What do we know about Taylor Swift’s new album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’?

‘I wanna say thank you to the fans,’ Taylor Swift announced at the 2024 Grammy Awards, ‘by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years. Which is that my brand new album comes out April 19th. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department.’

Swifties were not surprised when the superstar took the 2024 Grammy for ‘Album of the Year’ and ‘Best Pop Vocal Album’. However, geared up for a Reputation re-release announcement, they were shocked to discover Swift had a brand new album for them.

Swift immediately posted the album’s cover, a black and white image of her reclining on a bed. The second slide and caption held the intriguing quote ‘all’s fair in love and poetry’.

Swifties suspected that the name could be a reference to her ex-boyfriend (and Bristol alumni) Joe Alwyn’s group chat, which he exposed in a Variety Actors on Actors interview to be called ‘The Tortured Man Club’. It’s safe to say we can expect some songs to soundtrack our summer heartbreaks.

This isn’t the first time Swift has written about poetry. Her bonus track ‘The Lakes’ from Folklore features the lyric ‘Take me to the lakes, where all the poets went to die’. She references a group of English poets who once lived in the Lake District, a place she visited with Joe Alwyn. In the Long Pond Sessions, she described the song as being ‘about relating to people who, hundreds of years ago, had the same exit plan and did it.’ We can expect her new album to have these themes of escapism and the loneliness of fame, previously explored in songs like ‘The Lucky One’ and ‘Dorothea’.

How many songs are on ‘the tortured poets department’?

The Tortured Poets Department will feature 16 songs and so far 3 bonus tracks: ‘The Manuscript’, ‘The Albatross’, ‘The Black Dog’, and ‘The Bolter’, available separately on the physical copies of the album. The first song, ‘Fortnight’, features Post Malone, and the eighth song, ‘Florida!!!’, features Florence + The Machine.

The sixteenth track name, ‘Clara Bow’, confirms the theme of escaping fame. The name refers to the successful 1920s actress, the world’s first ‘It Girl’, who in 1933 left her fame to become a rancher. A peculiar photo posted by Taylor Nation features an elderly Swift with eleven cats … possibly Taylor’s imagined ‘Clara Bow’ future.

What else can we discover from the tracklist? ‘But Daddy I Love Him’ could be a reference to Disney’s Little Mermaid, who exclaims this quote to her father about Prince Eric. Taylor is known to be a big fan of the film, previously dressing as Ariel for her childhood heroes-themed New Year’s party. Fans have a few theories about this one. Ariel gives up her voice for her love, which some Swifties think could be symbolic of Taylor having to limit her public image for Joe Alwyn. However, Harry Styles has been photographed wearing a shirt with that very quote … and was rumoured to be a casting option for Prince Eric. 

Track five is ‘So Long, London’, a slot Swift has confirmed as reserved for songs that are ‘honest, emotional, vulnerable and personal’. Swift has previously written about London in her upbeat love song for Joe Alwyn, ‘London Boy’. ‘So Long, London’ is likely to be the complete opposite of this. 

The bonus track ‘The Albatross’ could also represent her relationship with Alwyn. Albatrosses can spend six years of their life without touching land, the same amount of time the couple dated. The bird supposedly remains with one partner for life, which is where the metaphor ends as Swift is now dating Travis Kelce.

Will the eras tour setlist change?

We’re sure she won’t be able to resist playing a few new songs for the Eras Tour, but to create a whole extra act for the show, which already runs nearly four hours, would be tricky. Some beloved songs would have to go to make room for the new ones. The other option is that she may play them during her surprise song slot, an acoustic set where Taylor plays two different songs each concert. 

How do I preorder Taylor Swift’s new album?

Though the album will not be out until April 19th, to answer our speculations, it is available to pre-order now on Taylor’s website. On the UK site, it is currently available as CD, cassette, and vinyl which includes a 24-page book-bound jacket, three unique handwritten lyrics and never-before-seen photos. ‘The Albatross’ bonus track edition CD also features a bookmark, magnet, photocards, and patches, but has already been swept off the site.

So what are your theories about Swift’s new album? We’re sure it won’t be long before Taylor drops some more easter eggs or hints…

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