Dissecting The 1975 Connections on Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’
As if Taylor Swift fans needed more to theorize about, her new album might include a few callbacks to Matty Healy's band, The 1975.
Swift, 34, dropped The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology on Friday, April 19, adding an additional 15 songs to the already lengthy 16-track standard album for a whopping total of 31. Fans quickly noticed that one of the bonus tracks, "??Imgonnagetyouback," is stylized in a similar way to The 1975's "Fallingforyou" from their 2013 debut album.
"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," Swift sings in the chorus. "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."
In some ways, the Venn diagram of Swifties and The 1975 fans is a circle — and it didn't take long for listeners to draw some surprising lyrical parallels.
Every Song About Matty Healy on Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department’
"All we need's my bike and your enormous house," Healy sings on the 2013 ballad. "You said someday we might / When I'm closer to your height / 'Til then, we'll knock around and see / If you're all I need."
Swift and Healy were first linked back in 2014 when they were spotted wearing each other's merch. Swift also attended a handful of The 1975 concerts at the time, and following the release of TTPD, footage resurfaced online of Healy seemingly dedicating "Fallingforyou" to Swift. (She was watching from the balcony of the concert venue, and Healy notably looked in her direction while singing.)
The apparent connections continue on the song "Peter," which is heavy with Peter Pan imagery.
"And you said you'd come and get me, but you were twenty-five / And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired / Lost to the 'Lost Boys' chapter of your life," she sings. "Forgive me, Peter, please know that I tried / To hold on (Hold on) to the days (To the days) / When you were mine."
Not only have listeners pointed out that Healy was 25 in 2014, but he's also frequently referred to himself over the years as being "slightly Peter Pan-ish." (Fans deep in The 1975 trenches will even remember the song "Lost Boys" from the band's early iteration as Drive Like I Do.)
Taylor Swift and The 1975 Singer Matty Healy’s Relationship Timeline
This isn't the first time Swift has referred to the tale of Peter Pan. On the Folklore song "Cardigan," she sings, "Tried to change the ending / Peter losing Wendy."
Since the release of TTPD, Swifties have returned to footage from May 2023 concerts amid their brief romance that was never truly explained. In the clip, Swift is seen mouthing, "This is about you. You know who you are. I love you," to the camera at one of her Nashville shows (which Healy attended) as she introduced "Cardigan." Healy sent the same mysterious message at one of his band's concerts in the Philippines days prior.
Us Weekly confirmed the pair's split in June 2023. Healy "couldn't be happier" with Swift's latest record, a source exclusively revealed on Friday, adding, "Their relationship was fast, but extremely passionate and real."
