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So High School

Bonus Track | THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY (2024)

“So High School” is track twenty-two on THE ANTHOLOGY, the double album edition of Taylor’s eleventh studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (2024). Written and produced by her and Aaron Dessner, the song has a 1990s-tinged production incorporating various rock styles. The lyrics were written about the beginning of Taylor’s relationship with NFL player Travis Kelce, delving into the exhilarating emotions of new love and drawing parallels to the innocence of teenage relationships.

Background and Release

Taylor started working on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT immediately after she submitted her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022) for release and continued working on it in secrecy throughout the first US leg of “The Eras Tour” in 2023. She reflected on the creation of the record as a “lifeline” for her, as it took place amidst countless media reports on her personal life and her relationships with Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy, and Travis Kelce:

«TORTURED POETS is an album that I think, more than any of my albums that I’ve ever made, I needed to make it. It was really a lifeline for me, just the things I was going through, and the things I was writing about. It kind of reminded me of why songwriting is something that actually gets me through my life. And I’ve never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I’d needed it on TORTURED POETS.»

Taylor Swift

“So High School” is part of the double-album edition of the record, THE ANTHOLOGY, which was released digitally on April 19, shortly after the standard edition.

Lyrical Theme

“So High School” captures the exhilarating thrill and innocence of a blossoming romance, using high school imagery to reflect the intensity and excitement of Taylor’s relationship with football star Travis Kelce. In a December 2023 interview with TIME, she opened up about the early stages of their romance:

«This all started when Travis very adorably put me on blast on his podcast, which I thought was metal as hell. We started hanging out right after. So we actually had a significant amount of time that no one knew, which I’m grateful for, because we got to get to know each other. By the time I went to that first game, we were a couple. I think some people think that they saw our first date at that game? We would never be psychotic enough to hard launch a first date. [...] Football is awesome, it turns out. I’ve been missing out my whole life.»

Taylor Swift

The song is an upbeat, playful and nostalgic anthem that captures the excitement and innocence of young love. With references to classic high school experiences like “truth, dare, spin bottles,” it channels the giddiness, vulnerability, and unpredictability of falling for someone new. All the while, Taylor contrasts her introspective, poetic self with Travis’ more athletic persona, singing, “You know how to ball, I know Aristotle.” This juxtaposition highlights the chemistry between their different worlds, adding depth to the song’s playful tone.

Interestingly, teenage Taylor sometimes imagined her love interests as football players, a lyrical motif that evokes Fearless songs like “You Belong With Me” and “Fifteen” which feature similar imagery, reinforcing the theme of navigating adolescent romance and the dreams of being with someone who feels just out of reach.

Live Performances

Starting with the European leg, which kicked off in May 2024, Taylor added “So High School” to the regular setlist of her sixth headlining tour, “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). On July 6, 2024, she also performed it as an acoustic surprise song in Amsterdam, as part of a mashup with “Mary’s Song (Oh My My My)” (2006) and “Everything Has Changed” (2012). Travis was in attendance.

Critical Reception

Positive reviews regarded “So High School” as a sonic standout on the album for its bright and nostalgia-inducing sound, regarding it as one of the “bright spots” and complimenting its “sweeping feeling” akin to 1980s and 1990s dream pop songs. Craig Jenkins in Vulture praised the combination of 1990s alternative rock with “the gorgeous reediness of a Sheryl Crow or Aimee Mann”. Vogue Australia‘s Nina Miyashita and Jonah Waterhouse described it as an “all-American, feel-good love song” and compared it to Taylor’s “young and in love Fearless era“. Mary Kate Carr of The A.V. Club dubbed “So High School” a “fun, poppy number” that prevents the album from being monotonous, and Jonathan Keefe of Slant Magazine thought that the track had potentials of becoming a radio hit. Others called the song “cringe-enducing” but added that its “awkward” sentiment also represents what teenage romance feels like.

Commercial Performance

When the album was released, “So High School” debuted and peaked at No. 24 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In Australia, it reached No. 26 on the ARIA Singles Chart and made Taylor the artist with the most entries in a single week with 29. Elsewhere, “So High School” opened at its peak of No. 30 on the Billboard Global 200 and charted within the countries of Canada (28), New Zealand (33), and Portugal (82). The song also reached the United Kingdom’s streaming and sales charts with respective peaks of No. 35 and No. 66, Sweden’s Heatseeker chart at No. 5, and Greece’s International Top 100 Digital Singles chart at No. 53.

Lyrics

[Intro]
I feel so high school
Every time I look at you
I want to find you in a crowd
Just to hide from you

[Chorus]
And in a blink of a crinkling eye
I’m sinking, our fingers entwined
Cheeks pink in the twinkling lights
Tell me ’bout the first time you saw me
I’ll drink what you think and I’m high from smoking your jokes all damn night
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Bittersweet sixteen suddenly

[Post-Chorus]
I’m watching American Pie
With you on a Saturday night
Your friends are around, so be quiet
I’m trying to stifle my sighs,
Cause I feel so high school
Every time I look at you
But look at you

[Verse 1]
Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me?
It’s just a game, but really
I’m betting on all three
For us two
Get my car door, isn’t that sweet
Then pull me to thе backseat
No onе’s ever had me
Not like you…

[Bridge]
Truth, dare, spin bottles
You know how to ball
I know Aristotle
Brand new, full throttle
Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto
It’s true, swear, Scout’s honor
You knew what you wanted
And, boy, you got her
Brand new, full throttle
You already know, babe

[Verse 2]
I feel like laughing
In the middle of practice
Do that impression you did of your dad again
I’m hearing voices, like a madman

[Chorus]
And in a blink of a crinkling eye
I’m sinking, our fingers entwined
Cheeks pink in the twinkling lights
Tell me ’bout the first time you saw me
I’ll drink what you think, and I’m high from smoking your jokes all damn night
The brink of a wrinkle in time
Bittersweet sixteen suddenly

[Outro]
Truth, dare, spin bottles
You know how to ball
I know Aristotle
Brand new, full throttle
Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto
It’s true, swear, Scout’s honor
You knew what you wanted
And, boy, you got her
Brand new, full throttle
You already know, babe
You already know, babe