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Is the song about the People's Princess?
By Olivia Jakiel — Written on Dec 14, 2020
Another day, another Taylor Swift song to decode.
Fans have been hard at work analyzing the lyrics of evermore, Taylor Swift’s surprise second full-length studio album of 2020, ever since it dropped on Dec. 11.
While fans can’t seem to get enough of the album’s standout songs, like “willow,” “dorothea,” and “no body, no crime,” fan theories about the songs “champagne problems” and “tolerate it” have been making the rounds online, and many Swifties think Taylor was inspired by the story of the late Princess Diana and Prince Charles for the aforementioned songs.
Taylor Swift “champagne problems” meaning — why fans think the lyrics are about Princess Diana and Prince Charles:
Read on for everything fans are saying about the connection between Princess Diana, “champagne problems,” and “tolerate it.”
A Taylor Swift fan pointed out that “champagne problems” may be about Princess Diana and Prince Charles.
Leave it to the TikTok detectives to decode Taylor Swift’s songs!
A fan on the social media platform posted a video montage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles from Season 4 of The Crown with the chorus of “champagne problems” over the montage.
The lyrics read:
“Because I dropped your hand while dancing
Left you out there standing
Crestfallen on the landing
Champagne problems
Your mom's ring in your pocket
My picture in your wallet
Your heart was glass, I dropped it
Champagne problems”
The lyrics of “champagne problems” match up perfectly with the montage from The Crown.
Many Taylor Swift fans on TikTok believe that Swift must’ve binged Season 4 of The Crown before writing evermore.
“I JUST KNOW TAYLOR WATCHED THE CROWN WITH JOE,” one fan excitedly exclaimed, while another said, “Oh Taylor def binged The Crown s4.”
Another fan on TikTok pointed out that Swift “could’ve watched The Crown/docs about Princess Diana like the rest of us and got inspired,” adding that “Taylor’s songs have more than one meaning ofc [of course].”
Taylor Swift wrote a note about the track and its meaning, and it doesn’t necessarily match up with the theory on TikTok.
Swift wrote the song with her boyfriend of nearly four years, Joe Alwyn, and noted that the song is “the one where longtime college sweethearts had very different plans for the same night, one to end it and one who brought a ring.”
Princess Diana started dating Prince Charles when she was just 19 years old, but she wasn’t in college at the time. In fact, Diana never went to college, and completed her education at age 17.
“Just realized this song was over a woman's guilt and sadness after rejecting a proposal. It somehow makes this song more beautiful,” one fan on YouTube also pointed out.
Fans also think “tolerate it” is about Princess Diana.
Fans on social media also think that “tolerate it” is about the People’s Princess.
Lyrics like, “You're so much older and wiser and I,” “Gain the weight of you then lose it/Believe me, I could do it,” point to the fact that Diana was much younger than Prince Charles, as well as alludes to her eating disorder she’s openly spoken about.
The chorus also points to the strained relationship Diana and Charles had:
“I wait by the door like I'm just a kid
Use my best colors for your portrait
Lay the table with the fancy s***
And watch you tolerate it
If it's all in my head tell me now
Tell me I've got it wrong somehow
I know my love should be celebrated
But you tolerate it.”
“OMG tolerate it and champagne problems are defo about Diana,” one fan wrote, while another fan on YouTube said, “This song is 100% about Princess Diana and her relationship with Charles and no one can tell me otherwise. (and it's beautiful).”
Whoever or whatever the songs are about, though, we can all agree on one thing: the beauty of Taylor Swift’s songs is that they can be interpreted in so many different ways, and that’s why she’s one of the most prolific songwriters of her generation.
Olivia Jakiel is an editor and writer who covers celebrity and entertainment news. Follow her on Instagram and keep up with her zingers on Twitter.