Taylor Swift's The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived dropped yesterday along with 30 other certified hits as part of her long-awaited release of The Tortured Poets Department.
Unsurprisingly, in the hours since its release fans have been poring over the lyrics of each track to pull out meanings, easter eggs, and vitally pin down exactly who these songs are about. So Long, London is clearly a reference to Joe Alwyn, while Swifties are speculating that The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived lyrics allude to Matty Healy.
Taylor Swift and Healy called time on their relationship last summer, so it's not unthinkable to assume that that he inspired some of the songs on The Tortured Poets Department, and there are a few key lyrics that certainly suggest it's about him.
So is The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived about Matty Healy?
Well, let's get into it.
It was worth the 5 am wake-up call.
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 song title itself is very revealing, with Healy's height having been previously been hotly debated, much to his dismay. The 1975 frontman previously told The Fader that “Everyone in the band is 6’4” and I’m 5’10”, so everyone thinks that I’m 5’5”.” In 2022, he addressed these short man allegations by telling a fan that he was “sick to fucking death of this", and that he is in reality “a big boy.”
The most compelling bit of evidence, however, has to be the reference to his clothing:
"Gazing at me, starry-eyed
In your Jehovah’s Witness suit"
Though Healy isn't a Jehovah's Witness, it's not a total reach to say that his signature outfit of a suit and tie isn't dissimilar to the go-to for Witness followers who wear suits as a sign of respect for God.
Swift is not afraid to give names.
Likewise, “I just want to know if rusting my sparkling summer was the goal” definitely lines up with their relationship's timeline, while Healy has openly spoken about his struggles with addiction, hence the reference to trying to buy some “pills”.
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Whether you were a fan of the fling or not, there's no denying that there are definitely a few key clues that could reasonably be thought to allude to Healy on the track. You can find the full The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived lyrics below:
1st verse
Was any of it true?
Gazing at me starry-eyed
In your Jehovah's Witness suit
Who the fuck was that guy?
You tried to buy some pills
From a friend of friends of mine
They just ghosted you
Now you know what it feels like
Chorus
And I don't even want you back, I just want to know
If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal
And I don't miss what we had, but could someone give
A message to the smallest man who ever lived?
2nd verse
You hung me on your wall
Stabbed me with your push pins
In public, showed me off
Then sank in stoned oblivion
'Cause once your queen had come
You'd treat her likе an also-ran
You didn't measure up
In any measurе of a man
Chorus
And I don't even want you back, I just want to know
If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal
And I don't miss what we had, but could someone give
A message to the smallest man who ever lived?
3rd verse
Were you sent by someone
Who wanted me dead?
Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?
Were you writing a book?
Were you a sleeper cell spy?
In fifty years will all this be declassified?
And you'll confess why you did it
And I'll say, "Good riddance"
'Cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden
I would've died for your sins
Instead I just died inside
And you deserve prison, but you won't get time
You'll slide into inboxes and slip through the bars
You crashed my party and your rental car
You said normal girls were "boring"
But you were gone by the morning
You kicked out the stage lights, but you're still performing
And in plain sight you hid
But you are what you did
And I'll forget you, but I'll never forgive
The smallest man who ever lived
Fans think track 12 on The Tortured Poets Department is an insight into their breakup.
