Taylor Swift Has a ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ Song Called ‘LOML’: What Does It Mean?

Taylor Swift has fans spiraling over The Tortured Poets Department tracklist.

The 12th song on TTPD, which was given an explicit label on Apple Music, is called “LOML.” While Swifties do not yet know the song styling or lyrics of the track, the title itself is likely short for “love of my life.” Other fans, however, suggest that it could mean “loss of my life” — and the concept has Swifties questioning everything.

“Loml can mean 'love of my life' or 'loss of my life' or something else entirely different and unhinged and oh god I'm having a breakdown,” one fan wrote via X, with another pointing out that Swift stylized the track in all lowercase letters could indicate a more somber tone.

It is also possible that Swift, 34, created an entirely new acronym for “loml” altogether.

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“If ‘loml’ ends up standing for ‘love OR my life’ I swear on all deities I will FIGHT,” one fan wrote via Tumblr, theorizing that Swift could be battling between choosing herself or her partner.

Taylor Nation, the official fan account for Swift and listed on social media as the “intern” of the Tortured Poets Department, seemingly clarified the meaning of the track.

“The loml’s brand new album drops ONE WEEK from today. ??,” a Friday, April 12, X post read, alongside a photo of Swift. “Recreate the #TSTTPD cover(s) that you pre-ordered. And if you haven’t pre-ordered your special edition vinyl, deluxe CD, or cassette, you still have 2 hours left to shop while supplies last!”

Since Taylor Nation was referring to Swift herself as their “loml,” it’s been inferred by fans that it means love of my life.

Other potential acronyms could stand for “loss of my love,” “losing only my love,” “lonely over my lover” or “living only my life,” though “love of my life” is certainly the most common meaning of the phrase, which Swift previously dropped in her lyrics. In 2017’s “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever,” a duet with Zayn Malik, Swift notably sings, "Wondering if I dodged a bullet or just lost the love of my life?”

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Swift added “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” to her Eras Tour setlist for one of her June 2023 concerts in Chicago, where fans noticed she appeared to be near tears singing “just lost the love of my life.” Swifties immediately started speculating that the pop star was overcome with emotions as she navigated her breakup with Joe Alwyn. (Us Weekly confirmed their split in April 2023, one month after Eras began in Arizona.)

Nearly a year later, Swift added “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” to the acoustic set again as part of a mash-up with Reputation’s “Dress” during a March concert in Singapore. Social media fans thought the rendition appeared less dreary, believing she was “healed” from the heartbreak and in love again. (Swift has been dating NFL star Travis Kelce since summer 2023.)

“Love of My Life” is also the name of a song released by another one of Swift’s exes Harry Styles on 2022’s Harry’s House.

“Baby, you were the love of my life, woah,” Styles, who dated Swift from late 2012 to early 2013 and likely inspired several songs on 1989, sings. “Maybe you don't know what's lost 'til you find it.”

Swift announced at the 2024 Grammys in January that TTPD will be her next studio album, later revealing that she started writing it as soon as Midnights, her 2022 LP, was completed.

“I needed to make it. It was really a lifeline for me,” Swift confessed of the upcoming record during a February Eras Tour concert in Australia. “It sort of reminded me of why songwriting is something that actually gets me through life and I’ve never had an album where I’ve needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets.”

While Swift has not yet revealed what inspired TTPD, fans have speculated it is about a breakup and, specifically, the demise of her relationship with Alwyn, 33, whom Swift dated between 2016 and early 2023. Certain TTPD songs “So Long, London,” “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” and “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” further contributed to the speculation, especially with Alwyn hailing from England.

The Tortured Poets Department will be released on Friday, April 19.