Travis Kelce said Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl, was made up of “12 bangers,” and he was right. Every song is great, and “Opalite” is one of my personal favorites. It turns out, it’s also one of the football player’s favorites, too, and Taylor Swift explained the meaning behind the track and how it connects to her fiancé.
After playing “Opalite” on the radio, one of the interviewers for Capital FM asked Swift if that was her fiancé, Travis Kelce’s, favorite song. She confirmed that it was, saying, “I would say you’re right.” That led to her explaining the sweet connection he has to the song, too, as she said:
He loves that one…I have favorite words, favorite phrases, things that I’ll put in an endless file of lyrics that I’m just constantly going to go and cherry-pick from when I’m writing. And I had written down the word opalite, because I learned that it’s actually a man-made opal. Like opal can be man-mad, just like diamonds. And so, Travis’ birthstone is an opal.
Well, that’s adorable. However, it gets better. Swift continued saying that she has “always loved that stone,” and it means even more that it’s Kelce’s birthstone. That seemingly adds personal significance to the greater meaning of the track as well. To that point, the “Fate of Ophelia” singer explained that she thought Opalite was “a cool metaphor,” because it’s man-made, and “happiness can also be man-made.”
Swift also spoke about the greater meaning of “Opalite” with Hits Radio. She explained that it’s a track about learning from your life and realizing that you have the power and control to learn, grow and move forward. She said:
Oftentimes, in life, when we go through something that doesn’t work out, whether it’s in our personal life or in our friendships or in our career path, we oftentimes look at it as this major setback. Like we’ve taken a step back. But actually, I found that so many of those instances in my life have, based on how you respond to it, can catapult you forward in growth, in wisdom, in perspective.
While the singer didn’t provide specific examples of this, it’s hard not to apply this explanation to her dating history. Before Kelce, and as the Eras Tour was in progress, she broke up with Joe Alwyn, who she’d been with for years, and she had a brief relationship with Matty Healy. Fans speculated that both relationships were sung about on The Tortured Poets Department, and it was clear that she was hurt.
However, that, and the rest of the moments and relationships in her life, have led her to now. And it’s more than evident that she’s in a very happy and healthy relationship with Travis Kelce. It seems like they’re each other’s happy endings, too, considering they got engaged this summer.
Now, while that connection isn’t confirmed, if I’m connecting the dots correctly, it makes perfect sense why “Opalite” is connected to Travis Kelce past that point of it also being a variation of his birthstone.
However, the lyrics of this track can also be applied to her career and success, too. That relatability on so many levels is what makes it a great song, and I think it’s why it’s a track so many Swifties are reacting to.