Who & What Is Taylor Swift’s “Champagne Problems” About? Lyrics & Meaning Explained

Summary

• “Champagne Problems” is a song from Taylor Swift’s 2020 album, evermore.
• The song is about a college romance that ends with a rejected marriage proposal, exploring the heartbreak of both the man and woman involved.
• The song is a fictional story created by Swift and her co-writer, Joe Alwyn, and has become a fan favorite, often performed during her live concerts.

One of the several songs that Taylor Swift sings during Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) is “champagne problems” from evermore, which contains complex lyrics that seemingly have a deeper meaning. The concert film, directed by Sam Wrench and produced by Swift, premiered in theaters in October 2023 and was a massive triumph. Over the course of its theatrical run, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour became the highest-grossing concert movie of all time after earning over $260 million at the box office, surpassing 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, 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 — the third album Swift officially owned. During a typical Eras Tour show, the pop star performs “champagne problems” on a moss-covered piano following “’tis the damn season,” “willow,” and “marjorie” while she is in the evermore act of the concert (although 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 (Taylor Swift’s ninth released album) is that it revolves around 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 the songs she performs during 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.

Source: Apple Music/YouTube