Taylor Swift is one of the most accomplished songwriters of all time, and she also has one of the most high-profile relationships on the planet. It only makes sense that she would try to blend the two, but the results have been quite a mixed bag.
After Taylor released yet another Travis-centric song this week, I decided to take on the task of ranking every song that Taylor has written about Travis since their relationship began.
Some are flatly bad, but there are some absolute hits, too.
9. “So High School”
This song is unmistakably about Travis Kelce, and that’s pretty much the most positive thing I can say about it.
Released as part of The Tortured Poets Department Anthology, it tells the story of a grown woman in love feeling like a teenager again. Conceptually, it should be endearing, and I understand why she wrote it. But the execution is just so cringe-inducing.
For starters, the song seems to lean heavily on the idea of high schoolers sneaking around having sex. And while I do understand that the entire premise of the song is a love that makes you feel like a kid again, some of these lines are just a little odd coming from a 34-year-old woman.
“Your friends are around, so be quiet. I’m trying to stifle my sighs.”
“No one’s ever had me not like you.”
“Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto.”
And the relatively innocuous, non-suggestive lines come across as someone fantasizing about high school rather than reflecting on what it was actually like – which, to be fair, is almost certainly exactly what’s happening here, given that Swift did not have a traditional high school experience. It relies heavily on TV tropes of high school – “Truth, dare, spin bottles” or “Get my car door, isn’t that sweet?” – which comes off as very inauthentic, like the “how do you do, fellow kids?” scene from 30 Rock.
Musically, it tries to give an angsty 90s alt-rock feel, but like the rest of the song, it doesn’t really come across as authentic. Aaron Dessner did a good job with the guitar tone in that regard. Vocally, though, it sounds like Taylor is trying her best to be Alanis Morissette, but it lands more like Robin Sparkles in “P.S. I Love You.”
I understand her desire to write the song, and I’m glad that Travis gives her the feelings of young and innocent love that she clearly feels like she never got to have. But that doesn’t make this a good song, and I don’t have to pretend that it is.
8. “Cleveland!”
This is another song where the concept seems fine enough, as it seems like Taylor is singing about all of her apparent flaws and how Kelce loves her anyway – a classic love song trope. But the thing is, that’s not actually what the song is about.
If you actually listen to the lyrics, Taylor isn’t talking about Travis loving her despite her actual flaws; she’s talking about Travis loving her despite her public perception. The lyrics aren’t self-reflective or self-aware. They’re not focused on how she feels or what she thinks; they’re focused on what others are saying about her, which is just a weird framing for a love song.
“It’s striking that the love songs Swift writes for Kelce are rooted in public perception rather than her inner feelings; she cares more about how the world sees them together than how she sees him,” Poppie Platt of The Telegraph wrote in her review of the song.
I think that’s a little harsh, but it’s not entirely unfair.
Someone might defend against this criticism by pointing out that the song is quite literally a declaration that the outside noise and criticism don’t matter as long as Travis loves her. That’s a fair point. But to me, it lands a bit hollow.
The thing is, people who don’t care what others think don’t usually write whole-ass songs about how much they don’t care.
Musically, it’s fine. It’s mostly fun and kind of sounds like it should be a Christmas song. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it was.
7. “Eldest Daughter”
It’s probably a stretch to even include this one on the list, as it isn’t really about Travis at all. The song is more about Taylor wrestling with the pressure and responsibility of being the oldest sibling, the one expected to hold everything together, rather than actual romance.
However, there are a few lines that seemingly connect to Travis.
“When you found me I said I was busy. That was a lie,” Taylor sings in the first verse.
Fans have connected this line to the 2023 concert at Arrowhead Stadium, when Travis famously tried and failed to meet her. The chorus then turns into a promise of loyalty, eldest daughter (Taylor) meeting youngest child (Travis).
The song isn’t really about Travis, but he’s a pretty clear character in the larger story. So it qualifies, but that keeps it low on the list.
6. “The Alchemy”
This is the first song Taylor ever released that seemed to explicitly reference her relationship with Travis.
The two went public with their relationship in September 2023, and her release of The Tortured Poets Department gave him his first appearance in her catalog, on an album fans expected to be all heartbreak.
The reference was pretty difficult to miss with all the football references, as the whole song runs on sports metaphors.
“So when I touch down, call the amateurs and cut ’em from the team.”
“I’m making a comeback to where I belong.”
“The greatest in the league. Where’s the trophy?
“These blokes warm the benches. We been on a winning streak.”
The song itself is honestly pretty boring and forgettable. There’s no memorable hook lyrically or musically; there’s nothing particularly dynamically interesting, and it feels needlessly long.
It’s also so on-the-nose with its football references that when it leaked on social media a few days before its official release, I was nearly certain that it was another fake AI-generated song like the others that had been spreading for weeks beforehand.
At the same time, it’s not offensively bad and Travis has made it very clear that it’s one of his favorite songs, which has to count for something.
5. “Wood”
Taylor frames this song as a story about being unlucky in love until the right guy breaks the curse, but the entire song revolves around double entendres that are nothing close to subtle.
“Redwood tree, it ain’t hard to see. His love was the key that opened my thighs,” Swift sings in the song.
It also references their engagement and eventual marriage with a rather cheeky innuendo.
“Girls, I don’t need to catch the bouquet to know a hard rock is on the way,” she sings.
Taylor also sings about Travis’ “magic wand” lifting a curse and references his “New Heights of manhood,” which is a pretty clear nod to the New Heights podcast.
Musically, it’s short and fun with a 1970s feel reminiscent of the Jackson 5. But the lyrics make it impossible to actually take it seriously, which keeps it near the bottom of the list. At the same time, it’s clearly all a joke, and that’s part of its charm.
4. “Wi$h Li$t”
While a solid chunk of the songs on this list pretty explicitly tell you that they are about Travis Kelce, the best ones are a lot more subtle, and this is one of them.
This song is about Travis, but only because that’s who Taylor happens to be with right now. In the best way, it could really be about anyone and everyone.
In the song, Swift runs through the things people chase – the yachts, the designer clothes, the fame – and then shrugs them all off. What she wants is simpler: “I just want you.”
“Have a couple kids, got the whole block lookin’ like you,” she sings. “We tell the world to leave us the [expletive] alone and they do. Got me dreamin’ ’bout a driveway with a basketball hoop”
It’s a very catchy song with a simple and timeless love story message.
3. “Honey”
This is another song that doesn’t explicitly connect it to Taylor and Travis’ relationship on its face, but E! News reports that the song title refers to one of Travis’ pet names for Taylor.
Given that context, the song is quite sweet. It tells the story of Taylor reclaiming pet names from being negative and demeaning when they are intended to be belittling to sweet and endearing when they’re said by someone you love.
“You can call me ‘Honey’ if you want because I’m the one you want,” Swift sings. “You give it different meaning ’cause you mean it when you talk.”
The concept of the song is sweet and clever, especially in the context of Travis liking to call her “honey” and the broader context of how she has talked about the healing nature of their relationship.
Musically, the song is fun and upbeat with some pleasantly poppy drums and keys courtesy of Max Martin and Shellback. It’s not as catchy as some of the others at the top of this list, but it’s also nowhere near as cringe as some at the bottom.
2. “Opalite”
Being perfectly honest, there just aren’t very many songs written about Kelce that use the rich symbolism, metaphors, and storytelling that Taylor has become known for over the years, but “Opalite” certainly does.
Taylor has actually explained the concept and the symbolism of this song herself. Opal, Taylor explained, is Travis’ birthstone. Opalite, however, is a man-made version of opal. Taylor uses it as a reminder that love and happiness can be man-made, too.
“Travis’ birthstone is an opal, so I’ve always fixated on that, I’ve always loved that stone,” she explained in an interview with Capital FM in October 2025. “I thought it was kind of cool metaphor. [Opalite is] a man-made opal, and happiness can also be man-made, too. So, that’s kind of what the song is about, kind of the juxtaposition of those two.”
From a purely musical standpoint, the song is also a classic Taylor Swift pop hit. The softer bass-guitar-driven verse, followed by a dynamic switch to a chorus with some dance-beat drums behind an extremely catchy melody – a Martin and Shellback special. It’s a true pop banger with some vintage Taylor Swift lyricism.
1. “The Fate of Ophelia”
For as bad as some of these songs are, the songs at the top of the list more than make up for it.
This song makes some very explicit references to Travis and their relationship – “Keep it 100” in reference to 87 +13, “I heard you calling on the megaphone” in reference to Travis calling her out on his podcast to begin their relationship – but it also threads the needle with some rich storytelling and literary allusions all while standing out as a legitimate pop banger.
The song compares herself to Ophelia in Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where Ophelia is driven mad by heartbreak and ultimately drowns. Taylor saw herself on her way to that same fate before Travis saved her.
“All that time I sat alone in my tower, you were just honing your powers. Now I can see it all,” Taylor sings. “Late one night, you dug me out of my grave and saved my heart from the fate of Ophelia.”
Musically, it’s the closest thing to a pop masterpiece that Taylor has put out since at least her Midnights album. The synth-driven production is perfect with the simple backbeat on the drums. It’s full of classic pop elements – the ad-libs, the layered vocals, and the clap tracks – and is ridiculously catchy.
This song alone was worth going back to Martin and Shellback, and it makes all of the other bad Travis Kelce songs worth it.
About Kevin Harrish