![Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department Lyrics | Genius Lyrics Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department Lyrics | Genius Lyrics](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F7d40fb13-1b67-4a04-991d-ae7ef7d2ffef_1000x1000.png)
Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock (and if you’re Drake, you probably want to be right now), then you know Taylor Swift released yet another album a little over two weeks ago. Her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, was released during a time of nearly unprecedented level of fame for Swift, one not seen since Michael Jackson. I thought the 1989 era was huge, but this current era of Taylor Swift is 10x bigger: she’s re-released four out of her first six albums (all number one), embarked on a record-breaking world tour, became a billionaire, is dating one of the most famous football players (who just won another Super Bowl), and won her fourth Album of the Year Grammy Award (for Midnights)—the only artist to achieve this feat.
With the release of TTPD, Swift’s ninth(!) album release since 2019 (including re-records), it seems like the damn may finally be breaking on Swift’s public image, fair or not. Sexism attacks have been lodged at Swift for merely attending her boyfriend’s football games, she’s been criticized for her jetsetting ways, many were upset her her Album of the Year win (particularly over SZA’s SOS), and TTPD (76/100 Metacritic score for the standard edition, 69/100 for The Anthology edition) is not receiving the same universal critical acclaim as her recent albums like folklore (88/100), evermore (85/100), or even Midnights (85/100).
![THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY - Album by Taylor Swift | Spotify THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY - Album by Taylor Swift | Spotify](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fe430bbc7-636c-4c40-8bcb-fce896115912_640x640.jpeg)
I’ve proclaimed TTPD to be Swift’s worse album. This doesn’t mean the album is unlistenable, far from it. But it’s far from the quality writing and production we’ve come to expect from her. Many of the songs are too wordy (almost meandering) and without memorable hooks, sound too similar to one another or to past songs, and the album is too long! TTPD includes 16 songs, but two hours after its release, she announced the project as a “double album,” and released The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, which adds 15 more songs, for a total of 31 songs (for comparison, her longest standard album Lover had 18 tracks, while the deluxe 3am Edition of Midnights had 21 songs). While the standard edition was more synth-pop heavy, featuring productions from mostly Jack Antonoff, The Anthology version is predominantly Aaron Dessner’s songs, featuring more stripped-down songs. Both versions of the album have their gems, but the majority of the 31-track project revisits the same sonic spaces Swift has showed us before, but to lesser effect (Antonoff’s songs), or they’re too wordy and lack catchy or interesting hooks (Dessner’s songs). Too many of the songs are skips. 31 songs and most of them being boring is a Drake-level disaster!
Swift said “I needed to make [the album], it was really a lifeline for me, it sort of reminded me why songwriting gets me through life.” I believe her, as the album was recorded after her breakup with her boyfriend of six years, actor Joe Alwyn (her longest relationship!). I’m sure it wasn’t easy to separate from someone you spent most of your 20s in a relationship with. The problem is, many songs on TTPD sound like stream of consciousness, like she’s speaking what’s on her mind, instead of focusing on making actual good music. Perhaps this was cathartic for Swift, but that doesn’t translate to a good album. At best, this was an album Swift made in earnest, one she needed to make. At worst, this is a quick cash grab created to break more records and reap in more profits from her enthusiastic fanbase. TTPD and The Anthology don’t feel like double albums in the same way folklore and evermore did more naturally.
The thing is, there’s actually a strong version of TTPD in there, but to find it Swift would need to hire an editor, which she apparently doesn’t seem to have. This isn’t a new problem. Her previous albums have all had questionable songs that support her naysayers’ claims that she’s a bad songwriter, like the infamous “ME! (feat. Brandon Urie of Panic! at the Disco)” from Lover, “You Need to Calm Down” (also from Lover), and “Vigilante Shit” from Midnights, to absolutely snooze-fests that drag otherwise stellar albums down, like “Sweet Nothing” from Midnights, “epiphany” from folklore, and “closure” from evermore.
![Image Image](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa3376cbf-996f-4f92-b545-f24b43eb1703_2048x2048.jpeg)
Taylor Swift is undeniably a gifted at marketing herself and her music, which is how she became the biggest superstar on the planet, with 14 number one albums (only The Beatles have more), and became a billionaire. But I still find some of her marketing decisions to be head-scratching, like releasing “ME!” as Lover’s lead single, or the awful and cringe-worthy album cover for TTPD. But TTPD broke more records, debuting with 2.61 million equivalent album units in its first week, becoming the most streamed album ever, the second-largest sales week for an album since Billboard 200 began tracking sales in 2014, the third-largest sales week by traditional album sales in the modern era, and the largest sales week for an album on vinyl in the modern era. Swift is clearly doing something right, so who am I to say her marketing tactics are wrong? But I’m going to try anyway.
Below is my version of TTPD, with an alternate album cover that I think is more effective (and not cringey!), and a shortened and reorganized tracklist (13 songs, her favorite number). If this was the album that was released, I think it would’ve had greater critical acclaim, and wouldn’t come off as Swift phoning it in. I present to you The Tortured Poets Department (Kent’s Version):
1. The Tortured Poets Department
Produced by Jack Antonoff
I never felt like “Fortnight” was the appropriate opening track to TTPD and feel like the title track works better. Love it or hate it, right off the bat it lets us know she’s still working with Jack Antonoff’s trademark synth-pop-heavy production. This is the type of song that sets the tone for the rest of the album, that we’re not really in for anything new or challenging, but more of the same. Despite some questionable lyrics (“You ate seven bars of chocolate / we declare Charlie Puth should’ve been a bigger artist”), it’s still a catchy song (as much as I hate to admit it).
2. My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys
Produced by Jack Antonoff
The song begins with “Oh here we go again,” which reiterates the theme that the album will be more of the same. But it’s another catchy song! And the bridge sounds a lot like “Getaway Car,” a song I love.
3. Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)
Produced by Jack Antonoff
“Fortnight” is Swift wondering what could’ve been, as her ex moves in next door with his wife. I’m not sure what I expected from a Post Malone-Taylor Swift song, but it definitely wasn’t this. This may not be Post Malone’s best feature appearance on a song this year (that would be Beyonce’s “LEVII’S JEANS”), but his collaboration with Swift still works! His smooth singing voice bounces off well with Swift’s. And I admittedly am a sucker for Antonoff’s synth-pop production. And it offers a different kind of melodramatic lyrics than we’re used to with Swift (“Your wife waters flowers, I wanna kill her”).
4. Down Bad
Produced by Jack Antonoff
When Swift announced the tracklist for this album, I was worried about “Down Bad,” that it would be another instance of Swift misusing phrases not from her own community (“‘Cause shade never made anybody less gay” from “You Need to Calm Down”). Having listened to this song, I’m unsure about the result. If she intended to use it as a slang, she’s appropriating AAVE. If she’s using it as an extension of the song’s alien abduction metaphor (symbolizing being love bombed) and being “dropped” back down on Earth, sure. Hopefully it’s the latter. Nevertheless, the song is catchy.
5. So Long, London
Produced by Aaron Dessner
This is the first great song on the album (the standard edition and my version), and unsurprisingly, it’s not produced by Antonoff, but Aaron Dessner (from the band The National), who has been making music with Swift since folklore, resulting in some of her strongest, most creative songs. (He’s produced soooo many of the best songs on folklore, nearly all of evermore, “Nothing New (feat. Phoebe Bridgers) from Red (Taylor’s Version), and “The Great War” from Midnights (3am Edition).) Swifties will know that the fifth song on every Swift album is usually a standout, an emotionally powerful one (“All Too Well,” “You’re On Your Own, Kid”), and “So Long, London” is one of her best Track Five songs. It’s obviously about her breakup with Joe Alwyn. The song works on every level: from the introductory “so long London” that repeats to sound like chiming bells (perhaps wedding bells), to her sad and vulnerable voice, to the gut-wrenching and bitter lyrics “You swore that you loved me me, but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waitin’ for the proof / You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days / And I’m just getting color back into my face / I’m just mad as hell ‘cause I loved this place for / So long, London.”
6. But Daddy I Love Him
Produced by Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff
This one sounds almost like Country Taylor! Dessner and Antonoff don’t co-produce the same songs often, but when they do, it’s like magic (“Betty” from folklore and “Hits Different” from “Midnights”). It has the folk and rock elements we’re used to with Dessner, but also pop elements from Antonoff. The lyrics, about dating someone others don’t approve, can be serious (“I’ll tell you something ‘bout my good name / It’s mine alone to disgrace / I don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empath’s clothing”) whiles others can be fun (“I’m havin’ his baby / No, I’m not, but you should see your faces”). These lyrics can also be interpreted as a dig towards her critics and even fans, who seem to always be judging her dating life.
7. Florida!!! (feat. Florence + The Machine)
Produced by Jack Antonoff
This is one of the two best songs Antonoff’s produced (solely) on this album. It’s a fun, bombastic, melodramatic song with Florence + The Machine, imagining running off to Florida to start a new life after a breakup (“What a crash, what a rush, fuck me up, Florida,” Swift sings). And thank god Florence Welch has a prominent appearance on this song (unlike Swift’s original collaboration with Lana Del Rey on “Snow On The Beach”).
8. imgonnagetyouback
Produced by Jack Antonoff
This song is not going to help the real or imagined Taylor Swift-Olivia Rodrigo feud. Rodrigo’s sophomore album Guts was released last year, and one of its standout tracks was “get him back!” The title is a double entendre, representing both ideas that Rodrigo wants to get her ex back, but also wants to seek revenge against him (“I wanna get him back / I wanna make him really jealous, wanna make him feel bad / Oh, I wanna get him back / ‘Cause then again, I really miss him, and it makes me real sad”). Swift’s “imgonnagetyouback” curiously covers the same theme (“Whether I’m gonna be your wife or / Gonna smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet / But I’m gonna get you back”).
9. So High School
Produced by Aaron Dessner
I love, love, LOVE this song. It’s up there with “Clara Bow” (another Dessner-produced song) as my favorite songs on the album. I don’t understand why Swift relegated this to the deluxe “Anthology” edition of the album! (She did the same with Midnights, putting some of the best songs (most of which were produced by Dessner) on the 3am deluxe edition). The song is self-explanatory, describing a relationship (probably Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce) that reminds her of high school. I’m not sure how he did it, but Dessner’s production makes it feel like a song out of a ‘90s teen, coming-of-age movie.
10. The Bolter
Produced by Aaron Dessner
Another bonus song produced by Dessner, this one is seemingly about Swift running away from her problems and coming out for the better (“There’s escape in escaping”). What can I say? The song is catchy without relying on any synth-pop production we’re used to hearing from Swift’s catchy songs. (Dessner is so good at that.)
11. The Prophecy
Produced by Aaron Dessner
This song and it’s storytelling would’ve fit in well on folklore. It’s about Swift hoping for a different outcome (“Please / I’ve been on my knees / Change the prophecy”), wishing simply for someone who loves her (“Don’t want money / Just someone who wants my company”).
12. The Alchemy
Produced by Jack Antonoff
“The Alchemy” and “Clara Bow” were the last two tracks on the official album, and I think they pair really well together, which is why I’ve kept them as the final two on my version too. And, almost perfectly, each is produced by Antonoff and Dessner, both two of the best songs they’ve produced on this album. This is the only song on the standard edition of the album that Antonoff produced that isn’t a synth-pop bop, instead feeling more toned down. In the song, Swift compares her relationship to alchemy, creating a magical experience together with her partner.
13. Clara Bow
Produced by Aaron Dessner
This is probably the best song on the album, a perfect marriage of production and lyrics. The song is a commentary on Swift’s fame and the industry’s treatment of women, how they’re constantly compared to one another (the first two verses include the lyrics “You look like Clara Bow” and “You look like Stevie Nicks”), and Swift’s fear of being replaced, ideas she’s covered previously on “Nothing New.” She ends the song with the shocking lyrics “You look like Taylor Swift / In this light, we’re lovin’ it / You’ve got edge she never did / The future’s bright, dazzling,” making the song’s themes hit even harder.