Taylor Swift is known for her deeply personal lyrics, and her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” doesn’t hold back on her past relationships and the boyfriends who let her down. Taylor Swift’s new album is a break-up collections that explores the ups and downs of love gone wrong.
In Taylor Swift’s new album, we meet a cast of disappointing men. There’s a chain-smoking guy who tells cringe-worthy jokes in “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” a “coward” who acts tough in “loml,” and a ghosted Swift in “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart,” where she sings, “I’m so obsessed with him but he avoids me like the plague.” These stories resonate with many listeners because we’ve all been there at some point.
“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” reveals a partner who appears charming in public but turns out to be a mess behind the scenes. He’s involved in drugs, tries to buy pills from friends of friends, and doesn’t measure up to any reasonable standard of manhood. It’s a sharp look at relationships that fell far short of what they should have been.
Amid these tales of unreliable partners, we see a different side of Swift. Despite her strong public image, she’s open about her struggles with depression, crying at the gym, eating “kid’s cereal,” and feeling unstable. She’s not afraid to show her vulnerable side, which makes her music even more relatable.
While some of her songs are inspired by personal experiences, Swift also adopts other personas. In “But Daddy I Love Him,” for example, she channels a storyline reminiscent of Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach.” Yet, no matter the character she’s playing, the themes always seem to connect with her own much-discussed personal life.
Given her history of writing about exes like Joe Jonas, Harry Styles, Jake Gyllenhaal, and John Mayer, Taylor Swift’s new album doesn’t disappoint with subtle hints at former British boyfriends Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy, as well as nods to her current relationship with NFL star Travis Kelce. This is Taylor Swift at her candid best, and fans can’t get enough.
So Long, London
Positioned at the fifth spot on the tracklist—a place Taylor Swift often reserves for her most personal songs—”So Long, London” carries significant weight on her latest album. This choral ballad appears to reflect the end of Swift’s six-year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn, star of “The Favourite.”
Swift’s lyrics reveal a lot about her connection with London and its ultimate dissolution. When she sings, “I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath,” she’s referencing Hampstead Heath in north London, where she lived with Alwyn in the early 2020s. This breakup song doesn’t just mourn the loss of a relationship; it’s also about saying goodbye to a city she grew to love. With lines like “I’m just mad as hell cause I loved this place,” it’s clear the breakup is just as much about location as it is about love.
The song subtly weaves in the theme of marriage, which is a recurring motif throughout the album. Swift doesn’t explicitly address it, but her references to long-term commitment suggest that this idea might have been on her mind during her relationship with Alwyn.
Taylor Swift’s take on love and commitment
In “So Long, London,” Swift laments a broken promise with the poignant line, “You swore that you loved me but where were the clues, I died on the altar waiting for the proof.” This track reflects the emotional toll of waiting for commitment that never comes.
The album’s title track, “The Tortured Poets Department,” captures a vivid scene where Swift recounts a moment when a partner takes her ring from her middle finger and places it on her ring finger. She describes it as the closest she’s come to her heart exploding, indicating the significance of marriage in her mind.
“loml,” which stands for “Love Of My Life,” explores a fast-paced relationship that swings from a kiss to the prospect of marriage, with lyrics like, “You and I go from one kiss to gettin’ married… you told me I’m the love of your life.” It suggests the intensity of romantic connections and the emotional risks involved.
In “But Daddy I Love Him,” a ballad with a country twist, Swift touches on familial dynamics and marriage by singing, “No, you can’t come to the wedding.” This indicates the complex relationships that surround marriage, often involving family approval or disapproval.
“imgonnagetyouback” introduces a more playful tone as Swift contemplates her future with lines like, “Whether I’m gonna be your wife or gonna smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet.” It shows the uncertainty and humor in relationships.
The theme of starting a family surfaces in “The Manuscript,” the album’s closing track. Here, Swift recounts a conversation about the prospects of parenthood. This is evident with the lyric, “He said that if the sex was half as good as the conversation was, soon they’d be pushing strollers. But soon it was over.” This line highlights the fleeting nature of some relationships, despite initial enthusiasm.
In “Florida!!!,” a collaboration with Florence + The Machine, Swift escapes to the Everglades, running from friends who “all smell like weed or little babies.” This track adds a sense of escapism and humor to the album’s narrative.
The singer’s musical journey through relationships
Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” delves into her past and present relationships, hinting at connections to old flames and new romances. One such nod might be to The 1975’s frontman Matty Healy. Matty was rumored to have briefly dated Swift after her split from Joe Alwyn.
In “Fortnight,” the first single featuring Post Malone, she sings, “I touched you for only a fortnight… I love you, it’s ruining my life.” This line captures the intense yet fleeting nature of some relationships.
In “Guilty As Sin,” a slow, drum-backed track, Swift explores the complexities of memory and desire. She also recalls moments from a past relationship. When she sings, “how I long for our trysts… How can I be guilty as sin?” it evokes the feeling of regret and the longing for something that might have never been.
The penultimate track, “The Alchemy,” uses American Football terms to indicate a new relationship—likely her connection with NFL star Travis Kelce. In this song, Swift employs metaphors that mix “white wine” and “heroin” with football analogies. She captures the rush of first attraction and the adrenaline of a fresh romance.
Finding closure and acceptance
Taylor Swift describes her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” as a reflection of “events, opinions, and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time.” She told her social media followers that these experiences were “both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.”
For Swift, this album serves as a form of closure, marking the end of a challenging period in her life. She explains, “This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed.”
On the cover slip for the album, Swift shares that this phase was marked by “self-harm” and “cardiac arrest.” This candid revelation suggests a deeply personal journey with considerable emotional pain.
In “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me,” Swift admits to struggling with her identity, describing herself as “fearsome,” “wretched,” and “wrong.” She sings, “I was tame, I was gentle, til the circus life made me mean.” It’s a glimpse into the darker side of fame and its impact on her psyche.
After more than two decades in the music industry—a notoriously tough environment to thrive in—Swift opens up about the toll it can take on mental health. In “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart,” she addresses the pressure to maintain a perfect image.
A farewell to a difficult chapter
Taylor Swift shared with her social media followers that the album sums up “events, opinions, and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time.” She describes them as “both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.” For Swift, this project represents a sense of closure, signaling an end to a challenging chapter in her life.
In her words, “This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed.” This sentiment suggests that Swift is ready to move forward, leaving behind the challenges that inspired much of the album.
The cover slip for the album offers more insights into Swift’s state of mind during this time. She calls it a period of “self-harm” and “cardiac arrest,” indicating the profound emotional pain she experienced. Addressing her romantic struggles, Swift revealed to her fans that “a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted.”
Overall, the album serves as a reflection on personal growth, healing, and the process of closing a painful chapter. Swift’s openness about her journey provides a raw and honest perspective on the challenges she faced and her readiness to start a new phase in her life.