Taylor Swift's latest hit, 'You're Losing Me,' puts Joe Alwyn relationship back in the spotlight — with a big assist from Jack Antonoff
Swift appears to have written the pre-breakup song more than one year before she and Alwyn split.
Taylor Swift’s relationship with Joe Alwyn is back in the news now that she has finally released “You're Losing Me” on streaming services. The track, which is from the vault of her Midnights album, seemingly offers some insight into the demise of her relationship with the British actor, but it’s actually Swift's frequent collaborator, Jack Antonoff, who has given the biggest clue about their breakup timeline.
Here's what's going on.
Fans are convinced the track is about Alwyn
“You're Losing Me” dropped in May, just one month after the world found out Swift and Alwyn had split after six years together. Just as the title suggests, the personal lyrics are about someone losing interest in their partner.
“I can’t find a pulse / My heart won’t start anymore for you / ’Cause you’re losin’ me,” Swift sings.
In one verse, the 12-time Grammy-winning singer croons, “And I wouldn’t marry me either / A pathological people pleaser / Who only wanted you to see her / And I’m fadin’, thinkin’ / Do something, babe, say something.”
Neither Swift nor Alwyn has publicly commented on their split — but this seems to be the closest fans have come to figuring out why the two broke up.
Antonoff reveals when the song was written — and it’s a big surprise
On Wednesday, the acclaimed producer posted about “You're Losing Me” being available to stream. Antonoff captioned a picture of Swift in her kitchen (alongside some wine and raisins), “‘You're losing me’ is out today. a very special track from the midnights sessions that's finally steaming! written and recorded at home on 12/5/21 right after taylor ate these raisins.”
The fact that the sad song was written in December 2021 — more than one year before it was revealed Swift and Alwyn had split — is telling. Assuming the song is, in fact, about Alwyn, that means there was trouble in paradise months and months before everyone found out the two were over.
Swifties are anti-Alwyn, pro-Travis Kelce
Social media is not a kind place to the Conversations With Friends actor now that the song is back in the news. Many of Swift’s fans are using the track to roast Alwyn for letting her slip away. (Again, what ultimately happened is unclear, as neither star has addressed the breakup.) The fact that Alwyn has writing credits on some of Swift's most beloved songs — “Exile” and “Betty” off Folklore, “Champagne Problems,” “Coney Island” and “Evermore” off Evermore and “Sweet Nothing” off Midnights — hasn’t given him a pass. However, if you're an eight-time Pro Bowler tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, then it’s a great day to go on X, formerly Twitter.
jack antonoff never letting joe alwyn have another peaceful day in his life
pic.twitter.com/wO4jXPIUXq— dawsyn ????? (@teIIthemmyname) November 30, 2023
Me last week: let’s not hate on Joe Alwyn, they said it was a mutual break up on good terms, he gave her so many good years
me after hearing YLM was written in 2021: pic.twitter.com/o4FSTjcAAW— AnaisElysiumACNH (@AnaisElysium) November 30, 2023
Travis, Swift’s new boyfriend of at least two months, gave another public shout-out to his girlfriend on his New Heights podcast earlier this week. When Travis’s brother, Jason Kelce, brought up how Swift had liked a Chiefs post on social media about the NFL star breaking another record, the tight end replied: “Thanks, Tay, I appreciate you.” Once again, Travis’s openness about his relationship has Swifties swooning.
Joe Alwyn would pass out if he even tried to utter those 5 words pic.twitter.com/zMAUgGEzmb
— . (@bakudahoe) November 30, 2023
“You're Losing Me” is another big hit for Swift
The song was originally released only on physical copies of Swift’s album Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition). To say Swifties have had an appetite for “You're Losing Me” over the past six months is an understatement, as it debuted at No. 1 on the global Spotify chart.
Taylor Swift's "You're Losing Me (From the Vault)" debuts at #1 on the global Spotify chart with 6.87 million streams from less than 12 hours of tracking. pic.twitter.com/91BzItkxva
— chart data (@chartdata) November 30, 2023
Swift released the song on streaming services as a thank-you to fans who made her Spotify’s No. 1 most-streamed artist of 2023. She ended Bad Bunny’s three-year reign.