Happy 1989 day to those who celebrate! If you’ve already sunk your hungry teeth into the vault tracks, then you may have noticed that two of the songs — namely “Now That We Don’t Talk” and “Is It Over Now?” appear to be about…Mr. Harry Styles.
As you likely well know, Harry and Taylor were largely linked in the bygone year of 2012. As such, some eagle-eyed folks have brought up lyrics from Harry Styles’ self-titled debut, released in 2017, that appear to mirror the same relationship that Taylor describes in her new-old tracks.
Of course, 1989 was originally released in 2014 — three years before Harry’s tracks — so it’s unlikely that Taylor’s songs are intentionally referencing Harry’s. It would simply be natural for two sides of the same relationship! It’s just a bit of fun! Fun! Aren’t we having fun?!
That being said, Harry has (seemingly) intentionally referenced Taylor’s work on his debut. Observe: “Same lips red, same eyes blue / Same white shirt, couple more tattoos” on “Two Ghosts” next to Taylor’s “You got that James Dean daydream look in your eye / And I got that red lip classic thing that you like” on “Style.”
Let’s start with Taylor’s vault track, “Is It Over?” The reference to a “blue dress on a boat” is probably the most damning reference to Harry, as Taylor was pictured looking bereft on a boat in 2013 after they allegedly broke up for good. Oh yeah, she was wearing a blue dress at the time.
But for the purposes of today’s class, I’d like to focus on the line “Your new girl is my clone.”
The idea of the man in question dating women who look like the narrator is further evoked in the line, “If she’s got blue eyes, I will surmise that you’ll probably date her.”
Harry actually cops to dating someone who looks like his ex in his song “From the Dining Table,” where he sings, “Woke up the girl who looked just like you / I almost said your name.”
Fun! There are also parallels between the openings of the two songs: Taylor sings, after a reference to a flight, “I slept all alone / You still wouldn’t go”…
…While Harry’s begins, “Woke up alone in this hotel room / Played with myself, where were you?”
“Now That We Don’t Talk” has further references to an ex who “grew [his] hair long” and, as the title suggests, reflects on two people who no longer talk:
Pointedly, she also thanks that she no longer has to pretend that she likes “acid rock” or being on a “mega yacht.”
As for “From the Dining Table,” Harry also bemoans not being able to talk to an ex anymore after she “went away”:
That being said, the two were pictured talking at this year’s Grammys. Isn’t that nice?
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/natashajokic1/taylor-swift-1989-vault-harry-styles