The song has a happy, upbeat tune. And we all know it’s Travis’ song. Cute! Right? Right? Maybe not. I’m going to highlight lyrics that lean negative to show this song could be tongue in cheek or straight up criticism.
I feel so high school
Let’s talk about the phrase, ‘so high school’ and what Taylor might mean. I went to Quora to show the vibe that is induced by this phrase:
I would say we spend our adult years reminiscing about our high school days because for some of us that was the best time of our lives. As we become adults and become more seasoned and experienced in life and we look back on things, we realize how good those years were and how much those memories mean. We realize there was nothing better in life than being a carefree teenager even though I know that was not the case for everyone that was in high school. Then as adults especially for those people like myself that have been out of high school for over 25 years, we have seen how much things have changed over the year. Some changes have been for the better and some have not. But when we look back with pride, we can say we are glad we went to high school when we did. When we reflect on those years we were in high school, we realize as adults how much those memories we have mean to us. I know for myself when I look back on my high school years and the things I accomplished and activities I took a part in, I am glad that I did take advantage of those activities such as going on the Senior Prom, the Senior Class Trip, etc. I didn’t know back then when I took part in those activities how much being a part of those things would mean to me later on in life. It means more to me now than it did back then.
It means their life haven't change much and all their significant time was just being young without the worries of life itself, I mean if you like to reflect and reminisce for fun that's okay but what about now? Your life have to change and you can't just think about the life before because it's over. You need to find something good that improves you mentally, emotionally, physically and all else.
It indicates that that was the high point of their life so far. It’s quite sad really. So, the next time someone decides to bore you talking about their teenage years, it is best to indulge them with sympathy. It was probably the last time they weren’t a loser.
I put those responses in 3 different categories:
High school was the best! It’s sentimental and happy.
The person peaked in high school and hasn’t done much since. It’s pathetic.
A mark of stilted growth. So high school is immaturity.
The song could go in a couple different directions so far: Contented happiness bringing back sentimental memories of high school. Taylor commenting on how Travis, herself, or their relationship is peak pathetic high school dream. Taylor describing how the individuals and or relationship are immature.
Every time I look at you
I want to find you in a crowd
Just to hide from you
It seems like “you” is all Travis, right? She’s looking at him. She wants to find him in a crowd… To hide? You lost me. Why does Taylor want to hide from Travis? And it’s not ‘hide WITH you’ ala I Know Places, it’s ‘hide FROM you’. What?! It’s not positive or romantic. And if she’s switched the ‘you’ from Travis to the actual crowd itself/public/media/fans it’s very muddled and unclear. No word shows a change of subject. You = Travis.
And in the blink of a crinklin' eye
I'm sinkin', our fingers entwined
Cheeks pink in the twinklin' lights
Sinking has a negative connotation. Your heart sinks when you get that college admissions letter and it’s a rejection. You sink in quicksand when you’re out of control. Sinking is a weird way of talking about falling in love (though I admit both ‘sink’ and ‘fall’ are in a downward trajectory).
And pink cheeks might be from brisk air. Rosy cheeks could be happily blushing. But it could also be a physical manifestation of embarrassment. We know Taylor doesn’t like a red flush that leads to bone crush and all (Gold Rush).
Tell me 'bout the first time you saw me
I'll drink what you think and I'm high
From smokin' your jokes all damn night
Is it sentimental, happy memories? Or is this sort of annoyed and sarcastic? Notice, that Taylor doesn’t say the first time she saw him. She has the attraction going one way–from him to her. It’s not returned (in this stanza at least). The ‘drink what you think’ could imply familiarity. Travis has spent so much time with her that he just automatically knows her favored cocktail. Or it could be more of a sarcastic, whatta think?! *eye roll* response to his question. There’s two distinct tones that could be in play here.
Being high: Taylor is high with dreamy love romance feelings. Taylor is actually stoned. Fun night out. Neutral. Smoking to avoid this mess and kind of check out. There are 3 totally different vibes being high could reference. Oh, and a fourth: Taylor is high in a bad way, like when you smell paint or fuel fumes too much and it’s dizzying and headache inducing.
Also, ‘high from smokin’ your jokes all DAMN night’ could be incredulousness about how actually fun Travis is and what good times they have together. Or Taylor could mean she’s like smoking weed because Travis’ jokes are so boring and redundant so she has to entertain herself/distract herself. Thirdly, looking from the most negative perspective, Taylor could be sarcastically saying Travis thinks he is funny, but she’s super board with it- ‘all damn night’ Jesus *more eye rolling*.
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Bittersweet sixteen suddenly
Taylor Swift is transported in time to when she was in high school. This date makes her feel sixteen again. But bittersweet emphasizes that time was not all roses. I’d have to really look at the whole catalog for a tally of happy to sad teenage songs, but thankyouaimee, Dorthea, You Belong with Me, Fifteen, and The Best Day bullying are discussed all come to mind. And Mean, Love Live, Castles Crumbling, New Romantics (could all be interpreted for school/parents being rude jerks as well as some music critic, music industry, the public).
She wears high heels, I wear sneakers/She's Cheer Captain, and I'm on the bleachers
Hey Dorothea/Do you ever stop and think about me?/When we were younger/Down in the park/Honey, making a lark of the misery…But are you still the same soul/I met under the bleachers?
I'm watchin' American Pie with you on a Saturday night
Here’s some descriptions of the movie from Wiki:
American Pie revived the teen sex comedy genre for the late 1990s. Coming of age story. Much was made of the film's use of gross-out comedy. Screenwriter Adam Herz wanted to make "a teen comedy that talked to kids on their level. On review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 62% approval rating across 130 critics. The consensus reads; "So embarrassing it's believable, American Pie succeeds in bringing back the teen movie genre." The New York Times said, "Among this year's bumper crop of shallow teen-age movies, it is the shallowest and the most prurient. It may well be the biggest hit." The Boston Globe wrote that American Pie is a "gross and tasteless high school romp with sentimental mush." The film garnered six nominations at the 2000 Teen Choice Awards. At the 2000 MTV Movie Awards, American Pie was nominated for Best Movie.
Critic Scott Tobias wrote about the film's legacy for The Guardian and opined that its success is partly due to how it captures the awkwardness of "sexual mortification", namely casting it as both "identifiable and wildly over-the-top". He also noted "In 1999, American Pie was at the end of one phase and the beginning of another, which is why it seems both dated and prescient – a relic from a randier era of cable-ready frathouse and gross-out comedies, and a look ahead to a sweeter brand of raunch, rooted in deep friendships and the possibility of a more mature, longer-lasting romance." However, Tobias and other writers acknowledged some of the more toxic aspects of the film, such as its commentary on women, masculinity, and the set piece involving Nadia being filmed without her knowledge or consent.[65][66][67] He wrote the film "gives so little thought to the opposite sex, who are either brazenly lusty or careful gatekeepers of their own chastity, waiting for an 'I love you' or some other show of sensitivity, like a password at a speakeasy. Women seem as inexplicable to the film-makers themselves as they are to the characters. That's been an unfortunate part of the continuum of teen sex comedies, too, long before American Pie and well past it."[65] Screenwriter Adam Herz admitted to wanting to make a film that was less sexist than teen movies of the past like Porky's, but that he did not totally succeed with his script.[10]
Travis plays football, so his closest match in the movie would be the jocks:
The main jock in American Pie:
On the surface level Taylor, Travis, and his friends are watching a nostalgic 90’s teen comedy. Taylor might have referenced American Pie specifically because she is comparing her relationship with Travis to it. And the movie is described as: Coming of age. Teens. Sex comedy. Gross out. Or she could be comparing Travis the football player to the jocks in the movie. In which case she’s saying he’s funny but immature. He is an obnoxious party-boy who thinks of women as sex objects. If so, that’s not really cute or positive.
Your friends are around, so be quiet
I'm tryin' to stifle my sighs
This isn’t sexy to me? I’m not into doing anything physical with my partner when a group is around. I guess some people don’t mind, and some get off on that kind of thing. It seems like an immature move. But I suppose some people are exhibitionists and get off of sneaking sexy-moves while other people are near. Is Taylor one of them though? Her catalog has a lot of sneaking and being alone, but I can’t remember any songs where she’s excited by public displays of sexuality.
Taylor stifling sighs might be trying to be quiet during sexy-play because others are around. It could also be negative. Taylor could be eye-rolling and sighing out of exasperation, annoyance, or disgust.
'Cause I feel so high school
Every time I look at you
But look at you
Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me?
Kill me
It's just a game, but really
Really
I'm bettin' on all three for us two
All three
It’s a cute reference to a teenage game. But Taylor could also be saying the relationship is a game. Let the games begin! And why does she repeat kill me? That’s not really the ideal, amIright? Out of the 3 options her first instinct is kill, which seems… Not romantic. And then she says all three for her and Travis, which is weird.
Get my car door, isn't that sweet
That sweet
Then pull me to the backseat
Backseat
No one's ever had me, not like you
Had me
Calling him sweet could be a genuine compliment. But it could also be said sarcastically, especially given the next line. Taylor could really be saying that it’s a low bar for men. All he has to do is open a door to be considered romantic and upstanding. Even if he has ulterior motives, or un-romantically just wants to fu(k. Getting pulled to the backseat might be a mutual attraction that shows they can’t keep their hands off each other. But it could also imply he’s piggish, forceful, or just interested in sex.
I'll discuss 'no one's ever had me, not like you' at the end when Taylor is laughing at practice.
Truth, dare, spin bottles
You know how to ball, I know Aristotle
Another childhood game is brought up. It could just be a cutesy sentimental comparison. Is Taylor mentioning the most childish, immature things because it’s a symbol of her and Travis’ relationship?
And the distinction between Travis’ skill–playing ball and Taylor’s intellect is… kinda rude? Basically, she’s like, you’re dumb but good at games. It’s not that nice of a compliment, or a backwards complement/insult.
Brand new, full throttle
Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto
It's true, swear, scouts honor
You knew what you wanted, and, boy, you got her
Brand new, full throttle
You already know, babe
Again, it’s not particularly enticing, sexy, or romantic to touch/finger your girlfriend while your friends are close by. And scouts honor could be a legitimate promise that Taylor is being serious and truthful. But the same phrase could be sarcastic.
Also, for the second time in the song, the attraction is going only in one direction here. Taylor says, ‘You knew what YOU wanted’ not what I wanted or we wanted. She never says SHE wants HIM. It’s telling.
I feel like laughin'
In the middle of practice
Do that impression you did of your dad again
I'm hearin' voices, like a madman
OK, Taylor wants everyone to think sports and football when hearing this song. Hence practice. But what if she’s also saying her and Travis are rehearsing how they will act in public? Like a dress rehearsal Taylor and Travis are acting out their relationship to perform for the public. And it’s hilarious because it’s a ruse, and ridiculous, and unbelievably over the top…
Saying ‘again’ after ‘do that impression’ implies it’s been done before. Maybe Taylor likes it so much she wants to hear it over and over. Taken sarcastically, she could be like, ugh, not again, you uncreative, unfunny broken record! Also, it could be talking about the afore-mentioned dress rehearsal of footballer/popstar romance for the public. Behind the scenes, Taylor is telling Travis to channel a straight, married man so he can be a convincing actor in this “relationship” performance.
Is that way 'nobody has ever had Taylor, not like you'? Travis 'has' Taylor differently than others. Taylor has had boyfriends before. And beards/PR romances (HiddleSwift). What about Travis is different? Could be love is present. Though Taylor's songs strongly tell us she's felt love before. Is it different because there is some sort of promo/contract/arrangement/lavender marriage situation? I guess we'll all find out what's at the end of the TayVis engagement...
Then we have Taylor hearing voices like a madman. Where did this schizophrenia suddenly come from? I’m not certain mental illness or hallucinations are exactly desirable or romantic, but putting a positive spin on it–Is Taylor so googly-eyed in love that she’s out of it (in a good way)? Are the repetitive jokes and impressions making Taylor crazy? Are the impressions/jokes/relationship inspiring her? Is Taylor talking about imaging stories, future lyrics, and movie scripts in her head? The man. you. script.
Repeat
Repeat
You knew what you wanted, and, boy, you got her
Brand new, full throttle
You already know, babe
You already know, babe
What does Travis already know? He knows the relationship is new, according to the preceding lyric. He knows their relationship is moving fast and full force too because of the full throttle of it all. And he knows what he wants. Let’s imagine what Travis Kelce might want: Given the song he wants (sex with) Taylor. But if we’re talking acting like his father and dress rehearsals of a perfect relationship, is it fame/clout/money that might be Travis’ motivation for doing this? ‘This’ being performing being in a relationship with THE Taylor Swift?
Honestly, I don’t know. But I can say the song can be taken several different ways, and could be read as an entirely exasperated and annoyed sarcasm.
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