Every time Taylor Swift drops an album, we should declare a bank holiday so we can cry, dance and cry in peace. While the recommended amount of sleep is eight hours, Swifties have simply decided that they don’t need rest and have pulled an all-nighter to inject the pop star's 11th studio album into their veins. And OFC, I was one of them.
In Swift style, she announced The Tortured Poets Department while accepting the Grammy for Album of the Year for 'Midnights' in February, and fans have been dissecting every single detail since. From the name of the album alone to Swift’s carefully curated playlists on Apple Music referencing the five stages of grief, it's safe to say we already knew this album was for the sad girlies.
Most, if not all, fan theories believe the main reference of the album is the breakdown of Swift’s six-year relationship with actor Joe Alywn, who co-wrote some tracks on her 2020 album 'Folklore'. The 34-year-old is no stranger to penning break-up tracks; wait until all of us are hysterically crying to ‘All Too Well (10 min version)’ – rumoured to be about Jake Gyllenhall – when the Era’s Tour UK leg starts in *screams* less than two months.
Now that the album is here, it’s clear this is not only her most vulnerable album but arguably her most relatable. Below, we unpack all the lyrics, song meanings, and rumoured Easter eggs in ‘The Tortured Poets Department’:
We've been loving Taylor for quite some time, time, time.
The Tortured Poets Department song meanings, track by track:
The Tortured Poets Department
1. Fortnight (feat Post Malone)
Surprisingly, the opening track on TTPD appears to reference her short-lived romance with The 1975 frontman, Matty Healy. “And I love you, it’s ruining my life / I touched you for only a fortnight’.
The pair were first linked in 2014 but reunited briefly in early 2023 following Swift's breakup from Joe Alywn. Taylor teased the music video for the song hours before the album was released, and all we can say is that it is giving Poor Things Bella Baxter vibes.
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2. The Tortured Poets Department
The title track of the album is delicate and provides us with a strong message that this is no pop album, but Lover (2019) is all grown up. Lover, in fact, was different from her previous albums when they were released because our girl was in love, and she translated that with bubble-gum tracks such as ‘Paper Rings’.
In the song, she references a ‘Golden Retriever’, and we all know that this is (probably) about Alwyn. Joe was notably a private person, and the pair worked together on her album ‘Folklore’, where she protected him at all costs. Seemingly, that protection is over now.
3. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
“Once I fix me, he will miss me.” *screams*
Swift is proving to be just like all the girls going through it. “Saw forever, so he smashed it up / oh my boy only breaks his favourite toys,” she sings, referencing potential sabotage within the relationship. Swifties are for sure to go into full protection mode. The singer included a track titled High Infidelity within her 2022 Midnights record. Was she hinting at troubles this entire time?
Fans think track 12 on The Tortured Poets Department is an insight into their breakup.
4. Down Bad
If you want that song to cry in the shower to, this is it.
Taylor is in her healing era in the fourth track on the record. “Cause fuck it, it was in love / so fuck you if I can’t have us”. Taylor has refrained from using explicit language within her catalogue until recent years, probably due to the fact that a lot of her fans have grown up with her since her debut back in 2006. This is the first time that it feels like Swift is able to be her most authentic self.
5. So Long, London
The first thing that came to Swifties minds, including myself, is that this is a follow up to London Boy. The song, when originally released on ‘Lover’, referenced her ties to London-born and bred Alwyn. In the song, she sings, “I’m just getting my colour back’, referencing a potential closure to that aspect of her life.
The fast-paced yet minimal beat really provides that energy that there is hope past the ending of a relationship. *chills*
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6. But Daddy I Love Him
Fans have quickly come to the conclusion that this track is a fierce statement to the critics of her brief association with Healy. “I’d burn my whole life down / Than listen to one more second of all this bitchin’ and moanin’ / I’ll tell you something b’out my good name / it’s mine along with all the disgrace/ I don’t cater to all these vipers dress in empath’s clothing”
This appears to reference Healy’s ill-fated statements made while on tour last summer. A short time later, it was revealed Swift and Healy had gone their separate ways.
7. Fresh Out The Slammer
Is this song an explanation for why Taylor embarked on a romance with Matty so soon after her relationship with Joe ended? We don’t know, but this track definitely alludes to the latter. “Now, pretty baby, I’m running back to you / Fresh out of the slammer, I know who my first call will be to.”
News broke of Swift and Alywn’s breakup on April 8th, 2023. Less than a month later, while both were on tour, fans noticed that both singers mouthed, ”This one is for about you. You know who you are. I love you."
Coincidence?
Swifties have some thoughts.
8. Florida!!! (feat Florence + The Machine)
I think I speak for all of our fangirlies in saying we hope to one day be members of Taylor’s ultimate girl gang. In this track, she sings, “All of my girls have their lace and their crimes.” Is this a reference to her friends' relationship woes, such as Selena Gomez and Sophie Turner?
Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas previously had a home in Miami, Florida, which sold not long before their divorce was announced.
9. Guilty as Sin?
For nearly twenty years, we have seen the media scrutinise Swift as she made her way to the top. In her recent Time Person of the Year, she revealed that after her feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian came to a head, she relocated for a year and lost trust in those around her. Despite all of that, she rose to be bigger than ever, becoming a billionaire with her iconic Era’s Tour.
”They’re gonna crucify me anyway” is a clear, direct reference to all the hate and invasion she has endured over the years and how sadly as she gets bigger it won’t change.
We’ve got you girl!!
10. Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?
Unlike many of the earlier songs on the album, most fans will question what the 10th track is about. However, it appears she is singing about how she came out stronger after a scandal. The Kimye situation? The media frenzy when she dated Tom Hiddleston post break up from Calvin Harris? “The scandal was contained, the bullet had just grazed / At all costs keep your good name, you don’t get to tell me you feel bad,” she sings. “Is it a wonder I broke?”
Swift is not afraid to give names.
11. I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)
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Swift sings about people shaking their heads, ‘saying, god help her when I tell em he’s my man’. The track, co-written with her good friend and producer Jack Antanoff, tells the tale of wanting to fix her partner who is plagued as bad news by the media, ultimately alluding to Healy – we think..
12. loml
“I wish I could recall how we almost had it all.” We are sobbing.
This is certainly one of the more heartbreaking songs on the album. Prior to her relationship with Joe ending, the pair were often plagued with rumours that they were engaged, and even secretly married (these rumours were dispelled by her agent).
13. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
The break-up between the singer and the actor happened whilst Swift was on the first leg of her Hot of the Press Era Tour. “Light’s, camera, bitch smile,” she sings. It’s evident that this track is her moment to really be honest about working whilst going through heartache.
14. The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
Swift is revealing she would have died for ‘sins’ of someone. Ultimately the take away from track 14 is an ex is acting like everything is normal between them following their split, but the answers aren’t all there. “I don’t even want you back, I just want to know,” she sings.
15. The Alchemy
Love is blind, and it can happen at any time. within The Alchemy, it seems she was surprised to fall in love. She explains that meeting her love was like “having chemicals hit me like white wine”. Previous songs on the album have displayed a certain sentiment about past relationships however this one feels quite present. Do we have our very first Travis Kelce reference??
16. Clara Bow
Track 16 is going old Hollywood. The song is named after Clara, one of the biggest starlets in the 1920s silent film era. Throughout her fame, Clara became an icon and a figure for sexual freedom amongst her fans.
”The crowd goes wild at her fingers tips” is a reference to how her fan base has grown over the years, with the example of her sold of Eras Tour. Tickets have sold and continue to sell at crazy rates and prices to see the Nashville native.
The silent-film star whose legacy has often been reduced to scandal gets a namesake track on The Tortured Poets Department, which Bow’s family hopes captures her “perseverance.”
The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology
17. The Black Dog
“Six weeks of breathing clean air, I still miss the smoke” she sings. This is a strong reference to the big smoke, aka London Town. This track, along with ‘So Long, London’, makes reference to her missing her former second home post split from Alywn.
18. imgonnagetyouback
This is a song all about conflicted feelings about wanting to get back with a partner but knowing it probably isn’t the best for the long run. “Whether I’m gonna be your wife / or smash up your bike / I haven’t decided yet.” We’ve all been there Taylor, don’t worry.
He’s only focused on one ring…for now.
19. The Albatross
It’s giving Folklore in her mid-to-late 20s figuring out life and its trials and tribulations of love and revenge. Arguably, her best lyric writing to date. “So cross your thoughtless heart / She’s the albatross / She is here to destroy you”, she sings. Fans have been theorising that Taylor could be bringing out a poetry book soon; if it is anything like these lyrics, then we're in.
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20. Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
Just going to say it out loud. A Matty reference? We can all relate to not feeling like a priority to a partner, and this is Taylor’s way of expressing her doubt over a relationship.
21. How Did It End?
Swift references that this is a ‘post-mortem’ of a relationship. A tale of a couple unravelling their troubles whilst trying to figure out how they got to this place of hurt. “Did you hear? / One gasped and then / How did it end?” is a huge representation of the day when the news broke of Swift's break up from Alywn last year.
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22. So High School
Travis, Travis and more Travis?
Swift's relationship with Kelce has allowed fans to see a different side of her pop star. Unlike her past relationships, she feels comfortable enough to be doing public displays of affection with her man. Taylor and Travis at Coachella last week, our hearts melted.
This is probably the tackiest track on the album, but hey this is a new era of happy for Tay-Tay.
23. I hate it here
This is the song that reminds me of songs such as Illicit Affairs and Invisible String from Folklore. “I hate it here so I will go to / secret gardens in my mind/people need a key to get to,” she sings. Swift’s style throughout TTDP has remained this same, allowing her space to reveal her feelings whilst maintaining her privacy to them.
24. thanK you aIMee
Is that capital K a subtle shade at Kim K?
Taylor, of course, wouldn’t have her final say on the Kim Kardashian drama that occurred back in 2016 in a magazine; she has to sing about it. ”I wrote a thousand songs that you find uncool / I built a legacy which you can’t undo” is Swift acknowledging Kim whilst applauding how she managed to stay on top.
“It wasn't a fair fight or a clean kill."
25. I Look in People's Windows
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A bit stalkerish? But all of us girls could say the same when stalking a partner’s ex on social media. “I tried searching faces on streets / what are the chances you’d be / Downtown, downtown, downtown” appears to reference a longing of bumping into a former love.
The second half of the album allows interpretation on songs such as this one as fans cannot pinpoint who is the culprit of Swift’s pen game. That is the beauty of this album being not only emotionally driven, but relatable.
26. The Prophecy
Swift was only a teen when she found success as a country artist, but now at 34 years old she reflects on life outside of fame. She can have all the success in the world, but it means nothing if someone can’t love her for her. Perhaps this is why her relationship with Kelce has been so public in comparison to her previous ones?
True love at last, we hope!
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27. Cassandra
Swift is referencing the ravishing Cassandra, who ‘entangles men’. She was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba, king and queen of Troy. She was savaged with a curse where no one would believe what she had to say. The artist is known for being relatively quiet about her private life (for good reason), this is her way of explaining that regardless of if she was to open up, the media would always alter her honesty.
28. Peter
“You said you were gonna grow up / Then said you were gonna come find me”, she sings. It feels almost fairytale like, a potential reference to Peter Pan in that a former lover cannot grow up.
29. The Bolter
Clean vol.2?
The singer references that leaving ‘felt like breathing’, which is a direct link to her 1989 concluding song, Clean – “When I was drowning, that’s when I could finally breathe.” Swifties are sobbing everywhere right now.
30. Robin
In the pre-concluding track to the album, Taylor appears to sing about her childhood self. Starting off in the industry at a young age will no doubt have taken a toll on her, and she is protecting her inner child from a parent's perspective. Perhaps this is an ode to her closeness to her parents, Scott and Andrea Swift.
31. The Manuscript
“He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was / soon they’d be pushing strollers.” *GASPS*
A slower-paced offering to close The Tortured Poets Department, but one that feels like a new chapter for Taylor. A farewell to the stories and characters that we once heard but are now available for our indulgence.
