Shocking self-proclaimed “Swifties” across the globe on April 19th, the infamous pop star Taylor Swift dropped her newest anticipated album “The Tortured Poets Department,” transitioning into her newest album “era”.
Swift’s recent frequently released revamps of her shelved albums with the same titles added “Taylor’s Version” to the titles already surprised her followers, but her announcement of a brand new album in the midst of her recent releases really shocked the Swift lovers of the world.
With 16 tracks slated to make up the album, Swift further stunned Swifties with a second album titled “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” with 31 total tracks recorded.
“Anthology,” as stated in the Oxford Dictionary, is “a published collection of poems or other pieces of writing.” Swift’s title strategically infers to the listener that each track on the album explains a story written in a poetic prose. The album listens as poetry reads: metaphorically.
“An Anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions, and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time–one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure,” Swift said via a post on X, formally known as Twitter. “This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up.”
The album begins with the song “Fortnight” featuring fellow best-selling music artist Post Malone. Opening the song, Swift begins with a metaphor to being a part from someone, we can assume she once loved, as the opening verse. Her ease into the chorus further translates into a painful love she is feeling for her partner, however, there is allusion to him being remarried as she mentions wanting to kill his wife. Post Malone joins her throughout the remaining verses and chorus, showing how loving each other has ruined one another’s lives. Through deeply emotional lyrics, Swift and Malone express that not everyone is meant to be together in the end.
Track two includes the title track “The Tortured Poetry Department” which further explains her questioning metaphorical lyrics. Throughout the four-plus minute song, Swift repeats the lyrics “Who’s going to hold you?” more than 15 times, insinuating her break up has led her to wonder how he will ever find anyone who understands him like she does. Swift’s beautifully strategic lyrics leave listeners wondering why she wrote an album in full poetic prose rather than her typical literal translation lyrics.
“Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it. And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry,” said Swift via X.
Swift’s album continues with mostly sad and slow songs related to her former relationships with assumed actor Joe Alwyn. After a six-year relationship, fans can only assume Swift’s deep desire to produce such profoundly sad songs about tragedy and romance led her to the release of this new album. However, rumors stir that the majority of the album is related to her relationship with lead singer of the famous U.K musical group, The 1975, Matt Healy. This leaves fans decoding her relationships through her lyrics with even more curiosity.
A personal favorite, “Clara Bow”, includes several allusions to famous people throughout her lyrics starting with the obvious, Clara Bow. Bow was a famous silent actress in the late 20s with a difficult upbringing. As the speaker of the poetic song, Swift explains the comparison the poem is about to Bow’s hard working career.
With some folk-pop songs such as “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”, Taylor channels her former album styles such as her sound on her “Evermore” and “Folklore” albums. However, this newest album portrays a new music style from her that has not been seen before in previous albums.
Although Swift shocked the world with added songs, I believe her supplemental songs are just as they are “supplemental”. Personally speaking, the first 16 songs are the better third of the album.
Overall, Swift’s newest 31 track album includes songs with deep and meaningful lyrics. The evolution of her music style over her 18-year career has caused controversy for many Swift fans, however, her ever-changing music style has matured and grown alongside her. From her innocent lyrics on her first several albums, listeners can transcribe the growth from her teenage years to young adult years, and now into full-blown adulthood.
Like her albums, I have evolved alongside her music style from once enjoying her young romance to lyrics with complex themes. As someone in a career teaching the beauty of writing, poetry, stories, and themes, this album receives an A+ from me.
