At 12 am on Friday April 19th, Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album The Tortured Poets Department. Swift has been calling this album less of a story and more of an anthology of recent events.
Fans expected a normal album consisting of 16 songs, but then in normal Taylor Swift fashion, she added a surprise countdown. The countdown started at 12 and lasted for two hours. When the two hours were up, the secret double album was released consisting of 15 more unexpected songs:
“The Black Dog”
“imgonnagetyouback”
“The Albatross”
“Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus”
“How Did It End?”
“So High School”
“I Hate It Here”
“thanK you aIMee”
“I Look in People’s Windows”
“The Prophecy”
“Cassandra”
“Peter”
“The Bolter”
“Robin”
“The Manuscript”
In total, the anthology consists of 31 songs, and they are like a mix of folklore and Midnights with the lyrical power of folklore but the production of Midnights. Even though it’s similar, TTPD is like nothing Swift has done before. It is not going to be everyone’s favorite album because it doesn’t have that pop flair that most people have come to associate with Swift, but the lyrics are heartfelt, painful, strong, and full of contempt.
After only two listens, I have chosen my top five songs. This will change every time I listen to the album,but for now these are my favorite songs (in not particular order):
“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys’ ‘ This is the third song on the album, and personally it has some of my favorite lyrics. What I like about this song is that the lyrics are so full of pain and detest, but paired with the catchy beat and chorus, it adds to the anger. It can be assumed that this song is about a relationship that ended poorly and that person had made Swift feel too broken to be missed: “Once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me.” And as always the bridge of this song plucks on the heartstrings and reveals some dark things that were going on in Swift’s personal life, all while being paired with the catchy synth beat.
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” When I first listened through all of the songs, this was the song I couldn’t stop thinking about, especially the lyrics “you don’t get to tell me about sad” and the tandem in the second verse “you don’t get to tell me you feel bad”. When I first heard this song, my immediate thought was that it was about a relationship, but as I’ve listened more, I realize that it is about a relationship, but this relationship is about Swift and the media. The analogies she uses to convey people talking about her and starting rumors of her life and what she’ll do to you if you cross her. As always her lyrics are strong, in this song, you can really hear the anger in her words. The building drums in the background add to this, like she is a hero walking away from a battle.
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” this song is another example of catchy beat and soul shattering lyrics. This song is about Swift putting on the Eras tour even while sporting a broken heart and struggling with depression. When I first listened to the album, a few of the songs made me teary eyes, but this song was the one that finally caused the tears to fall. In this song she doesn’t dance around how she feels, she comes out and says that she has a broken heart, she’s depressed, and that she’s hiding all of this because it is her job to be happy and put on a show for the fans.
“I Hate It Here” feels very whimsical, and nostalgic. This song was produced by Aaron Dessner, and you can really hear his influence. A lot of the songs on Swift’s album folklore were also produced by Dessner. The almost twinkling guitar, brings that hint of magic into Swift’s lyrics. Personally, I love this song because it reminds me of reading books, the feeling of escapism. “I’ll save all my romanticism for my inner life, and I’ll get lost on purpose” is one of my favorite lyrics, because it perfectly explains the magic of reading. The concept of the song is that Swift hates the real world, and explains what she does instead of living in the real world. The vibe of the song feels like a cool summer breeze, this is another example of a song with sad lyrics but the melody and instrumental are magical.
“The Prophecy” is another song that Aaron Dessner produced and this also has the springy, almost nostalgic guitar in the beginning. Swift is begging for the prophecy to be changed, she is saying that she would trade all of her fame and money for the love that is shown in the movies and books. During the chorus there is a slight build to the music, giving the feeling of someone falling on their knees and begging. The title “The Prophecy” reminded me of a Greek myth, and someone the song just feels like a myth. I think that the lyrics combined with the production creates that perfect mythological feeling and is able to draw out emotions from the listener.
Listening to Swift’s songs and trying to pinpoint the timeline and the message of the song is one of my favorite things about her music. Not all of it is perfect, but the lyrics are raw and real, and she proves that all really is fair in love and poetry.