Written By: Cautious Clay, Mark Spears, Taylor Swift & Jack Antonoff
Produced By: Sounwave, Jack Antonoff & Taylor Swift
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“London Boy” is most likely an ode to Swift’s boyfriend as of the song’s release, British actor Joe Alwyn. Other songs on the album, including the title track, are assumed to be about their relationship.
Having mostly escaped the public eye during her relationship with Alwyn, Swift finally shares some of the most memorable experiences she’s enjoyed.
This track is notable for using an interpolation of the rhythm on Cautious Clay’s “Cold War,” making Clay only the second artist ever to be interpolated on one of Swift’s songs (after Right Said Fred on “Look What You Made Me Do”).
“They say home is where the heart is, but God, I love the English,” she insists as she name-checks spots around London and British traditions that she’s discovered for herself. It’s a happy-go-lucky bop with a minimal, looping melody that puts the focus on her lyrics as she calls out her “American smile” and the way she “fancies” someone new. It also features writing credits from Cautious Clay and Sounwave, collaborators that don’t pop up elsewhere on Lover — which might explain its distinctive flavor.
[Intro: Idris Elba & James Corden]
We can go drivin' in, on my scooter
Uh, you know, just 'round London (Oh, I'd—)
[Verse 1]
I love my hometown as much as Motown, I love SoCal
And you know I love Springsteen, faded blue jeans, Tennessee whiskey
But somethin' happened, I heard him laughin'
I saw the dimples first and then I heard the accent
[Pre-Chorus]
They say, "Home is where the heart is"
But that's not where mine lives
[Chorus]
You know I love a London boy
I enjoy walkin' Camden Market in the afternoon
He likes my American smile, like a child when our eyes meet
Darling, I fancy you
Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates
So I guess all the rumors are true
You know I love a London boy
Boy, I fancy you (Ooh)
[Verse 2]
And now I love high tea, stories from Uni' and the West End
You can find me in the pub, we are watchin' rugby with his school friends
Show me a gray sky, a rainy cab ride
Babes, don't threaten me with a good time
[Pre-Chorus]
They say, "Home is where the heart is"
But, God, I love the English
[Chorus]
You know I love a London boy
I enjoy nights in Brixton, Shoreditch in the afternoon
He likes my American smile, like a child when our eyes meet
Darling, I fancy you
Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates
So I guess all the rumors are true
You know I love a London boy
Boy, I fancy you
[Bridge]
So please show me Hackney
Doesn't have to be Louis V up on Bond Street
Just wanna be with you
Wanna be with you
Stick with me, I'm your queen
Like a Tennessee Stella McCartney on the Heath
Just wanna be with you (Wanna be with you)
Wanna be with you, oh, woah
[Chorus]
You know I love a London boy
I enjoy walkin' Soho, drinkin' in the afternoon (Yeah)
He likes my American smile, like a child when our eyes meet
Darling, I fancy you (You)
Took me back to Highgate, met all of his best mates
So I guess all the rumors are true (Yeah)
You know I love a London boy (Oh)
Boy (Oh), I fancy you (I fancy you; ooh)
[Outro]
So please show me Hackney
Doesn't have to be Louis V up on Bond Street
Just wanna be with you (Ooh)
I, oh, I, I fancy you, oh, woah-ah-ah (Ooh)
Stick with me, I'm your queen
Like a Tennessee Stella McCartney on the Heath
Just wanna be with you (Ooh), wanna be with you
I fancy you (Yeah), I fancy you, ah-ah (Ooh)
Before performing the track in the BBC Live Lounge, Swift explained the song’s relation to her romance with British actor Joe Alwyn:
This is supposed to be over the course of 3 years. Like, somebody told me, ‘they think that you’re talking about one day,’ and I was like, ‘oh no, you’d never make it. You wouldn’t make it. You’d make it in 3 years.’
With this song, I just kind of wrote about, basically, what it was like to basically be like, ‘Bye guys! I’m gonna go here for a long time.’ And there’s a voice that you’ll hear in the beginning of it, and it’s Idris Elba’s voice talking about London. And in the bridge, there’s a name-check of Stella McCartney, and this name-check where I reference her was when I like … I went over and played her the song. So, I played it for her, and she was like ‘Oh my God, let’s do something.’ And I was like, ‘OK!’ And so then that’s why we have this merch collaboration. She’s got really amazing designs, and having them be at accessible pricing is really cool and really wonderful, and I’m glad we could figure that out.
— Via the iHeartRadio Lover Album Release Party and Secret Session
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