'Let me present my very compelling theory that Taylor Swift has another album about Matty Healy.'

Does Taylor Swift have an entire second album about Matty Healy lurking in her diary? Fans listening to her new song 'Guilty As Sin?' seem to think so. 

As a die-hard Swiftie, it's this question that continues to permeate my mind two weeks on from listening to The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD). 

I'm not the only Swiftie who had their clown nose and wig out when hearing one specific line, ears pricked for Easter Eggs like a hunting dog. 

Here, I'm going to break down why this line is so significant, and all the meanings that it could signal to her mega-fans. 

What is 'Guilty As Sin?' by Taylor Swift about?

Swift's Tortured Poets album is sprouting many new theories. Image: Getty

The song 'Guilty As Sin?' is a fan favourite on the TTPD album, exploring a moment when Swift's thoughts strayed to another man while she was in a committed relationship. 

She's asking, if I never actually do anything but just think about a tryst with him, am I still guilty as sin?

It's a sensual piece of art and a really great example of honouring the female orgasm in song format. She sings of her fantasy, "My bedsheets are ablaze, I've screamed his name, building up like waves crashing over my grave. Without ever touching his skin, how can I be guilty as sin?"

It's about forbidden love and slow-burn romance, but it seems this narrative Swift is spinning has been purposefully kept locked away from her fans. 

She sings, "I keep these longings locked in lowercase inside a vault."

In Swiftielore, the word 'vault' usually refers to unreleased songs left on the cutting room floor, such as the 'From The Vault' tracks that she has released on each re-recorded album from Fearless to 1989. 

Is she saying there is a series of unreleased, 'From The Vault' tracks written about the muse of 'Guilty As Sin'? 

@taylor.watch

Rep TV vault tracks are “fire”

♬ original sound - Taylor Watch

It could be so! She even says something very similar in 'Fresh Out The Slammer', a song about leaving her long-term relationship and going directly into a fling (as she did with Matty Healy after the news of her breakup with Joe Alwyn went public). 

"All those nights, he kept me goin', swirled you into all of my poems. Now we're at the starting line, I did my time," she sings. 

Let's just say the Swifties are all too unwell about this possible connection.

Is 'Guilty As Sin' about Matty Healy?

Swift and Healy have been close for years. Image: Getty

If we're going to say there's a bunch of vault tracks written in lowercase about Matty Healy, we should explain why fans think 'Guilty As Sin?' is about him to begin with. 

Swift sings, "Drowning in the Blue Nile, he sent me 'Downtown Lights'. I hadn't heard it in a while." 

She's likely referring to being sent the song 'Downtown Lights' by The Blue Nile and reminiscing about when she wasn't in the 'cage' of her committed relationship. 

That's where the connection comes in. Healy previously said that one of The 1975's more popular songs 'Love It If We Made It', was inspired by 'Downtown Lights'. 

The lyrics of the song are also hopelessly romantic, referring to leaving a love that you can't stop thinking about, with phrases like, "Sometimes I walk away when all I really wanna do is love and hold you right."

Likewise, a running theme in TTPD is the idea of Swift being 'ghosted' by a man who wasn't ready or able to truly be her partner. It all seems a bit too purposeful to be an accident. 

So, what are the four key theories? 

Are there folklore and evermore vault tracks?

@thethriftyswiftie I actually have further thoughts on this as well 👀👀👀 what do you think?! #taylorswift#swifttok#taylornation#swiftietiktok#swifttoker#swifttoks#swiftliketaylor#taylorswiftlover #ttpd #guiltyassin #thetorturedpoetsdepartment #torturedpoets ♬ original sound - Ginnie

The first theory is that Swift is referencing a potential vault on the albums folklore and evermore, about Matty Healy. 

Both albums, written during the pandemic when Swift was in a relationship with Joe Alwyn, are entirely in lowercase. 

Swift worked on the albums alongside Alwyn who was credited under the pseudonym William Bowery on a number of songs, so it would make sense why Swift would keep longing songs about Matty Healy off the album. 

Swift has been open about feeling 'lonely' while writing both albums (either within her relationship or because of the forced isolation of the pandemic, we don't know). 

She's also spoken about how she couldn't stop writing during this era. It was why she released evermore as a sister album. 

Perhaps, there is a third album of vault tracks, also in lowercase, that might shed more light on her long-running situationship with Healy? 

Are folklore and evermore about Matty Healy? 

The typewriter in the 'Fortnight' video clip is missing the '1' key. Image: Taylor Swift

The second theory is that some of the original songs on folklore and evermore are about Matty Healy and that she disguised them as narrative songs. 

Swift said that some of the songs on the album took inspiration from her life but were largely fictitious, such as the teenage love triangle between Betty, James and Augustine that she explores in the folklore songs 'cardigan', 'betty' and 'august'. 

Songs on evermore such as 'ivy', 'cowboy like me' and 'closure' have also been called into question.

Interestingly, fans noted that in the 'Fortnight' video clip, there's a closeup on a typewriter that is missing the number one. 

Swift has a song on folklore called 'the 1', which is about wondering if someone she'd previously dated was 'the one that got away'. When Swift and Joe Alwyn broke up, she stopped playing a song dedicated to him, called 'Invisible String', and swapped it for 'the 1'. Could it be true that this song, amongst others is about Matty Healy?

The lyrics go: "But we were something, don't you think so? Roaring 20s, tossing pennies in the pool, and if my wishes came true, it would've been you."

Sounds like lowercase longings to us!

Is there a third Tortured Poets album yet to come?

Can you see the roman numeral III in the logo? Image: Taylor Swift

The third theory is that there is a series of vault tracks for TTPD that were left off the album and the anthology. 

Given that most of the album is about Matty Healy and is not in lowercase, fans are wondering whether there are extra longings that have not seen the light of day. 

They've also pointed out that the TTPD logo appears to have the roman numeral for three (III) in it, suggesting that it could be a three-album release, with TTPD, TTPD Anthology and TTPD Vault. 

There have also been some suspicious posts from Taylor Nation recently which also point to the number '3'. 

@taygooch I’m preparing for May 3rd 🤡 #thetorturedpoetsdepartment #theanthology #tsttpd #ttpd #taylorswift #taylornation @Taylor Swift @Taylor Nation ♬ Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me? - Taylor Swift

This is, of course, wishful thinking of hungry Swifties who are desperate for anything penned by the singer, but it could be an interesting Easter Egg. 

Are the reputation vault tracks about Matty Healy?

@samanthakbuller so much to process but I LOVE the vibes and everything out TTPD #ttpd #ttpdtaylorswift #swifttok #repuationtaylorsverison #reptv #taylorswift ♬ Fortnight - Taylor Swift

The final theory is that the reputation Vault tracks are about Matty Healy. 

While the track list for the rep album is all in uppercase, the title of the album is in lower case. Some major rep stans suggest that the original album content focused on love for Joe Alwyn, while the Vault tracks may contain secret longings for Matty Healy and be written in lowercase. 

We will have to wait until the re-recordings of reputation are released to confirm if this is truth or just a romantic rumour. 

Feature image: YouTube/Taylor Swift.