Taylor Swift 'Cardigan' Lyrics Explained As She Drops New Album 'Folklore'

24 July 2020, 10:24 | Updated: 24 July 2020, 11:53

Taylor Swift’s surprise new album ‘Folklore’ is all anyone can talk about and ‘Cardigan’ is quickly becoming a fan favourite – here's a breakdown of the lyrics.

Taylor Swift surprised fans on Thursday with the announcement her new album, ‘Folklore’, would be dropping that night.

Alongside the album’s release, Taylor shared the music video for ‘Cardigan’, a mystical woodland-themed film which shows the 30-year-old playing piano in a glistening forest and in an old cabin.

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The music video was shot by a team keeping to the social-distancing guidelines, with Taylor doing her own hair and makeup for the stripped-back video.

But what do the lyrics to ‘Cardigan’ mean?

Fans have their own theories, but the most popular explanation is that it’s about boyfriend Joe Alwyn, who she’s been dating since 2016.

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Taylor’s love for Joe featured heavily on her seventh album ‘Lover’ in 2019, and it seems she’s continued the theme on ‘Folklore’, but in a much more stripped-back and candid style.

The lyrics include:

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan,

Under someone’s bed,

You put me on and said I was your favourite.

In her Netflix documentary released in January 2020, Miss Americana, Taylor spoke of how Joe changed her opinion living out her relationships in the public eye.

She said: “I also was falling in love with someone who had a really wonderfully normal, balanced, grounded life.”

Taylor Swift - cardigan (Official Music Video)

The couple keep their relationship firmly out of the spotlight, but Joe has seemingly been the focus of many of her songs, including ‘Lover’ in 2019 and ‘Delicate’ from her 2017 album ‘Reputation’ where she sings:

This ain't for the best,

My reputation's never been worse, so

You must like me for me.

And in new song ‘Cardigan’, Taylor sings:

You drew stars around my scars.

Taylor has even included an actual cardigan in her new line of merchandise, proving how much she adores the song herself.

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