Taylor Swift‘s The Tortured Poets Department album dropped April 19, featuring nods to Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy, Clara Bow, Charlie Puth and, yes, Travis Kelce. All the decoded lyrics below.
Buckle up, Swifties: We’re riding in a getaway car to a new era.
At midnight April 19, Taylor Swift dropped her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department, featuring songs filled with love, loss and, of course, Easter eggs.
In fact, the track “So Long London,” an obvious reference to her 2023 breakup with Grammy winner Joe Alwyn, contains some of the album’s most heartbreaking lyrics.
“You swore you loved me, but where were the clues? I died on the altar waiting for proof,” she said, then dating NFL star Travis Kelce. Taylor continues to sing on this song. “You sacrificed us to God in your greenest days.”
“And now I’m seeing the color return to my face,” the text continues, before Taylor shares with the British actor He mentioned the six-year period he spent there. He spent his time in the city. “London, I’m really pissed because I’ve always loved this place / Had a good run / Moments of warm sun / But I’m not that person
Several songs on the album – including “Fortnite” And “Fresh Out the Slammer” also appears to be about Taylor’s rekindled romance with Matty Healy in 1975, which was briefly rekindled in the spring of 2023 after she split from Joe.
Sweet baby, I’m running home to you,” Taylor, who first sparked romance rumors with Matti in 2014, sings on “Fresh Out the Slammer,” adding, “I don’t know who got the first call.
And while Taylor has reflected on his past with TTPD, he said in a social media message on April 19 that the chapter is officially over. “The Tortured Poets Section,” she wrote, “is an anthology of new works reflecting the events, opinions, and emotions of a fleeting, fatalistic moment, a moment both sensational and sad.” “This period of the author’s life is already over, the chapter is closed and boarded up.”
“There is nothing to avenge, no score to settle when the wounds heal, and a closer look “Many of them turned out to be self-inflicted,” she continued. “This author strongly believes that our tears become sacred in the form of ink on a page. Telling our saddest stories can free us from them. And the ones that remain… is only tortured poetry.
Keep reading for a complete breakdown of Taylor’s The Tortured Poets Department lyrics…
2. “The Tortured Poets Department”: While fans previously pointed out the connection between the album’s name TTPD and Joe’s WhatsApp group chat called “The Tortured Man Club,” the titular song actually includes references to Matty.
Even the track’s opening lyrics, “You left your typewriter at my apartment,” gives a nod to Matty, who noted he “really” likes typewriters in a 2019 interview with GQ.
Later on in the song, the lyrics offer more insight into Taylor and Matty’s strong bond. Taylor even recalls, “At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on. And that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding.”
Taylor’s lyrics also include shoutouts to poet Dylan Thomas—”you’re not Dylan Thomas”—and singer-songwriter Patti Smith—”I’m not Patti Smith.” As well as Charlie Puth. “You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.”
2. “Fortnight” (featuring Post Malone): In the first track of TTPD, Taylor Swift and Post Malone team up to sing about a “temporary” romance that lasted for a fortnight (two weeks).
“And I love you, it’s ruining my life,” the lyrics tease. “I touched you, for only a fortnight.”
It appears the song is a reference to Taylor’s rekindled romance with The 1975‘s Matty Healy, which first began in 2013 and revived a decade later in the spring of 2023 following her breakup with Joe Alwyn.
And although the revival of Taylor and Matty’s relationship was brief, it was jam-packed with emotion, according to these lyrics.
- “My boy only destroys his favorite toys”: “I’m the queen of the sandcastles he destroys,” Taylor sings on the album’s third song, in which she recalls a partner who ran away from a relationship. There is.
“Because I knew too much/The heat I touched was dangerous,” the lyrics continue. “Saw forever, so he broke it.”
- “Down Bad”: In the lyrics of this song, Taylor falls in love with a man who calls her his “twin.” I think about being ghosted.
“Why do you think it’s romantic/Leaving me behind in safety,” she sings. “‘Cause shit, I was in love/So if you can’t have us, shit yourself.”
The lyrics of “Stranded” may be familiar to Swifties, as Taylor used them in her 1989 song, “New Romantics.” Leave me stranded/So romantic.”
5. “So Long, London”: Taylor has been known to reserve track five for her most heartbreaking songs, and, yes, “So Long, London” definitely fits the bill.
In this track, Taylor reflects on the end of her relationship with Joe and the memories they shared in the city together over the years. She also alludes to what led to the demise of their relationship.
“I didn’t opt in to be your odd man out,” she sings. “I founded the club she’s heard great things about / I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath.”
6. “But Daddy I Love Him”: Taylor raised eyebrows when she spent time with Matty, who’s been called out for his controverisal comments over the years. In “But Daddy I Love Him,” she addresses a similar theme of wanting a relationship to work despite criticism from the outside world.”No I’m not coming to my senses,” she declares. “I know it’s crazy but he’s the one I want.”7. “Fresh Out the Slammer”: After getting out of a long relationship with Joe, Taylor seemingly knew who she wanted to call: Matty. “I did my time,” she sings. “Now pretty baby I’m running back home to you.”
8. “Florida!!!” (featuring Florence and the Machine): What to do when you need an escape? Head to Florida. At least, that’s what Taylor and Florence Welch advise in this track
“You can beat the heat if you beat the charges too / They said I was a cheat, I guess it must be true,” Taylor sings, referencing speculation about her personal life. “And my friends, all smell like weed or little babies / And the city reeks of driving myself crazy.”
“I need to forget, so take me to Florida,” the lyrics later continue. “I’ve got some regrets, I’ll bury them in Florida.”
9. “Guilty as Sin?”: In another apparent nod to Matty, Taylor starts “Guilty as Sin?” with the lyrics, “Drowning in the Blue Nile / He sent me downtown lights.” Well, it just so happens that, back in 2022, Matty named The Blue Nile‘s Hats as one of his favorite albums of the 1980s.
10. “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”: Taylor tackles her critics in this passionate track.
“Is it a wonder I broke? Let’s hear one morе joke,” she sings. “Then we could all just laugh until I cry.”