Taylor Swift originally started this song with the line: “This love is difficult, but it’s real.” She then carried on writing about a love that “maybe society wouldn’t accept” with the Shakespeare play Romeo and Juliet in mind.

Swift told Billboard magazine that the song is about "a love that you've got to hide because for whatever reason it wouldn't go over well. I spun it in the direction of 'Romeo and Juliet'; our parents are fighting. I relate to it more as a love that you cannot really elaborate on - a love that maybe society wouldn't accept, or maybe your friends wouldn't accept."