So High School(TTPD): Analysis by Penny R

As the year wraps up, I’m doing an analysis of a song on The Tortured Poets’ Department, Taylor Swift’s new album. So High School is a song based on how Taylor Swift feels about Travis Kelce, her current boyfriend. 

This song is one of my favorite songs on the album, and she’s basically saying being with Kelce makes her feel like she’s in high school again. It takes her back to her experience in high school or just when she was younger, which was an amazing experience for her. The experience of being with Kelce just made her feel more alive and more exciting in a very wholesome way, which was definitely what she needed after breakups with Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy. The song starts with a classic, stereotypical high school crush:

            I feel so high school every time I look at you

            I wanna find you in a crowd just to hide from you

Generally what she means by “so high school” is more alive, and more giddy to be around someone you love. This version of love is more simplistic and yet more exhilarating than past relationships she’s had. She continues with more references to America:

            I'm watching American Pie with you on a Saturday night

            Your friends are around, so be quiet

             I'm trying to stifle my sighs

This is another example of Swift’s giddy, high school-like love. American Pie is a traditional '90s comedy/romance movie about a friend group in high school. This might also be a reference to how American the relationship feels, since Kelce is a football player. After all, a football player is a symbol of both traditional high school and America in general. To break down why this relationship might feel “so high school” to Swift might be because of one of Swift’s best relationships with Taylor Lautner in 2009. She mentions in “Back to December”, which is clearly about Lautner: 

I miss your tan skin, your sweet smile 

So good to me, so right 

And when you held me in your arms that September night 

Based on this, we know that Swift felt very emotionally connected to Lautner, and even if she kind of messed their relationship up, it was still very sweet and “so high school”, which is one of the things Swift missed most about it. even if Swift was about 20 when they dated. One of the last lines in the songs references:

            It's true, swear, scouts honor

            You knew what you wanted, and, boy, you got her

This part of the song references the Boy Scouts, which is another stereotypical American organization, just like the NFL (which Kelce is a big part of). It also mentions how forward Kelce was, and how Swift kind of enjoyed that. I like how the song symbolizes the simple, free kind of love with no consequences that might remind her of her childhood. In general, this song is one of the catchier songs on the album, with a whopping 31 songs. I thought it was really cute and definitely underrated, as a nod to Swift and Kelce’s relationship at the moment. Check out Taylor’s new album The Tortured Poets’ Department, I would definitely recommend listening to it :D

Rating 8/10