May 9, 2024 | ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT | By Rachel Weissman
Moving away from the fantasy of “folklore” and “evermore,” while also leaving behind the past experience of “Midnights,” Taylor Swift’s newest album “The Tortured Poets Department” is filled with exactly that — autobiographical tortured poetry with analogies and anecdotes to dissect. This album is not a casual once-or-twice listen, but rather a poetic anthology, meant not only to be heard but also to be felt. This album is for the readers, writers and poets to analyze and interpret, so here are some songs to look out for on “The Tortured Poets Department.”
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
“Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” describes that incessant and unwelcomed questioning that comes when a relationship ends. Swift is filling in clues that weren’t there to find any sort of closure — but is it ever even really closure when you have to make it up? Swift blames the fictional Chloe, Sam, Sophia or Marcus for the end of her relationship, yet she further wonders if any of these people were even close to real. “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” is featured in the deluxe version of the album, “The Anthology,” which contains some acoustic and painfully vulnerable tracks, this being one of them. This song is one you might want to have the lyrics pulled up as you’re listening because every word on this track is intentional, particularly the bridge of this song as it’s a bit of a puzzle — “If the glint in my eye traced the depths of your sigh/down that passage in time back to the moment/I crashed into you/like so many wrecks do/too impaired by my youth to know what to do.” The naïveté and desperation about her wondering is inherent to this track, and blaming the demise of this relationship on these fictional characters is all it seems Swift can do to stop the wondering, as in the outro Swift questions “will I always wonder?”
Down Bad
“Down Bad” is a mysterious track, featuring a repetitive and catchy backtrack alongside TTPD’s signature synths. Coming in between “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”’ and “So Long, London,” “Down Bad” breaks the trend set by those tracks, with a rather fantastical interpretation of real-life relatable events. In “Down Bad,” Swift describes the feeling of being dropped back on Earth after being in an alien abduction — you would think to be grateful to be returned, but Swift unveils the emotional complexities. She describes how she was blissfully happy being so far removed from her real life — “Tell me I was the chosen one/showed me that this world is bigger than us/then sent me back where I came from.” It seems Swift is paralleling this alien abduction to being unexpectedly left in a relationship. The imagery of a UFO dropping her off in a field is surprisingly vivid, especially with the double entendre. She goes on to explain how she can’t speak about this person who consumed her life one minute but was gone the next, “they’ll say I’m nuts if I talk about/the existence of you” as if an alien took her, returned her, yet no one would believe her. With the chorus of “Down Bad,” Swift juxtaposes the bizarre and outlandish experience of this alien abduction and contrasts it with the normal experience of going to the gym. “Now I’m down bad, cryin’ at the gym,” one second she’s up in space, the next she’s crying at the gym missing her alien captor — seems pretty relatable, right?
So Long, London
“So Long, London” provides a break from the earlier synth-pop sounds on this record. This track begins seemingly with church bells singing “so long, London” and then you are immediately hit with an anxiety-provoking beat drop, similar to Swift’s “The Archer” released in 2019, but with a heavy-hearted twist. Swift’s voice in this track is crucial to its essence, she sounds defeated as she begins with an anticlimactic verse describing how she tried so fervently to hold on to someone, yet her “spine split from carrying us up the hill/wet through my clothes/weary bones caught the chill/I stopped tryna make him laugh/stopped tryna drill the safe.” Swift’s defeat and exhaustion are paired with her sadness as she expresses “I’m just getting color back into my face” showing that despite her efforts, she must say goodbye. Nonetheless, her reluctance is seen in bargaining with the listener “I died on the altar waitin’ for the proof/you sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days.” Swift’s hesitancy to say goodbye is what makes “So Long, London” that much more heartbreaking. On her previous albums, Swift has stated that she puts her most vulnerable songs as track five, and we can see why “So Long, London” made it there.
How Did It End?
“How Did It End?” is a song about the scrutiny and curiosity that arises when a relationship comes to an end, specifically being in the limelight. However, this concern is far from genuine. As the chorus begins, Swift sings “Come one, come all/it’s happenin’ again” as a defeated, sarcastic invitation to examine the death of this relationship. In this track, that’s how Swift explains her lost relationship, a death to be grieved. The song begins as an autopsy, trying to examine all the broken pieces, yet it is not Swift alone in this examination. It is the entire world attempting to dissect this relationship which has died, with speculation and gossip running wild and uncontrolled. It seems the media attempts compassion, but a pathetic one at that — “the empathetic hunger descends, we’ll tell no one except all of our friends.” However, the bridge of this song is its backbone. As Swift furthers her autopsical examination, she eulogizes her lost relationship with something like a nursery rhyme. “Say it once again with feeling,/how the death rattle breathing/silenced as the soul was leaving/the deflation of our dreaming/leaving me bereft and reeling/my beloved ghost and me/sitting in a tree/D-Y-I-N-G” — the metaphor of the death rattle, is a nod to the awkward, slow and painful death experienced. Yet, when the death rattle has been silenced, no pain is alleviated. Rather, what has replaced it is an infantilized nursery rhyme, with a dark twist. Despite having experienced it, Swift is right alongside the onlooker questioning, how did it end?
The Prophecy
On this track, Swift is swallowing her pride. She knows a greater woman would not beg, yet lesser women have lost hope. “The Prophecy” is an unapologetic fable about the hopelessness that grows with heartbreak and loneliness. Swift feels cursed “as Eve was bitten,” she is begging to find the love and joy that has slipped out of her fingers time and time again. “The Prophecy” is a song for those forced to wait on something that might never come. “But even statues crumble if they’re made to wait/I’m so afraid I sealed my fate/no sign of soulmates” — with the fear of the prophecy never changing, Swift begs for a change, and claims she would settle for just someone who wants her company. Comparing herself to a child amid a tantrum, begging for the prophecy to change, this song is centered around hopelessness, as if this is her last plea. The minimalist production on this track gives so much more to its lyrics, and the production on this song is similar to others on “The Anthology,” with obvious hints of Aaron Dressner and his signature indie-folk tunes.
Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)
After spending two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and debuting at number one on the global Spotify chart with 25.2 million streams, breaking the record for the biggest streaming day in the platform’s history, there is no question that “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” is a hit. “Fortnight” is all about the loss of something that was only there for a moment, with similar themes to “Down Bad.” Swift featured only one music video on her newest album, and “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” was a great choice for it. The visuals for this video were beautifully cinematic in all black and white, featuring outdated costumes and vintage typewriters, touching on the dark academia aesthetic. Not only the costuming but also the setting of an insane asylum and electrocution were direct nods to “Poor Things” which came out last year. The lyrics on this track are unadulterated, yet their simplicity is where Swift’s vulnerability lies —- she does not hide her feelings behind complex metaphors on this track, she says it as it is. “I love you/it’s ruining my life/I touched you for only a fortnight,” not to mention the addictive and also simplistic production of this song. Jack Antanoff, a producer on many TTPD tracks, created the simple electronic beat, without any artificialness to it. His love for the sound of synths can be seen throughout this record, but specifically on this track. As seen in the music video, Swift’s references to an asylum are artistically concealed but definitely present on this track, “I was supposed to be sent away but they forgot to come and get me,” as well on another great track “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?” as the crescendo in the bridge leads to “you wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.” This track was the perfect entrance into the maze of TTPD, with themes leading into later songs and a catchy rhythm that has everyone listening on repeat.
Finally, there are a few other tracks that truly make this album what it is, it wouldn’t be fair to leave out these honorable mentions. The tangible regret and narcotic references in “Florida!!! (feat. Florence + the Machine)” add to the asylum imagery seen throughout the album, along with the powerful production in the chorus making this track hard to forget. “I Hate It Here” is a far more acoustic track telling the story of how Swift retreats to the inner workings of her mind, without any limits of reality. The catchy chorus in this track makes you want to whimsically dance in “secret gardens” and “lunar valleys.” “Guilty As Sin?” is a quintessential Swift song with a powerful bridge, that notes change and her emotive storytelling. “Guilty As Sin?” does what Swift does best — describes heartbreaking longing, in this case for something that is not quite there. These tracks along with “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus,” “Down Bad,” “So Long, London,” “How Did It End?”, “The Prophecy” and “ Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” are essential to the poetry and anguish that lives in every song on “The Tortured Poets Department.”