Are Taylor Swift's Hits Different lyrics about Joe Alwyn? The meaning explained

26 May 2023, 10:06

Taylor Swift reveals how Dylan O’Brien ended up playing drums on Midnights

By Sam Prance

Taylor Swift has finally released 'Hits Different' on streaming but what are the lyrics about?

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The day has finally come Swifties! Taylor Swift has properly released 'Hits Different' and fans are living for the relatable lyrics.

In 2023, Taylor Swift released 'Hits Different' as a Target exclusive bonus track on Midnights. As a result, the only official way that people could listen to the song was by purchasing Midnights from Target and listening to the CD. Since then, fans have been begging Taylor to make the song available to stream and today (May 26) all our prayers have finally been answered.

'Hits Different' sounds like a classic Taylor breakup anthem - but what do the lyrics mean and are they about Joe Alwyn?

What do Taylor Swift's 'Hits Different' lyrics mean?

Are Taylor Swift's Hits Different lyrics about Joe Alwyn? The meaning explained. Picture: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images, Jackson Lee/GC Images

In 'Hits Different', Taylor sings about struggling to get over an ex and how a breakup is affecting her more than any breakup before. The song starts: "I washed my hands of us at the club / You made a mess of me" and in the chorus Taylor literally sings: "Movin' on was always easy for me to do / It hits different / It hits different 'cause it's you."

Taylor gets more specific in the second verse by singing: "I used to switch out these Kens, I'd just ghost / Rip the band-aid off and skip town likе an asshole outlaw." Then reflecting on what she's like in the wake of this split, she adds: "I slur your name 'til someone puts me in a car / I stopped receiving invitations".

In the bridge, Taylor adds: "A wrinkle in time like the crease by your eyes / This is why they shouldn't kill off the main guy/ Dreams of your hair and your stare and sense of belief / In the good in the world, you once believed in me".

Taylor Swift - Hits Different

Given that Taylor released 'Hits Different' in October before she reportedly broke up with Joe Alwyn, it's unlikely that 'Hits Different' is about Joe. Ahead of the release of Midnights, Taylor said that the songs were inspired by "sleepless nights scattered throughout [her] life" so it's possible that she's reflecting on a past breakup.

Nevertheless, some Swifties believe that many of the songs on Midnights are actually about Joe, and allude to cracks in their relationship. Now, people think that 'Hits Different' suggests Taylor and Joe brokeup before Midnights was even released.

One person questioned: "do we think that taylor wrote hits different bc her and joe broke up way way before it was announced? bc now when i hear it that’s what it sounds like."

Another added: "hits different…oh she and joe were so over before the album even dropped."

if hits different was released on the prior versions of the album we wouldn't be this shocked at joe and taylor break up news...we all heard the leak but somehow nobody paid enough attention to it ?
— fira ☐ phoebe bridgers gf (real) (@partoftheband_) May 26, 2023

do we think that taylor wrote hits different bc her and joe broke up way way before it was announced? bc now when i hear it that’s what it sounds like
— mdawg (@iammaleehah) May 25, 2023

omg hits different was about joe alwyn the whole time
— tam is watching the eras tour (@hoaxromantics) May 24, 2023

hits different…oh she and joe were so over before the album even dropped
— venice bitch (@1800slayyyden) May 26, 2023

Taylor and Joe were seen together earlier this year and Joe even attended early dates of the Eras Tour so we doubt that they had secretly broken up in October. Whether or not 'Hits Different' was prophetic though is up to you the listener to decide. Based on the lyrics, it's clear that it's about a very pivotal ex.

Taylor is yet to discuss the meaning behind the song. We shall update you if she does.

Taylor Swift - 'Hits Different' lyrics

VERSE 1
I washed my hands of us at the club
You made a mess of me
I pictured you with other girls in love
Then threw up on the street
Like waiting for a bus that never shows
You just start walkin' on
They say that if it's right, you know
Each bar plays our song
Nothing has ever felt so wrong

CHORUS
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
It hits different
It hits different this time
Catastrophic blues
Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different
It hits different 'cause it's you

POST-CHORUS
'Cause it's you

VERSE 2
I used to switch out these Kens, I'd just ghost
Rip the band-aid off and skip town likе an asshole outlaw
Freedom felt like summеr then on the coast
Now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings
And I never don't cry (And I never don't cry) at the bar
Yeah, my sadness is contagious (My sadness is contagious)
I slur your name 'til someone puts me in a car
I stopped receiving invitations

CHORUS
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
It hits different
It hits different this time
Catastrophic blues Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different
It hits different 'cause it's you

POST-CHORUS
'Cause it's you

BRIDGE
I find the artifacts, cried over a hat
Cursed the space that I needed
I trace the evidence, make it make some sense
Why the wound is still bleedin'
You were the one that I loved
Don't need another metaphor, it's simple enough
A wrinkle in time like the crease by your eyes
This is why they shouldn't kill off the main guy
Dreams of your hair and your stare and sense of belief
In the good in the world, you once believed in me
And I felt you and I held you for a while
Bet I could still melt your world
Argumentative, antithetical dream girl
It hits different 'cause it's you

VERSE 3
I heard your key turn in the door down the hallway
Is that your key in the door?
Is it okay? Is it you?
Or have they come to take me away?
To take me away

CHORUS
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
It hits different (It hits different)
It hits different this time
Catastrophic blues Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different (It hits different)
It hits different 'cause it's you

OUTRO
Oh, my, love is a lie
Shit my friends say to get me by
'Cause it's you
Catastrophic blues Movin' on was always easy for me to do
It hits different (Yeah)