All the Easter Eggs Hidden in Taylor Swift’s <i>The Life of a Showgirl</i> Album

THE RUNDOWN

• Taylor Swift has released her 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl.
• In true Swift fashion, the lyrics are full of sneaky Easter eggs and hidden meaning.
• We break down the biggest hints from songs like “The Fate of Ophelia,” “Actually Romantic,” “Wood,” and more.

Taylor Swift is back, and so are her Easter eggs. The pop star’s 12th studio album, The Life of a Showgirl, has arrived, and its lyrics are full of hidden meaning.

In August, when she appeared on an episode of Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, Swift spoke about her love of including little clues in her songs. “People are like, ‘the Easter eggs thing is getting a little Zodiac Killer at this point.’ I’m like, as long as they [the fans] like it, you know?” she said.

Ahead, all of the biggest Easter eggs from The Life of a Showgirl.

In the first track on the album, “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift references the caption that Kelce used when they went Instagram official: “You dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia / Keep it one hundred / On the land, the sea, the sky / Pledge allegiance to your hands / Your team, your vibes.”

Kelce’s caption for his July 2025 photo dump was, “Had some adventures this offseason, kept it 💯”

In the same song, she also makes frequent references to the much-analyzed character from William Shakespeare’s masterwork Hamlet. Lines like “I might’ve drowned in the melancholy,” “You dug me out of my grave,” “the eldest daughter of a nobleman,” and “the venom stole her sanity,” count among the most obvious nods to Hamlet’s Ophelia.

Click here for a full lyrical breakdown of “The Fate of Ophelia.”

Throughout “Elizabeth Taylor,” Swift nods to Taylor’s pleasures, passions, and problems. Those references include:

• “That view of Portofino was on my mind,” a reference to Taylor’s love of the Italian village where Burton proposed to her in 1964.
• “When you called me at the Plaza Athénée,” a reference to the Parisian hotel where Taylor stayed with Burton.
• “I’d cry my eyes violet,” a reference to Taylor’s iconic “violet” eyes and the name of one of her perfumes.
• “I would trade the Cartier for someone to trust,” a reference to Taylor’s legendary fine jewelry collection (which included Cartier).
• “We hit the best booth at Musso & Frank’s,” a reference to the Los Angeles restaurant where Taylor was known to dine.
• “All my white diamonds and lovers are forever,” a reference to Taylor’s fragrance line, called White Diamonds.

Click here for a full lyrical breakdown of “Elizabeth Taylor.”

Her track “Actually Romantic” is rumored to be written about Charli XCX, whose Brat song “Sympathy Is a Knife” was speculated to be about Swift. For context, in 2023, Swift briefly dated Matty Healy, the bandmate of Charli’s husband, George Daniel.

Charli dismissed that allegation in a 2024 interview with New York Magazine, saying, “People are going to think what they want to think. That song is about me and my feelings and my anxiety and the way my brain creates narratives and stories in my head when I feel insecure and how I don’t want to be in those situations physically when I feel self-doubt.”

But “Actually Romantic” still seems like a pointed response. The first verse seemingly alludes to Swift’s breakup with Healy—and Charli’s reaction to it: “I heard you call me ‘Boring Barbie’ when the coke’s got you brave / High-fived my ex and then said you’re glad he ghosted me / Wrote me a song saying it makes you sick to see my face/ Some people might be offended / But it’s actually sweet / All the time you’ve spent on me.”

Click here for a full lyrical breakdown of “Actually Romantic.”

In “Wood,” Swift name-drops Travis Kelce’s podcast New Heights, which she appeared on in August 2025: “Seems to me that you and me we make our own luck / New Heights of manhood / I ain’t gotta knock on wood.” There are also plenty more, um, colorful references to the Chiefs player.

Click here for a full lyrical breakdown of “Wood.”

In the 10th track on Showgirl, “CANCELLED!,” Swift reflects on being the target of harsh scrutiny in the spotlight and the fickle nature of public opinion: “It’s easy to love you when you’re popular / The optics click, everyone prospers / But one single drop, you’re off the roster.”

She also mentions that she’s not alone; some of her famous friends have also been in the same boat. She sings in the chorus: “Good thing I like my friends cancelled / I like ’em cloaked in Gucci and in scandal.”

She could be referring to a few people here, such as Brittany Mahomes, who faced backlash after the President referred to her as a “big Trump fan;” Blake Lively, who is embroiled in a legal battle with It Ends With Us co-star Justin Baldoni; Sabrina Carpenter, who has caused uproar for her sexual lyrics; or Selena Gomez, who has long been pitted against Hailey Bieber. These women, like Swift, are painted as villains by their critics. Swift also applauds her friends for standing by her through the tough times and knowing what being canceled feels like: “At least you know exactly who your friends are / They’re the ones with matching scars.”

Swift also makes another Shakespeare reference: “Something wicked this way comes.” The line, from Macbeth, is a tongue-in-cheek reference to her own reputation.

Click here for a full lyrical breakdown of “CANCELLED!”