Untangling Taylor Swift's goodbye to Joe Alwyn in ‘So Long, London'
The blog post was initially featured on E! Online.
The London bridge was collapsing, and Taylor Swift sensed every moment of it.
The section titled "The Department of Suffering Poets" has arrived, and as predicted by fans, a portion of the new album is about Taylor Swift's breakup with Joe Alwyn in the spring of 2023. Taylor, who is 34 years old, has written a touching tribute to the end of their six-year relationship, titled "So Long, London." It is a sorrowful continuation of her 2019 song "London Boy" from the album Lover.
Swift has expressed a clear relationship between the two songs by positioning them both as the fifth track on their albums. However, unlike "London Boy," which tells an encouraging tale about starting a new romance, "You're Losing Me" highlights the beginning of the end. "So Long, London" brings the story to a close by narrating the sorrowful end of the relationship.
When Swift sings in her song, she isn't just saying farewell to Alwyn's home city of London, where the two of them spent a lot of time over their six-year relationship. She also talks about trying to hold onto their relationship, despite knowing that it was falling apart.
The love story of Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn has been the talk of the town for quite some time now. Swift, a global pop superstar, and Alwyn, a British actor, have been dating since 2016. They have kept their relationship under the radar, only appearing in public together a handful of times. However, fans have pieced together clues and references in Swift's music that suggest their romance is going strong. Swift’s album, "Lover," is filled with love songs dedicated to Alwyn. Fans have even spotted glimpses of the couple through paparazzi shots and social media posts. Despite their privacy, Swift and Alwyn have been able to sustain a solid, happy relationship. They are reportedly very supportive of each other's careers and prioritize their privacy above anything else. Love seems to be in the air for these two, and fans can't get enough of their love story.
As she sings in the chorus, she envisions twinkling lights amidst the fog and remains composed while dealing with their relationship drifting apart. She describes pulling her partner back when they started to slip away, even though it was becoming more challenging. The strain of carrying their relationship forward caused her spine to feel like it was splitting as they climbed uphill together. Despite all of this, she retains hope that their love will endure.
As she started feeling cold and tired in her bones, she lost her motivation. She decided to stop making him laugh and stopped attempting to open the safe.
While "London Boy" is about enjoying and exploring London, "So Long, London" is about Swift feeling more and more alone in a city that isn't her home.
"I didn't choose to be the outcast in your group," she croons. "I initiated the organization that she's been informed positively about / I abandoned everything familiar, you deserted me at the residence near the moor."
The artist who won a Grammy proceeds to narrate the end of their relationship in a way, similar to the song "You're Losing Me."
On the song "Midnights," she previously sang the lyrics "I can't find a pulse / My heart won't start anymore." However, in her latest work, she has changed the lyrics to "I stopped performing CPR, because it was futile / The person's spirit had left and we would never be reunited."
The vocalist seems to reference the period she was involved with Alwyn in the melody. This duration lasted six years, starting from when she was 27 until she turned 33.
"I'm angry that I offered you my youthful days without any charge," she sings in the second verse. She then goes on to say in the bridge, "You made promises of love, but where were the signs? / I waited for evidence on the altar, but instead, left me to die."
As she sang the song "You're Losing Me", she mentioned that her skin had turned pale. In another song called TTPD, she refers to the use of colors when she says "You left us for happier times, and now I am starting to feel alive again."
Although she tried her hardest to stick with the relationship until the end, she described it as "clinging on desperately to your silent anger". The book "So Long, London" concludes with the realization that they weren't compatible with each other.
"Goodbye, London / We had a nice time," she sings, "A brief moment of sunshine / But I am not the chosen one."
Although she depicts the termination of the romantic affiliation as an intense occurrence with the phrase "Two graves, one gun," Swift assures her fans that she has progressed with Travis Kelce as her current partner and adds, "You will locate your significant other."
The pair was spotted at a musical festival in Indio, California, enjoying themselves by swaying and locking lips while cheering on Ice Spice and Jack Antonoff's group, Bleachers.
