Every night on the Eras Tour, Taylor Swift asks the audience, “You ready to go back to high school with me?” before performing her 2009 single “You Belong With Me” during the Fearless act. That might have been an Easter egg this whole time.
At 2 a.m. on April 19, Swift revealed that her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, was actually a “secret double album” entitled The Anthology, confirming a longtime Swiftie theory. The second part adds 15 more tracks to the Tortured Poets canon, including “So High School,” a ’90s alt-rock-tinged ode to a new romance that will take you back to your youth.
In the new song, Swift sings about being swept away by a new lover overnight, exclaiming that she feels like she’s back in high school. The catchy post-chorus contrasts Swift’s poet persona with her man’s sports and video game prowess. “Truth, dare, spin bottles / You know how to ball, I know Aristotle,” she chants. “Brand new, full throttle / Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto.”
The Travis Kelce Connection
It didn’t take long for Swifties to link the song back to Swift’s current boyfriend, Travis Kelce, given how many of her early songs invoked high school themes like football and cheerleaders. Now that she’s dating a football player, like she dreamed about in the “You Belong With Me” video, she’s living out that girl’s romance fantasies.
Not only are there a handful of sports references — like on “The Alchemy,” the penultimate track on the main album — but she also calls back to one of the first times Kelce mentioned her name. Some fans think the “kiss, marry, kill” lyric could be a wink to when Kelce played the game in a 2016 interview, and Swift was one of his options, along with Katy Perry and Ariana Grande.
“Damn, that’s messed up,” he said. “Ariana, sorry, love you, but you’re gone. And then Taylor Swift would be the kiss. And what’s the last one? Katy Perry? Yeah, Katy Perry would be the marry.”
But in Swift’s world, she’s the final pick no matter what. “Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me?” she asks. “It’s just a game, but really, I’m bettin’ on all three for us two.”
“So High School” Lyrics
Read the song’s full lyrics below.
I feel so high school every time I look at you
I wanna find you in a crowd just to hide from you
And in a blink of a crinkling eye
I’m sinking, our fingers entwined
Cheeks pink in the twinkling lights
Tell me ‘bout the first time you saw me
I’ll drink what you think and I’m high
From smoking your jokes all damn night
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Been a sweet 16 suddenly
I’m watching American Pie with you on a Saturday night
Your friends are around, so be quiet, I’m trying to stifle my sighs
‘Cause I feel so high school every time I look at you, but look at you
Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me (Kill me)
It’s just a game, but really (Really)
I’m bettin’ on all three for us two (All three)
Get my car door, isn’t that sweet? (That sweet)
Then pull me to the backsеat (Backseat)
No one’s evеr had me (Had me), not like you
Truth, dare, spin bottles
You know how to ball, I know Aristotle
Brand new, full throttle
Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto
It’s true, swear, scouts honor
You knew what you wanted, and, boy, you got her
Brand new, full throttle
You already know, babe
I feel like laughing in the middle of practice
Do that impression you did of your dad again
I’m hearing voices like a madman
And in a blink of a crinkling eye
I’m sinking, our fingers entwined
Cheeks pink in the twinkling lights
Tell me ‘bout the first time you saw me
I’ll drink what you think and I’m high
From smoking your jokes all damn night
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Been a sweet 16 suddenly
I’m watching American Pie with you on a Saturday night
Your friends are around, so be quiet, I’m trying to stifle my sighs
‘Cause I feel so high school (So high school)
Every time I look at you, but look at you
Truth, dare, spin bottles
You know how to ball, I know Aristotle
Brand new, full throttle
Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto
It’s true, swear, scouts honor
You knew what you wanted, and, boy, you got her
Brand new, full throttle
You already know, babe (You already know, babe)
