When I watched the 2023 Grammys and saw Taylor’s dress, like many, I was convinced she was teasing reputation (Taylor’s Version). After winning Album of the Year for Midnights, Taylor did not announce reputation (Taylor’s Version) like I thought she would. Instead, she promoted her new album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, which was to be released on April 19, 2024. I was ecstatic. I could not believe we were getting new content from Taylor.
The release date arrived, and I excitedly went to Spotify to listen to every song. I clearly remember that after my first listen all the way through, I thought THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT would not end up being in my favorite albums by Taylor. Little did I know that my opinion would change dramatically a few months after.
During my first listen to every song, I wrote down my initial impressions. I noted that my top five favorites were “Fortnight (ft Post Malone)”, “Down Bad”, “So Long, London”, “Guilty As Sin”, and “The Alchemy”. This list has significantly changed since then. My favorites now are “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”, “Down Bad”, “So Long, London”, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”, and “Peter”. The relatability of the song caused the change in preference for me.
Below, I will go into detail explaining a few of my favorite songs and their significance in the album. Then at the end, I will summarize THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT as a whole.
When I first heard “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”, I honestly did not like it. Once I learned its meaning, I began to love it. This song tells the story of how something new can be seen as exciting until it begins to lose its value over time. This song most likely represents her seven-year relationship with her ex, Joe Alwyn. My favorite lyrics are “he saw forever so he smashed it up”, “once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me”, and “stole my tortured heart, left all these broken parts, and told me I’m better off but I’m not”. Additionally, there was a lyric change in the song. The final lyrics are “there was a litany of reasons why we could’ve played for keeps this time” while the original lyrics were “there was a litany of reasons why it could’ve been different this time”. I do wish Taylor would have kept the original lyrics, but within the context of the song, the final lyrics make more sense.
The symbolism in “So Long, London” is insane. It was clear that Taylor spent so much time perfecting this song, and it was definitely worth it. The music at the beginning is similar to that of her previous love song about Joe, “Call It What You Want”. Additionally, there is a very faint sound of bells potentially representing a wedding, and once the bells fade the sound of a heartbeat replaces it, lingering throughout the entirety of the song. “So Long, London” is one of Taylor’s saddest songs, telling the story of how her and Joe grew apart as their relationship fell apart completely. I wish I could say that every single lyric to this song is my favorite. Since I can only pick a few, I would say they are “how much sad did you think I had in me?”, “you say I abandoned the ship but I was going down with it”, and “I’m just getting color back into my face.”
I first began liking “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?” in May of 2024 after watching an edit on Instagram. I hate to admit that I began to pay attention to the song like that, but the edit made the song stand out and got me intrigued. In December of 2024, I began to play the song on repeat. “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?” talks about how Taylor has been tortured constantly throughout her career and how she is always seen as the bad guy. My favorite lyrics are “you don’t get to tell me about sad” and “you caged me, and then you called me crazy”.
After releasing THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, Taylor released an extended version named THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY. Below are a few of my favorites from THE ANTHOLOGY.
“Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” is such a sad song that takes a few listens to understand. It is about how Taylor was never chosen by her decade-long on-and-off boyfriend, Matty Healey, from The 1975. Matty never prioritized Taylor during their relationship, and Taylor knew that was something she did not want. As she moved on and watched both their lives continue in different directions, the what-if of their relationship haunted Taylor. “Will I always wonder” exemplifies how much this relationship affected Taylor.
The piano introduction to “How Did It End?” is a beautiful, soft ballad. At first, I thought it described not knowing where a relationship went wrong. After listening to each individual lyric and analyzing it, I came to realize that this song is about how the end of a relationship is easily gossiped. Taylor maybe felt like her friends did not care about her when she was telling them about the breakup. Instead, they care about what happened between the couple and why it did not work out. Every chorus in this song is different, which I thought was creative and told her story perfectly.
“Peter” is another beautiful piano song. “Peter” tells the story of Taylor’s rocky relationship with Matty. In the song, Taylor compares her relationship with Matty to Wendy and Peter’s from “Peter Pan”. Taylor and Matty attempted dating back in 2014 when Matty was constantly on drugs. Taylor told him that she wants their relationship to work, but only if he quits drugs. “You said you were gonna grow up, then you were gonna come find me. Promises oceans deep but never to keep” tells how Matty promised Taylor he would get better for her and their relationship, but that was a lie. Taylor matured and moved on, but it was too late for their relationship to work, even ten years later.
I absolutely love THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. I have noticed that only Taylor’s closest fans love THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, especially the songs from THE ANTHOLOGY. This album was definitely not made for casual listeners because one has to know the backstory to every song in order to understand what Taylor is saying. Only true fans would be able to pick up on those details. It did take some time for me to get used to this new version of Taylor, but it was worth it.
The fact that THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT was released at a time in which I did not relate to the album did not help me appreciate it as much as when I did start relating to it very personally. THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT is definitely in my top five favorite albums of hers.