Taylor Swift has released a new vault track titled “You’re Losing Me,” and fans are wondering if the lyrics are offering a window into her relationship and recent breakup with ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn. The song was the second of two new releases this Friday along with “Hits Different,” and new versions of two original songs from the album: “Karma” featuring Ice Spice and “Snow on the Beach” with extended Lana Del Rey vocals.
In “You’re Losing Me,” Swift sings she’s like a “phoenix always rising from the ashes, mending all her gashes,” which definitely sounds like post-breakup talk.
Swift and Alwyn broke up earlier this year just before the start of Swift’s Eras Tour concert series. She has since launched into a relationship with musician Matt Healy, who has been at a number of her shows, even performing on stage.
But the new tracks speaks of a difficult decision to part ways with…someone.
You say, “I don’t understand” and I say, “I know you don’t”
We thought a cure would come through in time, now, I fear it won’t
Remember lookin’ at this room, we loved it ’cause of the light
Now, I just sit in the dark and wonder if it’s time
In April, after news of the Alwyn breakup came out, a source told People, “The differences in their personalities have also become harder to ignore after years together. They’ve grown apart.”
Ultimately, they didn’t “understand” one another well enough to continue their connection, it seems. They were together for six years, however, and in the pre-chorus Swift sings about how to make a decision about letting go of everything she has “built.”
[Pre-Chorus]
Do I throw out everything we built or keep it?
I’m getting tired even for a phoenix
Always risin’ from the ashes
Mendin’ all her gashes
You might just have dealt the final blow
The source also told People that at other times, Swift and Alwyn had rough patches they repaired, so the lyrics could be referring to the tension of whether or not something is truly over.
“They’ve had rough patches before and always worked things out, so friends thought they would take some time apart [now] but eventually come back together,” the source explained. “Ultimately [they] weren’t the right fit for one another.”
[Chorus]
Stop, you’re losing me
Stop, you’re losing me
Stop, you’re losing me
I can’t find a pulse
My heart won’t start anymore for you
‘Cause you’re losing me[Verse 2]
Every mornin’, I glared at you with storms in my eyes
How can you say that you love someone you can’t tell is dyin’?
I sent you signals and bit my nails down to the quick
My face was gray, but you wouldn’t admit that we were sick
Another source told ET that they were too different to work, but it was tough to end because of the time spent together.
“It was more of Taylor’s decision to break up, but both of them realized that they weren’t completely right for one another,” said the source. “They had been together for such a long time and were spending so much time together, but their personalities were just too different. Joe is more introverted, shy, and quiet.”
[Pre-Chorus]
And the air is thick with loss and indecision
I know my pain is such an imposition
Now, you’re running down the hallway
And you know what they all say
“You don’t know what you got until it’s gone”
Later in the bridge, Swift sings she’s the “best thing at this party” and one of their last appearances together was at a Grammys afterparty.
[Bridge]
How long could we be a sad song
‘Til we were too far gone to bring back to life?
I gave you all my best me’s, my endless empathy
And all I did was bleed as I tried to be the bravest soldier
Fighting in only your army, frontlines, don’t you ignore me
I’m the best thing at this party (You’re losing me)
But one of the biggest clues about Alwyn was the line right after:
And I wouldn’t marry me either
In a 2022 interview for WSJ. Magazine, Alwyn made a rare comment on the questions about his relationship with Swift — and their rumored engagement.
“If I had a pound for every time I think I’ve been told I’ve been engaged, then I’d have a lot of pound coins,” he said. “I mean, the truth is, if the answer was yes, I wouldn’t say, and if the answer was no, I wouldn’t say.”
Around their breakup, sources told People that Swift and Alwyn were “talking about marriage as recently as a few months ago.”
Clearly, things went a different way.
A pathological people pleaser
Who only wanted you to see her
And I’m fading, thinkin’
“Do something, babe, say something” (Say something)
“Lose something, babe, risk something” (You’re losing me)
“Choose something, babe, I got nothing” (I got nothing)
“To believe, unless you’re choosing me”
The final verse in which Swift sings “Choose something, babe, I got nothing/ To believe, unless you’re choosing me” could allude to Alwyn’s alleged insecurity with the level of fame Swift contended with.
“Ultimately, they both realized they were not on the same page anymore,” a source told the Daily Mail. “It’s been hard for Joe trying to make it in Hollywood and not quite becoming leading man material while dating one of the most famous women in the world over the last six years. It was easier during the pandemic when it was just the two of them, but once things returned to normal, Taylor Swift the superstar emerged, and their differences were even more apparent. They really made a go of it and tried everything they could but ultimately were unable to save the relationship.”
[Outro]
You’re losing me
Stop (Stop, stop), you’re losing me
Stop (Stop, stop), you’re losing me
I can’t find a pulse, my heart won’t start anymore
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.