Before Taylor Swift officially announced her deluxe album (surprise!) The Life of a Showgirl: The Encore, subdued promotional materials made fans wonder if she’d be taking a trip back to, say, The Tortured Poets Department. And indeed, some of The Encore’s songs do concern the torturous work of navigating a breakup. But in the “Cleveland!” lyrics, fans find a sweet and totally Showgirl-y ode to the musician’s husband, Travis Kelce.
The track (which arrived with three other new songs on Sept. 25) begins with Swift appearing to acknowledge critical comments in third person, from not being a “girl’s girl” to “stumbling clumsily” when she tries to dance.
Instead of firing back at the haters, Swift takes a different tack — playfully agreeing with them and saying: “I can see what you mean.”
What’s all this have to do with Kelce? Well, the hook of “Cleveland!” is that the football player clearly isn’t swayed by any negative buzz. As Swift sings, “My baby likes what he likes. He already took me to Cleveland and showed me The Heights.” Kelce was, indeed, born in the Cleveland area, and his New Heights podcast is a nod to the city of Cleveland Heights.
“Cleveland!” joins several newer songs in Swift’s catalog that combine her and Kelce’s love story with a kiss-off to critics. In “Wi$h Li$t,” she envisions a dream life of kids, a basketball hoop in her driveway, and a fantasy: “We tell the world to leave us the f*ck alone and they do.”
And in “Honey” (also from the original Showgirl album), Swift recalls the sting of being called “honey” by passive-aggressive strangers. But she tells her beau: “You give it different meaning.”
Of course, “Cleveland!” is Swift’s most overtly Kelce-coded song by far. Its specificity makes sense, as the song comes nearly three months after the pair said “I do” at their star-studded Madison Square Garden wedding. “Now I’m wearing white, so hate all you like, this is the love of my life,” she sings in the track’s final chorus — a gleeful wink at her bridal era.
Taylor Swift’s “Cleveland!” Lyrics
Read the full lyrics to Swift’s new song below.
She’s not as hot as she was
But she was only a four
She was never a girl’s girl, she was just a —
And with all of that money, why’s she dressed like trash?
When she smiles, it’s annoying and have you seen her
Stumbling clumsily
Would you even call that dancing?
I can see what you mean
And now I guess there’s
Something we all can agree on
But my baby likes what he likes
He already took me to Cleveland
And showed me The Heights
So hate all you like
This is the love of my life
Hey! Hey! Hey!
The taste of me is acquired, but it’s his favorite dish
He says I look like an angel, they say, “I hate that —”
There, that house with the porch is where he lived as a kid
He’s been saying “forever,” must not have read that —
Scathing take ‘bout how I’m fake
And he could find someone younger
I can see what they mean
And now I guess there’s
Something we all can agree on
But my baby likes what he likes
He already took me to Cleveland
And he showed me The Heights
So hate all you like
This is the love of my life
Hey! Hey! Hey!
He likes what he likes, what he likes and he likes me
He likes what he likes, what he likes and he likes me
You only need to find one person in this entire world
Who doesn’t find you completely insufferable
And I have an important announcement to make:
I found mine
Well, I found mine
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Yeah, I found mine
Something we all can agree on (I guess we agree)
But my baby likes what he likes
He already took me to Cleveland (to Cleveland)
Now I’m wearing white
So hate all you like
This is the love of my life
Hey! Hey! Hey!
