Taylor Swift’s ‘Ophelia’ Lyrics Seem to Thank Travis Kelce for ‘Saving’ Her From Shakespearean Tragedy

THE RUNDOWN

• Taylor Swift references the famous Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet in the first song on The Life of a Showgirl.

• In “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift seems to credit her fiancé, Travis Kelce, from saving her “heart” from Ophelia’s own terrible downfall.

• “The Fate of Ophelia” also includes several references to Ophelia’s insanity and subsequent drowning.

The opening track of Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated The Life of a Showgirl subverts a legendary woman’s tragedy to proclaim the happier fate of another: that of Swift, the showgirl herself.

In “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift makes frequent references to the much-analyzed character from William Shakespeare’s masterwork Hamlet. (Lines such as “I might’ve drowned in the melancholy,” “You dug me out of my grave,” “the eldest daughter of a nobleman,” and “the venom stole her sanity” count among the most obvious nods to Hamlet’s Ophelia.) As imagined by Shakespeare, Ophelia is indeed “the daughter of a nobleman,” as well as the sister of Prince Hamlet’s eventual murderer, Laertes. Ophelia, Hamlet’s love interest, is often characterized as sheltered and naive, though she is also loyal and unselfish. Still, it is her love and loyalty for the men in her life that ultimately predict Ophelia’s doom—a fate Swift can clearly relate with.

At the beginning of Shakespeare’s play, Laertes and their father, Polonius, warn Ophelia that Hamlet’s love for her is fickle—and that, therefore, she should end their romance and quash any expectations of marriage between them. Ophelia, obedient to these men (and believing them to be acting in her sincere interest), agrees to cut off her relationship with Hamlet. When the prince later appears in her bed chamber, looking distinctly unwell, she runs to tell her father of the incident. Polonius assumes that Hamlet has gone insane thanks to Ophelia’s rejection of him.

Eventually, Ophelia—at the urging of her father and Claudius, the new King of Denmark—sets up a meeting with Hamlet, during which Polonius and Claudius spy on the prince to learn more about his supposed insanity. Although he initially greets Ophelia kindly, Hamlet soon condemns his former love in the infamous “get thee to a nunnery” scene, in which he also condemns womankind as a whole. Finally, Hamlet inadvertently kills Polonius—thinking he is, in fact, Claudius. The combination of Polonius’s death with Hamlet’s cruel behavior send Ophelia into a spiral of insanity. Losing her mind ultimately culminates in Ophelia drowning, though there is debate over whether her death is accidental or suicidal.

With “The Fate of Ophelia,” Swift seems to imply that she was rescued from a similar tragedy by the unidentified “you” mentioned in the song, whom fans believe to be Swift’s fiancé, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift’s references to “your team, your vibes,” “I heard you calling on the megaphone,” and “don’t care where the hell you been / ’cause now you’re mine” stoke further theorizing that “The Fate of Ophelia” is a love letter to Kelce. The singer appears to credit him for “saving” her from the insanity, “drowning,” deception, and “purgatory” of both her previous relationships (“love was a cold bed full of scorpions”) as well as her isolated life in the spotlight (“I sat alone in my tower”). She might have been headed toward Ophelia’s tragedy—condemned by the men she loves and resolved to subsequent loss and madness—but, because Kelce “came for” her, Swift’s fate changed forever.

The album cover art for The Life of a Showgirl also appears to reference Ophelia, as it depicts Swift partially underwater in a glittery costume. However, unlike Ophelia, Swift does not drown; her iconic red lips remain just above the waterline.

This isn’t Swift’s first time referencing one of Shakespeare’s iconic works. She famously reimagined Romeo and Juliet in her 2008 hit single, “Love Story.”

You can read the full lyrics to “The Fate of Ophelia” below:

I heard you calling on the megaphone
You wanna see me all alone
As legend has it you are quite the pyro
You light the match to watch it blow

And if you’d never come for me
I might’ve drowned in the melancholy
I swore my loyalty to me, myself, and I
Right before you lit my sky up

All that time, I sat alone in my tower
You were just honing your powers
Now I can see it all
Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and
Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia
Keep it one hundred on the land, the sea, the sky
Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes
Don’t care where the hell you been, ’cause now you’re mine
It’s ’bout to be the sleepless night you’ve been dreaming of
The fate of Ophelia

The eldest daughter of a nobleman
Ophelia lived in fantasy
But love was a cold bed full of scorpions
The venom stole her sanity

And if you’d never come for me
I might’ve lingered in purgatory
You wrap around me like a chain, a crown, a vine
Pulling me into the fire

All that time, I sat alone in my tower
You were just honing your powers
Now I can see it all
Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and
Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia
Keep it one hundred on the land, the sea, the sky
Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes
Don’t care where the hell you been, ’cause now you’re mine
It’s ’bout to be the sleepless night you’ve been dreaming of
The fate of Ophelia

’Tis locked inside my memory
And only you possess the key
No longer drowning and deceived
All because you came for me
Locked inside my memory
And only you possess the key
No longer drowning and deceived
All because you came for me

All that time, I sat alone in my tower
You were just honing your powers
Now I can see it all
Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and
Saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia
Keep it one hundred on the land, the sea, the sky
Pledge allegiance to your hands, your team, your vibes
Don’t care where the hell you been, ’cause now you’re mine
It’s ’bout to be the sleepless night you’ve been dreaming of
The fate of Ophelia

You saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia

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