Swifties had been patiently waiting for Taylor Swift’s release of “Reputation” (Taylor’s Version) – but then it was announced on February 4 at the 66th Grammys that she would be releasing a brand new album titled “The Tortured Poets Department”.
Immediately, everyone began making their predictions for the album using hints they’ve found. I’ve researched those to come up with my own prediction, which is that her new album will be about her past relationship with Joe Alwyn for the most part, but also about her current relationship with Travis Kelce and how she’s now moving on.
First, this album will most likely be a crossover of “Folklore” and “Evermore”, which she produced when she was dating Alwyn (Swift broke up with the British actor in early 2023 after dating him six years, right around the time Swift began the Eras Tour). So, this album should be the aftermath and include more information about their relationship. This can be observed as you look at the cover of the album, which has a similar color scheme to “Folklore” and “Evermore” — a very calm but dark look. Both of those albums were written when they were dating and mentioned their love, her hope for marriage, and nostalgia. The new album should be the byproduct of the relationship ending. Also, most songs in both of these albums have very mellow beats with the inclusion of acoustic and piano backgrounds to go with the depressing but deep lyrics expected for “The Torchered Poets Department”. Lyrics leaked so far include: “My muses, acquired like bruises/My talismans and charms/The tick, tick, tick of love bombs/My veins of pitch black ink.” This is all connected to Alwyn.”
Second, when you look at the tracks of all the songs on the album, some of the song titles are clear references to Alwyn, and also a few are references to Travis Kelce as well. Song titles that have some clear references to Alwyn include: “So Long, London,” “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys,” “But Daddy I Love Him,” “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart”—and “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived.” All of these titles either have to do with Alwyn personally or as a way of describing their relationship and how their dating life came to an end. One example of a possible reference to Kelce would be “Down Bad”, most likely having to do with being so in love that she doesn’t care what others think, including the backlash on social media with her “taking over the NFL”.
Some additional hints to references to Alwyn and Kelce include the release date, how long she’s been working on this album, and even some clear symbolism in some songs that tell more about their relationship. The date the album is set to be released, April 19, is the same day that America revolted against the British in 1775, marking the beginning of the American Revolution – and Swift breaking it off with Alwyn was a revolt. Swift has been working on the album two years, which is within her and Alwyn’s breakup and her getting together with Kelce. Finally, the title of one of the bonus tracks called “The Albatross” is symbolic because after an Albatross is born, it flies over the ocean for its first six years of life, which is how long Taylor and Alwyn were together!
Some may say that this new album will be nothing new from Swift and won’t be that exciting. However this album – likely to be about heartbreak and the reminiscence of true love from Swift’s relationships at different points in time – will be brand new for Swifties.
The wait to see if these predictions are right is not too long – one more day!
