, you know, the last few years of my life. And at the time I put out Red, I was really proud of it, but it was a really hard album for me. It was really difficult for me to play live, to talk about it, to explain it, to do interviews about what it was about, because I do think that being 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, these are all really precarious years of life. It’s so difficult. If you’re in that age group right now, my heart is with you. That’s hard. There’s a lot going on. You’re being fed so many different messages, right? You feel like a kid some moments; you feel like you’re supposed to be a full, full adult in other moments. And you don’t quite know how to balance the weight of those two things. And I guess what I’m trying to say is that when I was going through all these things I wrote about on Red, it was very difficult for me to process that art, and to appreciate it fully until it went out into the world, and it went into your hands, and you said, essentially, ‘Oh no, I feel this way too. You’re not the only one feeling this way. It’s totally fine to be feeling this way.’ I think for me, the most beautiful piece of you doing that was a song I could barely get through singing, honestly, when I was touring originally with the Red album, but you really changed that, haven’t you? I’d really like to play one more song, if you have 10 minutes to spare.”

— Taylor before playing All Too Well (10 Minute Version) in Atlanta, GA on April 28th

i think it’s too soon too, people have barely been able to absorb speak now tv yet! it would be better if she waited a little bit longer (although i am dying to hear these 1989 tv vault tracks lol)

don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE haylor and 1989 stan but I hope taylor waits a few months before she starts promoting 1989 tv. I feel like both midnights and speak now tv have not really gotten the attention they deserve because everyone is focused on which album she's gonna rerecord next.

Idk if anyone’s brought this up yet but I am bowled over by

“You search the world for something else to make you feel like what we had” -> “you search in every models bed for something greater”

-> “does it feel like everything’s just like second-best after that meteor strike? and what’s that, that i heard, that you’re still with her, that’s nice, i’m sure that’s what’s suitable….”

So it goes

So it goes tells the story of the 2014 Victoria Secret After Party: ''All eyes were on Harry and Taylor when they turned up. [...] The drinks were flowing until 3am, when they snuck out of a rear exit five minutes apart to avoid being pictured together." In context of the 2015 timeline 1989 (I know places established they wanted their relationship to go private) and 1D’s Four (with Stockholm Syndrome) had just been released. They were photographed the after party:

This was a pivotal night:

this outfit from that VS Show is also at 3 mins in I don’t wanna live forever (and cardigan refers to this sequin smile) and

In Only Angel Harry says he doesn't have eyes for the VS angels “She's an angel, My-my-my only angel”

So it goes has only been played live 8 times and not yet on the Eras tour. The last time it was played was in the last Rep show in Tokyo, (9:38) with 2 other rare songs for the Rep Tour: I Know Places and Wildest Dreams. Harry Styles was in Japan that month and wrote Little Freak before he left Tokyo.

Lyrics

[Verse 1] See you in the dark All eyes on you, my magician All eyes on us You make everyone disappear, and Cut me into pieces Gold cage, hostage to my feelings Back against the wall Trippin', trip-trippin' when you're gone

The first verse sets the scene, similar to the articles Harry and Taylor are the focus of many, drawn to each other and wanting to keep their connection secret.

'Gold cage, hostage to my feelings' refers to being trapped by love. Similar to Stockholm Syndrome, which was released only 2 weeks before the VS party, Taylor is trapped in a gold/gilded cage (a luxurious prison) by love.

[Pre-Chorus] 'Cause we break down a little But when you get me alone, it's so simple 'Cause, baby, I know what you know We can feel it [Chorus] And all the pieces fall right into place Getting caught up in a moment Lipstick on your face So it goes I'm yours to keep And I'm yours to lose You know I'm not a bad girl, but I Do bad things with you So it goes

So it goes is a lyric in Style. In the chorus Taylor lets us know that when they are away from others they have great chemistry. She also refers to lipstick, referred to in many 1989 songs. Taylor is described as a 'bad/good girl often, she talks about it in Miss Americana and also in:

Style: And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt

Question...?; Good girl, sad boy

Only Angel: That she's gonna be an angel, just you wait and see, When it turns out she's a devil in between the sheets

[Verse 2] Met you in a bar All eyes on me, your illusionist All eyes on us I make all your gray days clear And wear you like a necklace I'm so chill, but you make me jealous But I got your heart Skippin', skip-skippin' when I'm gone

The afterparty was in Basement bar. The illusionist/magician references are enjoying knowing that she and her muse will leave together without others knowing. 'Make all grey days clear' tells us the muse is British.

[Bridge] You did a number on me But, honestly, baby, who's counting? I did a number on you But, honestly, baby, who's counting? You did a number on me But, honestly, baby, who's counting? Who's counting? (One, two, three)

The bridge tells us more about her relationship with her muse, they have a history, have hurt each other before and are wanting to move on. Though she says she is letting it go she is also keeping score. At this point the events of Red, 1989 and most of the one direction songs about TS had transpired between them.

What do you think is the actual deal between Harry and Taylor? Because they seem to be each other's muses- and with the lyrical back and forth that's been going on, EVEN AFTER A DECADE- it can't be nothing. They give off major soulmates vibes (musical-wise) and even relationship-wise (although they could also be star-crossed lovers) with such shitty timing everytime 😂 i've supported joe and taylor for years, but I've got this inkling in my mind like someway and somehow, H and T might still find their way back to each other. Joe just seems meh :/ tbh.

i almost feel like i shouldn't answer this because it's a bit loaded, but it's 3:30 am so why not 😅💕

i'm going to first defer to my friend @cowboylikedean who said:

"they can be soulmates, but not romantically. Consider: their whole relationship has been leading to a friendship which was always destined, but needed a contextual foundation that only an ill defined on again off again/only communicating through sex then song could create. Consider that. Joe is Taylor's forever person. doesn't mean Harry has to be nobody."

we don't know if they've forged a friendship behind closed doors or not, and whether we ever know anything about that is up to them. their interaction at the grammys was warm and familiar, which at the very least speaks to their feelings of respect and kindness towards one another as artists and people. taylor's support for him was clearly genuine (though you could say that of her support for basically everyone in that room). i think it's really important and meaningful to acknowledge that there are a vast array of dynamics that can be considered a soul connection - not only romantic, but familial, platonic/friendship, artistic, those can all be transcendent and vibrant relationships too. i personally feel there's a soul element and connection within their music that needed to exist as a spark to get them where they are today. (had they not been what they were to each other, what would their careers even look like? what would 1989 be? what would hs1 be? etc) and they were also, in many ways, peers when they were together, and in unique positions of fame at a young age that most other people couldn't understand. their timing was consistently wrong/off, but that connection in their hearts and art still came through clearly. to me, it's part of the invisible string - they had to meet and have that complicated on/off thing and have love for one another to be on the paths where they were supposed to go, in different ways, and to be able to stand in a room together where they're both succeeding and both feeling gratitude for what all of that meant.

i think it's a disservice to joe to...not pay attention to what taylor has explicitly said about him, and why that relationship is so different and profound for her. i've seen a LOT of commentary lately about him being boring and not "getting" their connection, and it strikes me as somewhat unfair because we don't see it, we're not privy to it, and we shouldn't be, that is very much by their design. (she did say romance isn't dead if you keep it just yours!) but because someone like h is sparkly and charismatic and a musician, and joe is somewhat more reserved and less obviously visible and an actor, there's this sense that we "know" him less, which can easily seem less interesting, but keep in mind that how any fan sees him and how taylor herself sees and describes him are totally different. he's home to her, he's that gorgeous dream to her, he's the daylight to her, and that's what matters. he's who she's built her life with and found her peace with for many years now, and vice versa. h hasn't found that yet, but i hope he does. but that doesn't necessarily mean harry has to be nothing to her. whether that's fondness and recognition of their influences on one another and gentle nods to the past, or whether that comes in actual friendship, i think it's really important and valuable to acknowledge that the soul connection can happen and NOT be romantic, or initially be romantic/sexual and then transform into something else later, and it's no less of a cosmic pull. in one way or another, they'll always be connected, even if it remains in lyric and melody - and that's also always going to keep having a life of its own.

i keep watching videos of people going to the eras tour, girls dressing up with their friends, trading friendship bracelets with strangers, crying to surprise songs, holding each other during their favorite set. singing, and dancing, and screaming, and crying and all of it just feels like pure happiness. there's something so special about the unapologetic way girls get to just purely be themselves at the eras tour and it makes my heart so warm inside.

and it's not a gender thing, but the way teenage girls have constantly seen their interests diminished and overlooked makes this sense of community so much more special.

for so long i felt like there was something wrong with being stereotypically girly. god forbid pink is your favorite color, or you listen to pop music, or you have a stan account and posters of a boyband on your bedroom wall. god forbid you're still strong, and smart, and interesting.

and maybe it's because i'm in my twenties now, and i'm finally figuring out who i am, because fuck, being a teenager sucks, but i can look at the girls crying from their nosebleeds seats at the eras tour, or the girls dancing in line for a harry styles concert, or the group of friends that yelled "hi barbie" to me from their pink dresses on the other side of the street, and feel like there is a part of current pop culture, of mainstream media, that is finally, finally, allowing girls to experience girlhood without shame.

we love taylor. we love each other. look at us and the cute bracelets we trade with strangers. look at our pink outfits to go watch barbie at the theatre and our feathery boas at harry concerts and our kindles full of romance books. look. it's all so pretty.

i spent all my money on concert tickets, i'm going to the eras tour next year. i already warned everyone i'll cry during long live.

i'm making bracelets. i have a pinterest board for my outfit. i'm sharing ideas, because everyone else is doing the same. i made a playlist of my favorite songs and named it after taylor swift. i found an old one direction poster and put it back up on my wall. i learned how to crochet, and the first thing i made was a flower. the yard is pink. it's my favorite color.

i did my makeup. i read my favorite sally rooney novel on the train, with my headphones in. i'm twenty and i'm thirteen, and i'm nine, when pink was still my favorite color. i'm all of those girls, and all of them are me.

it really is the girlhood no one can't take away. it was ours first. we're taking it back.

Backstage at the Capital Fm Jingle Bell Ball 8 December in London. (link) Capital Fm article. In the interview before the show the band is asked Cats or Dogs, Harry says love the cats with a proud look to someone off screen.

You can see Taylor on the side during One Thing (0:51). She left before WMYB, Harry was looking for where she went throughout.