Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Lyrics Detail Fury and Heartbreak in Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy Relationships

The Grammy winner bares her emotions on her latest album, which she previously told fans was a “lifeline” for her

By Melody Chiu Published on April 19, 2024 12:12AM EDT

On the emotionally raw record, the pop superstar, 34, details a tumultuous time in her personal life as she was riding yet another career high.

While fans expected the album to be inspired entirely by her six-year relationship with ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, Swift surprised the world yet again with a number of tracks that were seemingly written about her brief romance last year with The 1975 musician Matty Healy.

It was really a lifeline for me — just the things that I was going through, the things that I was writing about … it kind of reminded me why songwriting actually gets me through my life,” she told fans about her new music at a tour stop earlier this year. “I’ve never had an album that I needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets.”

Taylor Swift Breaks Record for Most Pre-Saved Album on Spotify with The Tortured Poets Department
Indeed, some of Tortured Poet’s tracks are laced with longing and heartache, while others scream (literally) anger and disbelief — not just with her ex-lovers but with the public’s dissection of her love life.

On opening track “Fortnight,” Swift wistfully reflects about becoming strangers with a former lover. “And no one here’s to blame/ But what about your quiet treason?” she sings about the short-lived romance. “I took the miracle move-on-drug/ The effects were temporary/ And I love you, it’s ruining my life.”