Happy one year of The Tortured Poets Department, the Taylor Swift album that inspired me to start this Substack! Over the last year I have unpacked quite a few of its songs on here, which I’ve embedded below. Take a look through these older posts and let me know which other songs from the album you’d like to see covered next!
We’re All Mad Here: Denial, Distress, and Desire in “Fortnight”
Wise men once said you’ll never get over a heartbreak if you’re still holding on to hope that you might get a second chance at love—or vengeance. The opening track of Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album defines a period of time characterized by inner turmoil and distress, solidifying her Tortured Poet status and reckless yearning in the first four minu…
Lost in the Closet: Escapism and Disappointment in “I Hate It Here” and “Peter”
Taylor Swift has written plenty of songs about fantasy and escapism; as a theme, it’s been extremely prevalent in every album since folklore. “I Hate It Here” and “Peter” are two songs from the anthology portion of The Tortured Poets Department that, when viewed together through a queer lens, reveal a much larger tragic story about escapism in the face …
Partners in Crime: Uninhibited Relief and the Promise of Freedom in “Florida!!!”
A duet between Taylor Swift and Florence Welch was an unrealized dream of mine from 2012 up until the recent release of The Tortured Poets Department. “Florida!!!” featuring Florence + The Machine is the second of the two collaborations on the album, and functions as a bit of a sequel to the
Emotional Warfare: Denial and Destruction in “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”
When someone you love hurts you, it can be hard to look past the love to see the situation for what it truly is. Taylor Swift explores this phenomenon in “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” from The Tortured Poets Department. In an album spanning a multitude of topics and musical styles, this track is a deceptively upbeat defense of a romantic partne…
The Ultimate Comeback: Victory and Acclaim in “The Alchemy”
When The Tortured Poets Department came out in April, a lot of fans were quick to assume that “The Alchemy” was about Taylor Swift’s relationship with Travis Kelce. On account of all of the sports references, this was unsurprising. Nevertheless, a closer analysis of the lyrics and the context that the song has amassed since its release points to a diffe…
I Wonder: Longing and Regret in “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus”
It’s not unusual for a person’s name to be in the title of a Taylor Swift song, but it is unusual for there to be four of them in one. “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” certainly intrigued me with its title, but it turns out that it’s not really about any of these people—rather, it’s a reflection on a complex past failed romantic relationship that ling…
The Woman Who Sits By the Window: “I Look in People’s Windows” and Beyond
With a discography spanning eleven albums, Taylor Swift has plenty of lyrical patterns and motifs throughout her songs. Windows are one recurring symbol that takes on a number of feelings and ideas. For Swift, they represent memory, patience, danger, and connection; these themes come up independently in songs from several albums. In most of the examples…
It’s Happening Again: Death and Performance in “How Did It End?”
Taylor Swift is well known for her storytelling ability and her myriad of devastating breakup songs. A number of tracks on The Tortured Poets Department explore the endings of relationships, but one stands out as unique in its self-referential nature: “
The Magic We Made: “Long Live,” “New Year’s Day,” and “The Manuscript”
At the final Eras Tour concert on December 8th in Vancouver, Taylor Swift performed two emotional surprise song mashups to bid farewell to all the audiences that had come to see her. Last week, I posted an analysis of the first mashup, “A Place in This World
I Did My Time: Familiarity and False Starts in “Fresh Out The Slammer”
The concept behind Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department hinges on the notion of the speaker as a tortured poet—someone who has endured hardships and is equally preoccupied with channeling this pain into art. In “Fresh Out The Slammer,” the speaker uses extended metaphor to compare the long-term relationship she is leaving to a prison. While the …
Performative Heterosexuality: Control and Escape in “The Bolter”
The Tortured Poets Department is an album full of serious, contemplative themes, as its title suggests. On the surface, then, “The Bolter” might seem like a lighthearted exception to this rule, given Taylor Swift’s playful lyrics and melodies. While it is an upbeat song, it is also a narrative ballad about a string of superficial relationships and the d…