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Staff Writer: Denise Badilla
Email: dbadilla@umassd.edu
After a successful year on tour, Taylor Swift once more sweeps fans and critics alike with her 11th album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” released on April 19 at midnight EST. And true to her surprise-loving nature and affinity for easter eggs, Swift dropped an extra 15 songs dubbed “The Anthology” only two hours after her initial album release.
Collaborating with producers Jack Antonoff and Aaron Dessner, the album is a mix of synth-pop with strong influences of rock and folk, with Swift telling the story of love, loss, and a whole fury of emotions in between.
Lyrically, a similarity can be drawn to her “Folklore” and “Evermore” albums, proving once more her impressive ability to translate her own thoughts and emotions into lyrics that relate to many people.
This 31-song album is undeniably daunting, especially only having two hours to process a slew of emotions from the first 16 songs, only to be hit with 15 more heart-shattering tracks at 2 AM (like me).
With that being said, if you’re too overwhelmed to press play or simply want to know what to anticipate for the Tortured Poet’s Department era, here are my top ten favorite songs from the main album and the Anthology, including all the fan theories associated with each one, and even some of my personal thoughts I jotted down while listening to it the first time around.
10. Fortnight (featuring Post Malone)
The first track and single of the album, “Fortnight,” perfectly sets up the ambiance of this new era. This song heavily reminisces on a past relationship with many unfulfilled promises, Swift drawing connections to the typical white picket fence life that could have been but never was.
The song expresses strong emotions of grief turned to bitter resentment. Swift mentions a ‘wife’ alluding to being replaced shortly after the end of the relationship, correlating to the song title, which is a measure of time used to refer to a period of two weeks.
Post Malone comes in during the bridge and can be heard singing harmonies in the background throughout the song.
Many fans theorize that the song is related to Swift’s six-year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn that ended rather abruptly in early 2023, a few months after the start of the Era’s Tour.
9. But Daddy, I Love Him
The title is a phrase popularized by the 1989 Disney animated film The Little Mermaid, in which Ariel argues with her father about falling in love with a guy she had just met (when he was barely conscious, I might add). Romantic, right?
In this song, Swift perfectly encapsulates the ridiculousness of falling in love with someone less than ideal, in this case, someone who people heavily disapprove of but still standing firm by her decision.
Swift also uses this track to seemingly address people who have given their two cents about the state of her love life, potentially alluding to the brief period she spent with the 1975’s frontman Matty Healy, who had been in hot waters for various crude and problematic remarks.
To summarize the entirety of the five-minute and thirty-nine-second song, Swift essentially tells her critics to mind their own business and leave her love life alone.
8. Song Long, London
Quoting directly from my notes: “JOE ALWYN, WHEN I CATCH YOU!!!!!!”
Dubbed as the sequel to the heart-wrenching Midnight’s vault track “You’re Losing Me,” Swift tells the story of fighting to the point of exhaustion for a love that can no longer be helped and the gradual acceptance of this.
True to the fifth track vibe of every album she’s released, it packs a bridge with lyrics so poetically devastating that its impact might very well be the same feeling as being hit by a bus.
Her words paint a very clear picture of this grief, many connecting this to her six year relationship with actor Joe Alwyn, the length of their relationship bringing speculation that an engagement, or even marriage, was on the horizon for the couple.
This song is one of many on the album alluding to the anticipation of a greater commitment that never came.
I may not have lost a six-year relationship, but I can say for sure that this one is going into my ‘Scream in the Car (Taylor’s Version)’ playlist.
7. Clara Bow
Clara Bow was an actress who rose to stardom in silent films in the 1920s. She was said to be overworked in the prime of her career, and her personal life was heavily scrutinized as her fame progressed.
Swift dedicates this song to all the starlets who have been dubbed as the “it girl” in some way or form in their careers, alluding to the cruelty of the industry and how it exploits their youth until it’s spent, always on the hunt for newer and “shinier” artists.
“I used to sit in record labels trying to get a record deal when I was a little kid. And they’d say, ‘You know, you remind us of,’ and then they’d name an artist, and then they’d kind of say something disparaging about her, ‘But you’re this, you’re so much better in this way or that way.’ And that’s how we teach women to see themselves, as like, ‘You could be the new replacement for this woman who’s done something great before you.’”
was Taylor Swift’s explanation when asked about the song.
Many fans theorize that Swift may have had artists such as Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams, and Sabrina Carpenter in mind, who are arguably some of the rising stars of their generation, with the potential to follow in Swift’s footsteps.
6. The Bolter (Anthology track)
To those notoriously known for their avoidant attachment style, Taylor Swift ensured you got representation in this album. This song is dedicated to you.
Narrated from the viewpoint of a female subject, she embodies every stereotype of a “bolter”: someone who puts a lot of effort into a relationship but flees at the first indication of conflict or when emotions get too real, refusing to allow any connection to get too intimate.
If all this hits too close to home, please consider seeking help.
“The Bolter” may also be in reference to a biography written by Frances Osborne that tells the story of her great-grandmother, Idina Sackville, who was known as the “bolter” due to her many scandalous affairs and marriages in early 20th-century British society.
5. thanK you aIMee (Anthology track)
Just like every other person in this world, I enjoy a good diss track from time to time, especially when Taylor Swift throws caution to the wind and completely abandons subtlety in her words and insults.
The capitalized letters spelling out “KIM” is no accident, and if the title alone doesn’t convince you that this is about Kim Kardashian, the phrase “bronze, spray-tanned statue” in the first twenty seconds of the song is more than enough evidence.
Most known for inspiring Swift’s “Reputation” era, the animosity between the two started all the way back in 2016 with Kanye West’s song “Famous.”
Kanye’s lyrics referenced Swift, who denounced the context in which her name was used. Kardashian later released an edited Snapchat video seemingly showing Swift’s approval of the lyrics, leading to a heated debate about honesty and misrepresentation.
Though this track is not the petty, grudge-holding song one would typically associate with a diss track, Swift sings a song of being vindicated and using what was an almost career-ending experience to further solidify her legacy in the music industry.
So thanK you, aIMee, for the Reputation album and this banger song.
4. I Can Do It With a Broken Heart
“I cry a lot, but I am so productive. It’s an art.” Taylor Swift has never been as relatable as this.
The juxtaposition of this track’s downright depressing lyrics with such an energetic, dance-pop-like beat is what has this song ranked this high for me.
The energy of the instrumentals is meant to mimic that of the Era’s tour, which had just started when news of her breakup with Joe Alwyn surfaced.
Swift sings, “fake it ‘til you make it,” presumably alluding to bottling up her misery and putting on a smile every night when she performs for each of her tour dates. Many fans on TikTok express conflicting feelings of excitement and guilt, completely oblivious to the singer’s pain while having the best night of their lives at her concert.
3. loml
Legendary, but momentary and unnecessary.
Taylor Swift sings about a once-in-a-lifetime beautiful love that was almost forever but not quite. The first verse tells the story of this sweet love which, which gradually fades and corrodes the further the song progresses.
The way Swift utilizes the abbreviation “loml” to mean “love of my life” and then eventually “loss of my life” is one of many examples of her songwriting brilliance, which never fails to leave me speechless and in awe. The religious metaphors will also have you reeling in your seat.
2. Guilty as Sin?
Swift asks her audience, “Am I bad, or mad, or wise?”
In this case, she may just be all three.
This song is undoubtedly another anthem dedicated to our strongest soldiers, those who continue to suffer in long-standing situationships, and also to those who are just a little bit delusional at all times.
This track talks about very elaborate and graphic fantasies that Swift has about a subject that she yearns for. Even though she’s aware that it’s all in her head, she still feels a sense of devotion to this nonexistent commitment or could have been led to believe in false promises.
“Guilty as Sin?” takes second place as Jack Antonoff breathes life into this lyrical masterpiece with his incredible production skills. After all, the only thing that could make a hit song better is a catchy tune. Antonoff hits this nail right on the head.
1. Peter (Anthology track)
As a big admirer of the Folklore album who had “Cardigan” on repeat enough times that it made it to the top five songs of my 2020 Spotify Wrapped, “Peter” easily takes the number one spot in my top ten TTPD list.
Nothing beats Taylor Swift’s lyricism when she includes subtle references to the story of Peter Pan and Wendy Darling, especially in this song, where she uses them to tell a story of a tragic love lost due to the twisted fates of time.
This track particularly references the original Peter Pan story where he never grows up and promises to find Wendy but doesn’t end up keeping it.
It also establishes a metaphor about being with an immature partner who promises to grow up and fix his ways, promising his return once he was worthy enough for her, but never comes back.
Aaron Dessner’s folk-like influences are evident in this song, as they are in the album’s Anthology tracks, contrasting with but still somehow complementing Antonoff’s signature synth-pop style.
Some special mentions include “Down Bad,” “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” and “The Alchemy,” which were still incredibly brilliant in their own way, but didn’t quite hit me as hard as the ten songs on the list.
With the beginning of this new era, Taylor Swift has once more delivered what is arguably a masterpiece of an album that is sure to take you through all five stages of grief, regardless of your current emotional health.
Despite some of the tracks having significant similarities to previous album themes, “The Tortured Poet’s Department” definitely also has some songs that make the album its own unique genre.