Every Taylor Swift reference and meaning on 'The Life of a Showgirl’

We’re in a new era with Taylor Swift on “The Life of a Showgirl,” but you know our girl can’t resist dropping clues like The Riddler!

Decoding the lyrics takes some work, but there’s clues to Travis Kelce (of course!), old Hollywood (Elizabeth Taylor and beyond), and even a recent dust up with another pop star.

Let’s get into it song by song.

“The Fate of Ophelia”

The song that kicks off the album references Ophelia from William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet. Ophelia loses her sanity and dies tragically by drowning.

In the song, it’s clear that someone (ahem Travis) saved her from a time when she “might’ve drowned in the melancholy.”

There’s also a possible hint at her brief relationship with Matty Healy in the lyric, “I swore loyalty to me, myself and I/Right before you lit my sky up.” When Taylor met Travis, she was fresh off her break up from the 1975 frontman, suggesting she had no plans to fall in love (but she certainly did!).

“Elizabeth Taylor”

If you hadn’t guessed by the title, the song is inspired by and heavily references Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor. Like Taylor (Swift), Elizabeth was the subject of intense media scrutiny thanks to her love life.

In the lyrics, Taylor sings “Oftentimes it doesn’t feel so glamorous to be me,” relating to the “Cleopatra” star and her scrutinized public persona.

She also reference’s a few Elizabeth Taylor signature things, like her famously “violet eyes” (“And if your letters ever said goodbye, I’d cry my eyes violet”), some Hollywood hotspots (Musso and Frank’s) and Portofino, Italy, where Richard Burton reportedly proposed to Elizabeth.

“Opalite”

Opalite is an upbeat bop, with an obvious Travis reference. Opal is the October birthstone, and Travis’ birthday falls on October 5.

“It’s alright, you were dancing through the lightning strikes/ Sleepless on an onyx night/ But now the sky is opalite,” she sings.

“Father Figure”

Yeah, she’s still mad at Scooter Braun over the whole owning her masters thing. (Allegedly. However you want to interpret the song, you interpret the song.)

“Father Figure” features an interpolation of George Michael’s 1987 song of the same name, but the tone is way, way different than the pop ballad.

In it, Taylor sings I’ll be your father figure/I drink that brown liquor/I can make deals with the devil/Because my d--k’s bigger/This love is pure profit,” hinting at a POV of someone taking advantage of a young “protégé” in the music industry.

“Eldest Daughter”

“Eldest Daughter” is a ballad that slows things down on the album and references “eldest daughter syndrome,” an unofficial term coined by the internet for a family’s firstborn female child who has to shoulder a lot more responsibility and management of people’s feelings than she should. Oftentimes they’re the planners, the third parent, and the peacekeepers, leading to burnout and anxiety.

There is a touch of that in the song, like in the lyric, "Every eldest daughter was the first lamb to the slaughter/So we all dressed up as wolves and we looked fire."

But it’s also quite romantic and has a reference to a “youngest child,” which Travis happens to be. "Every youngest child felt they were raised up in the wild/But now you're home,” she sings.

“Ruin the Friendship”

If you guessed this was about Travis, or even Blake Lively, you were likely wrong. “Ruin the Friendship” is more about a high school friendship she wishes had turned into something more, but she never took the chance.

Swifties will be delighted by the appearance of a reference to Abigail, Taylor’s real life longtime bestie, who was also referenced on her song “Fifteen.”

Unfortunately, Abilgail (in the song) calls and tells Taylor the boy died.

According to Today, Taylor dedicated her BMI Country “Songwriter of the Year” award in 2010 to high school friend Jeff Lang, who died at the age of 21, leading many to believe this song is reference to him.

“Actually Romantic”

Another switcheroo, “Actually Romantic” is about a feud with another person who she teases about being obsessed with her. “But it’s actually sweet/All the time you’ve spent on me/It’s honestly wild/All the effort you’ve put in.”

According to multiple reports from Swiftie detectives, the song takes aim at Charli XCX, who is friend’s with Taylor’s ex Matty Healy and his fiancée, Gabbriette Bechtel, and also happens to be married to Matty’s 1975 bandmate George Daniel.

Charli, who opened for Taylor on her Reputation tour, allegedly threw shade at Taylor on her song “Sympathy is a Knife” in 2024.

In turn, Taylor sings on “Actually Romantic” “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave,” a potential reference to Charlie’ alleged drug use that she has mentioned in her own music.

“Wi$h Li$t”

What’s on Taylor’s wish list? A long, happy life with Travis. “I just want you/Have a couple kids, got the whole block looking like you/We tell the world to leave us the f--- alone, and they do,” she sings.

She also yearns for “a driveway with a basketball hoop,” and “a best friend who I think is hot,” all of which seems pretty achievable at this point.

“Wood”

This song makes a couple references to Travis, some cleaner than others. On the clean side, his podcast, “New Heights,” gets a shout out and is often credited as the start of her and Travis’ relationship.

On the dirty side, there’s mention of “Redwood tree/It ain’t hard to see/His love was the key/ That opened my thighs.”

“Cancelled!”

In this song, Taylor sings about embracing being “cancelled” saying, “Good thing I like my friends cancelled.”

Some think it may have to do with her pal Blake Lively, who’s been embroiled in a legal battle with her “It Ends with Us” director and co-star Justin Baldoni. While Taylor (or more accurately her lawyers) have routinely denied her involvement in the lawsuits between Blake and Justin, some fans believe the song is a nod to supporting Blake.

Swiftie detectives have pointed to the mention of “I like 'em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal” being a reference to Blake, who was the face of Gucci Premiere in 2012.

“Honey”

“Honey” lives up to the title as a sweet ode to Travis helping her redefine her life and love.

"Redefine all of those blues / When you say 'honey,'" she sings. "Summertime spritz, pink skies / You can call me 'honey' if you want / Because I'm the one you want."

“The Life of a Showgirl” featuring Sabrina Carpenter

The title track features Taylor and Sabrina enamored by the life of a showgirl who tries to warn them of the downsides they will face.

But both are determined to live that life, revealing that at the end, “And now I know the life of a showgirl, babe/And I'll never know another.”