If you immediately began googling the term ‘Pink Clouding’ following the announcement of Taylor Swift’s newly extended album, The Life Of A Showgirl: The Encore, you’re not alone.
One of four new songs announced by Swift as a surprise extension to her record-breaking album almost one year after it debuted, there’s more to the name than the romantic imagery it evokes.
Of the Encore, Swift revealed all four songs were born from a celebratory trip to Sweden with her The Life Of A Showgirl co-creators, Max Martin and Shellback.
“Really, we just wanted to reflect and take in how grateful we were for the moment we were in, but there was a studio there and we did what we do when we feel anything at all: We wrote more songs,” Swift said of the trip.
So what exactly does Pink Clouding mean and what are the lyrics about?
What Is Pink Clouding?
According to Healthline, “pink clouding, or pink cloud syndrome, describes a stage of early addiction recovery that involves feelings of euphoria and elation.”
The term is also closely linked to phenomena like ‘rose-coloured glasses’ and the ‘honeymoon phase’. With this in mind, it’s hard not to connect the dots to Swift’s romance and relationship with Travis Kelce, but a closer look into the song’s lyrics and themes of regret, heartbreak and a past relationship quickly become evident.
What Is The Meaning Of Taylor Swift’s ‘Pink Clouding’ Lyrics?
When Taylor Swift dropped the tracklist for her new album and fans saw the term ‘Pink Clouding’, many quickly assumed we were getting a Travis Kelce dedicated love song. How wrong we were, in fact, the song appears to be about an ex.
Taylor opens the song with pink imagery, that feels awfully reminiscent of her song ‘Maroon’, before revealing she’s was a “liar”.
Verse One
“Met the magenta sunrise
Fuchsia forever intertwined
Threw the rosewood on the fire
Neither of us knew at the time
That I was a liar “
It’s in the second verse of the song that we get more context to exactly what the lie may be.
It appears that in a ‘honeymoon’ love bubble Swift is lying to herself and the man in question about being “fine”, but instead they’d met “at a cursed time”, suggesting she wasn’t in the right place to fall in love.
Verse Two
“Years later, I still wonder how to tell you sorry
I didn’t wanna let you down
So I left you up there on a pink cloud
He cut me crimson, bled me dry
He crossed my heart, I hoped to die
Ripped all my orchids from the vine
You met me at a cursed time “
By the third verse, Swift’s regret is clear, as she sings about still wondering “how to tell you sorry” and that “to this day, I wake up scared that I left scars on a good person.”
So exactly which ex is Taylor singing about?
Which Ex Is ‘Pink Clouding’ About?
Debate has already begun amongst Swifties over which of Taylor Swift’s exes her new song ‘Pink Clouding’ is about. The top contenders appear to be Tom Hiddleston and Joe Alwyn. For us, it’s the former that fits best with the lyrics.
For those who need a refresher, Swift and Hiddleston began dating in June 2106 after meeting at the Met Gala. Swift had been dating Calvin Harris at the time, but the couple called it quits shortly after the Met Gala, in early June. Two weeks later, Swift was pictured kissing Hiddlestone in Rhode Island, marking the start of an intense whirlwind romance that lasted three months. Sounds a bit like the effect of pink clouding, doesn’t it?
As lyrics like “The way I treated you, you never deserved it” suggest, the breakup in ‘Pink Clouding’ seems to have been initiated by Swift, which lines up with reports on her split from Hiddleston at the time.
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