Who Are Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department Songs About? The Subjects of All 31 of Her Songs
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
It’s no secret that art imitates life when it comes to her songwriting, but who are Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department songs about? With 31 songs and endless inspiration, no one was spared from her pen.
More from StyleCaster
Matty Healy Just Responded To Taylor Swift's 'Diss Track' On The Tortured Poets Department
Taylor Swift's Net Worth Hit A Gigantic Milestone Thanks To Her Eras Tour
Kim Kardashian Just Roped in Karlie Kloss in Her Feud With Taylor Swift
The Tortured Poets Department is Swift’s 11th studio album, which she announced during her speech for the Best Pop Vocal Album award at the 66th annual Grammy Awards. “This is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that. I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans,” Swift said. “So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department.”
The album, which was released on April 19, 2024, features 31 songs and two sides: the standard edition with 16 songs and The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology with 15 songs. “The Tortured Poets Department. 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 wrote in an Instagram post on release day. “This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted. This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it.”
Who are Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department songs about?
Read on for who each of Taylor Swift’s 31 songs on The Tortured Poets Department is about and the meaning behind her lyrics.
1. Who is “Fortnight” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy
“Fortnight (featuring) Post Malone, the first song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s exes, Joe Alwyn, who she dated from 2016 to 2023, and Matty Healy, who she dated from May to June 2023. The song is believed to be about Swift moving on from Alwyn by dating Healy.
All my mornings are Mondays stuck in an endless February
I took the miracle move on drug, the effects were temporary
And I love you, it’s ruining my life (I love you, it’s ruining my life)
I touched you for only a fortnight (I touched you)
But I touched you
“Fortnight” is a British English term defined as “a period of two weeks,” which many believe represents Swift’s short-lived romance with Healy. (Both Alwyn and Healy are also British.)
Though news broke of Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn in April 2023, a source told The Sun at the time that Swift and Alwyn split in February 2023, three months before she was first seen with Healy in May 2023. “She and Matty are madly in love. It’s super-early days, but it feels right. They first dated, very briefly, almost ten years ago but timings just didn’t work out,” the source said. “Taylor and Joe actually split up back in February, so there was absolutely no crossover.”
The “miracle move on drug” lyric is also believed to be a reference to how Swift dated Healy after Alwyn.
I’m calling you, but you won’t be called?
Another fortnight lost in America
Going to Florida by the car you won
But it won’t start up till you touch, touch, touch
Swift’s first Eras Tour concert after her breakup with Alwyn was in Tampa, Florida, on April 13, 2023. Healy was seen at Swift’s Eras Tour stop in Nashville, Tennessee, two weeks later.
2. Who is “The Tortured Poets Department”about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“The Tortured Poets Department,” the second song from Taylor Swift’s album of the same name, is speculated to also be about Taylor Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about how Swift and Healy’s controversial relationship was only theirs to understand.
You left your typewriter at my apartment
Straight from the tortured poets department
I think some things I’ll never say
Like, “Who uses typewriters anyway?”
But you’re in self sabotage mode
Throwing spikes down on the road
But I’ve seen this episode
And still loved the show
Who else decodes you?
In an interview with GQ in 2019, Healy revealed that he still uses typewriters and loves them. “I really like typewriters as well. I don’t have one with me because that is impractical, but the thing with typewriters and writing with pen to paper, there’s an element of commitment that goes with the ceremony with it. It therefore forces you to concentrate a bit better,” he said. He went on to talk about the importance of his notebook. “It’s important to have a book. It’s mainly stories that I write about my dreams of being in love with other popstars,” he said.
While some fans believe the title of the song is a reference to Swift’s ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn’s WhatsApp group chat titled “The Tortured Man Club,” which he referenced in a Variety article, it’s still believed that Healy is the main subject of the song.
You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate
We declared Charli Puth should be a bigger artist
I scratch your head you fall asleep
Like a tattooed golden retriever
But you awaken with dread
Counting nails in your head
But I’ve left this one
Where you come undone
I chose this cyclone with you
Healy is a known smoker and also has a 2013 song with his band The 1975 titled “Chocolate,” which is used as a euphemism for cannabis. Healy also complimented Charlie Puth in a tweet in 2018, in which he wrote: “That Charlie Puth and Boyz III Men track is harrrrrd.” Healy also has several visible tattoos across his entire body.
3. Who is “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn
“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys,” the third song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. The song is believed to be about how Swift was once cherished by Alwyn as his favorite toy until she wasn’t.
Oh, here we go again
The voices in his head
Called a ring to end our days of wild
The sickest army doll purchased at the mall
Rivulets to send my plastic smile
One of Alwyn’s first notable acting roles was as a US Army specialist in the 2016 movie Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, which Swift was photographed watching in November 2016. It’s believed that the army doll lyric is a reference to the film.
There was a litany of reasons why
We could’ve played for keeps this time
I know I’m just repeating myself
With me back on my shelf
But first pull the string and I’ll tell you that he runs because he loves me (he loves me)
It’s believe that the string lyric is a reference to Swift’s song “Invisible String” from Folklore in which she sang about how there was an invisible string tying her and Alwyn together.
4. Who is “Down Bad” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“Down Bad,” the fourth song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to also be about Taylor Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about Swift’s strong feelings for Healy that she knows the public won’t approve of.
Did you take all my old clothes
Just to leave me here naked and alone
In a field in my same old town
That somehow seems so hollow now
They’ll say I’m nuts if I talk about the existence of you
For a moment I was heaven struck
Due to past controversies, including a racially insensitive joke about Swift’s “Karma” collaborator Ice Spice, he had a reputation for his bad behavior, which Swift references in the lyric: “They’ll say I’m nuts if I talk about the existence of you.”
I loved your hostile takeovers
Encounters closer and closer
All your indecent exposures
How you dare you say that it’s…
“Hostile takeovers” and “indecent exposures” are also interpreted as references to Healy’s reputation.
5. Who is “So Long, London” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn
“So Long, London,” the fifth song from The Tortured Poets Department, is believed to be about Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. The song is believed to be about Swift and Alwyn’s breakup in 2023 and her leaving London, where she and Alwyn lived, for good.
I saw in my mind ferry lights through the mist
I kept calm and carried the weight of the rift
Pulled him in tighter each time he was drifting away
My spine split from carrying us up the hill
Wet through my clothes, weary bones caught the chill
I stopped trying to make him laugh, stopped trying to drill the safe
A source told People in 2023 that Swift and Alwyn broke up because of her fame and the “attention” they received as a couple. “Joe has struggled with Taylor’s level of fame and the attention from the public,” the source said. Swift hinted at this and her change in personality with the lyrics about how she “stopped trying” to make Alwyn laugh and “stopped trying to drill the safe” that protected their relationship.
For so long, London
Stitches undone
Two graves, one gun
I’ll find someone
London is also represented in Swift’s song “London Boy” from Lover, which is also believed to be about Alwyn and her love of British culture after moving to London to live with him.
6. Who is “But Daddy I Love Him” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“But Daddy I Love Him,” the sixth song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about the public’s disapproval of Swift and Healy’s relationship due to his past controversies.
Now I’m running with my dress unbuttoned,
Screaming, “But daddy I love him”
I’m having his baby,
No I’m not, but you should see your faces
I’m telling him to floor it through the fences,
No I’m not coming to my senses
I know he’s crazy, but he’s the one I want
The chorus is believed to be about how Swift was aware of Healy’s “crazy” reputation but didn’t care because he was who she wanted regardless. While the “daddy” in the song title can be a reference to Swift’s actual father, Scott Swift, it’s more often believed to be symbolic of the public in general.
Dutiful daughter, all my plans were laid,
Tendrils tucked into a woven braid
Growing up precocious sometimes means not growing up at all
He was chaos, he was revelry,
Bedroom eyes like a remedy
Soon enough the elders had convened down at the City Hall
“Stay away from her,”
The saboteurs protested too much
Lord knows the words we never heard,
Just screeching tires and true love
This lyric is believed to be a reference to how different Swift’s relationship with Healy was to her ex-boyfriend, Jow Alwyn. While Swift’s relationship was private and safe (as seen in the lyrics (Dutiful daughter, all my plans were laid / Tendrils tucked into a woven braid), her romance with Healy was the opposite and full of “chaos” and “revelry.”
Scandal does funny things to pride but brings lovers closer
We came back when the heat died down, went to my parents and they came around
All the wine moms are still holding out but fuck ‘em, it’s over
Healy and Swift’s father, Scott Swift, were seen together in a box seat at Swift’s Eras Tour concert in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in May 2023.
7. Who is “Fresh Out the Slammer” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy
“Fresh Out the Slammer,” the seventh song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s exes, Joe Alwyn, and Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about Swift moving on from Alwyn, whose relationship she viewed as a “slammer” or a prison, to Healy.
Now pretty baby
I’m running back home to you.
Fresh out the slammer
I know who my first call will be to
Fresh out the slammer
News broke of Swift and Alwyn’s breakup in April 2023, a month before she was seen in public with Healy. Swift and Healy first met in 2014 and dated briefly around that time, which explains why Swift is “running back home” to him. “She and Matty are madly in love. It’s super-early days, but it feels right. They first dated, very briefly, almost ten years ago but timings just didn’t work out,” a source told The Sun in 2023. “Taylor and Joe actually split up back in February, so there was absolutely no crossover.”
For just one hour of sunshine
Years of labor, locks and ceilings
In the shade of how he was feeling
But it’s gonna be alright, I did my time
It’s believed that Swift and Alwyn broke up because of his struggle with her fame and how much he wanted to keep their relationship private, which Swift alludes to in her prison references: “years of labor, locks and ceilings” and “I did my time.”
8. Who is “Florida!!!” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn
“Florida!!!” featuring Florence and the Machine, the eighth song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. The song is believe to be about how Swift escaped from her relationship with Alwyn to Florida.
You can beat the heat if you beat the charges too
They said I was a cheat, I guess it must be true
And my friends all smell like weed or little babies
And this city reeks of driving myself crazy
Swift was accused of cheating on Alwyn after news broke that she was dating Matty Healy a month after her and Alwyn’s breakup. A source confirmed to The Sun at the time that were was no crossover between Alwyn and Healy. “Taylor and Joe actually split up back in February, so there was absolutely no crossover,” the insider said.
Little did you know your home’s really only a town you’re just a guest in
So you work your life away just to pay for a timeshare down in Destin
Florida, is one hell of a drug
Florida, can I use you?
Swift’s first Eras Tour concert after news broke of her and Alwyn’s breakup was at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida, from April 13 to April 15. The first line of this lyric is also believed to reference how Swift moved to London for Alwyn, only to move out of London after their breakup.
So you pack your life away just to wait out the shit storm back in Texas
Swift’s second Eras Tour concert after her breakup with Alwyn was at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, from April 21 to April 23.
9. Who is “Guilty as Sin?” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy
“Guilty as Sin?”, the ninth song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s exes, Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about Swift’s attraction toward Healy while she was still dating Alwyn.
Drowning in the Blue Nile
He sent me “Downtown Lights,”
I hadn’t heard it in a while
My boredoms bone deep,
This cage was once just fine
Am I allowed to cry?
The “cage” Swift references in this lyric is believed to be about her private and safe relationship with Alwyn that she wanted to break free of.
I keep these longings locked
In lowercase inside a vault
Someone told me
“There’s no such thing as bad thoughts,
only your actions talk”
These fatal fantasies
Giving way to labored breath
Taking all of me
We’ve already done it in my head
If it’s make believe,
Why does it feel like a vow
We’ll both uphold somehow?
While there was no “crossover” between Swift’s relationships with Alwyn and Healy, according to The Sun, this lyric is believed to be about how Swift still had “fatal fantasies” about Healy while she was still with Alwyn.
10. Who is “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” about?
Subject: Herself
“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me,” the 10th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift herself. The song is believed to be about how the public underestimates her power, especially after her feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West.
The scandal was contained,
The bullet had just grazed
At all costs keep your good name
You don’t get to tell me you feel bad
It’s believed that the scandal lyric is reference to Swift’s 2017 feud with Kim Kardashian and Kanye West and how she survived.
I’m always drunk on my own tears, isn’t that what they all said?
That I’ll sue you if you step on my lawn
That I’m fearsome, and I’m wretched and I’m wrong
Put narcotics into all of my songs
And that’s why you’re still singing along
It’s believed that the lyric about how Swift is “drunk on [her] own tears” is a response to critics who claim she plays the victim in most of her songs. She also references accusations that she has a habit of sending cease and desists to Etsy creators who make items themed around her with the lawsuit lyric.
11. Who is “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” the 11th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about how Swift thought she could change Healy and rehab his bad behavior.
The smoke cloud billows out his mouth like a freight train through a small town
The jokes that he told across the bar were revolting and far too loud
They shake their heads, saying, “God help her” when I tell ‘em he’s my man
Healy, who is a known smoker, has been criticized for his controversial and insensitive jokes, which was among the reasons fans disapproved of their relationship.
The dopamine races through his brain on a six lane Texas highway
His hand, so calloused from his pistol, softly traces hearts on my face
And I could see it from a mile away, a perfect case for my certain skillset
He had a halo of the highest grade, he just hadn’t met me yet
A week before news broke of Swift and Healy’s relationship, Swift performed at her Eras Tour concert in Houston, Texas, from April 21 to April 23, 2023. Austin was also Swift’s second stop on her Eras Tour after news broke of her and her ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn’s breakup.
12. Who is “Loml” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“Loml,” the 12th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. “Loml,” which is an abbreviation for “love of my life” and “loss of my life,” is believed to be about how Healy love-bombed her during their relationship.
Who’s gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames
If we know the steps anyway?
We embroidered the memories of the time I was away
Stitching, we were just kids, babe
I said I don’t mind, it takes time
I thought I was better safe than starry-eyed
I felt a glow like this never before and never since
Swift and Healy first sparked dating rumors in 2014 after they met at a concert for Healy’s band The 1975 in Los Angeles, which is alluded to in the lyric about “rekindled flames.” They were also nine years younger at the time, which Swift also referenced in the lyric “we were just kids, babe.” Swift also uses the word “starry-eyed” in other songs from The Tortured Poets Department believed to be about Healy.
If you know it in one glimpse, it’s legendary
You and I go from one kiss to getting married
Still alive, killing time at the cemetery, never quite buried
In your suit and tie, in the nick of time
You low down boy, you stand up guy
You holy ghost, you told me I’m the love of your life
You said I’m the love of your life
About a million times
Healy’s signature outfit is a black suit and tie. The lyric about how Swift went from “one kiss to getting married” also refers to the quickness of her and Healy’s relationship, which lasted only one month.
13. Who is “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” the 13th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. The song is believed to be about Swift performing on her Eras Tour after her breakup with Alwyn despite what was happening behind the scenes.
Cause I’m a real tough kid, I can handle my s—t
They said, “Babe, you gotta fake it till you make it,” and I did
“Lights, camera, bitch, smile
Even when you wanna die”
He said he’d love me all his life
Swift and Alwyn were rumored to have broken up in February 2023, a month before the start of her Eras Tour. Swift switched “Invisible String,” a love song from Folklore speculate to be about Alwyn, to “The 1” (also from Folklore) on her Eras Tour setlist after four dates, which fans believe to be when Swift and Alwyn broke up for good. News officially broke of their split in April 2023.
But that life was too short
Breaking down, I hit the floor
All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting more
I was grinning like I’m winning, I was hitting my marks
‘Cause I can do it with a broken heart
This lyric — as well as the final line of the song “Cause I’m miserable / And no one even knows! / Try and come for my job” — refer to Swift continuing to perform on her Eras Tour after her breakup with Alwyn.
14. Who is “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, the 14th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about their breakup and how Healy seemed to ghost her.
Was any of it true
Gazing at me, starry-eyed
In your Jehovah’s witness suit
Who the fuck was that guy
You tried to buy some pills
From a friend of friends of mine
They just ghosted you
Now you know what it feels like
Healy’s signature outfit is a black suit, which fans think Swift referenced with he lyric “Jehovah’s witness suit.” Healy also opened up to Apple Music 1 in 2022 about his struggles with drug addiction. “The first time where there had been anything that one of us was doing, or was into, that the others weren’t,” he said at the time. “It was the first time I had to tell them something. It was the first time that the idea of a secret existing even came out. It’s almost as if, well, is there anything else that we’ve not known? Because that’s a big thing.”
And I don’t even want you back
I just want to know
If rusting my sparkling summer was the goal
And I don’t miss what we had
But could someone give a message
To the smallest man who ever lived
News broke of Swift and Healy’s breakup in June 2023, which was the start of summer. “She had fun with him, but it was always casual,” a source told People at the time. “They are no longer romantically involved.” The insider continued, “They were never boyfriend-girlfriend or exclusive and were always just having fun. There is no drama, and who knows what could happen again. It was a good time and ran its course.”
15. Who is “The Alchemy” about?
Subject: Travis Kelce
“The Alchemy,” the 15th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, who she started dating in September 2023 after her breakups with Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about Swift and Kelce’s early attraction in their relationship.
So when I touch down call the amateurs and cut ‘em from the team
Ditch the clowns, get the crown baby
The “touch down” and “team” lyrics are a reference to Kelce’s job as a professional NFL player and a tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
These blokes warm the benches
We’ve been on a winning streak
He jokes that “It’s heroin, but this time with an ‘E’”
The bench-warming and winning streak lyrics are also references to Kelce and the Kansas City Chiefs, which had a winning streak in the 2023 NFL season and went on to win the 2024 Super Bowl.
16. Who is “Clara Bow” about?
Subject: Herself
“Clara Bow,” the 16th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift herself. The song is believed to be about Swift’s complicated relationship with fame and her success.
You look like Clara Bow in this light, remarkable
All your life, did you know you’d be picked like a rose?
Clara Bow was an “It Girl” and actress from Hollywood’s silent film era of the 1920s who retired from acting in 1933 and became a rancher in Nevada after marrying actor Rex Bell in 1931.
No one in my small town thought I’d see the lights of Manhattan
Swift was raise in the small town of Reading, Pennsylvania. She moved to New York City in 2014 and currently resides in a townhouse on Franklin Street in the Tribeca neighborhood.
You look like Stevie Nicks in ‘75, the hair and lips
Crowd goes wild at her fingertips, half moon shine a full eclipse
I’m not trying to exaggerate but I think I might die if I made it
Die if I made it
No one in my small town thought I’d meet these suits in LA, they all wanna say
This town is fake but you’re the real thing, breath of fresh air through smoke rings
Swift and Nicks performed “Rhiannon” and “You Belong With Me” at the 2010 Grammy Awards, an experience Swift called “a fairy tale and an honor.” Nicks also wrote a poem that opened up The Tortured Poets Department. This lyric refers to how no one from Swift’s childhood thought she’d be as famous as she is today.
17. Who is “The Black Dog” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy
“The Black Dog,” the 17th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s exes, Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about how Swift was heartbroken by Alwyn and felt abandoned by Healy after he seemingly ghosted her.
Six weeks of breathing clean air, I still miss the smoke
Swift and Alwyn dated for six years from 2016 to 2023. It’s believed that the six weeks are an allegory for their six-year relationship. The smoke is also believed to represent Healy, who is a known smoker. Swift also knew Healy, who she met in 2014 and dated briefly, before her relationship with Alwyn.
How you don’t miss me in The Black Dog when someone plays The Starting Line
And you jump up, “But she’s too young to know this song!”
The Starting Line is known as one of Healy’s favorite bands. The 1975 covered the Starting Line’s 2002 song, “The Best of Me,” on their tour in 2023. It’s also believe d that the line about someone being “too young” is a nod to Healy’s 26-year-old girlfriend Gabbriette Bechtel, who he dated after Swift.
18. Who is “Imgonnagetyouback” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“Imgonnagetyouback,” the 18th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about how Swift wants Healy back and hates him at the same time.
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
Whether I’m gonna curse you out, or
Take you back to my house, I haven’t decidеd yet
But I’m gonna get you back
The bike lyric is a reference to The 1975’s song “Fallingforyou.” which also has no spaces and includes the lyric: “All we need is my bike and your enormous house.”
19. Who is “The Albatross” about?
Subject: Herself
“The Albatross,” the 19th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift herself. The song is believed to be about the negative side of Swift’s fame.
It’s believed that “The Albatross” is a reference to The Albatross Club, a pub in Farrington, London, where Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn lives. Albatross is also defined by Britannica Dictionary as: “A continuing problem that makes it difficult or impossible to do or achieve something. Fame has become an albatross that prevents her from leading a normal and happy life.”
The albatross is also a large white ocean bird that has long and often black wings, which many compare to Swift’s outfit at the 2024 Grammys: a white dress with black gloves.
20. Who is “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus,” the 20th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about someone who cheated on Swift.
So if I sell my apartment
And you have some kids with an internet starlet
Will that make your memory fade from this scarlet maroon?
Following his relationship with Swift, Healy went on to date influencer and model Gabbriette Bechtel, who has more than 780,000 followers on Instagram, at the time of writing this.
You said some things that I can’t unabsorb
You turned me into an idea of sorts
You needed me, but you needed drugs more
Healy has been open about his history of drug use.
21. Who is “How Did It End?” about?
Subject: Joe Alwyn
“How Did It End?”, the 21st song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. The song is believed to be about her looking back at her and Alwyn’s breakup still with so many questions.
Come one, come all It’s happenin’ again
The empathetic hunger descends
We’ll tell no one
Except all of our friends
We must know How did it end? (Uh-oh, uh-oh)
News broke of Swift and Alwyn’s breakup in April 2023, however, The Sun reported that the two actually broke up in February 2023. Following news of their split, many of Swift’s friends, including Gigi Hadid and Blake Lively,unfollowed Alwyn on social media.
22. Who is “So High School” about?
Subject: Travis Kelce
“So High School,” the 22nd song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce. The song is believed to be about Swift comparing her relationship with Kelce to teenage love.
I feel so high school every time I look at you
I wanna find you in a crowd just to hide from you
Swift was seen in the crowd of several Kansas City Chiefs games, including the 2024 Super Bowl, after news broke of their relationship September 2023.
Are you gonna marry, kiss, or kill me
It’s just a game, but really
I’m bettin’ on all three for us two
Get my car door, isn’t that sweet?
Then pull me to the backseat
No one’s ever had me, not like you
Kelce was asked whether he would marry, kiss or kill between Swift, Ariana Grande, and Katy Perry in a video by Afterbuzz TV in 2016. “Damn, that’s messed up. I don’t want to kill any of them,” Kelce said. “Ariana, sorry, love you, but you’re gone. And then Taylor Swift would be the kiss. And what’s the last one? Katy Perry? Yeah, Katy Perry would be the marry.”
23. Who is “I Hate It Here” about?
Subject: Herself
“I Hate It Here,” the 23rd song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift herself. The song is believed to be about Swift’s fantasy of what it would be like if her life was different.
Tell me something awful
Like you are a poet
Trapped inside the body of a finance guy
It’s believed that Swift is referring to herself as the “poet” in this lyric, while the “finance guy” nods to how she’s become a money-making product in and of herself.
24. Who is “thanK you aIMee” about?
Subject: Kim Kardashian
“thanK you aIMee,” the 24th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s feud with Kim Kardashian. In the song, Swift calls out a bully named “Aimee,” who is believed to be Kardashian. The title of the song, “thanK you aIMee,” also includes three capitalized letters that spell out “KIM.”
When I picture my hometown
There’s a bronze spray-tanned statue of you
And a plaque underneath it
That threatens to push me down the stairs, at our school
Kardashian is known for her bronze-colored spray tan and even released a line of body makeup under her former brand KKW Beauty.
But I can’t forget the way you made me heal
And it wasn’t a fair fight, or a clean kill
Each time that Aimee stomped across my grave
And then she wrote headlines
In the local paper, laughing at each baby step I’d take
Both Swift and Kardashian made headlines in the summer of 2016 when Swift claimed that she didn’t know ahead of time about Kardashian’s husband at the time Kanye West’s song “Famous,” in which West rapped that “I feel like me and Taylor might still have sex.” Swift claimed that West never played the song for her which led Kardashian then released the footage of Swift and West’s phone call on Snapchat, in which Swift appeared to approve of the track. After the Snapchat video, Swift released a statement in which she confirmed that she heard part of “Famous” and explained that she had a larger issue with another lyric in “Famous” in which West rapped “I made that bitch famous,” referring to Swift.
And maybe you’ve reframed it
And in your mind, you never beat my spirit black and blue
I don’t think you’ve changed much
And so I changed your name, and any real defining clues
And one day, your kid comes home singin’
A song that only us two is gonna know is about you
Swift seemed to confirm that “Aimee” was a pseudonym for someone else with the lyric “so I changed your name, and any real defining clues.” In this lyric, she also referenced a 2023 TikTok video in which Kim and her daughter North West danced to Swift’s song, “Shake It Off,” from 1989.
25. Who is “I Look in People’s Windows” about?
Subject: Herself
“I Look in People’s Windows,” the 25th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift herself. The song is believed to be about Swift dreaming about an unknown crush as seen in the below lyric.
I look in people’s windows
Transfixed by rose golden glows
They have their friends over to drink nice wine
I look in people’s windows
In case you’re at their table
What if your eyes looked up and met mine
One more time
26. Who is “The Prophecy” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“The Prophecy,” the 26th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about how she thought their romance was endgame but it wasn’t like her other relationships.
Hand on the throttle
Thought I caught lightning in a bottle
Oh, but it’s gone again
And it was written
The lightning in a bottle lyric is believed to be a reference to the quickness of Swift and healy’s one-month relationship.
I’ve been on my knees
Change the prophecy
Don’t want money
Just someone who wants my company
This lyric is believed to be a reference to Swift’s history of relationships and how she would trade her success for partner who wants her company.
27. Who is “Cassandra” about?
Subjects: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian
“Cassandra,” the 27th song from The Tortured Poets Department,” is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s feud with Kanye West and Kim Kardashian. The song is believed to be about how the public didn’t believe her claims about West and Kardashian during the feud and how their opinions have changed now that time has passed.
I was in my new house placing daydreams
Patching up the crack along the wall
I pass it and lose track of what I’m saying
‘Cause that’s where I was when I got the call
Swift moved into her Cornelia Street apartment in New York City in 2016, which was the same year as feud with Kardashian and West, that summer. The “call” in this lyric is believed to be a reference to the call Swift received from West at the time about “Famous.”
So, they killed Cassandra first ’cause she feared the worst
And tried to tell the town
So, they filled my cell with snakes, I regret to say
Do you believe me now?
It’s believed that “Cassandra” is a pseudonym for Swift whose reputation went down after Kardashian released the Snapchat video of her and West’s call. The death of Cassandra/Swift is also referenced in her 2017 song “Look What You Made Me Do,” which is also widely believe to be about West and Kardashian. “But the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now Why? Oh, ’cause she’s dead (oh)” Swift says in the song. Snakes were also a theme on the song’s album, Reputation, which Swift reclaimed the animal from Kardashian, who used snake emojis her Snapchat caption.
28. Who is “Peter” about?
Subject: Matty Healy
“Peter,” the 28th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Matty Healy. The song is believed to be about how Swift thought that Healy would grow up from when they first started dating but didn’t. The song’s title is a reference to Peter Pan, a Scottish story about a boy who never grows up. Swift also references Peter and Wendy in her song “Cardigan” from Folklore in which she sings, “Tried to change the ending / Peter losing Wendy.” The song is about a fictional love triangle between three characters: Betty, James, and Inez.
And you said you’d come and get me, but you were twenty-five
And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired
Healy and Swift are rumored to have first dated in 2014 when they were both 25 years old.
29. Who is “The Bolter” about?
Subject: A fictional character
“The Bolter,” the 29th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about a fictional character named “The Bolter.” It’s believed that the song is inspired by Frances Osbourne’s book of the same name, which is based on her great-grandmother, Lady Idina Sackville, who was known for marrying and divorcing five men, which earned her the nickname The Bolter.
Lady Idina also inspired a character in Nancy Mitford’s 1945 book, The Pursuit of Love, which was adapted into a 2021 miniseries starrinig Andrew Scott, a close friend of Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn.
30. Who is “Robin” about?
Subject: Herself
“The Robin,” the 30th song from The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift herself. The song is believed to be about looking back at her childhood before fame fondly.
You have a favorite spot on the swing set
You have no room in your dreams for regret
You have no idea
The time will arrive for the cruel and the mean
It’s believed that Swift is singing to her younger self who was unaware of the struggles that came with adulthood, a theme also seen in Swift’s song “You’re on Your Own Kid” from Midnights.
31. Who is “The Manuscript” about?
Subject: Jake Gyllenhaal or John Mayer
“The Manuscript,” the 31st song on The Tortured Poets Department, is speculated to be about Taylor Swift’s ex-boyfriends, John Mayer or Jake Gyllenhaal. The song is believed to be about Swift looking back on her age differences with Mayer and Gyllenhaal when they were dating now that she’s older.
In the age of him, she wished she was thirty
And made coffee every morning in a Frеnch press
Afterwards she only atе kids’ cereal
And couldn’t sleep unless it was in her mother’s bed
Then she dated boys who were her own age
Swift was 19 years old, while Mayer was 32 when they dated in 2009. She was 20 years old when she dated Gyllenhaal, who was 29. Swift, who was 34 years old at the time of The Tortured Poets Department’s release, also references her relationship with Travis Kelce, who is the same age as her, in the lyric about how she now dates “boys her own age.”
The Professor said to write what you know
Lookin’ backwards might be the only way to move forward
Then the actors
Were hitting their marks.
It’s believed that this lyric is a reference to the music video for “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” from Red (Taylor’s Verison), which is also speculated to be about Gyllenhaal.
Best of StyleCaster
