Are you ready for it? Taylor Swift’s 11th studio record, The Tortured Poets Department, is finally here, and it’s clear she has a lot to say about her recent bouts of heartbreak.
On the (surprise!) double album’s title track, she’s specifically focused on a breakup with someone who isn’t her longtime love Joe Alwyn. The references on “The Tortured Poets Department” seem to point to a different London boy: The 1975’s Matty Healy, who, if he knows what’s good for him, will stay off the internet for a few days because people definitely have feelings about Swift going long on their two-month situationship which ended last June.
But Healy’s not the only one who gets a shout out on track 2, a melodramatic ode to a guy who, for better or worse, is cut from the same cloth as her. And just like that one of the greatest Welsh poets of all time, an iconic punk rocker, and Charlie Puth have all earned themselves a spot in Swiftian lore.
Below, an explanation of all the references you need to make sense of “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Matty Healy
Who uses typewriters in the first place? Well, let’s start with Tom Hanks, but let’s assume Swift doesn’t write a love song about the nicest man in Hollywood leaving you alone in his apartment.
All signs point to Healy. He told GQ five years ago that a typewriter was one of his essentials. (Interestingly, in the same interview he talked about his notebooks, another thing he treasures, most of which are “stories I write about dreams of falling in love with other pop stars.”) The song, which he left one of his favorites at Swift’s house, feels like an expression of how much he was in love with her. It’s a shame that she’s more of a pen girl.
Another clue that Healy is the song’s object of affection is that Swift later said that her husband was a “tattooed golden retriever.” Covered in tattoos, Healy certainly fits the bill. Needless to say, his ink was inspired by William S. Burroughs, one of the original Beat poets, and you could definitely say he was tortured.
But this is a very interesting analogy. In dating terms, Golden Retrievers are known to be extremely loyal, cooperative, goofy, and easy-going, which is exactly in line with “The 1975” singer’s chaotic public demeanor. Because I don’t. Again, that sounds more than a little like someone else Swift knows. (Although this song is not about her current boyfriend, fans certainly think “The Alchemy” is.)
Dylan Thomas
Swift is desperate for new boyfriend She may be dedicated to her work, but the feelings expressed in the title song speak for themselves. The rather poignant chorus of “Dylan Thomas” is definitely not Dylan Thomas, and she laughs at the thought of being delusional enough to think such a thing.
(It’s worth noting that Healy is known to have dabbled in her poetry.) In the early 1930s, the immensely popular Welsh poet began writing books full of her clever puns and visual imagery.
He was known for his ultra-emotional style of poetry. He was considered a neo-romantic because he created his own literary style, drawing inspiration from the Romanticism of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. One of his most famous works is 1931’s “Don’t Be Kind to Its Goodnight,” which urges readers to fight bravely against death whenever it comes.
Perhaps, after reading his poetry, you won’t be surprised to learn that Thomas had a reputation for being quite the tormented artist. As he got older, he struggled with alcoholism, which led him to act erratically. His friends would say his drinking was his way of coping with his shyness, depression, and financial instability. In her 1982 memoir, Thomas’ wife, Caitlin Thomas, said that her marriage to the poet “was not a love story proper; it was more of a drink story.”
When she died 12 years later, the New York Times would describe her as Thomas’ “drinking and brawling partner.”
Thomas died in 1953 at the age of 39 after collapsing at Manhattan’s Chelsea Hotel where he had an apartment. The legend goes that he drank 18 whiskies in a row and went into a coma, dying of acute alcohol poisoning. (Fun fact: Swift’s friend and Eras Tour opener Phoebe Bridgers released a song called “Dylan Thomas” in 2019 with her band Better Oblivion Community Center that nods to his much mythologized demise. Spoiler: this isn’t the track’s only connection to Bridgers.) However, it is now believed that Thomas died of pneumonia that had gone undiagnosed by his physician.
Patti Smith
Swift is arguably one of the best songwriters in modern music, but this song marks her debut as Patti Smith, known as the “Punk Poet Laureate” thanks to her 1975 debut, “Horses, a.” It has been made clear that it has nothing to do with it.
‘ is a clever combination of free verse and punk rock. But Smith is more than just a charismatic musician, she’s also the author of several collections of poetry and books, including two best-selling memoirs about her childhood and friendship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. In 2010, she focused on Just Kids, and in 2012, she looked at her life and career since Horses.
Although Smith has never topped the music charts, she has won countless awards, including the 2010 National Book Award and the prestigious Polar Music Award, also known as the “Nobel Prize of Music,” the following year. doing. . (Like Dylan Thomas, she also spent some time at the Chelsea Hotel, but I’ll leave that for a moment.) Of course, she does feel a little inadequate compared to her It’s not shame.
It’s a little surprising to hear an emerging billionaire pop star who has broken basically every music record think this way. Smith also appears to be in Swift’s camp. In 2019, she defended Swift after he was criticized for not being political. “She’s a pop star who’s always under intense scrutiny,” Smith told the New York Times. “And you can’t even imagine what that’s like.”
The Chelsea Hotel
It’s safe to say, the infamous residence hotel located in, as its name suggests, the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan would be a fitting headquarters for the Tortured Poets Department. Built between 1863 and 1865, the newly renovated 12-story hotel has long been a respite for promising artists like Leonard Cohen, Janis Joplin, and Thomas Wolfe who were looking for cheap rent and few frills as they pursued the bohemian lifestyle.
Playwright Arthur Miller, who stayed there for six years following his 1961 divorce from Marilyn Monroe, called it “the high spot of the surreal.” He meant this quite literally; more than a few times he had gotten high off the marijuana smoke that often wafted through the halls. “There are no vacuum cleaners, no rules and shame,” Miller said of the place where he would end up writing the play After the Fall.
The Chelsea Hotel is also where Bob Dylan wrote Blonde on Blonde, Andy Warhol shot parts of his experimental film Chelsea Girls, and Sid Vicious allegedly stabbed his girlfriend Nancy Spungen to death. As previously mentioned, Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith both lived there, but they never crossed paths. Sixteen years after Thomas’ death, Smith moved into room 1017, the smallest in the hotel, with Mapplethorpe for a rate of $55 per week. “The Chelsea was like a dollhouse in the Twilight Zone,” Smith wrote in Just Kids. “With a hundred rooms, each a small universe.”
Shortly after Swift’s new album dropped, the Chelsea Hotel excitedly posted on their Instagram Story that they were “screaming” over the song, which they were turning way up, and “ready to welcome Swifites.” Those who are looking to book a room for a night will pay at least five times what Smith did 55 years ago.
Charlie Puth
Charlie Puth might want to send Swift an edible arrangement or something since she’s about to become an even bigger star. It’s fitting, because that’s exactly what Swift wants, according to The Tortured Poets Division. She is truly a mastermind. However, Puth’s lyrics have been controversial, with some claiming that the song is already a huge hit.
For those who first learned about Puth thanks to Swift’s name – “They smoked a cigarette, then ate seven chocolate bars/We’re Charlie Puth becoming a bigger artist.” – Here’s a quick scouting report on him: He performed on The Wiz Khalifa’s mega-anthem “See You Again” (Furious 7), Meghan Trainor’s duet “Marvin The pop star sings songs like “Gay” and “We Don’t Talk Anymore” with Swift’s best friend Selena Gomez in perfect pitch. He has a habit of giving away too much information in interviews and has been known to post a craving trap or two.
He’s also a total Swiftie, regularly discussing her chord progressions on her TikTok, where she has over 22 million followers. When Swift joined TikTok in 2021, Puth immediately welcomed her. “I’ve been hiding your account for years!” she replied. “Welcome, Piano Prince. I think the game recognizes the game.”
The Puth line also has multiple her Healy connections. Healy’s band released a song called “Chocolate” in 2013. Five years later, the 1975 frontman cited Puth’s single “If You Leave Me Now” from his album The Voice Notes, saying, “This Charlie Puth and Boyz II Men song… That’s terrible,” he tweeted. Puth seemed moved by the confirmation, replying: “Thanks Matty! Maybe I should send something to Healy because of this tweet.”
Lucy Dacus
Swift was worried that this man would ruin things, but she felt better when she learned, “You told Lucy that if I left, she would kill herself.” became.
“Lucy” is believed to be the solo Lucy Dacas. Indie artist and member of Boygenius, a band with Julien Baker and Healy’s long-time friend Bridgers. (Bridgers recorded additional vocals on his 1975 album Notes on a Conditional Form and also appears in the band’s video for I’m in Love with You.)
Jack Antonoff
On “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift’s closest confidante is “Jack,” which is undoubtedly a reference to her friend and longtime producer Jack Antonoff, who has worked on all four of the re-recordings of her old albums (aka the “Taylor’s Versions”), as well as seven records of all original material, including her latest. (He is a co-writer on the title track.) He also produced The 1975’s 2022 album, Being Funny in a Foreign Language, making him someone who knew both parties intimately.
If Entertainment Tonight’s sources are to be believed, Antonoff was the matchmaker who brought the musical duo together. And there are clues that he was there from the very beginning of this short-term relationship. Antonoff was hanging out with Swift and Healy at members-only Casa Cipriani in New York, where they were first spotted holding hands. Days later, the two were again photographed together, this time leaving Electric Lady Studios where Swift was recording with Antonoff.
Thanks to Swift’s shoutout on the title track, it’s safe to assume things might have been a little awkward for Antonoff after the two split up. Being that Healy did not attend Antonoff’s wedding this past summer but Swift did, one could venture to guess that she got custody of Jack in the breakup.