By Adam S. Levy For Dailymail.com and Jacqueline Lindenberg and Amelia Wynne For Mailonline
07:17 19 Apr 2024, updated 07:43 19 Apr 2024
- Swift, 34, makes a number of references to poets past and present on album
- Nicks, 75, penned poem used as record’s written prologue
- The title track mentions both Smith, 77, and late Welsh poet Dylan Thomas
Taylor Swift name drops fellow musical artists Charlie Puth and Patti Smith, while also paying homage to late poet Dylan Thomas, on her new album The Tortured Poets Department, which includes a poem penned by Stevie Nicks.
The Grammy-winning artist’s latest album includes the poem that is showcased as the ‘written prologue on the record,’ penned by the Fleetwood Mac artist, 75, titled ‘For T and me…’ People reported Thursday.
Nicks noted that she penned the work in Austin, Texas on August 13, 2023.
The poem reads: ‘He was in love with her / Or at least she thought so / She was brokenhearted / Maybe he was too.’
The work from Nicks makes reference to a pair of star-crossed lovers, who she described as one ‘way too hot to handle’ and one ‘way too high to try,’ according to the outlet.
Nicks told TODAY.com last fall that she feels her honesty in her artistry has rubbed off on Swift.
‘I never don’t tell the truth,’ Nicks said. ‘And I think that’s something that if Taylor Swift, who is my friend, if Taylor got anything from me, that’s what she got. I don’t ever lie in my songs – and if you broke up with me, I don’t put I broke up with you. I tell the truth, always.’
Swift, 34, and Nicks have past performed together, belting out the songs You Belong with Me and Rhiannon at the 2010 Grammys. Swift went on to say performing alongside Nicks was a ‘fairy tale and an honor,’ according to People.
Nicks, who does not perform on the record, was also referenced in Swift’s lyrics in the album on the track Clara Bow, with the lyrics: ‘You look like Stevie Nicks in ‘75, the hair and lips/ Crowd goes wild at her fingertips, half moonshine, a full eclipse.’
Swift mentioned singer-songwriter Charlie Puth, 32, on the title track The Tortured Poets Department with the lyrics, ‘You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate/ We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist.’
The chorus of the song also includes references to singer-songwriter-poet Smith, 77, and late Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, who died in 1953 at the age of 39 after an illness.
The chorus of the song is, ‘I laughed in your face and said, “You’re not Dylan Thomas. I’m not Patti Smith. This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel. We’re modern idiots.”‘
Another potential pop reference on the album came with the track But Daddy I Love Him, which some fans interpreted as a reference to dialogue from The Little Mermaid between Ariel and King Triton over Prince Eric, according to Today.com.
The track consisted of Swift narrating in contrast to what the other messages in the song, saying, ‘I just learned these people only raise you just to cage you.’
Swift on Friday officially dropped The Tortured Poets Department – her 11th studio album. The album has a total of four versions, as well as 16 songs and a bonus track titled The Manuscript.
The Bad Blood songstress – who recently teased a ‘timetable’ to her fans ahead of the LP’s release – initially announced the album while attending the 2024 Grammys earlier this year in February.
The title of her latest work had caused fans to speculate that the name was aimed at her ex, Joe Alwyn, 33. And earlier this week, Swift appeared to reference the actor as she shared lyrics from the album on X.
Hours before the album dropped, Swift revealed that the album’s lead single would be Fortnight featuring rapper/singer Post Malone.
She also released a moody teaser for the song’s music video, which will be released Friday at 8pm EST.
As the album hit streaming platforms Thursday night, Swift published a lengthy statement on Instagram where she described it as ‘an anthology of new works that reflect events, opinions and sentiments from a fleeting and fatalistic moment in time – one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.’
She continued: ‘This period of the author’s life is now over, the chapter closed and boarded up. There is nothing to avenge, no scores to settle once wounds have healed. And upon further reflection, a good number of them turned out to be self-inflicted.
‘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.
‘And then all that’s left behind is the tortured poetry,’ concluded Swift, as she announced: ‘THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT is out now.’
Along with her thought provoking words, the lyricist shared a slideshow of gorgeous black-and-white portraits as part of the album’s artwork.
Taylor’s devout fanbase quickly flooded social media with their reactions – with many calling TTPD ‘the best album Taylor has made, with some people saying they were ‘crying’ over the songs as they branded it a ‘masterpiece’ and praised her lyricism.
As if the excitement over a new album weren’t enough, fans were shocked to discover that two-hour countdown went live on Swift’s Instagram page immediately after The Tortured Poets Department was released.
It seemingly suggests a potential new announcement or a surprise coming at 2:00. a.m. ET; The singer has dropped numerous hints in the past days that the 2:00 a.m. hour has a special meaning.
Many fans also speculated that the star might be planning to release her version of her 2017 album Reputation, in the same way she’s been re-recording her former records amid a battle for ownership of her work.
Swift has teased the 2:00 o’clock on numerous occasion in the past weeks. In a teaser video for the release of the album she had a clock on the wall which was stuck at the 2:00 hour.
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The clocks at the library pop-up and in her mysterious Fortnight music video announcement from earlier this week have all been set to 2 o’clock as well.
At her Tortured Poets Spotify library installation in Los Angeles there was a peace-sign statuette.
While taking to the Grammys stage two months earlier, Swift sent Swifties into a frenzy as she revealed that a new album was on the way.
She did so while accepting the award for Best Pop Vocal Album. ‘I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19th,’ she told the audience.
‘It’s called The Tortured Poets Department. I’m going to go and post the cover right now backstage,’ she excitedly concluded.
At the time, she shared a black and white album cover photo – which showed Taylor laying in a bed while sporting a black shirt and shorts. A stream of light could also be seen shining down on her.
In the captioned, she had penned, ‘All’s fair in love and poetry… New album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Out April 19,’ followed by a white heart emoji.
There are three additional versions of The Tortured Poets Department: The Bolter, The Albatross and The Black Dog. Each version – which could be pre-ordered by listeners – also contain an exclusive track.
One day after her album announcement, Swift dropped the official track list to the LP. She also has collaborations with other artists such as Post Malone on Fortnight and Florence & The Machine on the song called Florida!!!
As if 16 songs weren’t enough, fans learned Thursday that Swift included a ‘summary poem’ with the album, where she appears to allude to the end of her and Alwyn’s relationship as well as the fling with rocker Matty Healy that kicked off soon after.
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Titled ‘In Summation,’ Swift makes a ‘plea for temporary insanity’ and admits that ‘it’s the worst men that I write best.’
‘As you might all unfortunately recall / I had been struck with a case of a restricted humanity / Which explains my plea here today of temporary insanity,’ the Grammy-winner begins.
She then talks of becoming a ‘caged beast’ after the end of hers and Alwyn’s six-year relationship and the ‘chaos’ that ensued in the months that followed.
‘And so I was out of the oven and into the microwave / Out of the slammer and into a tidal wave,’ Swift writes.
‘And so I enter into evidence/ My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs/ My veins of pitch black ink.’
The song ‘Fortnight’ featuring Post Malone will serve as the album’s lead single. Swift made the revel just hours before The Tortured Poets Department was released.
She unveiled the cover artwork, which is a black-and-white photo of herself and the Texas native, on social media.
‘I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever,’ she raved.
‘I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on ‘Fortnight’,’ added Swift.
Soon after, the Pennsylvania-born beauty teased the single’s black-and-white music video that stars both Swift and collaborator Post Malone.
‘At this hearing, I stand before my fellow members of The Tortured Poets Department with a summary of my findings,’ she captioned the clip on Instagram.
‘Album tonight,’ added Swift. ‘Fortnight music video tomorrow at 8pm et.’
In regards to the album title, fans were quickly convinced that the name was in reference to her ex, Joe Alwyn – whom she dated for six years until their split was confirmed in April 2023.
Back in 2022, the British-born actor explained that he was part of a WhatsApp group chat with close pals Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott called The Tortured Man Club.
Fans and social media users immediately jumped to X to share their thoughts on the inspiration behind Swift’s upcoming album, with one penning, ‘THIS IS THE BREAKUP ALBUM.’
Another added, ‘I hope for Joe’s sake that he still has that group chat. I feel like he’s gonna need it.’
A source had also told DailyMail.com that Alwyn feels that it would be ‘shady’ if Taylor dissed him in The Tortured Poets Department.
‘Joe has not said one word about Taylor or their breakup and has been completely respectful of her. It’s undeniable that the name of her upcoming album is in reference to Joe’s WhatsApp group chat.’
‘Taylor knocked him for the name of this when they were together. She didn’t want people to think that it had anything to do with her, so when he spoke out about it, she was, of course, bothered,’ the insider added.
‘Joe has no reason to believe yet that she is going to diss him or their relationship. She writes about her past using code and points of reference.’
The source continued, ‘It may just be that she is reflecting on their time together and he is hoping it is nothing more.’
‘If it is a diss album, that is shady. He helped her with song writing on her past album so it will really come as a shock to him if she talks about their breakup, as it is something he has not spoken of at all.’
Fans further speculated that the 11th LP was a breakup album referencing Alwyn due to one track titled So Long, London.
And earlier this week, while promoting a special ‘phantom clear vinyl’ at Target, she took to X and shared the lyrics: ‘I wish I could un-recall how we almost had it all…’
Back in February, she had briefly opened up about the process of making the new album on her tour stop at the Tokyo Dome, per Billboard.
‘I’ve been working on it for about two years,’ she told the crowd while on stage. ‘I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour…’
‘And when it was perfect – in my opinion when it’s good enough for you – I finished it and I am so, so excited that soon you’ll get to hear it,’ Taylor said and added, ‘I’ve been working on Tortured Poets since right after I turned in Midnights.’
The Blank Space hitmaker was referencing to her Midnights album that dropped back in October 2022.
Taylor’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, also previously revealed that he has heard some of the album and labeled it as ‘unbelievable.’
Before the Super Bowl earlier this year, the NFL star expressed to Extra, ‘I have heard some of it, yes. And it is unbelievable.’
‘I can’t wait for her to shake up the world when it finally drops,’ he continued, while later adding, ‘I can’t give you anything. I’ll leave that up to her.’
The football player added, ‘She’s unbelievable. She’s re-writing the history books herself. I told her, ‘I’ll have to hold up my end of the bargain and bring home some hardware, too.”
On Wednesday, as the count-down towards the album’s release neared, Taylor revealed the ‘timetable’ for The Tortured Poets Department.
She notably shared a promotional video for the album to her Instagram – sending fans wild.
The clip began in a ’70s-inspired room, reminiscent of the Midnights era – her last album to be released.
In the room there were bits of crumbled-up paper on the floor and a series of records as well and a clock set to the time of 2 o’clock.
The camera then leads viewers down a white corridor and into a room with the name The Tortured Poets Department on it.
Inside there are empty white desks with typewriters on as well as coffee cups, before the camera then zooms into a bulletin board on the wall.
On the wall the date April 19 was starred along with the words, ‘The Tortured Poets Department Release Day.’
Underneath was a note that read, ‘8 p.m. ET. Music video release!!’ – as well as fourteen slashes. She simply wrote in the caption: ‘The TTPD Timetable.’
It comes shortly after Taylor unveiled a pop-up library in Los Angeles earlier on Tuesday as she geared up for the new LP.
The Karma hitmaker’s fans waited in line for upwards of five hours in order to attend a pop-up poetry library.
Fans were seen lining around the block for the special event, sponsored by Spotify, starting at five in the morning, just to gain some insight into Swift’s upcoming album.
The singer is known for surprising her fans with Easter Eggs, and she continued on in the tradition, putting up a large bookshelf with clues about her new body of work.
This is the first album from Swift where she has not released a single ahead of the album, which added to fans’ eagerness to learn any new information about what’s to come.
The display was located right across the street from Cheesecake Factory at the Grove, where Swift’s longtime nemesis Kanye West frequently dines with wife Bianca Censori.
Among the carefully curated items fans sifted through and later discussed on social media was a clock stuck on ‘2:00 PM’ – like in the new promo video -, a tambourine, a notebook with the words ‘US’ scribbled on the back, a fountain pen, and a perpetual calendar set to Friday, December 13.
There was also a small statue of Diana of Ephesus (the goddess of childbirth and fertility and the goddess of the moon).
One fan noted that ‘The original statue of Diana crumbled while waiting to be shipped to London in the 6th century due to years of neglect, succumbing to the passage of time and the elements.’
Fans took this to be a shot at Swift’s ex, British actor Alwyn.
One item pictured on the bookshelf at the mall was an old-fashioned typewriter with a page featuring Swift’s track list. One part of the bookshelf had a number of books, a jar with puzzle pieces, and an hourglass.
There was a book titled ‘The Manuscript’, with the author listed as Swift herself, along with another book called ‘The Black Dog.’
There were other tomes which featured the names of some of her songs on the upcoming album while a gold birdcage was perched among the books.
