Maybe it’s just me, but there is just something about a 34-year-old woman singing about teenage heartbreak that makes me want to belt out the lyrics at the top of my lungs.
Yet, Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poet’s Department,” makes me want to do more. It makes me want to sob uncontrollably in a corner for ages, for it feels like I witnessed the ending to a tragedy that only Shakespeare himself could write.
She opens her album with the single, “Fortnight,” featuring the one and only Post Malone. The song lyrics refer to being locked away for going crazy due to love and ironically enough, the last track of the album is titled “Clara Bow”. This track is named after a 1950s American actress who was committed to a mental hospital for schizophrenia. But wait, there’s more! She writes that “this town is fake but you’re the real thing,” for although Taylor Swift may be imagining the life around her, she knows for a fact that her love with, we all know who, was real.
In this album, Swift also goes from her happy upbeat music in her “Lover” album that mentions her “London Boy,” and that “You know I love a London boy”. But now, things are different. After all, one of her songs in the album is titled “So Long, London”. Her lover is gone, and it’s time to move on.
She makes this clear in one of her following songs, “loml”. Spoiler alert, it does not stand for love of my life. In reality, it’s the loss of her life. And that is why, folks, Taylor Alison Swift has done it again.
The album continues with songs such as “But Daddy I Love Him” and “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can),” both of which make me want to encircle Taylor with a huge hug. But things aren’t so simple with Taylor, and after I went to bed at 1 a.m. and awoke the next morning, I found 15- ish more songs. It felt like a birthday present even though mine is in February.
Somehow, the songs that follow are more tragic than the first. “Albatross”? Give me some tissues, please. “How Did It End?”, I may need to start going to therapy.
It’s hard to decide and after many sleepless nights, I have made the decision that this is my favorite album thus far. And for this reason, I obviously have to highlight my favorite song.
After much consideration, I have come to the conclusion that “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?” is my favorite. I feel like this song perfectly encapsulates the feeling of being a people pleaser, especially when those around you take advantage of the kindness that you have given. Combined with the lyrics, the beat did little to stop the tears from streaming down my cheeks when I first heard this masterpiece.
Time and time again, Taylor Swift has connected with the inner teenage soul. Unlike before, “The Tortured Poet’s Department” embraces the hidden sadness and despair of one’s teenage years. In general, I feel like this album perfectly embodies the fear of letting go, even when it’s the only option left. Even though I’ve never been in a serious relationship, this album has made me feel like I was watching the scene unfold firsthand. Thanks, Taylor.