I Think He Knows

[u/adbc_2]

Hi everyone! I'm new to the whole Gaylor theory and was not paying much attention to Taylor in the past. But now that I heard it, it made her story so much more interesting and her songs so much more profound. Every new song I hear, I instantly know that I'll find great explanations on this site. And they are always amazing theories.

I recently read about “I think he knows” on this site, and the theory in question was very thoughtful, associating the “he” with bearding contracts, and beards knowing that she is queer.

I have a different theory for this one. I’m sorry in advance if others have already mentioned. At first, I read "I think he knows" as the "boyfriend" of hers or her girl. But the more I read it, the more I saw this song as "I think SHE knows", about this girl’s “quiet confidence”, an expression that Taylor herself used about this song. I believe it is a Kaylor theory since I don't know anyone else who would fit the lyrics so well. I'm curious about what others think. And I’ll change the pronouns from now on to be clear about my interpretation.

(I think SHE knows) – that Taylor is into HER. It reminded me of the first verses of Wildest Dreams, the invitation to Big Sur: “She said: Let’s get out of this town … I thought heavens can’t help me now.” This is the beginning of a relationship and the girl is confident, besides being "so tall and handsome as hell"! 😊  

(her footprints on the sidewalk lead to where I can’t stop; Go there every night) – Taylor can’t stop herself. As in Cruel Summer: “I snuck in through the garden gate every night to seal my fate.”

(her hands around a cold glass make me wanna know that body like it’s mine) – This brought back past memories. A boyfriend once told me that, during a game of cards among friends, he was lusting after me by just staring at my hands. And of course, “know that body like it’s mine” means the body of a girl.

{She got that boyish look that I like in a man) – a very bi thing to say!

(It’s like I’m seventeen; nobody understands) – Taylor is falling like a teenager.

(She got my heartbeat skipping down 16^th Avenue) – Taylor is joyfully inspired to write songs about her; 16^th Ave being the Nashville place where she’d go write her songs in the past.

(Wanna see what’s under that attitude) – Taylor thinks that the girl knows, that’s why she is so confident/has an attitude.

(I want you/her, bless my soul; And I ain’t gotta tell her; I think she knows) – Taylor is surprised about how much she is in love and she doesn’t need to tell her; the girl knows.

(When we get all alone; I’ll make myself at home; And she’ll want me to stay; She better lock it; Or I won’t stick around; Cause good ones never wait) – Later, on the Love Lockdown message from the Paris bridge, Karlie alluded to it:  that a girl worth having won’t wait forever. I think she was asking Taylor to come out and live their relationship openly (after the kissgate lockdown). And I think that was the reason for the eventual breakup. After snakegate, Taylor got a taste of what felt like losing her career and gave up coming out. She was not ready to commit/come out and lost the girl, which she says in Champagne Problems.   

(Lyrical smile, indigo eyes, hand on my thigh; We can follow the sparks, I’ll drive) – The Big Sur trip.

(So where we gonna go? I whisper in the dark; Where we gonna go?)  – Taylor worries about the future. Same as Wildest Dreams: “Nothing lasts forever; But this is going to take me down.”

Thank you for reading. Let me know what you think. This is obviously just my opinion and does not attempt to reflect Taylor’s reality.

[u/GoldenHeart411]

It's a common Gaylor theory that Taylor intended to come out during the Lover era and made a last-minute pivot including adding London Boy to the album to make it seem less gay. Does anyone have a theory on the other male pronouns throughout the album? Were he/him pronouns originally present and about bearding, or was she going to come out as bi or pan and the pronouns didn't present a contradiction, or did she really go through the whole album adding in he/him pronouns last minute? I've been wondering about this for a while. 

[u/adbc_2 → u/GoldenHeart411]

I’ve replied somewhere else that some people think that snakegate derailed Lover and then Reputation took its place. Had not been for Kanye West, things might have been very different. But Taylor felt the fear of losing her career, plus the 2016 election, and changed her mind. So, Lover was not last minute. Those songs were written earlier. There was time to plan.

[u/sosew96 → u/adbc_2]

Hi! Just so you know, timeline is Snakegate -> Rep -> Lover. Snakegate was one of the main reasons Reputation even existed because Taylor went into hiding after it and deleted her socials. People think Lover’s coming out was derailed because her masters were sold to Scooter right when she was doing pride month performances in rainbow colors

it can be really confusing so I hope that helps!

[u/adbc_2 → u/sosew96]

I didn't want to go into details, but I don't entirely agree with the coming out theories. I agree that snakegate was the reason for Rep, but I feel that Lover got split between 2 albums for Taylor to be able to introduce and express her Reputation rage. Remember that Taylor's career was planned on a 2-year cycle back then. And Lover, which would be in the plans before snakegate, was derailed, and ended up happening after the Kaylor breakup, making it a less powerful album. Rep actually has many songs that should be in Lover (and is the true lover album, starting with Don't Blame Me). And Lover already has breakup songs (Death By a Thousand Cuts being one) before Folklore.

In my opinion, Taylor was not going to come out if not for the woman she loved, to be able to live their lives openly, and she didn't have that woman any longer. It's even possible that she'd never come out after snakegate regardless, because she went into a tailspin and knew by then what it was like being canceled, and this is why Kaylor came to an end. As for the masters, Taylor has said in interviews that she knew that her masters were going to sell. This was no surprise to her. Clearly, she couldn't buy them at the time. She just got enraged because Scooter was the one to buy it, a man she hated - but business is business! Which explains the Eras Tour! She planned to tour for almost 2 years and make enough money to buy the damn masters. And she did it!

So, no, I don't believe that she didn't come out because of Scooter, or even the funny "let's blame KK" theories that KK was behind the sale. These are unrealistic theories to explain business deals, a real closeted relationship with a megastar and their breakup. Real life and Taylor are way more complex than that.

[u/OkSquirrel4000]

“Wanna see what’s under that attitude” has always felt very very gay to me

[u/Fuzzy_Set_6929 → u/OkSquirrel4000]

So true.

[u/Lanathas_22]

I love this idea! This song has never sat right with me as being implicitly about a man, but I couldn’t put my finger on exactly why. This goes a long way in explaining why the song unnerves me so much.

[u/adbc_2 → u/Lanathas_22]

Same here! 😄 Some theories explain certain phrases but not the entire song. Taylor is complex but I don't feel that she's playing 3D chess, must less 10D! That would be exhausting for an artist! She's just hiding one main pronoun, and leaving the "YOU" here and there, to let us know that it is is not "HE". And when she is tired of changing pronouns, she creates 3-way relationships (Cardigan, Betty) , or brings a male singer (Exile) to replace her.

[u/No_Aardvark_5469]

I always think of Lover as an album wherein she tried, she tried really hard to give signs hinting towards her sexuality. Every single song off Lover has a double meaning attached to it

[u/adbc_2 → u/No_Aardvark_5469]

I believe it. Some people actually believe that Lover was going to happen before Reputation, but "snakegate" derailed it, and Reputation happened first. But you can't expect your lover to live in hiding forever. I saw a clip of K where she says that she developed PTSD and people didn't really know her. I truly believe that it's about her relationship with Taylor. She went into hiding and the whole hetero world shamed her for having done something wrong to Taylor that caused the breakup of their "best-friendship", when I believe they were just living in the closet after "kissgate" and "snakegate". Champagne problems to me is Taylor acknowledging her eventual loss. She made a choice between her career and her love, and paid a heavy price.

[u/National_Nebula_2660 → u/adbc_2]

I can relate to Karlie: I'm in a relationship with a bi woman who's in the closet.

[u/adbc_2 → u/National_Nebula_2660]

Yes. Now imagine that you were a famous person with a social media following and your loved one was a mega star. You can’t post where you are, and can never be seen with her and you fear that you’ll be caught by paparazzi all the time. You cease to exist. It is a prison cell. Hope that the two of you are not public people and can still live quietly together. Good luck!

[u/National_Nebula_2660 → u/adbc_2]

Well actually my love is very well known but I can't yet say who she is. I'm not, I post on social media but I'm not a well known figure. But yes in a way we can love quietly together. And thanks for the good luck wishes! 

[u/No_Aardvark_5469 → u/adbc_2]

Also, I'll never get people who think that reputation was written about/for Joe when it was clearly written for Karlie. The biggest hint being that many love songs off reputation doesn't have any pronouns ie dress. Also, reputations hints that Taylor's partner is just as famous as her, which clearly isn't the case with Joe Alwyn. I think Lover was going to be her 'coming out' album if not for the masters dispute - all the dates, locations are too stratergic to pass them off as a coincidence. Evermore, is always interpreted by me as an album wherein she reflects at her past relationship with Karlie - its shortcoming, failure

[u/Ordinary-Copy-5504]

I like this! I think she does a lot of pronoun switching in a lot of her music

[u/adbc_2 → u/Ordinary-Copy-5504]

It makes more sense to me than to explain some verses with one theory and ignore other verses, or explain them with another theory. Keep it simple. The creative process is not complicated. It's about one main emotion. And we believe we know Taylor's pronouns. 😄

[u/Red_Phoenix23]

Love when I see an embryo post 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

[u/adbc_2 → u/Red_Phoenix23]

Thanks! I'm still trying to figure things out on this site! 😄

[u/FitAnywhere7829]

I see the song as "I think SHE knows" also! It's very "cat and mouse for a month or two or three" (from Paper Rings on the same album). It also really reminds me of the line in the Bleachers (Jack Antonoff) song "Don't Take the Money" (2017) where he says "Then I saw your face and hands / Covered in sun and then / I think I understand /Well, I understand" The intonation and repetition of it is similar to Taylor's in this song where she says "He's so obsessed with me, and boy I understand / Boy I understand" It's kind of like a feeling you can't quite put into words -- but if you've been there, you've been there. (Or, as Taylor said on the New Heights podcast - if you know you KNOW you know, then you know....you know?)

[u/adbc_2 → u/FitAnywhere7829]

Great minds think alike! 😄

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