Meaning of “…Ready for It?” by Taylor Swift

“…Ready for It?” is a love song, one in which Taylor Swift presents herself along the lines of being an aggressive lover in terms of her desire for the addressee. So that’s why she’s asking if he is “ready for it”, i.e. questioning, in a playful, amorous sort of way, whether or not this person will be able to handle her ferocious appetite once she does end up getting her hands on him.

Actually, the lyrical motif presents both parties involved as being playas, at least in terms of how they may perceive each other. So it’s as if Taylor is assuming that hooking up with the addressee will be a romantic challenge, though one that she is very much willing to take on. 

And with all of that being said, it has been safely concluded that who Swift is referring to is Joe Alwyn, whom she began dating in late 2016, when this song was written. And to some extent her lyrical predictions proved accurate, i.e. that she values him more than her exes and that, if accepting her hand, Joe would “never be alone”, in that their relationship did end up dating for nearly seven years, which is exponentially longer than anyone else Taylor has dated. But sadly they did eventually break up just recently, i.e. earlier in 2023.

But what can be gleaned from this song nonetheless is that Swift really fancied Alwyn around the time they first met. He was someone whose apparent boldness she was very much attracted to and was the one who she fantasied about at night. And even though, now looking back in hindsight, their relationship did not last forever as she idealized, at least, at the end of the day, Taylor did get her man.

“In the middle of the night, in my dreams
You should see the things we do, baby, mmm
In the middle of the night, in my dreams
I know I’m gonna be with you, so I take my time
Are you ready for it?”

When was “…Ready for It?” released?

“…Ready for It” was released on 3rd September, 2017. It was the second single from her sixth’s album, “Reputation”.

Writing credits for On “…Ready for It?”

Swift collaborated with three other writers for “…Ready for It?”. They are:

• Ali Payami
• Shellback
• Max Martin

Song’s Success

This track peaked at its highest in Israel (#1), United States (#4) and United Kingdom (#7).

In the United Kingdom, it became a Platinum hit having sold 600,000 units to date. “…Ready for It?” received continued success in United States, being a 2x Platinum hit.