8 Easter Eggs, References, and Theories We've Found on Taylor Swift's Folklore Album

"Who is William Bowery?" is the big question of Folklore's release. Swift listed him as one of her co-writers on her Instagram announcement ahead of the album's release, but he doesn't seem to actually exist: no one can find proof of his identity or any other credits.

The assumption, then, is that Bowery is a pseudonym for someone — but who? The leading theories right now are that Bowery is actually Swift's brother Austin (who already used a pseudonym to do a cover of his sister's "Look What You Made Me Do") or Alwyn. Will we ever find out? Who knows.

Swift told fans in a live video that a trio of songs on the album portray a "teenage love triangle," but she didn't specify which three. The most popular theory is that the three songs in question are "August", "Betty," and "Cardigan," each told from a different perspective.

In this reading, "Betty" is from the perspective of James, who admits to having cheated on her but also is frustrated she's been listening to rumours started by Inez. "Cardigan" gives Betty's point of view and follows her feelings before, during, and after their breakup. And Inez gets to tell her story in "August," where she reveals her summer fling with James that was always doomed because he was still in love with Betty.

Swift has never avoided the topic of her relationships in her lyrics, and "Invisible String" seems to reference not one, but two of her major romances. One lyric sounds like a shout-out to her ex Joe Jonas: "Cold was the steel of my axe to grind/For the boys who broke my heart/Now I send their babies presents." Jonas and his wife Sophie Turner are currently expecting their first child, and he's the only one of her confirmed exes who has recently had or expected a kid.

On a happier note, though, there's a section that seems to be about Alwyn, and it's super romantic. "A string that pulled me/Out of all the wrong arms, right into that dive bar," goes one line, which sounds like a reference to the couple's first meeting back in 2016. Then, she brings back the "gold" that's often symbolized him in other songs: "One single thread of gold/Tied me to you."

In Swift's liner notes, which she posted to Instagram, she talks in depth about the inspiration for some of her songs and characters, including her grandfather (yes, the same grandfather whose picture shows up in the "Cardigan" music video) "landing at Guadalcanal in 1942." Guadalcanal was a months-long campaign in the Pacific theatre during World War II, which was the first major land offencive by the Allies against Japan.

A lyric in "Epiphany" seems to evoke that wartime experience: "Keep your helmet, keep your life, son/Just a flesh wound, here's your rifle/Crawling up the beaches now."

Fans suspected that the song "Betty" is actually a sneak reveal of the name for Reynolds and Lively's third baby, who they welcomed last year. In a 2019 tweet, Reynolds seemingly revealed that their third child was a girl (note the use of "daughters" — they previously had two daughters, so if their third child was a son, one assumes he'd have used a gender-neutral noun), but no name as of yet.

Swift's song "Betty" is sung from the perspective of a character named "James" to a "Betty" about rumours spread by "Inez." Since James and Inez are the names of the couple's first two daughters, it seemed like a fair suspicion that Betty is the third. The name news was confirmed later the day of the album release.

"The Last Great American Dynasty" drops some intriguing info about Swift's house in Rhode Island and its previous owners. The song follows a woman, Rebekah, who married Bill, an oil heir, and lived in a house called the "Holiday House." The thing is, the story isn't fiction at all: it's the story of Rebekah Harkness, an eccentric socialite and songwriter who owned the house Swift now owns in Rhode Island.