“Tortured Poets Department” is so good I broke up with my boyfriend

Frankie Colao-Pineyro

She/Her

A&E Editor

4/21/24

“The Tortured Poets Department” is said to give off ‘psych ward vibes’, and boy does it make you feel insane. This album was so good I had to break up with my boyfriend just to feel it in full effect. This is Swift’s first bona fide breakup album since the release of “Red” in 2012, and is alleged to be *mostly* about Swift’s ex boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. 

Swift and Alwyn dated for six years prior to breaking up, and while many thought they were the perfect couple, there seems to be implications of high infidelity throughout the album. Most notably, in the first track, “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)”, in which she sings, “My husband is cheating, I wanna kill him.” It is theorized that some of the songs may be about Swift’s situationship with Matty Healy, mainly “I Can Fix HIm (No Really I Can)”, as the title mirrors a lot of The 1975’s track titles, and Healy is the definition of a man you would want to fix.

The lyricism is poetic in a way that is very similar to Swift’s seventh album, Folklore, yet musically very different. Like Midnights, the album has synth-pop components, while also incorporating a lot of folk and alt-rock elements. 

The lyrics have a sardonic, sometimes comical tone to them. A favorite of mine being in the chorus of “But Daddy I Love Him,” where she jokes “I’m havin’ his baby / No, I’m not, but you should see your faces,” not only breaking the fourth wall, but seemingly a jab at tabloids that often create outlandish rumors about the famed popstar. Although we were told there would be no glitter gel pen songs, it’s safe to say “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” is just that, with perhaps a little more edge. It starts off predictably slow, but dives into a really poppy chorus, the backing of which is supposedly her in-ears for the Eras Tour. In the outro of the song Swift can be heard saying, “‘Cause I’m miserable / And nobody even knows / Ah, try and come for my job,” which I personally found to be incredibly cunty.

Two hours after the initial release of TTPD, Swift revealed a surprise double drop, “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology”, adding another 15 songs to the original album. At first glance, it seems as though two of the titles, “imgonnagetyouback”, and “thanK you aIMee,” are randomly grammatically incorrect, which is very unusual for Swift’s tracks. However, if you put the errors together it spells out, “I’m gonna get you back Kim,” clearly referencing Swift’s beef with Kim Kardashion, and alluding that there’s more to come.

I think it’s safe to say that Swift has successfully and ruthlessly annihilated Alwyn’s public image with her deeply intelligent lyricism. My only remorse goes out to Alwyn’s tortured publicist, who has most certainly had an eventful weekend, but after all, all’s fair in love and poetry.