Taylor Swift’s ‘imgonnagetyouback’ Hints at Matty Healy and Olivia Rodrigo: Lyrics and Song Meaning
There’s not a lot of subtlety in Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department, and the album’s songs and meanings strike right at the core of her friends, lovers, exes and enemies. “Imgonnagetyouback” is one such track that leaves little to the imagination, and its lyrics and meaning seem to hint at Matty Healy and Olivia Rodrigo.
Taylor Swift’s ‘imgonnagetyouback’ Lyrics
The songstress opens “imgonnagetyouback” by painting a picture of tortured Taylor trapped in a situationship with an ex that is going nowhere. Contemplating if she wants reconciliation or revenge, Taylor sings, “Whether I'm gonna be your wife, or/Gonna smash up your bike, I haven't decided yet/But I'm gonna get you back.”
She continues, “Whether I'm gonna curse you out, or/Take you back to my house, I haven't decidеd yet/But I'm gonna get you back.”
Taylor reminds her unnamed ex throughout the track that they were always hers, admitting that she knows they “think twice” about her. She goes on to compare her own value in their situation to that of an “Aston Martin,” but her ex “steered [her] straight into the ditch/Then ran and hid.”
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The perpetual game of cat and mouse continues as Taylor declares that she can come and go from their dynamic as she pleases, singing, “And I'll tell you one thing, honey/I can take the upper hand and touch your body/Flip the script and leave you like a dumb house party/Or I might just love you 'til the end.”
By the end of the track, both Taylor and her ex have seemingly moved on to other people, though the songstress admits that she’ll always love them in some capacity.
“Push the reset button, we're becoming something new/Say you got somebody else, say, ‘I got someone too,’” she laments. “Told my friends I hate you, but I love you just the same/Pick your poison, babe, I'm poison either way.”
Is Taylor Swift’s ‘imgonnagetyouback’ About Matty Healy?
Taylor is never explicit about who her songs are about, but Swifties have guessed that ‘imgonnagetyouback’ is about Matty Healy. Taylor and Matty started their own game of cat and mouse in 2014, and he dedicated a song by his band, The 1975, to her entitled “fallingforyou” that same year.
Not only has the title format tipped fans off, but the dynamic Taylor and Matty shared was nothing if not conflicted. While the TTPD creator has stayed relatively quiet about their fling – letting her music do the talking – Matty has been more vocal about his feelings towards Taylor and her level of international fame.
Amid the release of her double album anthology, which seemingly pointed to the 1975 frontman in more tracks than Swifties anticipated, a source close to Matty told Us Weekly that he was “relieved” that Taylor didn’t use all the poison in her pen against him.
“Matty still thinks very highly of Taylor but we were all nervous about what she might have said on the album,” the source said. “Matty’s family knew about the relationship, and they were worried that Taylor was going to rip him apart. Matty has struggled with life in the public eye, and he’s been doing really well, but the last thing that he needs is for every Swiftie in the world to think he’s a villain.”
While Taylor and Matty are no longer in contact, the insider did add that he “holds a special place” for the “Cruel Summer” singer.
Does Taylor Swift’s ‘imgonnagetyouback’ Hint at Olivia Rodrigo?
In addition to the Matty Healy hints, listeners picked up on some parallels between ‘imgonnagetyouback’ and Olivia Rodrigo’s track “Get Him Back!” which was included on her 2023 album, Guts.
The tortured back and forth theme is present in both titles, as Olivia sings, “I wanna key his car/ I wanna make him lunch/ I wanna break his heart/ And be the one to stitch it up,” a similar message to that of Taylor’s in ‘imgonnagetyouback’.
While the connection isn’t as obvious as the aforementioned Matty ties, Taylor’s rendition could be a subtle jab at the “drivers license” singer, who faced accusations of plagiarism in 2021 for her song”Deja Vu” and its echoes of “Cruel Summer.”
Olivia stayed mum on the subject, but told TIME in December of that year that it was “really frustrating to see people discredit and deny my creativity.”
The young singer’s 2023 track “The Grudge” was seen by many as a response to the plagiarism scandal, with Olivia singing, “Ooh, do you think I deserved it all?/ Ooh, your flowers filled with vitriol/ You built me up to watch me fall/ You have everything and you still want more.”
