When Taylor Swift dropped “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” with a whopping 31 tracks, fans were eager to comb through the lyrics to find Easter eggs about her relationship with Travis Kelce. The meaning of the song “LOML” seemed promising as an acronym for “love of my life” but it wound up being short for “loss of my life.” Somewhat surprisingly, it was the song “So High School” off “TTPD” that was packed with lyrics about Kelce. It opens with the pop star singing, “I feel so high school every time I look at you / I wanna find you in a crowd just to hide from you.” This seems a veiled reference to how her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs star has drawn a “crowd” of attention, but later lyrics more explicitly alluded to her boyfriend.
In the opening chorus, Swift makes a more obvious reference to Kelce. “And in a blink of a crinkling eye / I’m sinking, our fingers entwined,” she sings. As fans have pointed out, Kelce has a trademark “crinkle” of his eyes. Following the chorus, the “Cruel Summer” artist playfully refers to when Kelce mentioned her in an interview before they met. “Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me / It’s just a game, but really / I’m bettin’ on all three for us two,” Swift sings. Kelce played “Kiss, Marry, Kill” for AfterBuzz TV in 2016 and chose to “kiss” Swift out of a trio of pop stars.
Later in the track, Swift sings about her time together with Kelce.
Taylor Swift refers to a fan-favorite moment between the couple
Patrick Smith/Getty Images
Immediately after delivering her “marry, kiss, or kill me” line, Taylor Swift sings lyrics about Travis Kelce that are perhaps her most obvious from “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.” She references a famous encounter from early in their relationship. “Get my car door, isn’t that sweet? / Then pull me to the backseat / No one’s ever had me, not like you,” Swift sings. On multiple occasions, the tight end was filmed opening the door for his girlfriend as the paparazzi took photos of the famous couple.
“So High School” has more than quick blips about Kelce, as Swift opened the second verse by mentioning their time together. “I feel like laughing in the middle of practice / To that impression you did of your dad again,” Swift sings. Of course, “practice” is a reference to the Kansas City Chiefs star working out with the team. The second part of that line is a reference to her boyfriend’s dad, Ed Kelce. In October 2024, Ed had kinds words for his son’s famous girlfriend, as he described Swift as “a very, very sweet, very charming, down-to-earth young woman,” when speaking to People.
Hearing Swift croon over Kelce on “So High School” is not surprising, as just weeks before “TTPD” dropped, a source told Entertainment Tonight that the couple were “in a great place.” The insider added, “Taylor views Travis as a true partner and someone she can have a real future with.”
