Who Is Taylor Swift’s "Wildest Dreams" About? Let's Piece Together The Clues

It's been nearly a year since Taylor Swift gifted fans with her '80s-influenced masterpiece and I'm the first to admit that I've spent the time trying to figure out who the 1989 songs are about. Ever since Swift shared the "Wildest Dreams" video teaser, I've been in overdrive analyzing the lyrics and, of course, trying to nail down the inspiration behind the song. While one name immediately pops into mind — yes, Harry Styles — let's look at Swift's carefully crafted clues to see if the hints hold up to the theory.


First up, let's examine the lyrics. In the first verse, Swift claims, "He's so tall, and handsome as hell / He's so bad but he does it so well." The tall, good-looking "bad boy" description fits in line with many other songs that are believed to be inspired by styles, such as "All You Had to Do Was Stay" and, of course, the cleverly named "Style." Lyric-wise, "Wildest Dreams" supports the theory.

But of course, we can never look at a Taylor Swift song by lyrics alone. There's so many levels — including her famous liner notes. The caption for "Wildest Dreams" reads "He Only Saw Her In His Dreams." Seeing as 1989 tells a somewhat chronological story, "Wildest Dreams" takes place after the breakup. (But conveniently before Swift's helpful guide on "How to Get the Girl.") If the first part of 1989 is about Styles, then it stands to reason that the "he" in the liner notes is Styles. It's not definitive proof, but it doesn't debunk our current theory.