Taylor Swift has debunked the theory that her song The Black Dog is about a pub frequented by her English ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn.
The pop star, 35, sings about seeing an ex walk ‘into some bar called The Black Dog,’ and she mentions that the ex forgot to turn off location tracking after their break-up.
Many believed that the lyrics are about her former flame Joe and guessed that she saw him spending time at the free house following the split.
Others also suggested it may be about her other ex, 1975 frontman Matty Healy, another englishman who she dated briefly after separating from Joe.
However, during an appearance on Radio 2 with Scott Mills on Monday morning, Taylor bragged that nobody actually knows the meaning behind the track.
During a conversation about having to give the subjects of her songs a heads up before they appear in the lyrics, Scott asked whether she notified The Black Dog pub about their mention in her song.
Taylor Swift has debunked the theory that her song The Black Dog is about a pub frequented by her English ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn
The pop star, 35, sings about seeing an ex walk ‘into some bar called The Black Dog,’ and she mentions that the ex forgot to turn off location tracking after their break-up (pictured 2020)
He queried: ‘Yeah, because with an enormous fan base, comes great responsibility like did you have to tell the ‘Black Dog Pub’ that they might be getting a few calls?’
However in a surprise move, Taylor revealed that fans have the wrong end of the stick when it comes to her track, The Black Dog, from her 2024 album The Tortured Poets Department.
She said: ‘I mean…I did not and still nobody knows what I’m even talking about on that song. They think they know but they have no idea.’
Scott said: ‘But you know but they don’t know’ and Taylor confirmed: ‘Yeah and that’s the one thing.’
Elsewhere during the radio chat, Taylor spoke about how she trusts her friends to remain tight-lipped about what she is working on behind the scenes.
Scott asked her: ‘So you were doing this while you were on the tour, so you’d do a three hour live show, then you’d pop to Sweden and record an album. And nobody blabbed. It stayed secret. How big is the circle of trust? How do you manage to keep that secret?’
Taylor insisted: ‘My friends don’t rat. They do not rat.
‘And you can tell by the amount of stories about me that are out there that are absolutely not true, because all of my friends had heard the music a year ago.
Many believed that the lyrics are about her former flame Joe and guessed that she saw him spending time at the free house following the split (pictured The Black Dog pub in Vauxhall)
‘They know about my life. They know what’s going on. They do not snitch. It is phenomenal. I’ve got a really good circle of friends. It takes a while to get there.
Scott applauded her, saying: ‘You have chosen your friends well.’
Taylor replied: ‘Well, thank you! I feel so proud about that. But yeah, my friends know everything just like anybody’s friends know everything. And they, the thing is that they just don’t.’
Scott then asked: ‘So the label knew and your friends knew?
But while her pals knew about the new album, Taylor admitted: ‘The label didn’t know at all. Until we had, until the record was done and we had made and we’d shot all of the art, we’d done everything, we do keep that close to the vest because, you know, I think it’s fun to surprise them, honestly, it’s really fun.
‘We do a lot of things in-house, my team, so I think it’s easier for them when the label can really just focus on what they have to do in terms of distribution, we have an amazing team that do that, so, yeah.’
Taylor’s album sparked a wave of interest in a range of London pubs mentioned in its lyrics.
One of these is The Black Dog, which is both a pub in Vauxhall but also track 17 of the songstress’ 31-song double-album.
Taylor has just released her new album – The Life Of A Showgirl
The lyrics ‘You forgot to turn it [your location] off / And so I watch as you walk into some bar called The Black Dog,’ have led Swifties to believe that it could be somewhere that Taylor’s former ‘London Boy’ Joe snuck off to.
But despite the surge in popularity at the time, none of the staff at the pub seemed to remember the megastar ever visiting .
Staff resorted to scouring CCTV over the period of Joe and Swift’s relationship to see if they can spot the singer or her ex-boyfriend inside.
The pub is not some high-flyers exclusive venue for celebs like the English actor, rather – like seven other watering holes name-checked on the LP – it is a typical London corner pub with a small beer garden out the back.
Pouring cold water on the speculation the track is about him, Joe previously denied he has ever been a patron at a bar called The Black Dog.
In a profile with The Sunday Times in June last year, the actor revealed what he likes to do in his spare time.
‘It probably looks pretty similar to yours, or anyone’s — seeing friends, traveling, going to the pub,’ he answered, joking, ‘Can I make a more boring list?’
He was subsequently asked if his favorite pub might be called The Black Dog, located in Vauxhall, London.
‘I’ve never been to Vauxhall,’ Alwyn replied, while ‘smiling a smile that hints that there is more to say.’
Pouring cold water on the speculation the track is about him, Joe previously denied he has ever been a patron at a bar called The Black Dog
Fans believe some songs on Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, were written about Alwyn, but the Swifties have connected The Black Dog to Matty Healy, another one of Taylor’s past suitors; Swift and Healy pictured in May 2023
Fans believe some songs on The Tortured Poets Department, were written about Joe, whom she dated for six years.
However, the Swifties also connected The Black Dog to Matty Healy, another one of Taylor’s past suitors.
The musicians briefly dated for a several weeks in 2023.
Matty is now engaged to model Gabriette, after they struck up a romance last fall.
Taylor’s Black Dog song lyrics read: ‘I am someone who until recent events / You shared your secrets with / And your location, you forgot to turn it off.
‘And so I watch as you walk / Into some bar called The Black Dog / And pierce new holes in my heart.’
She goes on to sing: ‘I just don’t understand how you don’t miss me / In The Black Dog, when someone plays The Starting Line.’
Another hint that the tune was penned about Matty points to his band The 1975, which often covers The Starting Line, a pop-punk collective.
Elsewhere in his Sunday Times interview, Joe described his time with the pop star as ‘long, loving’ and ‘fully committed.’
When asked if he listened to her latest album, Joe answered indirectly and shared that the end of their relationship was ‘a hard thing to navigate.’
In April 2023 it was confirmed that the former couple had officially gone their separate ways.
The songstress has since moved on with Kansas City Chiefs tight end, Travis Kelce, who she announced her engagement to in August.
