One of the several songs that Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing concert movie of all time after earning over $260 million at the box office, suring Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (which grossed $99 million) with ease.

Swift's recording-breaking concert tour, the Eras Tour, features the pop star taking her fans on a journey through nine of her "eras," aka nine of her ten studio albums (though live concerts have since included the tenth), and one surprise song acoustic set. Although two songs are still missing from Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version) on Disney+, the streaming release of the hit film includes the majority of Swift's 44-song setlist, satisfying many fans after some tracks were left off the theatrical version. Thankfully, one of the most important songs from evermore — "champagne problems" — is still one of the movie's highlights.

What Is Champagne Problems About?

A Longtime College Romance & Failed Marriage Proposal

Taylor Swift released "champagne problems" as the second track of 2020's evermore — Disney+ omitted "'tis the damn season" from Taylor Swift: The Era's Tour (Taylor's Version)).

Swift picked the track for her setlist because "champagne problems" is one of the most popular songs from her ninth studio album, partly because of its heart-wrenching lyrics and powerful bridge that fans get to scream out at the Eras Tour. Some of the first chorus' lyrics include:

Your mom's ring in your pocket

My picture in your wallet

Your heart was glass, I dropped it

Champagne problems

The tear-inducing number chronicles a doomed college romance that ends with a rejected marriage proposal. The couple that "champagne problems" is about has, assumingly, been together for a long time, but when the man proposes to the woman, she turns him down, leaving everyone speechless. The woman takes responsibility for the heartbreak and her explanation for her refusal can be explained in the bridge:

Sometimes you just don't know the answer

'Til someone's on their knees and asks you

The couple breaks up after she rejects his proposal, and the woman promises the man that he will find the right person for him (and that it's not her) in "champagne problems." However, while the evermore track describes the man's heartbreak, it also depicts the woman's pain and grief as she explains how her own personal troubles got in the way of her saying yes to her lover. She describes them as "champagne problems," a saying for when someone encounters an issue that is minuscule in comparison to more significant worries for less privileged people in the world.

Champagne Problems Is Fictional

It Is Not About Taylor Swift & Joe Alwyn

Even though Taylor Swift has a way of making all the lyrics in her songs seem personal and real, the story in "champagne problems" on evermore is fictional. While the lyrics in songs like "All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor's Version)" are inspired by Swift's breakups in real life, the evermore track is not based in reality. Swift wrote the song with Joe Alwyn (who is credited under the pseudonym William Bowery on the track listing) while they were still dating, but the lyrics are not about their relationship.

Swift's folklore and evermore, which the singer-songwriter describes as "sister records," allowed her to write about fictional tales, while also fitting in some lyrics pertaining to her personal life, of course. Inside evermore's album booklet, Swift's prologue reveals that she "loved the escapism [she] found in these imaginary/not imaginary tales." The pop star also describes "champagne problems" as:

"The one where longtime college sweethearts had very different plans for the same night, one to end it and one who brought a ring."

So, it's safe to say that Swift's "champagne problems" features a story about a doomed romance that she and Alwyn concocted in their minds. Perhaps the evermore song was a sign of things to come for Swift and Alwyn's relationship, as they broke up in early 2023, a couple of years following the album's release. For all intents and purposes, though, "champagne problems" is a tragic but fictional love story.

Champagne Problems Is (Probably) Not About Gilmore Girls' Rory & Logan

The Gilmore Girls Fan Theory

One of the more popular fan theories surrounding the meaning behind "champagne problems" on evermore (Rory Gilmore and Logan Huntzberger's love story in the popular comedy-drama television series Gilmore Girls. The relationship between the two fictional characters played out in a similar fashion to the people depicted in Swift's sentimental ballad.

The beauty of Swift's music is that she can somehow make those who listen to her songs relate to the lyrics, despite how specific they might be or whether they have gone through what the song is describing.

Rory and Logan met at Yale and fell in love throughout Gilmore Girls seasons 5 and 6. However, during the penultimate episode of Gilmore Girls, he proposes to her, and she rejects him. Several years later, Rory and Logan resumed their romance (while cheating on their significant others) in the Netflix revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. But fans apply the lyrics of "champagne problems" to the college years of the relationship. Nevertheless, Swift has never confirmed that the evermore track is about Rory and Logan nor is there any strong evidence to prove so.

What Taylor Swift Has Said About Champagne Problems

Playing The Song Is Cathartic

Given its popularity among her fanbase, Taylor Swift chose "champagne problems" as one of Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version) on Disney+. Years before the record-breaking worldwide concert tour, though, Swift spoke about the process of writing "champagne problems" for evermore and the meaning behind the lyrics with Zane Lowe for Apple Music. A few days following evermore's debut, the pop star explained:

"Joe [Alwyn] and I really love sad songs. We've always bonded over music ... 'champagne problems' was one of my favorite bridges to write ... I'm so excited to one day be in front of a crowd when they all sing, 'She would have made such a lovely bride, what a shame she's f**ked in the head.' I know it's so sad, but it's those songs like 'All Too Well,' performing the song 'All Too Well' is one of the most joyful experiences I ever go through when I perform live. So, when there's a song like 'champagne problems,' where you know it's so sad, you know that, but I love a sad song."

Swift believes that performing "champagne problems" is cathartic, as it's a heartbreaking song, but singing along with a stadium full of thousands of fans during the Eras Tour is somewhat comforting. Of course, it probably helps that the lyrics seemingly do not pertain to Swift's personal life. However, the beauty of Swift's music is that she can somehow make those who listen to her songs relate to the lyrics, despite how specific they might be or whether they have gone through what the song is describing. As a result, "champagne problems" is one of Taylor Swift's best (yet devastating) songs.

Champagne Problems Isn't The Only Fictional Taylor Swift Song

Speak Now, Stay Stay Stay, & Folklore

Despite her reputation for calling out former lovers in her lyrics, several Taylor Swift songs are fictional in nature. This is especially true regarding her writing on songs in both folklore and evermore. This was actually the main theme of folklore. However, many songs from her entire catalog are fictional and not about her personal life. One example is the 2010 title track from Speak Now. While that album had songs targeted at John Mayer and Taylor Lautner, the title track was just about a dream she had.

"Stay Stay Stay" from Red is a song about daydreaming of finding real love. This song isn't about someone Swift was ever with, but about wistful thinking and is completely fictional from that point of view. However, folklore's entire theme is that it is a batch of songs that remain fictional and separated from reality. The entire album has songs that see Swift going full-on with her storytelling and creating characters, even some that drift between songs. Taylor Swift even released a documentary film about the making of the folklore album.

A Lot Of Taylor Swift Songs Have Hidden Meanings

Swift References Both Real Life And Fiction

Swift’s love for puzzles and Easter eggs provides a great way for her fans to engage with her music.

When Taylor Swift was first starting out as a recording artist, she enjoyed placing hidden messages in her song lyrics. Fans, however, wouldn’t find them just by listening to her music. Instead, they would have found them in the album booklets. Swift would capitalize certain letters of words in the song lyrics included in the booklet to provide messages about the songs themselves, like who they were about or the circumstances of writing them.

For example, for Swift’s Fearless album, the capital letters for the lyrics to the song “Fifteen” spell out, “I CRIED WHILE RECORDING THIS.” Of course, Swift later flipped the idea and used all lowercase letters in album lyrics to provide messages about the songs as well. Two decades later, fans are less likely to find that.

With the Reputation era of her music, Swift went through something of a rebrand. Her image changed, her social media changed, and she became more conscious about dropping Easter eggs for fans in music videos instead of album liner notes. Fans, however, can still find references in her music to both her real life and fictional stories.

Now, Swift likes to do things like include the names of friends or children in her fictional stories. For example, Swift is good friends with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds. When she penned songs for her album folklore, she used the names of Reynolds and Lively’s oldest kids in her fictional tales: Betty, James, and Inez. The songs feature a love triangle, not siblings, however.

Swift’s love for puzzles and Easter eggs provides a great way for her fans to engage with her music. Because she is known for them, she’s also had word games online that allow fans to unscramble the names of new song tracks. As long as her fans keep engaging with these references, it’s likely Taylor Swift will continue to find ways to include them in her music.

Source: Apple Music/YouTube