Taylor Swift Explains the Lyrics of ‘Peace’ To Paul McCartney: It’s About ‘Trying To Find Bits of Normalcy’ With Joe Alwyn
Taylor Swift is typically tight-lipped about her relationship with actor Joe Alwyn. But during a conversation with Paul McCartney, she let fans in on the meaning of her song, “Peace,” a track from her latest album, Folklore, which she released in July 2020.
According to Swift, “Peace” is about the challenge of finding normalcy — something she says she and Alwyn both “crave” — in their high-profile relationship.
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn keep their relationship private
It’s unclear when exactly Swift and The Favourite actor first started dating. That’s because they’ve kept their romance out of the public eye. In May 2017, relationship rumors went public. Ed Sheeran even called Alwyn a nice guy during an interview but wasn’t until the 2018 Swift seemed to confirm the relationship.
She tagged Alwyn in an Instagram post promoting The Favourite, in November 2018. Just a few months later on Feb. 10, 2019, Swift ditched the Grammys to attend the BAFTA Awards with Alwyn. They didn’t walk the red carpet together but they were seen at an after-party hand-in-hand.
Fast-forward to August 2019 and Swift released Lover, presumably inspired by Alwyn. Swift’s spoken about her relationship status on numerous occasions but she and Alwyn do their best to keep a low-profile.
Taylor Swift says ‘Peace’ is about having a normal life with Joe Alwyn
Speaking to McCartney for the cover of a special issue of Rolling Stone, Swift talked about the meaning of the 15th song on her album.
“‘Peace’ is actually more rooted in my personal life,” she said. “I know you have done a really excellent job of this in your personal life: carving out a human life within a public life, and how scary that can be when you do fall in love and you meet someone, especially if you’ve met someone who has a very grounded, normal way of living.”
She continued, saying she can only control so much.
“I, oftentimes, in my anxieties, can control how I am as a person and how normal I act and rationalize things, but I cannot control if there are 20 photographers outside in the bushes and what they do and if they follow our car and if they interrupt our lives,” she said. “I can’t control if there’s going to be a fake weird headline about us in the news tomorrow.”
Asked by McCartney whether or not her “partner” aka Alwyn understands, Swift replied, “Oh, absolutely.”
The 30-year-old opened up more about the song and her boyfriend, saying she’s made adjustments to her life to make it “more like a real life.”
“But I think that in knowing him and being in the relationship I am in now, I have definitely made decisions that have made my life feel more like a real life and less like just a storyline to be commented on in tabloids,” she said.
Taylor Swift tries to ‘find bits of normalcy’ in her life
What does that mean in Swift’s day-to-day life?
“Whether that’s deciding where to live, who to hang out with, when to not take a picture — the idea of privacy feels so strange to try to explain, but it’s really just trying to find bits of normalcy,” she explained.
“That’s what that song ‘Peace’ is talking about,” she added. “Like, would it be enough if I could never fully achieve the normalcy that we both crave?”
Swift and Alwyn continue to keep a tight lid on their relationship. Aside from double-tapping each other’s Instagram posts or making the rare comment about their love lives during an interview, they keep their relationship private.
