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

One of the several songs that Taylor Swift sings during Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour (Taylor’s Version) is “champagne problems,” 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 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.

Champagne Problems Is 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. Swift picked it for her setlist because “champagne problems” is one of the most popular songs off of 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 have, 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,” which is a saying for when someone encounters an issue that is miniscule in comparison to more significant worries for less privileged people in the world.

Champagne Problems Is Fictional (& 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) 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 records” 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.

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Champagne Problems Is (Probably) Not About Gilmore Girls’ Rory & Logan

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.

Rory and Logan met and fell in love during 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.

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What Taylor Swift Has Said About Champagne Problems

Given its popularity among her fanbase, Taylor Swift chose it 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 someone has gone through what the song is describing. As a result, “champagne problems” is one of Taylor Swift‘s best (yet devastating) songs.

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour

Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour is a film rendition of the colossal worldwide event that sees the legendary pop star hit the stage in a specially curated film event. Performing the hits of her over seventeen-year career in music, The Eras Tour highlights Taylor Swift and her team as they put on a show of a lifetime.

Director

Sam Wrench

Release Date

October 13, 2023

Runtime

170 Minutes

Source: Apple Music/YouTube