60+ of Taylor Swift’s Most Brilliant Easter Eggs, Decoded
What if we told you none of it was accidental?
When you think of Taylor Swift, several things likely come to mind: cozy cardigans, iconic July 4th parties, whether or not you should cut bangs, and—ah yes—Easter eggs. Taylor's obsession with Easter eggs is a true "the limit does not exist" situation, and she's only gotten more creative as the years have gone by. These hidden gems used to merely be woven in her liner notes, but now she's out here hiding clues in music videos, song lyrics, tour visuals, and Instagram captions. Even the outfits she wears on red carpets aren't immune from fan analysis.
Not that you can blame anyone. Taylor herself told The Washington Post, "When I was 15 and putting together my first album, [...] I decided to encode the lyrics with hidden messages using capital letters. That's how it started, and my fans and I have since descended into color coding, numerology, word searches, elaborate hints, and Easter eggs."
She also told Entertainment Weekly how she thinks up Easter eggs, saying, "I think the best messages are cryptic ones. Easter eggs can be left on clothing or jewelry. This is one of my favorite ways to do this because you wear something that foreshadows something else, and people don't usually find out this one immediately, but they know you're probably sending a message. They'll figure it out in time. Lots of examples of this exist through the history of my career."
SPEAKING OF WHICH, ahem, here are 60+ of Taylor's most brilliant Easter eggs ever, helpfully decoded.
Let's start with those Harry Styles references in the "Out of the Woods" music video
Recognize this blue dress? Correct, it's reminiscent of the one Taylor wore when she was on a yacht by herself after supposedly splitting with Harry while on vacation (which is also called out in her 1989 vault track, "Is It Over Now?"). Oof. How much more proof do we need, really, that this song is about him? Well, thanks for asking...
There's this ~familiar~ paper airplane necklace she rips from her neck in the same video
🎵 Two paper airplanes flying, flying, flying... 🎵 Taylor famously wore Harry's paper airplane necklace while they were dating, so yeah, no further questions here. (What is chill, even?)
Speaking of blue dresses...
Fans were convinced that Taylor was announcing 1989 (Taylor's Version) at the final show of the U.S. leg of The Eras Tour because she kept wearing blue dresses. Sure enough, she announced the album's release date with an acoustic performance of "New Romantics."
Moving on to the connections between "I Bet You Think About Me" and "All Too Well"—starting with THE! RED! BOX!
Because both songs are about Jake Gyllenhaal, yes? Yes.
And...THE SCARF!
🎵 And I left my scarf there at your sister's house 🎵
And...THE RED RING!
Our girl does not miss. a. beat.
Speaking of, let's talk about all of those Jake Gyllenhaal references in All Too Well: The Short Film
We know Tay doesn't confirm who her songs are about, but Dylan O'Brien cosplaying as Jake in the short film basically definitely does. (The beanie alone!)
We can't forget about ~Jake Lyon~ in the film's closing credits
Jake Lyon...Jake Ly-on..Jake Lying...SCREAMING.
Then there's this reference to her "White Horse" music video
Sure, "White Horse" was released two whole years before Taylor's relationship with Jake (which means it was written even before that)—but fans (and apparently Tay herself) see a parallel in the heartbreak felt in both songs. 💔
Taylor's pastel nails in her "Delicate" video were Lover clues
Taylor loves nail polish Easter eggs (there's more on this list, so get ready). And she actually confirmed this clue to Entertainment Weekly, saying that she "foreshadowed" the Lover vibes "ages ago in a Spotify vertical video for 'Delicate' by painting my nails those colors." (She's not kidding! This music video came out a whole year and a half before Lover.)
The neon sign in her "ME!" music video also teased Lover
This music video premiered a mere four months before we were blessed with Lover.
Ellen DeGeneres's tattoo in the "You Need to Calm Down" video revealed a Lover song
Swifties predicted that "Cruel Summer" (a.k.a. the gift that never stops giving) would end up being a song on Lover, and...they were correct! (This video came out two months before the new album, so Tay got more specific with her clues as we got closer and closer...)
There are MANY 1989 (Taylor's Version) hints in the "Karma" music video, like this reference to the timing of the album announcement
We told you there would be more painted nails! Her painted blue nail in the video clearly represents 1989 (blue is 1989's color, of course), and it happens to be pointing at the 8. Fans initially assumed this meant the re-recorded album would drop in August, but instead, we got the 1989 announcement in August. With that in mind: Assuming Taylor's painted black nail represents Reputation, it seems safe to assume we'll get a Taylor's Version announcement in February, since it's next to the 2. Or maybe the album itself?? She keeps us on our toes!
Then there's this v. obvious clue on the pedestal she stands on in the same video
Look closely at the bottom, where it reads "MCMLXXXIX," which...quite literally translates to "1989."
And this reference to "August"
In case you have a ~blank space~ (heh) in your memory, Taylor sold the "August Slipped Away Hourglass" as merch during her Folklore era. The hourglass in "Karma" is a pretty clear reference to it and turned out to be an Easter egg, because as we've established, Taylor's 1989 (Taylor's Version) announcement literally dropped in August.
And finally, THIS reference to "Blank Space," a 1989 song, of course
Left: "Karma" music video. Right: "Blank Space" music video. Come on, she couldn't have been leaving a longer trail of clues for us.
Speaking of 1989, Tay loves to hide/reference her birth year any chance she gets
Oh, this car featured in All Too Well: The Short Film? It's a 1989 Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
There it is again on this bridge in her "I Can See You" video.
Yep, that's a 1989 sign!
She may have been born in 1989, but we all know her favorite number is 13 (her birthday is December 13, after all)—and she hides it everywhere
...like in her "Cardigan" music video. Technically the clock reads 1:15 but the hands are on the 1 and the 3!
(While we're here...)
This guy? He's Taylor's grandfather! We love a sentimental Easter egg.
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