Swift lived on Cornelia Street while her Tribeca apartment was being renovated in 2016, right around when she met Alwyn, making this song a chronicle of the early days of their relationship. Swift says that if they ever broke up, her memories of the block in Greenwich Village would be ruined (though hopefully she wasn't being quite so literal). Vulture spoke to the landlord of that apartment back when the song came out in 2019, and he admitted that he didn't know who she was at the time. "She was an absolute delight to deal with," the landlord, David Aldea, told the outlet.
He also explained that he was honoured by the track. "I put my heart and soul into building, designing, and decorating this house, and for somebody like Taylor to come along and see what I saw and love what I loved, love what I created, it was a total compliment and I will always be grateful to her for that," he said. "And when I heard the song came out, I just thought to myself, 'Wow, that is the most incredible sort of thank you and nod that anyone could ever get.'"