Whether you’re a Swiftie or a Harrie, you’ve probably heard about Taylor and Harry’s rumored crime in Central Park in 2012. While the celebrity duo didn’t last long as a couple, both artists have since released music that fans believe tie back to a fateful night in Manhattan. It was a night that perhaps wasn’t too “Treat People With Kindness” or “Lover” of them.
Our timeline begins with Taylor’s fifth album, “1989.” The album was released two years after her fling with the One Direction member Harry Styles, and it is widely considered to be about her relationship with the young pop star.
“Welcome To New York” is the happy beginning of a tragic story. A bright-eyed Taylor travels to New York to ditch a past life and start anew. She finds and is blinded by a “great love,” which listeners can only assume is Harry Styles.
I’m sure you recognize the paparazzi photo of Taylor and Harry’s first public appearance in December 2012. Everything looks “All Too Well” for the young, happy couple. However, after a close lyrical analysis, this may be the end of their new romance and the beginning of an intricate fan conspiracy.
“Style?” Well, I’d bet the house that this one is about Harry Styles. Taylor made it easy for her fans to decipher the meaning of this tune.
Many of the lyrics in “Style” describe the driving habits and patterns of Taylor’s beau, who we assume to be Harry Styles. But the one that we want to pay attention to is in the second verse, “he can’t keep his wild eyes on the road.” Keeping your eyes on the road seems important to me, but I don’t know about you, Harry.
Furthermore, in the first verse, Taylor sings that the “long drive could end in burning flames or paradise.” Harry, love. Taylor is making you out to be a really bad driver. Did Harry hit someone in Central Park? Perhaps something did happen in “Style” because the songs only become more revealing from here.
I think we can all agree that Harry likes to drive “Fast and Furious.”
“I Know Places” isn’t hard to unpack. Taylor and Harry have committed a vehicular crime in “Style” and now are trying to hide the body. The title of the song suggests that Taylor knows where to bring the body in order to keep this potential crime out of view from the world. It seems simple to me.
This one is pretty self-explanatory.
For the first time in this timeline, listeners hear from Harry. In both the chorus and the final verse of “Sign of the Times,” Harry repeats “we got to get away,” over and over. Seemingly, Harry wants to ditch the crime scene and cover up the idea that anything happened.
Harry was likely behind the wheel at the time, and the uncovering of this crime would most definitely do some severe damage to his life and career.
The bridge in “Out Of The Woods” tells a story that points directly to this conspiracy theory. We’ll start there.
“Remember when you hit the brakes too soon? Twenty stitches in the hospital room. When you started crying, baby, I did too. But when the sun came up, I was looking at you.”
Interesting. From Taylor’s point of view, “Out Of The Woods” describes Taylor’s feelings of uncertainty in the wake of the accident. “Are we out of the woods yet? Are we in the clear yet?”
This “1989” radio hit perhaps expresses that Taylor has moved past the 2012 incident and decided to “Shake It Off.”
On the other hand, Harry has not been able to leave behind the upsetting memories of the hit-and-run as Taylor has. New York was the location for Taylor and Harry’s romance and perhaps the crime scene.
The lyric “I’ve been praying ever since New York” really solidifies Harry’s guilt regarding the crime and how he has not been able to “Shake It Off.”
Up next in our timeline, we have “Two Ghosts.” Those who believe this theory say this song is about Harry acknowledging the person he was before the crime and how he has changed in the aftermath.
“We’re not who we used to be. We’re not who we used to be. We’re just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me. Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat.”
This sounds like Harry is describing himself and Taylor as far from the people they were before that night in New York.
Finally, we end with “Clean.”
“You’re still all over me like a wine-stained dress I can’t wear anymore.”
“And by morning gone was any trace of you, I think I am finally clean.”
You can make up your own mind about the meaning of “Clean,” but I think that it tells a very specific story about covering up a murder.
Conspiracy, coincidence, or truth? We will never know. Taylor and Harry’s lyrics have always painted a vivid, colorful story, but are the songs really about a 2012 Manhattan murder? Now, it is only up to listeners to decide.
However, there is something else that is important to consider. Vault tracks. “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” could answer a lot of questions about this conspiracy and maybe uncover the truth. Only time will tell.