These 11 Taylor Swift Songs in ‘1989’ Are Rumored to Be About Pop Sensation Harry Styles

Was Harry Styles the Inspiration for Taylor Swift's Songs in ‘1989’?

Taylor Swift has taken the music world by storm once again with the announcement of her next re-recorded album, 1989 - Taylor's Version. As fans eagerly await its release on October 27th, they're buzzing with anticipation about the possibility of more hidden gems from the vault. 1989, initially released in 2014, holds a special place in Swift's discography, and many people believe that the album's songs include hints about her brief relationship with British pop sensation Harry Styles. While Taylor herself remains tight-lipped about the inspiration behind her songs, fans have connected the dots and identified several tracks that seem to make references to her previous relationship with Styles.

1. 'Blank Space'

In this catchy hit, Swift seems to recount a tempestuous relationship with lines like "So it's gonna be forever, or it's gonna go down in flames." During a 'Secret Sessions', Taylor revealed she came up with the line while on a cruise in the British Virgin Islands – a time that coincides with her brief romance with Styles. “Writing that song was a journey,” Swift told NME in a video about the song, per People. “It was one of those things where I would be writing lines years before I ended up constructing the song. I’ll be going about my daily life and I’ll think of like, ‘Wow, so you only have two real options in relationships, like it’s going to be forever or it’s going to go down in flames.’ I’ll jot that down in my notes.”

2. 'Style'

The song with the most obvious name, Style, is named after Harry Styles. "You've got that long hair slick back, white t-shirt," Swift sings, evoking Harry's preferred appearance at the time. The paper plane necklace allusion adds an intriguing element, and the person in the song video has an eerie similarity to Styles. “I think about what it means to me to write a song about somebody else and for somebody else to do that, it’s like flattering, even if the song isn’t that flattering, you still spent time on it and ultimately, using Swift as an example, she’s a great songwriter. So at least they’re good songs,” Styles said in 2020, according to Elle.

3. 'Out of the Woods'

Fans believe that Swift's song Out of the Woods alludes to a snowmobile accident she had with a former partner. The phrase "Remember when you hit the brakes too soon, twenty stitches in a hospital room" refers to an incident involving Swift and Styles and a snowmobile that happened when they were skiing in Utah. “It just kind of conjured up all these feelings of anxiety I had in a relationship where everybody was watching, everybody was commenting on it,” she said of Out of the Woods, per Billboard. “You’re constantly just feeling like, ‘Are we out of the woods yet? What’s the next thing gonna be? What’s the next hurdle we’re gonna have to jump over? Are we gonna make it to next week?’ It was interesting to write about a relationship where you’re just honestly like, ‘This is probably not gonna last, but how long is it gonna last?’ Those fragile relationships … It doesn’t mean they’re not supposed to happen. The whole time we were having happy memories or crazy memories or ridiculously anxious times, in my head it was just like, ‘Are we OK yet? Are we there yet? Are we out of this yet?’”

4. 'All You Had To Do Was Stay'

Swift tweeted, coincidentally, "Back in the studio. Uh oh…," soon after her breakup with Harry. She later admitted to writing 'All You Had To Do Was Stay' during that session, implying it might be related to the fallout from their relationship. The lively song paints an emotional depiction of a broken love that failed because of one person's indecision. This track No. 5 takes on the subject's habit to come back to her and seek for forgiveness when they were the ones who broke things off in the first place. Swift fans have long noted that track No. 5 on her albums tends to be the most emotionally honest. Many listeners have speculated that All You Had To Do Was Stay may have been inspired by the pair's January 2013 trip to the British Virgin Islands. While on vacation, the two musicians apparently called it quits, with Swift arriving home by herself.

5. 'I Wish You Would'

This song references Styles acquiring a mansion in LA close to Swift's home. "Windows down, you pass my street, the memories start" are lyrics that sound eerily similar to Harry's 1D song Perfect. In I Wish You Would, Swift wistfully remembers her previous romance without harboring any resentment about how it turned out. She wishes that the other person will say what she wants them to say, which is to reconcile, because she understands that deep down she too wants another chance at this love. For this song, Swift imagined a John Hughes film story in which both characters yearn for one another yet continue to miss one another and refuse to let the other in. It discusses a connection.

6. 'Wildest Dreams'

"Say you’ll see me again, even if it’s just in your wildest dreams", Swift sings in the song Wildest Dreams. Strangely, the line "Goodbyes are bittersweet but it’s not the end, I’ll see your face again." is found in Harry's 1D song "Walking In The Wind." Let's examine the song's lyrics, "Wildest Dreams." Swift depicts a man in the first line of the song as "so tall, and handsome as hell / He's so bad, but he does it so well." This portrayal of a tall, gorgeous "bad boy" figure who is also somewhat rebellious fits with the images in other songs that are claimed to have been inspired by Harry Styles, such "All You Had to Do Was Stay" and the aptly titled "Style." The song Wildest Dreams unquestionably supports this idea lyrically.

7. 'How You Get The Girl'

This song, which refers to Swift and Styles' supposed reconciliation six months after their initial breakup, talks about making amends with a loved one who has lost because of youthful mistakes. Fans speculate that Swift's turbulent on-again, off-again relationship with Styles may have contributed to the creation of this song after she revealed in a 2014 interview with Audacy that she wrote How You Get the Girl as a how-to guide for guys who want to get back together with an ex they haven't spoken to in over six months. The hidden one-liner, "And that's how it works / That's how you got the girl," near the end of the song suggests that she may have accepted him back at one point after a long period.

8. 'This Love'

"Timing is a funny thing" is a line Harry used in his 2015 song I Love You for Alex & Sierra. 'I Knew You Were Trouble' by Swift, which was published while they were dating, further cements their link. The remastered version of this song, named This Love (Taylor's Version), was made available by Swift as part of her attempts to regain her earlier work amid a protracted legal battle over the ownership of her masters. The song, which was written entirely by Swift, reflects on a relationship that was wonderful while it lasted and the heartbreaking impacts of letting go of someone even when you care about them very much.

9. 'I Know Places'

"Baby, I know places we won't be found," is a lyric from the song I Know Places, to which Harry's Perfect appears to respond: "And if you like going places we can’t even pronounce." The song highlights the difficulties of dating a celebrity and how it finally results in the couple's premature breakup, mostly because of media speculation. There are theories, which is not surprising This song was written by Swift about her well-publicized, intensely scrutinized relationship with Styles.

10. 'Clean'

On a trip to London, Swift discovered she had no strong feelings about being in the same city as her ex, which served as the inspiration for Clean, Swift stated, per Capital. She was dating Harry at the time, which lent background to the song. As per Elle, she said told Tavi Gevinson about the song, Clean I wrote as I was walking out of Liberty in London. Someone I used to date—it hit me that I'd been in the same city as him for two weeks and I hadn't thought about it. When it did hit me, it was like, "Oh, I hope he's doing well." And nothing else. And you know how it is when you're going through heartbreak. A heartbroken person is unlike any other person. Their time moves at a completely different pace than ours. It's this mental, physical, emotional ache and feeling so conflicted. Nothing distracts you from it. Then time passes, and the more you live your life and create new habits, you get used to not having a text message every morning saying, "Hello, beautiful. Good morning." You get used to not calling someone at night to tell them how your day was. You replace these old habits with new habits, like texting your friends in a group chat all day and planning fun dinner parties and going out on adventures with your girlfriends, and then all of a sudden one day you're in London and you realize you've been in the same place as your ex for two weeks and you're fine. And you hope he's fine. The first thought that came to my mind was, "I'm finally clean."

11. 'Wonderland'

Closing the list is Wonderland, which has lyrics like "Didn't you flash your green eyes at me?" and "Calm my fears with a Cheshire cat smile?" which refers to Styles' green eyes and his Cheshire heritage. The song uses the Alice in Wonderland theme to illustrate a relationship that, while dreamlike and lovely at first, finally led to both of them feeling terrible when the underlying problems they had been blissfully ignoring all along reappeared. Some fans assume that Wonderland is also about Swift's tumultuous romance with Styles because the love interest's green eyes and the media attention that strains the relationship are reminiscent of the themes of "I Know Places," per Popsugar.