- Written by Nour Nanji & Annabel Rackham
- culture reporter
For two female journalists in their 30s (who also happen to be big Swifties), there's a lot about Taylor Swift's new album that rings true.
From ex-lovers who pulled us together to comfort food after a breakup. We've all been there, and so have the biggest superstars in pop.
Swift is no stranger to writing about personal subjects. And she's not the first musician to sing about heartbreak, pain, and sadness either.
Perhaps more than any other song on her new album, “So Long London” is a real punch.
“I'm angry that you gave me that youth for free.” she laments in the song, which is widely thought to be about ex-partner Joe Alwyn.
This feels like a pivotal moment on the album. It's so vivid that it makes you stop in your tracks.
It doesn't matter that Swift is a world-famous musician with A-list friends and a huge fortune in the billions. At the core of it all, she's a 34-year-old woman who understands her fears that she won't have time to find “The One” and settle down and start her family. .
Swiftie Rebecca Reid, who is in her early 30s, told BBC News that she believes The Tortured Poets Category was written with her in mind.
“On 'So Long London,' to be honest, almost every song has a lot of this idea of giving away your youth to someone else and not getting it back,” she says. said.
“And that's definitely a sentiment that really resonates with me.”
In another song, “Take Down Bad,” Swift sings:I'm so depressed right now that I'm crying in the gym. ”
Again, these are lyrics that strike a chord with many. Is there anyone who has not experienced the depression of heartbreak even though they are living their daily lives?
Other lyrics depict her being too depressed to get out of bed, while in “Manuscripts,” Swift sings about safe children's cereal (we wonder which one). I am writing about what I thought.
For Saira Thwaites, an avid Swiftie who's almost 30 years old, the more she listens to a track, the more it resonates with her.
“Her story is very specific and captures the numbness and emptiness of separation,” she says.
“My heart broke and I hit the floor/Every piece of me shattered as the crowd chanted, ‘More!’” she sings on the deceptively upbeat “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart.”
“Swift is still hopeless about dating.”
”[The song] It's about letting people know that you're fine, that you're creative, and that you need it at a time when you don't give yourself much space to heal or grieve,” Reid says.
“Again, I can really relate to that, because I went through the early years of my divorce, single parenting, being on TV and radio, writing books, and thinking about how great I was. Because I spent the time telling everyone how happy I was. I'm actually processing one of the worst traumas of my life.”
The Independent's music critic Helen Brown says “a whole generation of women” find Swift's songs to be the soundtrack of their lives.
“Singing of the elusive temptations of the ring and the cradle, Swift articulates the challenges facing a generation that marries and has children on average five years later than they did in the 1990s,” she told the BBC. told the news.
“It's both reassuring and alarming to think that Swift still feels hopeless about dating her peers, even though she doesn't have the financial hardships most people her age face.
“Like them, she seems overwhelmed by options, and says she is haunted by the question of whether she is expecting too much or too little from herself and her partner.”
In telling the story of modern dating, Swift never shied away from writing about her ex-lovers.
Many read her latest album as a dig at Alwyn and 1975's Matty Healy in particular, while also mentioning her current boyfriend, NFL superstar Travis Kelce.
Her intentions are clear from the album's jacket notes, in which she states:
Swift and actor Alwyn split in April 2023. Later, when she announced the release of her new album, her fans immediately began speculating that it would be the end of their feud.
Her choice of album title reflects a WhatsApp group chat called 'The Tortured Man Club' between Alwyn and Normal People star Paul Mescal, further heightening the speculation.
In So Long in London, she hinted at plans for a wedding, saying, “You swore you loved me but where were the clues, I died on the altar waiting for proof.” singing.
She also revealed that she was upset about having to leave London, where she lived with Alwyn, adding that she “loves” the city.
Another song, “But Daddy I Love Him,” is believed to be a reference to rumors surrounding Swift's reported but unconfirmed romance with Healy, lead singer of The 1975, from last year.
Some fans were disappointed in the relationship, saying Healy, who has faced accusations of misogyny and racism during his career (which he denies), was a poor choice as a partner.
Swift fires back in the song, declaring: “I’d rather burn my life to the ground than listen to one second of this whining and moaning/I’ll tell you something about my honor, I’m the only one to shame.”
But is it right to humiliate your ex in public? Brown says it's a “complex issue”.
“Swift doesn't name anyone in these songs, and her real history is always woven into fiction. She's a storyteller, and it's no secret that female stars have criticized men for their bad behavior.” “It comes from a long tradition of country music,” she says.
“I would like to add that while Swift may attack her exes, she always takes responsibility for herself. The exes she seems to be talking about on this record are They're both songwriters as well, so they have the right to respond with their own work.'' And I think they both think all is fair when it comes to love and lyrics. ”
The BBC contacted both Mr Allyn and Mr Healy, but they were unable to comment.
So what does all of this make of Swift's current very public relationship with Kelce?
“Taylor acts like a child when she's in love.”
Another devoted Swiftie, Nona Uppal, told the BBC that while much of 'The Tortured Poets' is about despair and heartbreak, it also empathizes with the happiness Swift feels in her new relationship. He said that this is something that many people can relate to.
She mentioned the song “So High School,” which is about Kelce because it's “all about butterflies and doing the things kids do when they're watching a movie with their friends.” That's her interpretation.
“I think it captures the whole spectrum of human emotion, where love causes Taylor to act like a child, and that's what love is all about for her,” she says. .
“And I love capturing this level of vulnerability because I think it's something that I relate to very deeply.”
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