In Case You Missed It, Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Is the Perfect Tempo for CPR
Taylor Swift just might be a true mastermind because it turns out her new song “The Tortured Poets Department” can actually help save a life.
According to the American Heart Association, the title track of Swift’s latest album, The Tortured Poets Department, features 110 beats per minute, the correct tempo for Hands-Only CPR. “A double album!?! ?? So double the chances for songs with lifesaving beats!?! ??,” the AHA wrote in an Instagram post on April 19. “If you see a teen or adult collapse, call 911, then push hard and fast in the center of the chest to the beat of ‘The Tortured Poets Department.’ Thanks, @taylorswift!”
Fans took to the nonprofit’s comments section to applaud this revelation and share their own Swiftie-themed CPR quips. “I stopped CPR after all it’s no use, the spirit was gone we would never come to,” one person wrote, offering a nod to the song “So Long, London.” Another added, “And just like that a whole new generation knew what to do in an emergency! ?? ??.”
Along with being a life-saving tool, “The Tortured Poets Department” is also rumored to be about Swift’s ex-boyfriend Matty Healy.
A Complete Guide to Taylor Swift’s Literary References: From Debut to ‘Tortured Poets Department’
In the song, Swift, 34, recounts bonding moments with her “tattooed golden retriever” — Healy, 35, is covered in tattoos —while referencing a conversation about how “Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.” (Healy once tweeted his praise about Puth’s talent in a social media post resurfaced by fans following the album’s April 19 release.)
Swift had a fling with The 1975’s frontman in 2014, and the pair dated again following her 2023 split from Joe Alwyn after six years together.
“Sometimes I wonder if you’re gonna screw this up with me / But you told Lucy that you’d kill yourself if I ever leave / And I had said that to Jack so I felt seen,” Swift sings in the bridge, referencing their mutual friend and producer Jack Antonoff. “Everyone that we know understands why it’s meant to be / ‘Cause we’re crazy.”
Every Song About Matty Healy on Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’
Healy, meanwhile, was asked to answer questions about the album while out and about on a walk. “How would you rate your Taylor diss track compared to the 30 others?” a reporter asked in footage obtained by Entertainment Tonight on April 24.
Healy looked confused as he replied, “My diss track?” to which the reporter clarified that they were referring to Swift’s latest music release. “Oh,” Healy said with a laugh. “I haven’t really listened to that much of it, but I’m sure it’s good.”