Code Red: Breaking Down the Hidden Messages in Taylor Swift's Puzzling Video

A Phoebe Bridgers collab? A Chris Stapleton duet? Taylor Swift fans are buzzing over her latest social media video, which features a series of Easter eggs about her re-recorded Red album.

By Jess Cohen Aug 05, 2021 4:03 PMTags
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Taylor Swift, look what you made us do.

The superstar singer is back with another cryptic puzzle for fans to decode. On August 5, T.Swift took to social media to tease upcoming songs from her re-recorded Red album, posting an image of a vault along with a series of seemingly random (but obviously not random) letters. "*presses post* *cackles maniacally*," she captioned the video. Swift also noted the post's level of difficulty as "casually cruel in the name of being honest," a reference to her hit Red track "All Too Well."

After seeing the Grammy winner's video, Swifties went to work on the word scramble and pieced together Phoebe Bridgers' name, a hint that the duo collaborated on the upcoming album. As one fan put it, "taylor swift and phoebe bridgers joining forces to give us the sad girl autumn we deserve sounds about right."

Eagle-eyed fans also spotted the name "Stapleton" in the word jumble, a reference to country star Chris Stapleton. "I will simply not be able to go on if there is a Chris Stapleton duet," one Twitter user wrote in response to the revelation. "My heart will actually explode." Given Red was Swift's final country album before crossing over into pop music, having a Stapleton duet would be a nod to her roots.

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In addition to Bridgers and Stapleton, Ed Sheeran's name can also be found in the puzzle. However, this may come as no surprise to fans, given Sheeran and Swift collaborated on the Red song "Everything Has Changed." In fact, Sheeran confirmed back in June that he had already re-recorded the beloved track.

And if that wasn't enough excitement for one day, it seems as though fans can look forward to Swift's version of "Better Man" on Red (Taylor's Version). The name of the song, written by Swift and recorded by Little Big Town, is among the words in the puzzle, as is her emotion ballad "Ronan," which she wrote about a 4-year-old boy who passed away from cancer in 2011.

Additionally, Swift's song "Babe," which was originally recorded and released by Sugarland, will also be on her updated album.

Ian West/PA Images via Getty Images

Take a look at the video above to try and find more words in the puzzle—and be sure to report back! We are ready for it. And by it, we mean answers.  

Red (Taylor's Version) is set for release on November 19.