The double release of Taylor Swift’s 11th studio album – The Tortured Poets Department (TTPD) and The Anthology – has left fans in dejected disarray and adoration over the new 31 songs.
The way she conveys tragedy, vulnerability and emotion reveals the beautiful lyrics that she’s shaped into this masterpiece. However, backlash claiming that there is fatigue in both the quantity or quality of the work and speculations over who the songs are about have all evolved into attempts to diminish Swift’s work. This prevalence in not only this album, but her entire career, leads to the repeated question: would this be occurring if she were a man?
This album explores the stages of grief while conveying themes of doubt, exile, tumultuous resentment, grave depression, and inevitable acceptance, all cloaked in gentle lines of poetry. For many others, the album felt like the lifeline that Swift claims she herself needed, and the elegant words composed have become a gift for fans willing to accept it.
While making this list, I genuinely had a hard time placing these songs into a list from best to worst ( it felt more like picking the lesser of the best), and they seemed to get better every time I listened. Each track is so unique and follows such beautifully crafted themes and stories that blended in my mind when trying to decide my favorite. Because of the incredibly high, I think the top 13 are the only ones I truly think are in their deserving place, the rest could be shuffled slightly and I would still be content. Because of this, the biggest focus with this review was giving each poem the credit it deserves within their own lanes.
1. “But daddy I love him”
The combined elements of storytelling, humor, love and confusion wrapped into this love song with a memorable rhythm is what made it the top choice. It honestly makes one want to run with their dress unbuttoned screaming “but daddy I love him,” and this imagery portrays the feeling of freedom and rebellion so well. The order and chaos contrasted through the “dutiful daughter” and chaotic lover who everyone comes around to love, as well as her explanation of “he’s crazy but he’s the one I want” illustrates a nostalgic teenage love. The vocals in this song shine so vibrantly and delicately to add an element of youth to this dynamic. Swift ties this up with an ending full of hope after gloomy relationships that become the heart of the album.
2. “Fortnight (ft. post malone)”
The first single in this album, “Fortnight (feat. Post Malone)” is so mystically addictive in its way of showing these feelings of longing after a breakup that it easily became the most popular amongst listeners. The subtle transition into a more upbeat rhythm is so admirable, and so fitting as they weave in Post Malone’s vocals further as the song progresses.
3. “So long, London”
The famously devastating fifth track – up against “The Archer”, “Tolerate It”, “My Tears Ricochet” and “White Horse” – this devastating song is arguably the most gut-wrenching of the 11 studio albums. The references to marriage with “I died on the altar waiting for the proof” is enough to leave one in a state of depression despite sharing this experience. The opening, a wedding-bell like tune, is both angelic and desolating, which sets the prolonged mood. This song feels like a love letter essentially telling this neglectful lover “I held on for so long but this is all I had,” and her desperation towards the ending of this wretched relationship is sadly so clear. The most heartbreaking lyrics: “I stopped cpr after all it’s no use”, “stopped trying to make him laugh…stopped trying to drill the safe” and “my spine split from carrying us up the hill” are such a pure representation of not only this lost relationship, but of Swift’s immense ability to capture these feelings into words. What left many in most distress were the paralleled lyrics with Swift’s 2019 song “London Boy”, where she sings “on the Heath just wanna be with you.” Whereas in this tragic farewell ballad, she writes “you left me at the house by the Heath ”, clearly terminating this love captured in the 2019 song.
4. “Guilty as sin?”
I will admit, it took a couple listens to really understand the real meaning behind this song, but once it was decoded, this song rapidly became a favorite. The initial beat and opening rhymes are incredibly catchy and as it evolves into a more complex track, so does the story being told. The religious references weaved in so beautifully to contrast the infidelity of her thoughts is, in one word, poetic. This hypothetical situation shown through lyrics like “without ever touching his skin” and “things we never did” really gives in to how truly caged she was in this relationship. The amount of guilt she felt because of this fictional affair, and the despair in “am I allowed to cry?” is impeccably relatable.
5. “Down bad”
Following “Fortnight”, this track has also become a fan favorite, and it’s evident as to why. This song is one of those that just gets stuck in your head both unwillingly yet so admirably. The mixture in levels of maturity in the lyrics with “for a moment I knew cosmic love” to something so simple yet universal like “down bad crying at the gym” is what makes this song so memorable. The bridge contains another disguised parallel from Swift’s 1989 track “New Romantics”. As it contrasts the previous song’s “please leave me stranded, it’s so romantic” with “how dare you think it’s romantic leaving me safe and stranded”, Swift furthers the heartbreak illustrated in this song.
6. “The smallest man who ever lived”
The slow initial pace of this song sets the scene of a post-breakup depression, though quickly it turns to perplexed bitterness. With her repetition of “I don’t even want you back” and “I don’t miss what we had” Swift implies to the audience her genuine astonishment towards the torture she endured in this relationship. Tragically, she attempts to think of explanations as to why this partner essentially killed her joyful demeanor, touching the hearts of fans who have been in similar situations.
7. “Peter”
Personally, this song is one of her best when it comes to lyricism and where her beautiful manner of storytelling absolutely shines. I think it’s also the song that hit me the most – both personally and in general – as the most visually tragic. The extended metaphor with Peter Pan (that she merely mentions in the Folklore track “Cardigan”) is fully dissected and turned into a tragic love story. From this perspective, she describes being the ‘Wendy’ in a relationship: emotionally outgrowing one’s partner while fighting your own desire to be with them, until their lack of sophistication and maturity becomes incredibly overwhelming. She exerts this deep sense of guilt, but her self-incrimination is just a false array of a problem she can’t control, so she eventually admits defeat in the relationship. Swift brings back the theme of maturity shown in previous songs and weaves it as a simple tale, since this popular story is widely known, but she twists in a novel perspective to create an agonizing poem.
8. “My boy only breaks his favorite toys”
In the first few listens, this song was on my top three, and I think that’s a specific testament to the beat that hooks listeners in the beginning and is endlessly engaging no matter what. Shifting to a more playful sound contributes to the charming extended metaphor that compares this relationship to childhood and youth. To contrast more youthful lyrics such as “he was my best friend down at the sandlot” and “I’m queen of sand castles he destroys”, Swift sprinkled in a matured perspective of “there was a litany of reasons why we could’ve played for keeps this time”. Possibly the most somber line, though, is her lyric “he saw forever so he smashed it up”, which again, effortlessly juxtaposes this level of sophistication with a youthful reference of breaking toys.
9. “The prophecy”
This sounds like such a point of desperation, those moments of less than no hope and utter defeat, which she captures perfectly. I think this is most evident in the lyric “even statues crumble if they’re made to wait”. The guitar alone is so beautiful and mystical, full of the magic that Swift is begging to have in her life. The vulnerability in her words is also so overwhelming in this song, it feels like a breaking point directed at no one in particular, almost reminds me of “This Is Me Trying” in the sense that it illustrates such a low point in one’s mental state. It’s so beautifully shattering, especially for listeners who relate to this level of defeat.
10. “I can do it with a broken heart”
The main thing that stuck out with this one is the vast contrast in the lyrics versus the rhythm. The comedy integrated throughout the track creates an exuberantly depressing and relatable song, where Swift is sharing emotions experienced through her recent ongoing tour. This take feels more personal to fans, who she claims were continuing to ask for more from her, and she had to give in despite the headache she had to go through. This is drawing on her need to please people that she’s referred to in the past, which just takes a unique situation molded into a relatable thought for many.
11. “loml”
With the simple piano notes and quiet lyrics, I think this track is the most tragic of both albums. Here, she compares two points of views in a single relationship, this partner who told her she was the love of his life “about a million times”, but in her eyes, their love was merely momentary. This melancholy ballad ends with her response that he is the “loss of my life”, an acronym that fans were desperate to decode before the release of the album, and that left the overall impression of the song as deeper than tragic.
12. “The Tortured Poets Department”
The opening beat is catchy right off the bat, and it keeps up this light hearted pop track throughout the whole song. The parallels between this and Swift’s song “White Horse” are incredible. The phrasing “You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith” directly relating to the 2008 lyrics “I’m not a princess, this ain’t a fairytale”, was more than enough to form this matured fairytale. However, Swift took this parallel further. Referencing the 1930s poet and writer Dylan Thomas, who was amongst the many writers who frequently drank at the historic White Horse tavern, she creates an unequivocal connection between the two songs.
13. “Who’s afraid of little old me?”
The main emotion in this song is simply exerted yet so strongly conveyed. I think the touch of singing and screaming “who’s afraid of little old me?” perfects this emotion of desperation on the opposite end of songs like “The Prophecy” where she is lost in a cloud of desperation. Here, her helplessness turned bitterness and anger is the only thing showing, any sign of frailness is gone. The irony in her referring to herself as “little old me” shows how powerless she feels towards others’ perception of her, despite the influence she holds in society, is bewitching. Even the circus metaphor that she’s referenced in previous poems, is a vulnerable illustration of how she feels as a performer in the public eye.
Tentative rank for the rest of the album:
14. “Fresh out the slammer“
15. “I hate it here“
16. “Clara bow“
17. “Imgonnagetyouback“
18. “The alchemy“
19. “The manuscript“
20. “The bolter“
21. “The albatross“
22.“ The black dog“
23. “I can fix him (no really, I can)“
24. “Florida !!!“
25. “How did it end?“
26. “I look through people’s windows“
27. So high school“
28. “thanK you aIMee“
29. “Chloe or sam or sophia or marcus“
30. “Robin“
31. “Cassandra“
