Did One Direction Write Another Song About Taylor Swift?
Now that One Direction’s new album Made in the A.M. is finally out, some have been wondering about the lyrics on the new song “Olivia.”
The new track is written by Harry Styles, which has some wondering if it’s about Taylor Swift. The singer’s beloved cat is named Olivia Benson. Then again Styles’ sister’s cat is also named Olivia.
It seems like the upbeat song from One Direction’s new album could be a fun play on words, according to the Hollywood Life. The word “Olive,” when spoken with a British accent, sounds like “I Love,” especially if you say fast like in the song. The celebrity gossip site noted that only Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson tweeted about the word “Olive” back in August 9, 2011. Either the the band mates have a lot of love for each other, or they love saying the word.
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) August 9, 2011
— Harry Styles. (@Harry_Styles) August 9, 2011
There’s also speculation that “Olivia” could be about Taylor’s famous cat or Harry’s sister Gemma’s cat also named Olivia. Songwriter Julian Bunetta worked with the 1D crooner on the song, which he gives complete credit to. He told Rolling Stone magazine the meaning behind the new track.
“This one is very near and dear to my heart. Harry, John [Ryan, co-writer] and I were in Westlake and trying to write one thing and came out with this. I don’t know how it came out. We couldn’t write anything for a couple of days, and we couldn’t focus. We were trying to write things and they were bad.”
“Then we would just laugh and order food and hang out. Then all of a sudden, at the very end of the day when Harry was going to leave, he was sort of saying the chorus phrase, so we just sat there and wrote it really quick. It came out really, really quick…That was an incredibly adult, musically indulgent song that we all had a lot of fun making. It makes me so happy. But ‘Olivia’ was Harry’s genius.”
There is another clue that “Olivia” could be about Taylor Swift and Harry Styles’ relationship. It has the line, “Remember the day we were giving up, when you told me I didn’t give you enough.” It sounds kind of similar to, “Remember when we couldn’t take the heat, I walked out, I said, I’m setting you free,” from Swift’s song “Out of the Woods.” However, some fans could say that it’s a “reach” to call the two song lines similar.
This isn’t the first time that One Direction has gotten in the middle of the popstars once famous relationship. There’s another track on Made in the A.M. that could be about their relationship. Last month, 1D released the music video for their new song “Perfect,” which made fans think it was about Taylor Swift and Harry Styles, otherwise known as Haylor. This song is kind of obvious because not only does it sound like Taylor’s hit song “Style,” but it also sounds like a response to the sassy and fun song.
Although One Direction’s “Perfect” video is artistically different from Taylor Swift’s “Style” video, it includes subtle hints like smoke-filled heads and eyes peering out in the background, as seen below.
Unfortunately for fans, Harry Styles will never ever reveal if the song is really about his brief relationship with the singer. He told People magazine that he allows his fans to “interpret songs in different ways” and that he will never reveal the song’s true meaning “because I feel like it’s up to them.”
Style also admitted that he hasn’t heard the mash-up of the two songs that immediately went viral. But he said that he’s “sure it’s good.”
While Harry remained coy on the meaning of the song, Louis Tomlinson willing to reveal more about the song. After all, he did work with Styles on the songwriting process for this track.
“I think everybody draws from personal experiences, so of course to a degree I’m sure that influenced some of it. Down to specifics to who that song is exactly about, that’s fan’s interpretation, I suppose.”
Harry Styles and Taylor Swift made headlines when they briefly dated in 2012. Most of Swift’s recent album, 1989, is said to about their relationship.
What are your thoughts on One Direction’s Made in the A.M.? Do you like their experimental new album? And do you think that “Olivia” and “Perfect” are about Taylor Swift and Harry Styles’ relationship? Sound off below in the comments section.
[Photo by Mat Hayward/Getty Images]
