#17 – On The Tortured Poets Department
Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?
“This writer is of the firm belief that our tears become holy in the form of ink on a page. Once we have spoken our saddest story, we can be free of it.”
— Taylor A. Swift
Thus Taylor Swift introduces her eleventh studio album The Tortured Poets Department released on Friday, April 19. Over the past 24 hours, it feels like I have started inhabiting a new world made up of different characters, eavesdropping on secret conversations, and witnessing love stories.
Upon first impression, TTPD has the storytelling of Folklore + Evermore, the darkness of Reputation and the heartbreak of Red. But, while Red was about the capricious kinds of love that “went from zero to a hundred miles per hour and then hit a wall and exploded”, a good deal of TTPD seems to be about Swift’s relationship with Alwyn that simmered on for six years. The emotional territory of TTPD feels vaster, deeper and more complicated. Promises of ‘I love you’ were made but broken, ideas of marriage were floated but never materialized, feelings were felt but dissipated.
There are so many strands to TTPD, but a singularly prominent streak feels like Swift’s grapple with fate. How much of it is destiny? How much of it is effort? Can you make stars align? Can you fix what’s broken with your own bare hands?
In the album’s summation poem, Swift writes:
Tried wishing on comets
Tried dimming the shine
Tried to orbit his planet
Some stars never align
Fate may not be something that can be altered, but perhaps writing about it can heal the pain and mend the hurt. In The Tortured Poets Department, Swift pours open her veins of pitch black ink, speaks her saddest stories and turns her heartbreak into poetry.
PS: TTPD has so many good songs, but The Alchemy, in particular, feels so special! The line, “Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy?” is stuck in my head!
Thank you for being here. I wish you an awesome weekend!
I must admit, I’m not a huge Swiftie, but I loved this description so much I think I’ll go have a listen ☺️