“Did Taylor Swift just come out as not straight or is there any other way to interpret the song Betty.”
Taylor Swift fans are hailing the star’s new song Betty as a “gay anthem”.
The singer-songwriter sent stans into meltdown mode today with the release date of her indie and folk-inspired eighth studio album, Folklore, which arrives just nine months after the release of her number one synthpop album Lover.
Folklore, which Taylor co-wrote with Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, has received widespread critical acclaim, with many publications citing it as the finest work of her career (it currently boasts an incredible 93/100 score on Metacritic).
Although Cardigan serves as the album’s lead single, the track that has generated the biggest reaction is Betty, a delicate love song about a girl called – yep, you guessed it – Betty.
“Will you have me? Will you love me? Will you kiss me on the porch in front of all your stupid friends?” Taylor sings on the five-minute track.
“If you kiss me, will it be just like I dreamed it? Will it patch your broken wings? I’m only seventeen, I don’t know anything, but I know I miss you.”
Although the bridge sorta-confirms that it’s sung from the perspective of a man called James, on social media fans have hailed Betty as a “a sapphic song of enemies to lovers” and Taylor’s way of “saying farewell to the straights”.
Check out the best reactions to Betty below.
betty (taylor swift, 2020) #folklore pic.twitter.com/Vlx5U1OR1r
— this is lisa trying (@silentdreamers_) July 24, 2020
taylor swift writing betty pic.twitter.com/NBV0XPNtlE
— ً (@milfkeating) July 24, 2020
betty by taylor swift is a sapphic song of enemies to lovers in this essay i will #folklore pic.twitter.com/nlQr6J9AHv
— alex (@loventhunders) July 24, 2020
Taylor Swift saying farewell to the straights after releasing Betty: pic.twitter.com/opKwKiLELe
— Hassan Chammout (@ChammoutHassan) July 24, 2020
the B in LGBT stands for Betty by Taylor Swift (2020)
— ashley (@thestorycfus) July 24, 2020
bitches don’t even come out anymore they just post betty by taylor swift on their instagram story and call it a day
— macie (@parttimepeach) July 24, 2020
Taylor Swift when she recorded Betty for #folklore pic.twitter.com/I6RUuKwbzs
— Oof (@lasapphic) July 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/eletheromania/status/1286532614493474816
betty is about taylor swift riding on a skateboard passing the house of the girl she’s in love with at the age of 17 that’s it that’s the song
— 𝐇𝐚𝐧 (@alyciasgoId) July 24, 2020
i don’t know what’s happening what’s a betty is taylor swift gay
— dana 📌 (@tbvrevival) July 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/brook_moo/status/1286537464895676416
is she… you know… (starts playing "betty" by taylor swift)
— emma (@disastertaurus) July 24, 2020
https://twitter.com/taylorscomer/status/1286533458412613632
me and the rest of the tl after listening to betty- taylor swift pic.twitter.com/GGGSERneC4
— jorah 🤡 (@ungodlyruel) July 24, 2020
BETTY IS A LESBIAN ANTHEM, TAYLOR SWIFT REALLY SAID “THIS ONE IS FOR THE SAPPHICS” pic.twitter.com/EzU8fIjMQd
— 💭 tfatws spoilers (@bilIybones) July 24, 2020
did taylor swift just come out as not straight or is there any other way to interpret the song betty
— karlie (@oliviac00ke) July 24, 2020
In a statement, Taylor said Folklore came to fruition due to the lockdown restrictions put in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness,” she wrote. “Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history, and memory.
“I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder, and whimsy they deserve. Now it’s up to you to pass them down.”
Watch the official lyric video for Betty below.