“Betty” seems to be the new Taylor Swift song that has fans talking more than the rest after the release of the singer’s new album, folklore, on July 24. The track appears to be told from the point of a view of a man (or woman?!) named James who cheated on their significant other (Betty). It’s the tale of a classic teenage love triangle, and it seems that Taylor got inspiration from Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds while coming up with some of the names for the song.
“You heard the rumors from Inez,” she sings at one point in the song. Inez Reynolds, 3, happens to be the middle child of Blake and Ryan. Later on in the song, Taylor adds, “She said, ‘James, get in, let’s drive,’ those days turned into nights.” James Reynolds, 5, is Blake and Ryan’s oldest daughter! The stars also have a third daughter, who was born in 2019, but her name has never been revealed to the public. Of course, now fans are speculating that perhaps Blake and Ryan’s third daughter may actually be named Betty — the name of third character in this story!
This is not the first time that little James has gotten some love from Taylor on a song. On the singer’s 2017 album, Reputation, James actually says the word ‘gorgeous‘ at the beginning of the track with the same name. A Taylor fan who attended one of her Secret Sessions for Reputation revealed that Taylor played Blake and Ryan the song “Gorgeous” while they were all at the beach, and afterward, James would not stop repeating the new word that she learned. From there, Taylor asked if she could use a recording of James’ voice on the song, and the rest is history!
As for “Betty,” the song is one of 17 new tracks that Taylor released with folklore on July 24, less than 24 hours after she announced the album to her fans. Unlike most of Taylor’s previous songs, this new batch of tracks was mostly inspired by images that Taylor conjured up in her mind or stories that she’s decided to tell as an observer. While there are some autobiographical elements to the record, there are many songs that are told from the perspective of someone else.
“In isolation my imagination has run wild and this album is the result, a collection of songs and stories that flowed like a stream of consciousness,” Taylor explained. “Picking up a pen was my way of escaping into fantasy, history and memory. I’ve told these stories to the best of my ability with all the love, wonder and whimsy they deserve.”