UK Fans Wonder if Taylor Swift Will Say 'So Long, London'

Fans of the singer-songwriter like deciphering Taylor Swift's lyrics to find allusions to her romantic past and mental health.

LONDON (AP) — Fans of the singer-songwriter love deciphering Taylor Swift's songs to find allusions to her romantic past and mental health.

However, it didn't take a careful listen to Swift's most recent album, "The Tortured Poets Department," for her admirers in the United Kingdom to realize that the pop sensation had grown weary of the nation's capital after making it her frequent hangout and eventually her second home. The tune "So Long, London" is the fifth on the LP.

Some Swifties are thus curious as to whether they are witnessing the start of a protracted farewell when Swift brings her highly successful Eras Tour to London's Wembley Stadium. She will be at Wembley for six nights in August to wrap out the European part of her tour, beginning on Friday with three nights of performances.

Swift is only making two stops in London throughout the tour. While some believe the arrangement just marks a new chapter in Swift's relationship with the Big Smoke, others are concerned that it would serve as a sort of farewell song. Regardless of whether "So Long, London" serves as the song's epilogue or a coda to her love letter to the city, "London Boy," Eras's arrival marks a significant emotional turning point.

Her current relationship seems to be predicated on the idea that she won't be in London. "It's not like there is an American football player living here," remarked 22-year-old Maggie Fekete, a doctoral student from Canada, who attributes her orientation in the city three years ago to Swift's musical allusions to London. "It is sad to think that her music will have less London."

In case you missed it, Swift had a string of romantic relationships with well-known Brits, beginning in 2012 with Harry Styles and concluding last year when she began dating tight end Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs. The rumors concerning "So Long, London" and a melancholic companion song that makes reference to a bar in London called "The Black Dog" are related to Swift's 2023 separation from English actor Joe Alwyn, with whom she had a romantic relationship for more than six years.

One of her songs from her 2019 album "Lover," "London Boy," is said to have been inspired by Alwyn. What looked to be a journal entry from January 2017 by Swift about being "essentially based in London" but attempting to keep a low profile, as included on a special-edition "Lover" CD. Swift reportedly hid with Alwyn in north London for the most of the COVID-19 epidemic, according to subsequent British tabloid reports.

The multiple Grammy winner reportedly purchased a sizable home in the neighborhood and was renovating it to serve as her headquarters in Europe, according to a December article in The Sun tabloid. However, an author for the British version of ELLE magazine noted that Londoners had a vacancy "for an all-American A-lister who can slot into her place in our collective consciousness" following Swift's release of "The Tortured Poets Department" last month.

Before going on to list the different places the American actor had been spotted with her longtime boyfriend, British actor Tom Holland, writer Naomi May playfully remarked, "We had Swift before we lost her to her record-breaking, box office-breaking Eras Tour and now, it would appear that her vacant position has been filled by Zendaya."

In any case, the nation's capital is putting on quite the show of its own to ensure that Swift and her supporters are satisfied. The singer and her team will be receiving lunches from a kebab restaurant on Friday, according to the proprietor of the walking, bus, and taxi excursions that follow her path.

Swifties have the option to enjoy a plethora of brunches and dance parties with a Swift theme before the end of August, or they can ride the London Eye Ferris wheel while listening to a string quartet playing her songs. One of the locations described in "London Boy," Camden Market, has souvenir stands packed with hats, T-shirts, bags, and stickers exclusive to Swift in anticipation.

Laura Citron, CEO of travel company London & Partners, stated, "We're very proud that London is hosting more shows than any other city on Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, a real testament to her love for London."

On Thursday, fans began forming lines outside Wembley in the hopes of being the first to purchase tickets and secure places in the standing areas closest to the stage. That morning, a pop-up tour goods store opened in a parking lot next to the stadium.

It's too early to tell, according to Zachary Hourihane, who co-hosts the Swift podcast "Evolution of a Snake" and uploads videos to YouTube and TikTok under the moniker "Swiftologist," if the singer will keep her honorary citizenship or split up with London. Taylor's admirers are fully aware that everything will become clear in due course.

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After a challenging year in which she went from winning album of the year at the 2016 Grammy Awards for "1989" to watching her reputation plunge amid a public dispute with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Hourihane reports that Swift began spending more time in London. Based on his research into her life in England, he believes that "a sense of isolation" coexists with the good memories she made there.

According to Hourihane, "there is a lot of nostalgia that may have turned into regret." "She thought she was stuck there for a long time."

It's hardly unexpected that her life is being reevaluated after a number of lovers, ten albums (including the Taylor's Version re-records), and the massive Eras Tour. Hourihane believes that Swift is, for pragmatic as well as aesthetic reasons, "not quite ready to give up on London."

Taylor has a habit of going back a lot. With her, things are never truly over. She enjoys going back and looking at completed projects," he remarked. Let's approach it with realism. She has strong cause to be in London and decent money to make there, even if their relationship ends "so long, goodbye."