Taylor Swift has dropped her eighth studio album just hours after announcing she had recorded a whole new record while in isolation.
Folklore, which features a collaboration with Bon Iver and sees her reunite with producer Jack Antonoff, also contains a string of songs that have sparked fevered speculation among her passionate fans.
The three that have generated the most interest are tracks about doomed teen romances after Swift told fans in an Q&A: “There’s a collection of 3 songs I refer to as The Teenage Love Triangle.
“These 3 songs explore a love triangle from all 3 people’s perspectives at different times in their lives.”
These appear to be the tracks Cardigan, August and Betty.
"The Teenage Love Triangle"
"august" is Betty point of view, "betty" is James point of view and "Cardigan" telling how James cheated on Betty. IT IS ALL CONNECTED. SHE IS LITERALLY A LYRICAL GENIUS. #Folklore pic.twitter.com/krQSQEG0QG
— danial (@repugodtion) July 24, 2020
The Love Triangle Storyline: Cardigan / August / Betty
This makes a lot of sense 🧐 #Folklore pic.twitter.com/Q6Op3lVATM
— Ai 🦋 (@AiSjoberg) July 24, 2020
y’all the triangle in #folklore is VERY CLEARLY cardigan + august + betty pic.twitter.com/5blY6vejje
— wright (@gravitywright) July 24, 2020
so we ALL know that the Teenage Love Triangle consists of cardigan, august and betty, right? #Folklore pic.twitter.com/zUbWABEiCV
— katherine (@obojkovitsss) July 24, 2020
Fans have also speculated that track The Last Great American Dynasty is about Rebekah Harkness, the former owner of The Holiday House, Swift’s home on Rhode Island.
guys rebekah harkness (aka rebekah from the last great american dynasty) was the owner of the holiday house, a mansion in rhode island that taylor swift currently owns. 🥺❤️ #folklore
ugh I STAN pic.twitter.com/qXgFXmm5nX
— 💌 (@imshyrene) July 24, 2020
🔎 | Various fans and critics have discovered that ‘the last great american dynasty’ is based on the love story between Rebekah Harkness and her husband William who were the previous owners of Taylor Swift’s Rhode Island home.
Rebekah’s nickname was also Betty. pic.twitter.com/IKlQkzakCO
— Taylor Swift News (@TSwiftNZ) July 24, 2020
taylor swift buying rhode island mansion to write the last great american dynasty, rebekah harkness is also known as betty harkness was the former owner of rhode island
AGAIN, HER MIND! #Folklore pic.twitter.com/irkZtn7I2V
— 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈 | ᶠᵒˡᵏˡᵒʳᵈ (@iamnewyorkcitay) July 24, 2020
Fans have also speculated about the identity of William Bowery, who Swift has said co-wrote two songs on the album but who does not appear to be a registered songwriter or producer.
It has been mooted that Bowery could be a pseudonym for either her brother Austin or her boyfriend Joe Alwyn.
I see no reference for a William Bowery music producer before today, so is that Joe Alwyn's or Austin Swift's pseudonym, @taylorswift13? https://t.co/cPPjJuppSn
— Mina Radman (@mina_radman) July 23, 2020
WILLIAM BOWERY theory
on oct 2016, taylor (w her squad) & alwyn were spotted in BOWERY hotel. (smth special mustve happened here, that's why she used d name "BOWERY" i guess?)
WILLIAM alwyn is literally joe alwyns great-grandpa. he was was composer, conductor, and music teacher pic.twitter.com/pDOaBieGgL
— a folkWHORE (@taylowkey13) July 23, 2020
🔍 | Fans are speculating who "William Bowery" (co-wrote two songs on "folklore") is, as there are no registered or previously credited songwriters/producers under that name. "William Bowery" is also the only untagged co-write in Taylor's post. pic.twitter.com/CvClhjf3ZL
— Taylor Swift News | TSwiftinAsia (@TSwiftinAsia) July 23, 2020
According to fans, Bowery could be a reference to the Bowery Hotel, where the couple reportedly had one of their first dates in 2016, while William could be a nod to Alywn’s great grandfather William Alwyn, who was a musical composer, conductor, and teacher.
Swift famously loves a pseudonym and used the name Nils Sjoberg as an alias on ex-boyfriend Calvin Harris’ hit, This Is What You Came For.