Why Fans Think Taylor Swift’s London Night 5 Surprise Songs Have a Joe Alwyn Connection
UPDATE: 8/17, 5:31 p.m. ET — Taylor Swift's Saturday show in London also featured a song Joe Alwyn co-wrote. After performing "I Did Something Bad" for the first time during the tour, she played a mashup of "My Boy Always Breaks His Favorite Toys" and "Coney Island," the latter of which Alwyn penned under the name William Bowery.
Original story:
Taylor Swift’s surprise songs during her fifth show in London seemed to point at her ex Joe Alwyn — or at least fans think so.
While performing yet another Eras Tour show at Wembley Stadium on Friday, August 16, Swift, 34, went from singing “London Boy” from her Lover album as her first surprise song on guitar into her two piano mashup surprise songs: Speak Now’s “Dear John” and Red’s “Sad, Beautiful, Tragic.”
Lover was released two years after Swift and Alwyn, 33, were romantically linked and in the middle of their relationship — and “London Boy” has been long believed to be an ode to the actor. Although “Dear John” is rumored to be about John Mayer and “Sad, Beautiful, Tragic” was written during the fallout of Swift’s relationship with Jake Gyllenhaal, the message shift between the lyrics of the three songs had fans’ heads spinning.
In the upbeat Lover track, Swift sings, “You know I love a London boy,” before mentioning her favorite places to visit around the city, like Camden Town, famous for its iconic market, and Highgate, a quaint residential area.
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Once Swift finished her love song, the next two surprise tracks both describe complicated breakups. In the final verse of “Dear John,” Swift assures her ex that she’s doing better than ever, singing, “I took your matches before fire could catch me / So don't look now / I’m shining like fireworks over your sad empty town.”
Considering Swift has been shining during her sold-out shows in Alwyn’s hometown, fans couldn’t help but tie the surprise songs together into one narrative.
“From ‘I love a London Boy’ to ‘I'm shining like fireworks over your sad empty town,’ THIS IS SO UNHINGED IM SO HERE FOR IT,” one user wrote about Swift’s setlist. Another Swiftie quipped, “Taylor just sang ‘London Boy,’ ‘Dear John’ and ‘Sad, Beautiful, Tragic,’ so I blocked Joe Alwyn.”
This was the first time Swift has performed “London Boy” during her career-spanning Eras Tour.
“This whole show has just been so fantastic, you’ve been so generous to us. I’ve been so excited to come here and hang out with you guys in the back row because you guys have been so loud,” Swift told the crowd before teasing her next song, according to videos circulating on X. “The whole night I’ve just been thinking, ‘God, I love the English!’”
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As a nod to her current residency, she even tweaked some of the lyrics to: “I enjoy playing Wembley.”
News broke of Swift and Alwyn’s split in April 2023 after six years of dating. The singer is now dating Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Travis Kelce, whom she sparked a romance with last summer.
