We’re Breaking Down What Taylor Swift’s Fans Think Each Track on The Tortured Poets Department Will Be About

“Fortnight” (feat. Post Malone)

Not many theories have been centered around the first track: “Fortnight” (feat. Post Malone). However, a fortnight is a word with Old English roots that describes a period of two weeks. The old English origins are what people are wondering about, since her exes Joe Alwyn, Tom Hiddelston, Harry Styles are British.

“The Tortured Poets Department”

Along with the title of the album being “The Tortured Poets Department,” it’s also the title for track two. Fans believe the title refers to a group chat her ex Joe Alwyn shared with his A-list friends Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott.

“JOES GROUPCHAT [sic] W PAUL WAS CALLED THE TORTURED MENS CLUB,” one Swiftie said, referring to a Dec. 2022 interview with Alwyn revealed the three actors were in a WhatsApp group chat called the “Tortured Man Club.”

“My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys”

Fans on X believe the third track “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” may be a parallel to the lyric “Bad, bad boy, shiny toy with a price” in the track “Cruel Summer.” Swift once said the song is about a summer romance, per iHeartRadio, and her most well-known summer fling was with Tom Hiddleston. So many believe it could be a song directed to him.

“Down Bad”

Quite a few fans believe the fourth track “Down Bad” could be about Swift’s brief fling with The 1975 frontman Matt Healy, whom she dated from April to June 2023. The term “down bad” is a slang term meaning anything from feeling desperation, where someone goes into a romantic situation at the expense of one’s dignity. Many saw Healy as her rebound from Alwyn, and that it seemed like a bad move that took a toll on her.

“So Long, London”

For the fifth track, “So Long, London,” many believe that it is a song of her saying goodbye to the place she loved living in with Joe Alwyn, London. Along with that, many think it parallels her song on Lover called “London Boy,” which was about Alwyn.

“But Daddy I Love Him”

You probably have seen the theories surrounding track six: “But Daddy I Love Him,” which many think refers to the iconic line from The Little Mermaid. Many believe it could be about losing her voice for a man, like Ariel did. Fans have also discussed that the movie came out in 1989, which was the name of one of her iconic albums, which may or may not have confirmed this theory for many.

Some even think it could be a prequel to “Love Story,” or about Harry Styles.

“Fresh Out the Slammer”

Fans believe “Fresh Out the Slammer” is full of Easter eggs. One X user said, “taylor saying ‘he can be my jailer’ in 2018, then saying ‘me locking myself away in my house for years — I’ll never get that time back’ in the TIME issue a few months back after the breakup, and now releasing a song called ‘fresh out the slammer’….. it’s over it’s so over.”

So the ‘he can be my jailer’ refers to a lyric in the song “…Ready For It?,” which many believe to be about Joe Alwyn, per POPSUGAR. And the comment was from her TIME interview, with many believed was a subtle dig at Alwyn.

“Florida!!!” (feat Florence + The Machine)

So “Florida!!!” (feat Florence + The Machine) could be referring to the first concert location she had after the breakup from Joe Alwyn, per People.

“Guilty as Sin?”

The ninth track in the album entitled “Guilty as Sin?” is from a line from Swift’s song for the Where The Crawdads Sing soundtrack entitled “Carolina.” The lyrics read: “Carolina knows why for years they’ve said / That I was guilty as sin and sleep in a liar’s bed.”

While it was for a film soundtrack and not her finished albums, many fans believe it’s a play on the song, where someone could be asking her is she’s the guilty one in a relationship. It’s unclear if, or any, exes are referred to in it.
 

“Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?”

The track “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” has fans believe it could be a reference to Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf. As pointed out by a fan on X, the play “examines the marriage of a middle-aged couple whose relationship is falling apart.”

“I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)”

The track “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)” has many fans believing it could be about trying to fix a bad boy who’d hurt you and you giving pushback to people saying he can’t change. Many believe this could be about her ex Matt Healy.

“loml”

For those who don’t know, “loml” is an acronym for the phrase, love of my life, and it is the twelfth track on her upcoming album. Fans believe it could be a breakup ballad dedicated to Joe Alwyn.

The last time she used this phrase was in her Fifty Shades single “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever:” “Wondering if I dodged a bullet or just lost the love of my life.” Many think it could be referring to that.

“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”

“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” could refer to how she carried on her tour, despite breaking off her six year relationship with Joe Alwyn amid her Eras Tour. Speaking to Time in 2023, she said: “I know I’m going on that stage whether I’m sick, injured, heartbroken, uncomfortable, or stressed.”

So it could be about perseverance amid a broken heart.

“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”

Fans are losing it over the title “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” which is the fourteenth track on the album. Many are split on whether it’s about Joe Alwyn or Matt Healy. With the Alwyn theories, many believe it’s about his reaction to being talked about in public.

“The Alchemy”

So buckle in for the fifteenth track “The Alchemy,” which follows a theory all about her ex Joe Alwyn. One fan on X wrote, “oh my f*****g god alchemy is making something that isn’t gold into gold and pretending it’s gold oh my f*****g god,” quoting the “Daylight” lyric about Alwyn that reads, “i used to think love would be burning red but it’s golden.”

Another X user talked about “All the gold metaphor she used for him [Alwyn]” and how this song might be about finding the truth in their relationship.

“Clara Bow”

“Clara Bow” has quite a story to it already. For those who don’t know, Clara Bow is the name of an actress from the silent film era. She was referred to as an “It girl,” and was under constant scrutiny. Many believe this song could be about one of two things: either the media scrutiny she faced that made her feel like Clara Bow, or it ties in with “But Daddy I Love Him” about being silent.

“The Manuscript”

For the bonus track “The Manuscript,” many think it’s linked to Swift’s song “Dear Reader” from the Midnights alum.

“Thinking about how Midnights ends with “Dear Reader” & then Taylor announces TTPD with a bonus track called “The Manuscript” & uses file folder imagery & has a legit bookmark. This woman 💀🤯,” one fan wrote.

Many fans have said that the song “Dear Reader” is about her learning to overcome obstacles, and that “The Manuscript” may be a continuation about that, with an addition of dealing with her breakup from Joe Alwyn

“The Bolter”

On Feb 16, Swift announced that there would be another bonus alternative track called “The Bolter” attached. Fans believe that this song will be about the term in a relationship, with one fan tweeting “A person who runs away from confrontation and emotions, someone who flees from commitment or intimacy in it.”

“The Albatross”

For the Albatross edition of the album, there is a song entitled “The Albatross” featured on it. Twitter accounts believe the track is about her relationship with Joe Alwyn, with Taylor Swift Society noting that “🚨| The Albatross spends their 6 first years of life over the ocean without landing.” Many found the connection between that and how she was in a six-year relationship with Alwyn.

“The Black Dog”

In Singapore, Swift confirmed that the final variant of her album will include the track “The Black Dog.” Right now, many believe the song could be about depression, while one user, @coolestamory, noting how there was a Black Dog campaign in the UK for people with depression.