Calling all my fellow Swifties and Tortured Poets: how are we doing?
Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” on Friday. The album is categorized under the synth-pop genre, similar to popular songs from the ‘80s but still with the modern aura that Swift’s songs all possess.
I have been a fan of Swift’s for as long as I can remember; one of the first concerts I attended was in the Red Tour. I remember being there, feeling the energy from the other fans in the stadium and having the time of my life with my mom. Her music holds a lot of nostalgia for me, which is why I consider myself such a strong fan.
“The Tortured Poets Department,” was already anticipated to be an overall sad album … the word “tortured” is in the title. I thought that this was going to be another album similar to her previous albums, “folklore” and “evermore.” Swift had told the fans that these two albums were fictional, filled with made up stories that she created during the boredom that ensued within the peak of quarantine.
Before this new album was released, Swift had made five different playlists on Apple Music that were each titled with the five different stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. In the Denial playlist, she included the title track from her album “Lover” that everyone had assumed was the happiest and most love filled song that she had ever created. But, now that she had associated that song with the feeling of denial, fans started feeling otherwise; maybe her previous relationship wasn’t as lovey-dovey as we had all believed.
For six years she was dating the actor Joe Alwyn. Alwyn was known to be private with his personal life, so for the six years the two were together, fans didn’t know much about Swift’s life. She wasn’t seen in public, and released songs that said she liked being out of the public’s eye.
In the song “Prophecy” from “The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift sang, “Please / I’ve been on my knees / Change the Prophecy / Don’t want money / Just someone who wants my company.” In this line, she practically said how she would give up all of her money and fame for someone who just wants her for her. I took this to mean that since Alwyn is such a private person, she would be willing to give up everything that she’s worked so hard for if he wanted her to.
This song is one of the more heartbreaking ones in my opinion. She shouldn’t have to give up her passion for someone who can’t sacrifice in the same way that she was willing to. But, after all of that, he wasn’t willing to do that – instead, the two broke up while she was in the middle of her tour.
In the song “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” she expressed how she had to get into the mindset of “faking it until you make it” to perform well at her Eras Tour, even though she felt as though she could shatter at any moment. She was in the middle of grieving the end of a six year long relationship, and yet she continued to perform to the best of her ability for her fans.
The majority of the album contained powerful lyrics with a slower, more mellow production. There aren’t the huge beat drops that are present in her previous albums, such as “Speak Now” and “Midnights.” The songs could be written in a book and sold as regular poetry, but instead they’re set to music. I personally enjoy this certain type of music, where you have to understand and dissect the lyrics, rather than a catchy chorus that could lose its novelty.
I believe that the most joyful aspect of art is to interpret it in your own way, and “The Tortured Poets Department,” allows you to do that. You can take the words literally, or you can twist them to fit another narrative that may hold more meaning to you.
When “Midnights,” was first released, there was a lot of controversy on whether people liked it. It wasn’t like her recent work at that time, and I think that fans weren’t expecting what was within the album. I can even say for myself that it wasn’t what I expected. I have grown to love “Midnights,” but at first I didn’t think of it as a favorite.
“The Tortured Poets Department,” on the other hand, is easily one of my favorite albums that Swift has released. The production is calm and peaceful which balances the piercing lyrics. The words are raw and strong, toeing the line between experiencing pain and the growth of healing.
Swift has created yet another album that carefully explores the complexities of heartache, growth and love. Each song is the map of her own journey of self discovery, from her highs to her lows. As Swifties and Tortured Poets alike, we are reminded that there is beauty within pain and that you cannot grow without struggle.