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The essential explanation of boyfriend references in new Taylor Swift songs from 120yr old top entertainment mag Variety
And of course, as necessary, it's a long explanation of every track on her new album.
I'll admit I was amused by this, especially coming from such an old industry mag.
But I read it all anyway... You can listen to the article, too, since there's audio running nearly 20 minutes.
https://variety.com/2024/music/news/the-tortured-poets-department-song-relationships-breakdown-1235975036/
Apr 19, 2024 11:01am PT
Which New Taylor Swift Songs Are About Matty Healy, Joe Alwyn or Travis Kelce? Breaking Down ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Lyric Clues
By William Earl, Chris Willman
Taylor Swift‘s fans are always poring over her lyrics for clues about her personal life, and things are no different with the release of her newest album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Before her world-famous relationship with Travis Kelce that debuted last year, Swift had a long-term romance with British actor Joe Alwyn, and then a relatively short rebound with Matty Healy, frontman of the 1975.
Most of the material was written and recorded before Swift and Kelce became an item, so he isn’t a key player in the album, although he makes a key late entry, assuming no one else drove her to use football metaphors for the first time. Fans were initially surprised to see that Swift’s short, tumultuous time with Healy appears to take up the majority of the emotional real estate on the album, rather than her six years with Alwyn before that. The long poem that is included in the album packaging makes it clear that the album’s arc begins with the end of one long-dying relationship and then documents the rise and fall of a much more passionate one. The exposition in the poem lends weight to the fact that —surprisingly — this song cycle is focused on feelings about someone that most fans wouldn’t have realized had such a deep emotional effect on Swift until it came out in this record.
Below, Variety has done our best to decode the lyrics song-by-song to find out which former (or, in a couple of cases, current) flame Swift is spilling tea about. Plus: bonus Kardashian content.
-snip-
Which New Taylor Swift Songs Are About Matty Healy, Joe Alwyn or Travis Kelce? Breaking Down ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Lyric Clues
By William Earl, Chris Willman
Taylor Swift‘s fans are always poring over her lyrics for clues about her personal life, and things are no different with the release of her newest album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Before her world-famous relationship with Travis Kelce that debuted last year, Swift had a long-term romance with British actor Joe Alwyn, and then a relatively short rebound with Matty Healy, frontman of the 1975.
Most of the material was written and recorded before Swift and Kelce became an item, so he isn’t a key player in the album, although he makes a key late entry, assuming no one else drove her to use football metaphors for the first time. Fans were initially surprised to see that Swift’s short, tumultuous time with Healy appears to take up the majority of the emotional real estate on the album, rather than her six years with Alwyn before that. The long poem that is included in the album packaging makes it clear that the album’s arc begins with the end of one long-dying relationship and then documents the rise and fall of a much more passionate one. The exposition in the poem lends weight to the fact that —surprisingly — this song cycle is focused on feelings about someone that most fans wouldn’t have realized had such a deep emotional effect on Swift until it came out in this record.
Below, Variety has done our best to decode the lyrics song-by-song to find out which former (or, in a couple of cases, current) flame Swift is spilling tea about. Plus: bonus Kardashian content.
-snip-
