What we know about Taylor Swift 'The Tortured Poets Department' album so far
Tick. Tick. Tick. Taylor Swift will release her 11th album on April 19, and here’s everything we know about “The Tortured Poets Department,” or "Tortured Poets" for short.
There are 16 tracks plus a different bonus track on four versions of the album (20 songs in total). At the Grammys, Swift announced version one would include "The Manuscript." At her concert in Melbourne, Australia, Swift announced a second version with the bonus track, "The Bolter." In Sydney, Australia, she announced a third version with the track "The Albatross." In Singapore, she announced a fourth and final version with the track "The Black Dog."
Post Malone and Florence and The Machine are two contributors on what appears to be a break-up album. The titles are brutal. Fans speculate the album is about Swift’s six-year relationship to English actor Joe Alwyn. Both stars kept the relationship out of the public eye. The back of the first version of the album reads, “I love you, it’s ruining me,” which may serve as a dagger-to-the-chest harbinger.
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The 'Tortured Poets Timetable'
Taylor Swift posted a timetable animation on Tuesday night revealing a music video announcement and highlighting 2 o'clock. The video posted to the singer's Instagram account begins in a "Midnights" room with the 10th album's vinyls scattered on the floor in a smattering of crumpled up papers. It then animates to a locked "Tortured Poets Department" door where two desks are seen, a typewriter and a cork-board with a calendar that reads "8 p.m. ET music video release!!" There is a tally bellow that adds up to 14, which could refer to a fortnight, or 14 days. Watch the video:
What tracks are on 'Tortured Poets Department'?
On April 11, the desktop version of Spotify released the track lengths for the album that's 65 minutes and 8 seconds. The longest song is "But Daddy, I Love Him" at 5:40, and the shortest song is "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" at 2:36. Bonus song lengths were not included.
Side A:
"Fortnight" (ft. Post Malone) 3:48
"The Tortured Poets Department" 4:53
"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" 3:23
"Down Bad" 4:21
Side B:
"So Long, London" 4:22
"But Daddy I Love Him" 5:40
"Fresh Out the Slammer" 3:30
"Florida!!!" (ft. Florence + The Machine) 3:35
Side C:
"Guilty as Sin?" 4:14
"Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?" 5:34
"I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)" 2:36
"loml" 4:37
Side D:
"I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" 3:38
"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" 4:05
"The Alchemy" 3:16
"Clara Bow" 3:36
Bonus:
"The Manuscript" (Bonus track, version 1)
"The Bolter" (Bonus track, version 2)
"The Albatross" (Bonus track, version 3)
"The Black Dog" (Bonus track, version 4)
Five writers credited on 'Tortured Poets'
The composing credits were released on Apple Music on April 15. Per usual, Swift is credited as a composer on all tracks. On two, she is listed by herself: "My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys" and "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" Austin Post (Post Malone) helped with the song he is featured on, "Fortnight," and Florence Welch (Florence + The Machine) is credited on "Florida!!!"
Jack Antonoff, a co-producer of Swift's since her "1989" album, is credited with eight titles: "Fortnight," "The Tortured Poets Department," "Down Bad," "Fresh Out The Slammer," "Guilty As Sin?," "I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)," "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" and "The Alchemy."
Aaron Dessner, a co-producer of Swift's since "Folklore," is credited with five tracks, "So Long, London," "But Daddy I Love Him," "loml," "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" and "Clara Bow."
Bonus tracks were not included.
Explicit tracks announced on Apple Music
Apple Music made the album — the streaming service has categorized it as "pop" — available for pre-order on March 18 showing that seven of the tracks include curse words, the most of any of Swift's former albums: "The Tortured Poets Department," "Down Bad," "But Daddy I Love Him," "Florida!!!," "loml," "I Can Do It With a Broken Heart" and "the Smallest Man Who Ever Lived." The four bonus tracks were not included.
QR Code appears in Chicago
Painters in Chicago were seen April 15 on a green scissor lift in the River North district (25 W Grand Ave, Chicago, IL 60654) of the Windy City creating a QR code out of "ttpd" letters and "13" numbers. When people scanned the code with their phone cameras, it took them to a 13-second YouTube short attached to Swift's page. A line of Swifties stood on the curb below to capture photos and videos and plaster them over TikTok.
The YouTube short animates like a typewriter with the message "Error 321" and a faded "13."
Spotify library installation appears at The Grove in LA
I enter into evidence a slew of Easter egg clues at the Spotify pop-up installation. Fans noticed on the outer facing wall of the mini library six slots of vintage postal boxes are pulled out with flowers and invitations. The six slots are pulled out like morgue drawers and fans believe they may represent her six-year relationship to Alwyn.
Inside the exhibit, some of the books have the names of Swift's songs, "The Manuscript," "The Albatross" and "Fresh Out the Slammer." There is an old-style typewriter with the message, possibly lyrics, that Swift shared in her announcement post of "Tortured Poets": “And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / Tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink / All’s fair in love and poetry… Sincerely, The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department.”
A globe has a pin on Miami, Florida, where Swift will perform her Eras Tour on October 18-20. There is a vintage clock with the date Friday, Dec. 13. That is Swift's birthday, a day she has made announcements.
On Tuesday morning, a book display showed the lyric: "Even statues crumble if they're made to wait." By afternoon, the page was flipped to: "One less temptress. One less dagger to sharpen."
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Why announce the new album at the Grammys?
Taylor Swift loves numerology, especially when it comes to the number 13. On Feb. 4, the singer won her 13th career Grammy for pop vocal album.
"I want to say thank you to the fans," Swift said in her acceptance speech, "by telling you a secret that I've been keeping from you for the past two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19."
During her first Tokyo concert later that week, Swift said she intended to announce the album in Japan but switched to the Grammys.
"I had this plan in my head and I told my friends, I told Jack (Antonoff), but I hadn’t really told many other people," she said. "I thought, 'OK, so if I’m lucky enough to win one thing tonight, I’m just going to do it. I’m just going to announce my new album.'"
Version one of the album included the bonus track "The Manuscript."
What are 'The Bolter,' 'The Albatross' and 'The Black Dog'?
During night one in Melbourne, Swift spoke from the piano of her acoustic set, which she never does. (She usually finishes the guitar song and heads straight for the keys to play her second surprise song.)
"'Tortured Poets' is an album," she said to the packed stadium of 96,000 screaming fans, "I think more than any of my albums that I've ever made, I needed to make it. It was really a lifeline for me. Just the things I was going through, the things I was writing about. It kind of reminded me of why songwriting was something that actually gets me through my life."
Swift added a second vinyl with a different bonus track, "The Bolter." The back of the album has the words, "You don't get to tell me about sad."
Swift did the same thing in Sydney, announcing to 81,000 fans on night one her special edition "The Albatross." A third version of cover art included the phrase, "Am I allowed to cry?"
On night two in Singapore, she announced a fourth and final variant to a crowd of 60,000 titled "The Black Dog" with the phrase "Old habits die screaming."
What were the Easter eggs?
Hours before the Grammys, TaylorSwift.com “crashed” showing an “Error 321 Backend fetch failed.” Error 321 is a communication error that would appear on a fax machine with a poor telephone line connection. Below, “hneriergrd:” appeared to be a scrambled version of “red herring,” which is a clue or piece of information intended to be misleading or distracting. And underneath that was “DPT: 123.” DPT backwards is TPD, "Tortured Poets Department."
The announcement follows the Eras Tour pattern of two rereleases then a new project. In 2021, she announced “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” and “Red (Taylor’s Version)” before announcing “Midnights” in 2022. In 2023, she surprised Eras Tour audiences with artwork from “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” and “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” during two acoustic sets.
If she continues the pattern, “Reputation (Taylor’s Version)” and her debut album may not be announced until next year. Or maybe there will be a glitch and she’ll coordinate “New Year’s Day,” a song off of the sixth album, with ringing in 2025.
What is the aesthetic of 'TTPD'?
Every era has a different color associated with it. This looks like this will be the “white heart” era as Swift has shared the emoji as her Instagram story highlight for TTPD.
The motif of the album is like a scene from a black-and-white detective show from the early-to-mid 1900s. The faded photos and evidence folders seem to point to tracing evidence in the death of a relationship, which the titles echo.
Coders found that the backend of Swift’s site included several words that match the vibe: “chairman,” “bruises,” “veins,” “cadence,” “apple cake,” “talisman,” “love bombs,” “muse,” “ink,” “evidence” and “fake.”
Why April 19th?
Swift is a mastermind and very intentional not just with songs, track titles and announcements, but also release dates. April 19 has two significances that may make it the perfect day for the debut of the 11th era. Historically, in 1775, April 19th was the day the American Revolutionary War started when shots rang out in Lexington, Lincoln and Concord, Massachusetts. Thus began the split of the U.S. from Great Britain, so long London. Again, it could be a metaphoric nod to her split from Alwyn.
April 19th is also "National Poetry and the Creative Mind Day."
What does this mean for the Eras Tour?
Swift has a break from the Eras Tour between March 9 (when she wraps a six-night stint in Singapore) and May 9 (when she begins again in Paris, France). The album will come out on April 19 which begs the question of how will it be incorporated into the three-plus-hour show?
Will she take the 20 songs and make them a part of her surprise songs? Will she add a new era? Will she open the show with "TTPD"? If that’s the case, will she cut from other eras or take this show to four hours? The Eras Tour continues to break records, boost local economies and evolve. Time won't fly, but it will tell the answers to these questions.
What could the track titles mean?
Nothing is confirmed or certain until the album comes out, but here are some possibilities of what Swift's 11th era may entail.
"Fortnight" (ft. Post Malone)
A fortnight is a two-week period or 14 days. Swift loves numerology, and her favorite number is 13. In an interview with Apple Music's Zane Lowe (ahead of the Super Bowl), Post Malone said, "She's so sweet and so kind and talented and she hit me up and said, 'Let's do it.' And I was like, ‘Hell yeah.’”
He didn't discuss any other details but said he can't wait to hear it.
"The Tortured Poets Department"
Half of Swift’s albums have not had a title track including debut, “1989,” “Reputation,” “Folklore” and “Midnights." When Swift announced "TTPD," she tweeted out handwritten lyrics which may be on this track: “And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / Tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink / All’s fair in love and poetry… Sincerely, The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department.”
"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys"
A title about self-sabotage.
"Down Bad"
Merriam-Webster defines this slang as “in a bad state or condition” such as being depressed or “marked with strong and usually unrequited feelings of attraction, desire or infatuation.”
"So Long, London"
Track five on each of Swift’s albums is usually the most heart-wrenching. “So Long, London” is intentionally placed and may be an open, but tragic love letter to England’s capital.
"But Daddy I Love Him"
This line is iconic in the “Little Mermaid” when King Triton finds out that Ariel loves Prince Eric and he forbids her from pursuing him. It’s trying to convince an authoritative figure (…maybe even yourself) that your emotions outweigh logic and a relationship that’s run its course may still work.
"Fresh Out the Slammer"
The slammer is slang for jail or prison, metaphorically speaking, it’s getting out of a relationship.
"Florida!!!" (ft. Florence + The Machine)
A week before her split with Alwyn, Swift switched the first song of her “Folklore” set from “Invisible String,” a song about two people being destined for one another, to “The 1,” a retrospective song about what might have been. Her first concert after news broke of the ended relationship was in Tampa, Florida.
"Guilty as Sin?"
Guilty as sin is a matter of fact statement that someone is, without a doubt, culpable in a crime. The question mark in this track title shows the turmoil of knowing a certainty but then having to second guess it. This was also the name of a 1993 movie in which a female lawyer represents a man accused of killing his wife. As she digs into his past, she reaches a moral dilemma and grapples with the possibility of betraying her client.
"Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?"
This title may be a nod to “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” The classic play, written in 1962 by Edward Albee, is a dark comedy about an older couple who invite young houseguests over for a dysfunctional and cruel night of fun of games.
"I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)"
Call a therapist because there’s a lot to unpack with this title. It may be about a toxic relationship in which one party perceives the other as the problem or having defective qualities. It’s an assertion of wanting to control a situation.
"loml"
“loml” stands for “love of my life.” This could be a reflective track filled with fond memories, or it could be a sarcastic and jaded take. Swift sometimes songs in the complete opposite direction of their titles, like in one of her most melancholic songs, “Happiness.”
"I Can Do It With a Broken Heart"
Swift worked on the album for two years. She started writing it after “Midnights” in 2021. She wrote it during her massively successful Eras Tour. In 2022, Swift talked to Jimmy Fallon about “Midnights” and incessantly putting pen to paper. “I love writing songs, poems, stories, scripts,” she said. “In the last six or seven years, I’ve just been constantly making things. And the more things I make, the happier I am. So I’ve just continued to do it.” She can do what is expected of her and more, even with a shattered heart.
"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived"
Calling someone a small man is to say they are ordinary without anything special: wealth, fame, power, etc. Adding the superlative “who ever lived” means there has never been anyone smaller… like ever.
"The Alchemy"
Alchemy is an ancient branch of chemical science and philosophy used to discover the possibility of a universal cure for diseases or a prolonged (maybe even indefinite) life.
"Clara Bow"
The American actress appeared in 46 silent films. Investors knew fans would fill the seats if her name was in the credits. The black-and-white motif of "The Tortured Poets Department" matches a movie Bow would have starred in during the Roaring '20s.
"The Manuscript" (bonus track)
Is this clever word play for “Man U Script” or is this is a song meant to be the exclamation point of hard work on TTPD? Manuscripts are books, documents, or music pieces written by hand. There is a feeling of personalization, originality and ownership, something Swift has advocated for throughout her career and quest to reclaim her music. The physicality of a manuscript means created with your own hands.
"The Bolter" (bonus track)
Simply, a bolter can refer to leaving in a mad, hurried and nervous dash for the door. Merriam-Webster has a second definition of "a failed attempt to land on an aircraft carrier that occurs when an aircraft's tailhook misses the arresting gear on the carrier's deck so that the aircraft is required to take off again without stopping." This could point to a person rapidly exiting a relationship or the back-and-forth, on again, off again, miscommunication in a relationship.
"The Albatross" (bonus track)
An albatross is one of the largest seabirds with a white torso and long, slender, black-tipped wings. Some Swifties say this was recreated in Swift's Grammy dress with long, black gloves. The term can also reference something that causes deep concern or anxiety or greatly hinders accomplishment. Merriam-Webster's example sentence may hit the nail on the head for this song: "Fame has become an albatross that prevents her from leading a normal life."
"The Black Dog" (bonus track)
A "black dog" is a term referring to feelings of depression, great sadness and lack of energy, according to the Cambridge Dictionary. In English literature and folklore, a black dog was a legend of a demonic hellhound that served as an omen of death.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department': Everything we know
