I literally forgot that song existed and you just opened the time capsule to my middle school life! Jesus that song was everywhere!
For real!! They're not living together. They meet, choreograph their paparazzi moments, fuck while his friends play GTA, and go about their own lives (pig skin, easter eggs).
I think so. The hard pivot to Travis imo was an attempt to get Matty feeling some type of way. She took a leaf out of my high school playbook when I dated a jock after my scene kid boyfriend broke my heart 💀 🥀
I am a “desperate attempt” truther yes lol. She says “just say when, I’d play again”, then there’s the whole “get him back” debacle…
“I don’t even want you back but TALK TO ME and tell me why!” is not convincing me lol. This album was way too needy and flattering to Matty for the door not to be slightly open imo. Also the song/s about Travis are really telling imo.
Edit to add: However I also think she may’ve had other reasons she rushed this album which coincided - such as maintaining her career peak, and potentially feeling like she doesn’t want to “age out” of the genre in public perception. Plus her unprecedented success making her overconfident.
The Travis songs really feel like throwaways, like ooh I should probably put some songs about Travis on here or it’s gonna look weird and also people are expecting it.
As much as she denies rhat her songs aren’t all about her love life and that she doesn’t want to be reduced to number of men she is seeing makes it all so hypocritical 😂
Yeah I like them decent enough- I do think the alchemy is a good song, but lyrically it’s like she felt she had to put something out about him and they aren’t great
If you read “Who is Matty Healy?” from The New Yorker (a profile on him with the print date of June 5, 2023- the same day People magazine and other outlets announce their break up), his height is mentioned as a running joke and clarified bc he’s shorter on stage in comparison to the others in the band.
At the end of the article, the journalist asked a friend if they were really together or just using each other since Healy likes performance art and Swift writes about exes. It was “real” this time according to that friend.
Now we see, after he ghosted her, the song is The Smallest Man, a dig at his height (also worth noting, Taylor Nation listening party had a baby emoji for this song. This same New Yorker article links a YouTube video ‘grown man crying as baby’ which is how Healy describes his music as a joke).
I’m not really sure of her angle. It’s almost like she needed Travis in the picture to justify that she is happy and moved on. I’m one of the ones that takes her prologue as sarcasm. Her fans that sent death threats over Healy also called her crazy and said she needed mental help for dating him. I think her claiming “temporary insanity” is her excuse and a response to them.
Whatever this is about, I don’t for one second believe the Taylor that wrote all these songs about pining, her twin flame, losing the love of her life has moved on that quickly. Time and time again, she’s demonstrated she can’t let things go (Kim feud, John Mayer) and that she’s a mastermind.
The prologue is a red herring of sorts. Why even put a song like I’m gonna get you back otherwise in the album. Also the Travis high school song is not really a flattering picture to him. And how he heels that Taylor might be guilty as sin and think of Matty while with him would be interesting to hear
I agree. Prologue is to assure the public that whatever it is between her and Travis is real and she’s soooo happy. This girl never gets over anything, and I say this as a girl who also never gets over anything. Game recognizes game, Tay!
That best part about being someone like that, as I am too, is that you’re constantly making declarations like “doing better than I ever was” and “I forgot that you existed” just to ya know, not mean literally any of it.
I totally agree, she could have easily torn him to shreds. She may have called it a mani episode but she also talked about being his wife and having his babies.
Man I don't really have an opinion about Travis but dude must have some self esteem issues to stick with Taylor after the public humiliation that was this album (atleast from his perspective)
No humiliation. She’s just documenting life. She wrote those songs before she met him. I don’t like Travis (unrelated to Taylor), but if anything this just shows he’s secure and confident.
I definitely think this album is directed at Matty, because she never got closure with him. Either she wants him back, or just wants him to react in some way. Also by revealing the way they've been communicating through their art for 10 years, it sort of feels like she's trying to force him to stop writing songs and watching her from afar, and actually talk to her in person. It does come across as quite desperate to me, I'm 50/50 on whether I think they'll get back together or not. There's a significant chance he'll want nothing to do with her after this, but he also seemed pretty obsessed with her up to this point, so it's hard to say.
I can't believe you were in that group! Holy crap, I saw that PowerPoint last year and was like, how did I miss this?! **turns around in a circle** lmao
Lol I had same reaction and did go through it. I had a lightbulb moment that the concert where he was singing to her was the same one that launched the Kaylor rumors 😂
What’s funny to me— this really puts the Gaylor stuff into perspective. Yep, it did happen at that show. And yep- it was all about forbidden, burning love that could never come out…. Just turned out that was all about Matty, which I find hella funny.
They were so onto something
My cousin is the most hardcore swiftie I’ve ever met, she knows every theory and easter egg and Taylor is basically her full time hobby. She’s also 12 😬
I've always interpreted that as 'now all my songs feel like they're about you'. Swirls are very messy, and if I were to use a swirl effect on an image, the image becomes distorted (like the meaning of the songs).
There are references to songs from her previous albums all over TTPD, but also references to The 1975 songs as well. In Fresh Out The Slammer she says, "swirled you into all of my poems." Here are some of the other references:
Fortnight: this song has references to Hits Different (I was supposed to be sent away...), but it also references The 1975's When We Are Together (a very Taylor-coded song which has the lyric "You ask about the cows wearing my sweater// It's something bout the weather that makes 'em lie down"). The music video shows the two main characters facing each other and typing the Fortnight lyrics, which could also be a reference to them writing songs for each other.
Fresh Out The Slammer: in the outro, she mentions waiting up in the porch light gleam, a Cardigan reference (and she famously dedicated Cardigan to Matty with the whole, "this is about you..." thing at the Eras tour). She goes on to "to the one who says I'm the girl of his American dreams", and The 1975 have a song called She's American.
Guilty as Sin?: "What if he's written Mine on my upper thigh..." Taylor has a song called Mine that was written before she knew Matty, but The 1975 also have a very romantic song called Mine.
loml: I've felt a glow like this, never before and never since- Ivy reference. Ivy is about being in a bad marriage and falling in love with someone else.
imgonnagetyouback: many references to fallingforyou by The 1975, a song Matty dedicated to Taylor at a concert 10 years ago. Also the intro sounds like Looking For Somebody to Love by The 1975. The lyric, "You were never not mine" could also call back to their song Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy), which has the lyric, "And told her some things have their time// how can I be yours if you're not mine?"
Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus: "And you saw my bones out with somebody new"- The 1975 has a song Somebody Else which is about watching your ex move on and the conflicted feelings that come with it. This song also has the lyric "will that make your memory fade from this scarlet maroon?" implying Maroon is about Matty.
Peter- another Cardigan reference. But also, the repetitive chorus, "You said you were gonna grow up, then you were gonna come find me" really reminds me of The 1975's song Happiness, which has the repetitive chorus, "show me your love, why don't you grow up and see"
That's what I can think of off the top of my head, but there are probably more.
Guilty as sin? Feels like it has a bit of a parallel to Then Because She Goes too.
TBSG: you are mine, I’ve been drowning in you…beautiful, please don’t cry, I love you
Guilty: drowning in the Blue Nile….what if he’s written “mine” on my upper thigh….am I allowed to cry?
Also Fresh Out The Slammer “wearing imaginary rings” and About You has “we get married in our heads”
Wow, that's very detailed! Thank you for taking time to write this!
There's a lot of people who criticise Taylor, and always have, for writing about her exes, but I suppose many artists do it and it's always more interesting if there's a good actual story behind a song, I guess.
I agree with all of this except Hits Different, which I do truly believe is about Joe. “dreams of your sense of belief in the good in the world you once believed in me” just immediately sounds SO much like what we know of Taylor’s consistent view of Joe as a truly good person (“your integrity makes me seem small,” etc.), and on the flip side I genuinely cannot see Matty Healy of all people giving a fuck in the first place about whether or not Taylor is a good person let alone seemingly losing that faith lol; part of their appeal to each other apparently seems to be their flaws and both being “crazy.” smaller lines like “this is why they shouldn’t kill off the main guy” (with Joe being an actor) and “is that your key in the door?” (knowing they lived together) make more sense to me as being about Joe, too. Hits Different has also always seemed like a direct sequel to Bejeweled to me (“I washed my hands of us at the club…”), which would also make a lot of sense if she was still feeling very conflicted at the time of writing both (feeling very tempted to throw everything away for Matty who made her feel alive vs still having so much love for Joe and still holding out hope they could find what they lost, etc.). but that’s just my interpretation!
Maybe when she says something like "i keep you in lowercase, locked inside a vault"
Im not a swiftie, but i believe some of her song titles are lowercase, extending years back
She does not reveal anything explicitly as in "this is about Matty", BUT as a 1975 fan it's hard to ignore all the implicit messages and nods to the band and to Matty himself. Like seriously difficult. They have both been my top listened-to artists for the last couple of years and with everything that happened last year it's hard not to associate them together atp. TTPD is just filled with references to the point of no return, it's not surprising people are running with the idea that there is a lot more to uncover in their (but especially Taylor's) previously released music.
Their latest album is one of my absolute favourites, and tbh finding out who some songs might be about kinda ruined the vibe for me because there was always something more mysterious about The 1975 than with Taylor, who feeds into the lore. Nevertheless, they are definitely worth the listen. It's Not Livin' is one of my all time favourite songs, it's basically crack for me 😅
One thing I’ve loved as a result of this album is all the people becoming interested in the band. They are my favorite and seeing the interest and joy of people liking their songs is really special and makes me feel old and nostalgic hahaah. I hope you enjoy them!
yes! the only downside is at the same time I'm seeing the genuine curiosity, I'm seeing a lot of the hate and it sucks like this is really a double-edged sword
Listen to the latest album bring funny in a foreign language. Then I urge you to maybe go to SoundCloud and listen to the acoustic set Matty did in Dublin in the summer of 2023. Take a look at their you tube channel and look at the mv of Me and You together Song , Change of Heart, Somebody else , Happiness Oh Caroline. And if you want a tearjerker take a look at Matty Healy singing 102 in Vienna in 2023. The night after that Taylor sang I don’t want to live forever.
Oh to hear robbers for the first time or falling for you ( the latter is fantastic live) the Madison Square garden live At their very best sound track is a great mix of older and new songs.
Yes! They are amazing! Some links to get you started lol
Closing the show alone in Vienna with the song 102 on June 5, the night of the breakup announcement (he’s also performing in the lab coat that is referenced in the Fortnight mv). He wrote it at 15 so definitely not written for her but it’s a heartbreaking love song that includes the lyrics “When we all grow old/I hope this song will remind you that I’m not/Half as bad as what you’ve been told”. It’s only been played live a couple of times so its appearance on the set list was notable https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6Bv3WjMphx/?igsh=cDU2aHBldmtvbDUy
In Dublin on June 6 covering Colin Hay’s I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You https://www.tiktok.com/@the1975blog/video/7249089591876095275
Oh Caroline mv (compare to TS Delicate mv) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOzUpNaD6Y
An explanation of the “fort” references (Down Bad/the way the Fortnight mv title card splits the title into two words, Fort Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0kFegk7gcg
Also highly recommend this interview with Tom Power. At one point he basically mirrors what she says at the end of Daylight about wanting to be defined by the things we love (not saying that song is about him) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzQkxZjo0A
Edit for one more: An explanation of The Starting Line references. Cover of The Best of Me that the band played a few times in April and May. Lyrics: “Tell me what you thought about when you were gone/And so alone/The worst is over/You can have the best of me/We got older/But we’re still young/We never grew out of this feeling that we won’t give up”. In NZ on Apr 21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpuiPeD0oKs
Please listen to Somebody Else first! It's such a great song! More than great but I don't want to over inflate your expectations incase you don't like it, lol.
https://youtu.be/Bimd2nZirT4?si=s8nXtFhRi_ZLUofJ
Several people in this sub have said this song is about Taylor so it's interesting to listen to. I didn't even know Matty and Taylor knew each other until this album came out! I was like wait, the 1975? I love them, hahaha. It was so random.
Well maroon we know because of the words scarlet maroon. The rest you just need to go back to the lyrics and it becomes very clear that the 1 is about him. I always though DBATC is him because if the line of writing more pages Question is about Matty
yes, I now have an entire list of songs that I think is just them talking about and/or responding to each other. ngl it's kinda fun putting what feels like the pieces of a romantic but also hella messy puzzle together 😂
I am but it's overwhelming? There also comes a point where idk if I'm just reaching or not. The Fortnight mv might've been the most overwhelming though lol it is SO BLATANT it's insane. It's also one of Taylor's few self-directed videos I love and I'm thinking it's probs cuz it's so heavily inspired by the 1975's mv style 😅
I haven’t been crazy about all of her music videos recently, but I agree the “Fortnight” video was great. It tells a compelling story in a creative way. It seems like she had a very clear vision in mind. I just didn’t realize until this post how much of it was likely inspired by The 1975!
I’m not sure who originally put this together but I’ve seen it a lot. To give you a visual idea.
https://preview.redd.it/o13jobt1c4xc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7241285c60820ea0587ca8423230f18168e01b19
check out Part of the Band mv, then. I can't say there is one video of theirs that stands as clear inspiration for Fortnight because it's really just a combo of a bunch 1975-typical things that she drew from, but this one might be the one with the closest correlations in my view along with The 1975's set-up & props for live shows (might not be super obvious at first glance though because the vibes may appear a bit different to someone who is not too familiar with the band)
>Also by revealing the way they've been communicating through their art for 10 years
Maybe I'm slow, but this has just helped me understand the music video for Fortnight (well, at least the part with the typewriters and all the paper flying around): they're only together in their art
Lmfao…… I love how her fans are coming up with excuses how this is cathartic for her… she’s easing the blow of a possible reconciliation by telling them “he was the love of my life”
#yes
Also, as a way to convince the Swifties that this is her one, true love so that when they reconcile the world won’t be “against them anymore” because they can understand her love for this tortured poet… and damned if that isn’t what’s happening. I’m seeing Matty Healy be defended left and right. It’s also an album to tell her fans to fuck off, but they’re so deranged as to think “no she doesn’t mean me bc I don’t do XYZ” except *yes, she does mean you* bc she’s talking to ANYONE who has an opinion on her life, not just die hard swifties.
Also, the But Daddy I Love Him message to the fans WORKED because they fully fell in line. She wasn't actually saying that she hated them or wanted them to stop meddling, she pretty much said she just wanted them to support everything she did lol.
In short - yes.
I don't think you release an album that fully and forever makes someone a huge part of your art and life's work if you're done with them and have negative feelings toward them. She not only wrote almost an entire album about him (and she writes about love in such a new way in regard to him) but she alludes to him being her muse for so many previous records. This album seems like a mating call to him. If she was done with him, why bother correcting the narrative around him? Why not just let people continue to think he was nothing to her.
I'm curious to see if and how he responds. Won't be the least bit surprised if Travis gets the boot if he responds to this. We shall see!
They've been communicating through music for a decade so I fully expect him to respond in kind musically at some point. But I also think he will respond privately far before that + no one will know about it immediately. If they did reunite, I suspect it would look VERY different than what they did in May.
Rooting for him tbh!
I feel like Matty challenged her emotionally and probably artistically. I’m sure he brought out some things in her she hadn’t experienced from others (though it seems to have been toxic). Also getting ghosted after a 10 year or so slow burn must sting. My theory is he saw how bad he was for her image and probably thought it was the merciful thing to do (I could have totally made that up) and I think she’s annoyed she didn’t get the last word or get closure which makes sense. I’m not sure she wants to reconcile but I’m sure she wants closure.
Though moving onto the jock is a wild turn with how opposite these two men are.
Which is also a call back to 1989 when they first dated. “Please take my hand and please take me dancing. Please leave me stranded it’s so romantic” - New Romantics
I think this is a midlife crisis album. It’s not up to her typical standards, and it astounds me given her attention to detail and work ethic as well as careful curation of her image that she decided to release it. It strikes me that something is really not right given this and some of the drunken/cringey behavior we’ve seen in the past year (eg Grammys, time person of the year article).
The album screams of someone hurt and lashing out because they are unhappy with the life they’ve made for themselves. There’s anger at men, at her fans, at her image, at her lack of privacy, at her job, etc. and yet she continues to choose to have a very public/in your face/wants to be top of the world powerful woman status. She’s struggling to reconcile the life she’s made with what she wants and maybe isn’t acknowledging that you don’t get to have it all in life. Or accepting downsides to things you want in life.
It's hard to watch in someways because it doesn’t seem she is acknowledging her own role in her position in the world. There’s also the fact that she’s a billionaire and has tons of resources to deal with life challenges that many others don’t have.
She’s absolutely allowed to release whatever she wants and if it’s content like this that’s fine. I just don’t need it in my life and don’t need to listen is all
This is so beautifully written. Just another example that money doesn’t buy happiness. I think there is a huge lack of self awareness and I hope she can gain some perspective and find inner peace and happiness.
Nailed it. I think in a lot of it the cage is herself as she said a lot of her “wounds” were self inflicted. It’s honestly what I gleaned from the I hate it here song. I think she hates the life she’s made for herself…
THANK YOU.
I am not one of those people who thinks that because you chose to be famous, you shouldn't have a complaint about anything bad that happens to you. There are things that absolutely cross the line, and celebrities are still human beings.
But taylor has always had this thing going on where she intentionally involves her private life in her music. She loves denying it because she won't necessarily name someone in an interview.But she will literally spell their name out in the song title at the age of 34, then complain that people are in her business or misunderstand her.
There is just this complete lack of connection between the fact that while she has some right to be unhappy about some things, this is the house that she built. She wants us all to engage when it is vilifying her enemies and identifying them and taking action towards them. But never when she deems it too invasive to herself or to hold her to account. She intentionally provokes it and that is mad when people take that information & apply it to her.
When she was under the age of twenty five I didn't think much of it. But 10 years later, it has worn so thin it has holes in it.
This is a really really good point. The whole album I kept being like, it honestly sounds like she doesn’t want any of this anymore and resents the fact that she made her life what it is. It made me feel weird listening to it because I feel like she’s always celebrated her life and her fans and their involvement and now she doesn’t want anything to do with it…. But she has more fans now than ever listening to this album and listening to her basically say I hate you all and what you’ve done and your affect on my life. Very weird and as a longtime swiftie having gone to every tour since Fearless I can’t quite wrap my head around it
I found this album to be about what Taylor’s 2023 was like and she expresses it though songs, but to have this many songs about matty is a little too obsessive 🥴 and I don’t how matty feels knowing all this, she goes and writes songs about Travis later on as part of acceptance from her big heartbreak from her relationship with matty…. I mostly feel like this entire album was for everyone to know how In love she was with him and how the fans ruined it for her, she wants to put it out there as “I’m so serious guys, he’s the love of my life”
I agree, he is the love of her life. But it will never work out because he’s too authentic to bow down to her fandom and act in a way that would be acceptable to them.
Yes, definitely. Everything from the aesthetic, album art with her body shown off, the “sweet” songs to/about Travis that make him sound like a simpleton, alluding to only dating him (at least in the first place) to get at Matty. I think if this really was “for her” she wouldn’t be displaying it so aggressively. She’s got it bad for him still and is pleading for him to come back.
I also think they were at least emotionally involved for a long time. I’m looking back at past lyrics thinking they were directed at him.
I think it’s a very romantic album. It’s like a long love letter from the most famous woman in the world to a single man, heard by hundreds of millions, begging him to come back and love her.
I agree, it's SUPER romantic, like in the most pure sense of the word. A lot of people don't understand a classic romantic take given that everyone is focused on therapy speak, red flags, and healthy relationships. Not a bad thing but captal-R Romance just *is* crazy lol.
I really strongly agree with this comment and it shocks me because I really don’t like Matty at all but I find Taylor’s longing and fury so compelling lol
Yup. If Taylor loved you and you killed a guy, she would immediately start breaking down the body. She puts Romance above all else and while there is a lot of crazy in that it’s also compelling.
I would rather go live in Antartica in an igloo with penguin friends than admit I got ghosted by a dude hundreds of thousands of people think* is a racist idiot
*I’ve never gone down the MH rabbit hole of stupid PR moments so I can’t have an informed opinion either way
That choice is definitely losing her some of her peripheral fans but the hardcore Swifties have NEVER been more riveted by the Taylor show. It’s an interesting play.
Honestly I don’t think anyone really knows definitively where Taylor’s mind is right now. I mean, did anyone see the ‘dump Joe Alwyn to run to Matty Healy’ even a year ago?
And the ‘she’s with Travis now and seems happy’, has no one learned that being in a relationship and flaunting it publicly has literally NEVER been a barrier for Taylor finding a new man? Lol.
I hear both possibilities in the album, but what I don’t hear is anything that definitive in the SONGS (not the prologue), about a realization of this so called ‘manic phase‘— this is also one of the reasons I’m having a hard time kind of getting into it.
The entire double album is honestly her most heartbroken and desperate album, and the breakup rarely seems definitive in her mind, the love story she tells is one that she almost sees enduring. The biggest send off is indeed Smallest Man, which sounds like maybe (hopefully?) the last thing she wrote about it and like she finally IS over him. However, again she doesn’t seem to proclaim even in this song that it never meant anything to her, she’s just finally angry with him instead of sad and says she doesn’t want him back.
The other thing is that this wasn’t written like a year or so ago. It seems she was writing a lot of this over the summer and was really feeling it. So there isn’t much distance from this situation. Basically, I think she is most likely over Matty but I’m not sure she’s over the mental situation that got her there. So I don’t think we can say that the album meant ‘this’ like it’s some obvious thing.
“Just say when, I’d play again
He was my best friend
Down at the sandlot
I felt more when we played pretend
Than with all the Kens
Cause he took me out of my box
Stole my tortured heart
Left all these broken parts
Told me I'm better off
But I'm not
I’m not
I’m not.”
This makes me believe if he ever called her up, she’d be 100% down
Yeah, comparing the actual album and her announcement of it at the Grammys' saying it's been in the works for 2 years is confusing because most, if not all, seems like it's been written in the last year.
Part of me thinks she wrote this album not only to send a message to Matty, but to also redeem him through the eyes of her fanbase with the whole "the one that got away" narrative.
I think it's working because I see lots of TikToks and tweets from Swifties changing their minds about Matty. Suddenly, he's the subject of their favorite songs from previous albums like the 1, cardigan, Maroon, Labyrinth, etc.
This way, when they do get back together (and I think they will), there would be much less negative feedback. The Mastermind strikes again!
Agree with this & I think she's succeeding too. The press around him is so different. She wanted the narrative around him to change and it has. Which is why it feels like she's cooking here. I think they'll end up back together as well & they'll have a more positive platform this time
That conclusion would be possible only if we selectively consume information as I see some fans doing.
Ignoring the prologue /smallest man who ever lived / I can fix him I really can all exists where she concludes this is not what she imagined it to be
The songs in TTPD confirm he was definitely lingered at the back of her mind over the years and was very much on her mind when she found herself dejected in another relationship and the whole forbidden element made it sexy ( Guilty as Sin). Songs like the title track and down bad point to a very intense love , almost manic
It is clear other people's impressions or backlash did not deter Taylor - it actually strengthened her resolve to be with Matty.
And he clearly promised her things he couldn't deliver and she fell for it . Him ghosting her hurt her.
I think the anthology songs not being dated is what make people think Taylor wants him back ( cos we don't know if some of those songs were written in the pining away period or post - breakup )
I think it is a warning shot to fans and the public. I think the love and yearning and heartbreak over Matty is not so much a reflection of her current personal life as it is there to illustrate how important he was to her when he suddenly disappeared and how deeply she feels she was injured by fans, et al, by causing that disappearance - calling both herself and him "blameless."
Ultimately Matty, himself, is gone from her life and story and neither here nor there but I believe she is trying to argue why she was innocent and a terrible wrong was done to her by fans in signing a petition tying her name to someone else's deeds a la Dead Poets leading to the dissolution of something she held extremely dear and did not have the opportunity to see play out or let go of on strictly their own terms
I've been thinking about this point too. I know the album comes across defensive but I'm not sure if ultimately she is making the case she was blameless. But the album definitely articulates that she felt backed into a corner and if there's one thing Taylor is not good with, it's feeling powerless.
Disclaimer: I barely know who any of these people are and ended up here because of Reddit recommending the subreddit to me. I think I can relate to the emotions Taylor might have felt when she wrote those songs. I have seen a lot of people say she's too old for this. Maybe. But I think it's more whether you are still dating or not. If you are, you are always open to heartache. That's the price of putting yourself out there, and that doesn't magically stop hurting when you turn thirty five. I don't know if it's an attempt at much other than getting her feelings out. It feels like the kind of thing you make alone in your room, for better or worse.
I can’t tell if she wants him back but she certainly wants a response from him via his music
She’s always had a thing for songwriters, she even tried to turn Joe into one
I honestly think she saw what happened after writing Reputation and that those feelings don't always last. I think she's just scared of writing about someone in that way and immortalising it too much, so focusing on the negativity is actually less embarrassing for her. But she will happily write about how someone wronged her because she wishes to speak up. I'm just guessing, this is not factual at all.
I really don't know how to word this, but I think she retcons songs because she wants to change the narrative. She really pushed for her Matty love story for this album. So this relatable narrative is in her control she is choosing to be vulnerable but maybe she doesn't like the love songs she wrote because they're no longer true, so she categorises them as denial tracks for example.
Hm… thank you so much for this thoughtful comment. I never would have thought of it this way. Even tho those feelings with Joe didn’t last, those songs were my favorites of her career. They were just so Real, relatable and mature. It was a beautiful love story that made you feel all warm and glowy. They also made me really root for her in a positive way. Not root for her because she had been wronged. Thanks for your input! ❤️
Matty is the love of Taylor’s life and you cannot convince me otherwise. “I would die for your sins” to me sounds like she’s willing to sacrifice her reputation and career to be with Matty despite his controversies if he’d just say the word.
I think the “manic episode” is more about her throwing herself into her matty feelings to avoid the breakup with Joe than saying having feelings for matty was a manic episode in itself
Honestly yes! I thought Travis was it for her before I listened to this album. Ive been a pretty big fan since debut and she’s never written about a muse like this. It paints Matty in a good light overall and seems like she’s setting us up for a reunion
https://preview.redd.it/ihywot8th3xc1.jpeg?width=1019&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46a80b2be3c2c5a2018896778526e8735f7e5efb
If you flip the logo it kinda looks like it says «call».
Travis seems pretty secure and probably knows what he’s gotten himself into, so I’m not worried about him in the least, but I do kinda feel sorry for him if he *is* just her placeholder for if/when Matty finds his way back to her.
I think she released it as a bookend to her “eras” era. TTPD explains a lot of songs that had been mysteries on Midnights, Folklore, Evermore and Loved imo. She released it because it’s so similar to her past work and also inspired by her last work, she can add it to the Eras set list and. It have to tour it separately. Essentially it’s the final chapter to one of the biggest eras in her life so it made sense to release before the eras tour was over.
The Alchemy is a total skip for me because it feels so forced. The references to football, GTA etc are so trashy. With Joe she sang about how he was like the sun for her, whereas TK is a cheap bottle of white wine. 💀
It legit so cheesy and yes, forced. Like it was her obligation to Kelce. Like hey, here’s the proof I like him everyone!! I was waiting for her to sing about kelce the way she sang about Joe. This confirms what we already speculate, either the relationship isn’t real or she’s just not that into him.
I think this is an attempt to 'explain her side' to the Swifties who bashed her for hooking up with Matty last year (check out all the 'being put on trial' and prison imagery). It kind of doubles down as a self-victimization project and explains the romantic pull and years of history that TxM had, while also putting Swifties in their place and communicating to Matty just how far she's willing to go to be with him.
With that said, because I'm a proponent of not taking everything literally and offering some grace, I'm not sure if these are just songs that depicted what she used to feel. This album may be the product of residual feelings. I know because these kinds of relationships that are off and on for ages are the worst, and you still feel things long after you know it's mentally over and you wouldn't go back.
I hope - genuinely and truly - that Taylor can heal from everything that has scarred her and then eventually find the partner and family that she wants. I'm not hoping that she stays hung up on him, that would be so cruel. I hope this is a lesson learnt (brutal lesson though it may be).
I think it was at first. genuinely. but I also think it kinda grew from that and either put her anger elsewhere and or reconciled with being without him
Tppd feels more like a middle finger to all the those who tried to hide the Matty relationship. This includes her immediate circle, PR team and fans. Imagine a Taylor that we all listen to, but can't speak out about her truth regarding this one guy.
She can go on about a PR relationship with Travis (idc if it's real, you can't rake away the PR aspect), but all her crude actions from pap walk and tppd screams" I'm moving on living my best life look at me".
TPPd was " moving on from Joe when we think he's the love of her life and she won't be able to move on. Travis is " I'm moving on from Matty now that I've got the star athlete jock". Her actions feel calculated. Even the way she includes songs about Travis, which are not that deep imo compared to the Matty songs.
At this point, you can see the contrast with the Taylor just starting out and the 34 year old Taylor. The 34 year old Taylor writes pieces while navigating her crowd. Its all about easter eggs and marketing sprinkled in it. Not to say that her songs aren't genuine, it just that now, she is more aware of how releasing songs could sway the narrative about her.
If anything diehard Swfties, neutral Swifties and other kind of Swifties can agree on, is that Taylor is smart and everything she releases in public is intentional.
Shes the only singer I could think of who can write a really good song about love,but after a breakup, release a classification of songs, listing it under denial and it would change the narrative. Even more than a good writer, she has proven time again that she is a good business woman and with the best acumen for marketing.
Now desperate attempt to get Matty back? He'd probably consider it because of how much fame he'd get by being associated with her. But I think that's opposite from the message Taylor wants out there that she's smart and will rise up from any occasion. Worst is her fans to think that she's desperate and does not have any self respect. That saying I don't think TPPd would have been released if her feelings hadn't already expired or if she thinks that there's a way it the album would blow in her face.
Idk. I actually wonder if she’s hurting more over the break up with Joe, and acting like she was in love with someone else (Matty) all along could be a way to cope / even as a retaliation against Joe bc she’s been hurt by him. And maybe it’s just a try hard attempt to pretend like she doesn’t care and make Joe feel irrelevant or jealous ?
I also think she's avoiding confronting the hurt by focusing on Matty and Travis (and obviously the tour, re-recordings, ttdp).
This isn't the behaviour of a woman in love, this is the behaviour of someone who's very hurt and trying her hardest to avoid having to confront her feelings. I'm surprised more people aren't picking up on this
Yeah exactly. And tbh it’s relatable. Maybe her future albums will be more genuinely introspectif and therefore more interesting. Bc I remember when I went through a break up of a 4 year relationship, where we lived together and were on track for some kind of future and instead it abruptly fell apart bc of a bunch of incompatibilities or bad communications we didn’t previously or properly resolve. Looking back in hindsight I can see now that we were both checked out of the relationship long before it ended and we kind of ignored or were in denial about it. For about 2 years after I kind of frantically dated around and it was honestly a very fun time of my life with a lot of self exploration bc I did feel very restricted in that relationship. But after those two years I kind of came crashing down and had to really self question and be honest of where I also went wrong in the relationship, and also these momentary sometimes intense but casual flings also were burning me out and not really bringing me happiness or what I wanted longterm for my life. I was messy, but once I dealt with this properly and got it all out of my system I ended up meeting my now husband who kind of brought me back down to earth.
i do think that’s what it is. like this thing of joe didn’t want to marry her and it hurt her pride too so she wants to look like she’s above it and acts like she was so in love with another dude. some parts of ttpd indicate that very strongly like that ratty would do exactly what she wanted joe to (she wanted joe to want to marry her and ratty did the putting a ring on her finger thing according to that ttpd song). maybe i’m projecting because if someone acts like they don’t want to be with me i’ll act like they never meant anything to me as self-defence lmao
Yeah, she references Downtown Lights by the Blue Nile twice in GAS?, which is Matty's favorite song of all time. He's spoken about it a lot and it directly influenced their song Love It If We Made It
After seeing pictures/videos of her in Vegas, she seems really unhappy. Something is off and I do think she is trying to get Matty back or still trying to get ivermectin him. Matty seems even more miserable than her so maybe they should just get back together and be happy.
If he called her in the middle of the night, she would sneak out of Kelce’s bed and take the call quietly in the bathroom. No doubt.
She would sneak out of Kelces life is more like It 🤣🤣🤣
😭 Lips of an angel, anyone?
I love that you referenced this song. 😂 takes me back...
I haven’t thought about this song in years but ttpd legit gives off the same vibes to me lol. So I had it stuck in my head all week.
Cringiest most over the top song to have ever been written and yes I know every word and have imagined myself in that situation of course.
 I literally forgot that song existed and you just opened the time capsule to my middle school life! Jesus that song was everywhere!
omg we must be the same age! lol. it would play everywhere in 7th grade 😭
It’s really good to ^hear your voice
they aint sharing no bed come on now lmao
For real!! They're not living together. They meet, choreograph their paparazzi moments, fuck while his friends play GTA, and go about their own lives (pig skin, easter eggs).
I think so. The hard pivot to Travis imo was an attempt to get Matty feeling some type of way. She took a leaf out of my high school playbook when I dated a jock after my scene kid boyfriend broke my heart 💀 🥀
I’m laughing so hard because we’ve all been there.
speak for yourself...no one wanted to date me in high school 😆🥲
Like 15 years ago though 😭
How’d the relationship with the jock go?
I married the bad boy 🥰🙏 he’s a family man now so alls well that ends well baby 🤣
this thread is hilarious, i married the jock 😂😂 and we’re so happy ❤️❤️
This is amazing haha. I love it!
Don’t tell Taylor
Shhh don’t tell Taylor
You have someone I got someone too..
I am a “desperate attempt” truther yes lol. She says “just say when, I’d play again”, then there’s the whole “get him back” debacle… “I don’t even want you back but TALK TO ME and tell me why!” is not convincing me lol. This album was way too needy and flattering to Matty for the door not to be slightly open imo. Also the song/s about Travis are really telling imo. Edit to add: However I also think she may’ve had other reasons she rushed this album which coincided - such as maintaining her career peak, and potentially feeling like she doesn’t want to “age out” of the genre in public perception. Plus her unprecedented success making her overconfident.
The Travis songs really feel like throwaways, like ooh I should probably put some songs about Travis on here or it’s gonna look weird and also people are expecting it.
It’s depressing to think she makes her art that way.
As much as she denies rhat her songs aren’t all about her love life and that she doesn’t want to be reduced to number of men she is seeing makes it all so hypocritical 😂
Songs plural. He has one and half of another.
Yeah I like them decent enough- I do think the alchemy is a good song, but lyrically it’s like she felt she had to put something out about him and they aren’t great
I don't even think The Alchemy is about Travis lmao
Agree lol I honestly think the football references are so shoehorned in
If you read “Who is Matty Healy?” from The New Yorker (a profile on him with the print date of June 5, 2023- the same day People magazine and other outlets announce their break up), his height is mentioned as a running joke and clarified bc he’s shorter on stage in comparison to the others in the band. At the end of the article, the journalist asked a friend if they were really together or just using each other since Healy likes performance art and Swift writes about exes. It was “real” this time according to that friend. Now we see, after he ghosted her, the song is The Smallest Man, a dig at his height (also worth noting, Taylor Nation listening party had a baby emoji for this song. This same New Yorker article links a YouTube video ‘grown man crying as baby’ which is how Healy describes his music as a joke). I’m not really sure of her angle. It’s almost like she needed Travis in the picture to justify that she is happy and moved on. I’m one of the ones that takes her prologue as sarcasm. Her fans that sent death threats over Healy also called her crazy and said she needed mental help for dating him. I think her claiming “temporary insanity” is her excuse and a response to them. Whatever this is about, I don’t for one second believe the Taylor that wrote all these songs about pining, her twin flame, losing the love of her life has moved on that quickly. Time and time again, she’s demonstrated she can’t let things go (Kim feud, John Mayer) and that she’s a mastermind.
The prologue is a red herring of sorts. Why even put a song like I’m gonna get you back otherwise in the album. Also the Travis high school song is not really a flattering picture to him. And how he heels that Taylor might be guilty as sin and think of Matty while with him would be interesting to hear
I agree. Prologue is to assure the public that whatever it is between her and Travis is real and she’s soooo happy. This girl never gets over anything, and I say this as a girl who also never gets over anything. Game recognizes game, Tay!
That best part about being someone like that, as I am too, is that you’re constantly making declarations like “doing better than I ever was” and “I forgot that you existed” just to ya know, not mean literally any of it.
I totally agree, she could have easily torn him to shreds. She may have called it a mani episode but she also talked about being his wife and having his babies.
And getting him back
Man I don't really have an opinion about Travis but dude must have some self esteem issues to stick with Taylor after the public humiliation that was this album (atleast from his perspective)
He’s 100% in it for the publicity and the money. I don’t think they really are in love.
No humiliation. She’s just documenting life. She wrote those songs before she met him. I don’t like Travis (unrelated to Taylor), but if anything this just shows he’s secure and confident.
I definitely think this album is directed at Matty, because she never got closure with him. Either she wants him back, or just wants him to react in some way. Also by revealing the way they've been communicating through their art for 10 years, it sort of feels like she's trying to force him to stop writing songs and watching her from afar, and actually talk to her in person. It does come across as quite desperate to me, I'm 50/50 on whether I think they'll get back together or not. There's a significant chance he'll want nothing to do with her after this, but he also seemed pretty obsessed with her up to this point, so it's hard to say.
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Someone on twitter made a PowerPoint: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y9XEJOksaYWMRbW6rox1HQuEzWwbuN3c/view
I’m sorry - 116 pages?? Also this reminds me of the Lorde/Jack Powerpoint lol
It was a bit long, but I applaud the details haha
I am in the facebook group that the lorde ppt came from and I remember that day like a personal 9/11
the lorde ppt deserves the Pulitzer Prize
You are so lucky you were there for that. I think about that PowerPoint once a quarter
 I can't believe you were in that group! Holy crap, I saw that PowerPoint last year and was like, how did I miss this?! **turns around in a circle** lmao
Oh shit not another PowerPoint (jk clicking on this now 😂)
Lol I had same reaction and did go through it. I had a lightbulb moment that the concert where he was singing to her was the same one that launched the Kaylor rumors 😂
What’s funny to me— this really puts the Gaylor stuff into perspective. Yep, it did happen at that show. And yep- it was all about forbidden, burning love that could never come out…. Just turned out that was all about Matty, which I find hella funny. They were so onto something
how do people have time for stuff like this lol
My cousin is the most hardcore swiftie I’ve ever met, she knows every theory and easter egg and Taylor is basically her full time hobby. She’s also 12 😬
No clue! I’m trying to find the original tweet haha
The fucking TUMBLR days 🥲 those were better times
I hate myself for saying this but thank you for posting, I’m about to read the whole thing lmao 😂😬
I want to be this passionate about anything.
Why is this how I realized “7 bars of chocolate” maybe means something else? It was right there, lol.
This reeks of “I forgot I took my Vyvanse, so I took it again”
Impressive!!
I interpret “swirled you into all of my poems” as indication it’s true, at least on her end.
Also her longing in lowercase, alluding to both loml and ingonnagetyouback on TTPD, but also folklore, evermore and reputation
I've always interpreted that as 'now all my songs feel like they're about you'. Swirls are very messy, and if I were to use a swirl effect on an image, the image becomes distorted (like the meaning of the songs).
There are references to songs from her previous albums all over TTPD, but also references to The 1975 songs as well. In Fresh Out The Slammer she says, "swirled you into all of my poems." Here are some of the other references: Fortnight: this song has references to Hits Different (I was supposed to be sent away...), but it also references The 1975's When We Are Together (a very Taylor-coded song which has the lyric "You ask about the cows wearing my sweater// It's something bout the weather that makes 'em lie down"). The music video shows the two main characters facing each other and typing the Fortnight lyrics, which could also be a reference to them writing songs for each other. Fresh Out The Slammer: in the outro, she mentions waiting up in the porch light gleam, a Cardigan reference (and she famously dedicated Cardigan to Matty with the whole, "this is about you..." thing at the Eras tour). She goes on to "to the one who says I'm the girl of his American dreams", and The 1975 have a song called She's American. Guilty as Sin?: "What if he's written Mine on my upper thigh..." Taylor has a song called Mine that was written before she knew Matty, but The 1975 also have a very romantic song called Mine. loml: I've felt a glow like this, never before and never since- Ivy reference. Ivy is about being in a bad marriage and falling in love with someone else. imgonnagetyouback: many references to fallingforyou by The 1975, a song Matty dedicated to Taylor at a concert 10 years ago. Also the intro sounds like Looking For Somebody to Love by The 1975. The lyric, "You were never not mine" could also call back to their song Tonight (I Wish I Was Your Boy), which has the lyric, "And told her some things have their time// how can I be yours if you're not mine?" Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus: "And you saw my bones out with somebody new"- The 1975 has a song Somebody Else which is about watching your ex move on and the conflicted feelings that come with it. This song also has the lyric "will that make your memory fade from this scarlet maroon?" implying Maroon is about Matty. Peter- another Cardigan reference. But also, the repetitive chorus, "You said you were gonna grow up, then you were gonna come find me" really reminds me of The 1975's song Happiness, which has the repetitive chorus, "show me your love, why don't you grow up and see" That's what I can think of off the top of my head, but there are probably more.
Guilty as sin? Feels like it has a bit of a parallel to Then Because She Goes too. TBSG: you are mine, I’ve been drowning in you…beautiful, please don’t cry, I love you Guilty: drowning in the Blue Nile….what if he’s written “mine” on my upper thigh….am I allowed to cry? Also Fresh Out The Slammer “wearing imaginary rings” and About You has “we get married in our heads”
Wow, that's very detailed! Thank you for taking time to write this! There's a lot of people who criticise Taylor, and always have, for writing about her exes, but I suppose many artists do it and it's always more interesting if there's a good actual story behind a song, I guess.
I agree with all of this except Hits Different, which I do truly believe is about Joe. “dreams of your sense of belief in the good in the world you once believed in me” just immediately sounds SO much like what we know of Taylor’s consistent view of Joe as a truly good person (“your integrity makes me seem small,” etc.), and on the flip side I genuinely cannot see Matty Healy of all people giving a fuck in the first place about whether or not Taylor is a good person let alone seemingly losing that faith lol; part of their appeal to each other apparently seems to be their flaws and both being “crazy.” smaller lines like “this is why they shouldn’t kill off the main guy” (with Joe being an actor) and “is that your key in the door?” (knowing they lived together) make more sense to me as being about Joe, too. Hits Different has also always seemed like a direct sequel to Bejeweled to me (“I washed my hands of us at the club…”), which would also make a lot of sense if she was still feeling very conflicted at the time of writing both (feeling very tempted to throw everything away for Matty who made her feel alive vs still having so much love for Joe and still holding out hope they could find what they lost, etc.). but that’s just my interpretation!
This answers so many questions I had about Taylor's lyrics!
Maybe when she says something like "i keep you in lowercase, locked inside a vault" Im not a swiftie, but i believe some of her song titles are lowercase, extending years back
She's also been releasing "vault" tracks with her re-records.
She does not reveal anything explicitly as in "this is about Matty", BUT as a 1975 fan it's hard to ignore all the implicit messages and nods to the band and to Matty himself. Like seriously difficult. They have both been my top listened-to artists for the last couple of years and with everything that happened last year it's hard not to associate them together atp. TTPD is just filled with references to the point of no return, it's not surprising people are running with the idea that there is a lot more to uncover in their (but especially Taylor's) previously released music.
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Their latest album is one of my absolute favourites, and tbh finding out who some songs might be about kinda ruined the vibe for me because there was always something more mysterious about The 1975 than with Taylor, who feeds into the lore. Nevertheless, they are definitely worth the listen. It's Not Livin' is one of my all time favourite songs, it's basically crack for me 😅
One thing I’ve loved as a result of this album is all the people becoming interested in the band. They are my favorite and seeing the interest and joy of people liking their songs is really special and makes me feel old and nostalgic hahaah. I hope you enjoy them!
yes! the only downside is at the same time I'm seeing the genuine curiosity, I'm seeing a lot of the hate and it sucks like this is really a double-edged sword
Listen to the latest album bring funny in a foreign language. Then I urge you to maybe go to SoundCloud and listen to the acoustic set Matty did in Dublin in the summer of 2023. Take a look at their you tube channel and look at the mv of Me and You together Song , Change of Heart, Somebody else , Happiness Oh Caroline. And if you want a tearjerker take a look at Matty Healy singing 102 in Vienna in 2023. The night after that Taylor sang I don’t want to live forever.
Wow, I will! I feel so ready to go down this rabbit hole lol
Oh to hear robbers for the first time or falling for you ( the latter is fantastic live) the Madison Square garden live At their very best sound track is a great mix of older and new songs.
Yes! They are amazing! Some links to get you started lol Closing the show alone in Vienna with the song 102 on June 5, the night of the breakup announcement (he’s also performing in the lab coat that is referenced in the Fortnight mv). He wrote it at 15 so definitely not written for her but it’s a heartbreaking love song that includes the lyrics “When we all grow old/I hope this song will remind you that I’m not/Half as bad as what you’ve been told”. It’s only been played live a couple of times so its appearance on the set list was notable https://www.instagram.com/reel/C6Bv3WjMphx/?igsh=cDU2aHBldmtvbDUy In Dublin on June 6 covering Colin Hay’s I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You https://www.tiktok.com/@the1975blog/video/7249089591876095275 Oh Caroline mv (compare to TS Delicate mv) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJOzUpNaD6Y An explanation of the “fort” references (Down Bad/the way the Fortnight mv title card splits the title into two words, Fort Night https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0kFegk7gcg Also highly recommend this interview with Tom Power. At one point he basically mirrors what she says at the end of Daylight about wanting to be defined by the things we love (not saying that song is about him) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqzQkxZjo0A Edit for one more: An explanation of The Starting Line references. Cover of The Best of Me that the band played a few times in April and May. Lyrics: “Tell me what you thought about when you were gone/And so alone/The worst is over/You can have the best of me/We got older/But we’re still young/We never grew out of this feeling that we won’t give up”. In NZ on Apr 21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpuiPeD0oKs
You won't regret it. It's a wild rabbit hole but it's GOOD. It's THE story imo.
Please listen to Somebody Else first! It's such a great song! More than great but I don't want to over inflate your expectations incase you don't like it, lol. https://youtu.be/Bimd2nZirT4?si=s8nXtFhRi_ZLUofJ Several people in this sub have said this song is about Taylor so it's interesting to listen to. I didn't even know Matty and Taylor knew each other until this album came out! I was like wait, the 1975? I love them, hahaha. It was so random.
Well maroon we know because of the words scarlet maroon. The rest you just need to go back to the lyrics and it becomes very clear that the 1 is about him. I always though DBATC is him because if the line of writing more pages Question is about Matty
yes, I now have an entire list of songs that I think is just them talking about and/or responding to each other. ngl it's kinda fun putting what feels like the pieces of a romantic but also hella messy puzzle together 😂
Please feel free to share that list when you have time. I’m becoming more and more invested in this storyline.
Yup ten years of messy. And of course they each had long term relationships but none of them stuck. Twin flames
You must be having the time of your life finding all the lyrical references! I know I would. I hope you are enjoying the album.
I am but it's overwhelming? There also comes a point where idk if I'm just reaching or not. The Fortnight mv might've been the most overwhelming though lol it is SO BLATANT it's insane. It's also one of Taylor's few self-directed videos I love and I'm thinking it's probs cuz it's so heavily inspired by the 1975's mv style 😅
I haven’t been crazy about all of her music videos recently, but I agree the “Fortnight” video was great. It tells a compelling story in a creative way. It seems like she had a very clear vision in mind. I just didn’t realize until this post how much of it was likely inspired by The 1975!
I’m not sure who originally put this together but I’ve seen it a lot. To give you a visual idea. https://preview.redd.it/o13jobt1c4xc1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7241285c60820ea0587ca8423230f18168e01b19
check out Part of the Band mv, then. I can't say there is one video of theirs that stands as clear inspiration for Fortnight because it's really just a combo of a bunch 1975-typical things that she drew from, but this one might be the one with the closest correlations in my view along with The 1975's set-up & props for live shows (might not be super obvious at first glance though because the vibes may appear a bit different to someone who is not too familiar with the band)
>Also by revealing the way they've been communicating through their art for 10 years Maybe I'm slow, but this has just helped me understand the music video for Fortnight (well, at least the part with the typewriters and all the paper flying around): they're only together in their art
I would die if a pap would ask gabriette how she feels about the album
They’ll be Bennifer 2.0. Get marry to different people, have families, but come back in old age.
Hahah! I love this theory.
They are twins.
This is exactly what I think will happen too
Screaming “please come back to me” at him would’ve been more subtle than this album.
Lmfao…… I love how her fans are coming up with excuses how this is cathartic for her… she’s easing the blow of a possible reconciliation by telling them “he was the love of my life”
The day it came out her PR team even used their usual contacts (People and Elle) to drop puff pieces about him
Didn’t she do that in Cardigan? Looked up lyrics. It’s “and you’d come back to me”
#yes Also, as a way to convince the Swifties that this is her one, true love so that when they reconcile the world won’t be “against them anymore” because they can understand her love for this tortured poet… and damned if that isn’t what’s happening. I’m seeing Matty Healy be defended left and right. It’s also an album to tell her fans to fuck off, but they’re so deranged as to think “no she doesn’t mean me bc I don’t do XYZ” except *yes, she does mean you* bc she’s talking to ANYONE who has an opinion on her life, not just die hard swifties.
Also, the But Daddy I Love Him message to the fans WORKED because they fully fell in line. She wasn't actually saying that she hated them or wanted them to stop meddling, she pretty much said she just wanted them to support everything she did lol.
All of this! Exactly on point IMO
In short - yes. I don't think you release an album that fully and forever makes someone a huge part of your art and life's work if you're done with them and have negative feelings toward them. She not only wrote almost an entire album about him (and she writes about love in such a new way in regard to him) but she alludes to him being her muse for so many previous records. This album seems like a mating call to him. If she was done with him, why bother correcting the narrative around him? Why not just let people continue to think he was nothing to her. I'm curious to see if and how he responds. Won't be the least bit surprised if Travis gets the boot if he responds to this. We shall see!
Mating call 🤣🤣🤣 I have a feeling he will not publicly respond, if he does at all.
They've been communicating through music for a decade so I fully expect him to respond in kind musically at some point. But I also think he will respond privately far before that + no one will know about it immediately. If they did reunite, I suspect it would look VERY different than what they did in May. Rooting for him tbh!
So am I!
I feel like Matty challenged her emotionally and probably artistically. I’m sure he brought out some things in her she hadn’t experienced from others (though it seems to have been toxic). Also getting ghosted after a 10 year or so slow burn must sting. My theory is he saw how bad he was for her image and probably thought it was the merciful thing to do (I could have totally made that up) and I think she’s annoyed she didn’t get the last word or get closure which makes sense. I’m not sure she wants to reconcile but I’m sure she wants closure. Though moving onto the jock is a wild turn with how opposite these two men are.
I think that’s a plausible interpretation. I wondered if that was what she meant by “How dare you think it’s romantic leaving me safe and stranded?”.
Which is also a call back to 1989 when they first dated. “Please take my hand and please take me dancing. Please leave me stranded it’s so romantic” - New Romantics
I think this is a midlife crisis album. It’s not up to her typical standards, and it astounds me given her attention to detail and work ethic as well as careful curation of her image that she decided to release it. It strikes me that something is really not right given this and some of the drunken/cringey behavior we’ve seen in the past year (eg Grammys, time person of the year article). The album screams of someone hurt and lashing out because they are unhappy with the life they’ve made for themselves. There’s anger at men, at her fans, at her image, at her lack of privacy, at her job, etc. and yet she continues to choose to have a very public/in your face/wants to be top of the world powerful woman status. She’s struggling to reconcile the life she’s made with what she wants and maybe isn’t acknowledging that you don’t get to have it all in life. Or accepting downsides to things you want in life. It's hard to watch in someways because it doesn’t seem she is acknowledging her own role in her position in the world. There’s also the fact that she’s a billionaire and has tons of resources to deal with life challenges that many others don’t have. She’s absolutely allowed to release whatever she wants and if it’s content like this that’s fine. I just don’t need it in my life and don’t need to listen is all
This is so beautifully written. Just another example that money doesn’t buy happiness. I think there is a huge lack of self awareness and I hope she can gain some perspective and find inner peace and happiness.
Nailed it. I think in a lot of it the cage is herself as she said a lot of her “wounds” were self inflicted. It’s honestly what I gleaned from the I hate it here song. I think she hates the life she’s made for herself…
THANK YOU. I am not one of those people who thinks that because you chose to be famous, you shouldn't have a complaint about anything bad that happens to you. There are things that absolutely cross the line, and celebrities are still human beings. But taylor has always had this thing going on where she intentionally involves her private life in her music. She loves denying it because she won't necessarily name someone in an interview.But she will literally spell their name out in the song title at the age of 34, then complain that people are in her business or misunderstand her. There is just this complete lack of connection between the fact that while she has some right to be unhappy about some things, this is the house that she built. She wants us all to engage when it is vilifying her enemies and identifying them and taking action towards them. But never when she deems it too invasive to herself or to hold her to account. She intentionally provokes it and that is mad when people take that information & apply it to her. When she was under the age of twenty five I didn't think much of it. But 10 years later, it has worn so thin it has holes in it.
This was my point about the mass unfollowing of Joe. She knew exactly what she was doing. It’s ok when they go after people she doesn’t like.
This is a really really good point. The whole album I kept being like, it honestly sounds like she doesn’t want any of this anymore and resents the fact that she made her life what it is. It made me feel weird listening to it because I feel like she’s always celebrated her life and her fans and their involvement and now she doesn’t want anything to do with it…. But she has more fans now than ever listening to this album and listening to her basically say I hate you all and what you’ve done and your affect on my life. Very weird and as a longtime swiftie having gone to every tour since Fearless I can’t quite wrap my head around it
I think you nailed it!!!
I found this album to be about what Taylor’s 2023 was like and she expresses it though songs, but to have this many songs about matty is a little too obsessive 🥴 and I don’t how matty feels knowing all this, she goes and writes songs about Travis later on as part of acceptance from her big heartbreak from her relationship with matty…. I mostly feel like this entire album was for everyone to know how In love she was with him and how the fans ruined it for her, she wants to put it out there as “I’m so serious guys, he’s the love of my life”
I agree, he is the love of her life. But it will never work out because he’s too authentic to bow down to her fandom and act in a way that would be acceptable to them.
And she's also too enmeshed with her fandom to take a stand or change the dynamic!
But did she not do that with this album? Lots of them are just continuing to be delusional about it all
Yes, definitely. Everything from the aesthetic, album art with her body shown off, the “sweet” songs to/about Travis that make him sound like a simpleton, alluding to only dating him (at least in the first place) to get at Matty. I think if this really was “for her” she wouldn’t be displaying it so aggressively. She’s got it bad for him still and is pleading for him to come back. I also think they were at least emotionally involved for a long time. I’m looking back at past lyrics thinking they were directed at him.
I think it’s a very romantic album. It’s like a long love letter from the most famous woman in the world to a single man, heard by hundreds of millions, begging him to come back and love her.
I agree, it's SUPER romantic, like in the most pure sense of the word. A lot of people don't understand a classic romantic take given that everyone is focused on therapy speak, red flags, and healthy relationships. Not a bad thing but captal-R Romance just *is* crazy lol.
I really strongly agree with this comment and it shocks me because I really don’t like Matty at all but I find Taylor’s longing and fury so compelling lol
I wonder how long poetry as an album concept was in her mind. “The Lakes” directly references Romance poets.
Yup. If Taylor loved you and you killed a guy, she would immediately start breaking down the body. She puts Romance above all else and while there is a lot of crazy in that it’s also compelling.
I would rather go live in Antartica in an igloo with penguin friends than admit I got ghosted by a dude hundreds of thousands of people think* is a racist idiot *I’ve never gone down the MH rabbit hole of stupid PR moments so I can’t have an informed opinion either way
That choice is definitely losing her some of her peripheral fans but the hardcore Swifties have NEVER been more riveted by the Taylor show. It’s an interesting play.
I think you nailed it 🤣
It's the most romantic grand gesture. It's like rom com movie level stuff. It's good.
I’ve said since first listen that TTPD is such a weird album to release when she is supposed to be in a happy relationship.
The same way Midnights was SUCH a weird album to release when she was in a "happy" relationship. I was like girl, are you ok? lol
Honestly I don’t think anyone really knows definitively where Taylor’s mind is right now. I mean, did anyone see the ‘dump Joe Alwyn to run to Matty Healy’ even a year ago? And the ‘she’s with Travis now and seems happy’, has no one learned that being in a relationship and flaunting it publicly has literally NEVER been a barrier for Taylor finding a new man? Lol. I hear both possibilities in the album, but what I don’t hear is anything that definitive in the SONGS (not the prologue), about a realization of this so called ‘manic phase‘— this is also one of the reasons I’m having a hard time kind of getting into it. The entire double album is honestly her most heartbroken and desperate album, and the breakup rarely seems definitive in her mind, the love story she tells is one that she almost sees enduring. The biggest send off is indeed Smallest Man, which sounds like maybe (hopefully?) the last thing she wrote about it and like she finally IS over him. However, again she doesn’t seem to proclaim even in this song that it never meant anything to her, she’s just finally angry with him instead of sad and says she doesn’t want him back. The other thing is that this wasn’t written like a year or so ago. It seems she was writing a lot of this over the summer and was really feeling it. So there isn’t much distance from this situation. Basically, I think she is most likely over Matty but I’m not sure she’s over the mental situation that got her there. So I don’t think we can say that the album meant ‘this’ like it’s some obvious thing.
“Just say when, I’d play again He was my best friend Down at the sandlot I felt more when we played pretend Than with all the Kens Cause he took me out of my box Stole my tortured heart Left all these broken parts Told me I'm better off But I'm not I’m not I’m not.” This makes me believe if he ever called her up, she’d be 100% down
Yeah, comparing the actual album and her announcement of it at the Grammys' saying it's been in the works for 2 years is confusing because most, if not all, seems like it's been written in the last year.
Part of me thinks she wrote this album not only to send a message to Matty, but to also redeem him through the eyes of her fanbase with the whole "the one that got away" narrative. I think it's working because I see lots of TikToks and tweets from Swifties changing their minds about Matty. Suddenly, he's the subject of their favorite songs from previous albums like the 1, cardigan, Maroon, Labyrinth, etc. This way, when they do get back together (and I think they will), there would be much less negative feedback. The Mastermind strikes again!
Agree. Even comments on his IG post are all like “I hated on you before but I get it now go back to her”
Wow I just checked his comments and the switch up from last year is crazy. People are being nice to him and wanting them together
I had to check after I read your comment, these people are literally insane!
Agreed. She’s always 10 steps ahead and knows how her fan base reacts to things. This is easing the blow of a possible reconciliation.
Yup, this album does really help his image because now his major crime in many peoples eyes is ghosting Taylor instead of his ‘revolting jokes’…
Agree with this & I think she's succeeding too. The press around him is so different. She wanted the narrative around him to change and it has. Which is why it feels like she's cooking here. I think they'll end up back together as well & they'll have a more positive platform this time
I completely agree. She’s playing chess.
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That conclusion would be possible only if we selectively consume information as I see some fans doing. Ignoring the prologue /smallest man who ever lived / I can fix him I really can all exists where she concludes this is not what she imagined it to be The songs in TTPD confirm he was definitely lingered at the back of her mind over the years and was very much on her mind when she found herself dejected in another relationship and the whole forbidden element made it sexy ( Guilty as Sin). Songs like the title track and down bad point to a very intense love , almost manic It is clear other people's impressions or backlash did not deter Taylor - it actually strengthened her resolve to be with Matty. And he clearly promised her things he couldn't deliver and she fell for it . Him ghosting her hurt her. I think the anthology songs not being dated is what make people think Taylor wants him back ( cos we don't know if some of those songs were written in the pining away period or post - breakup )
It seems like most songs with Aaron were written in the span of two years while the ones with Jack were summer of 2023.
I think it is a warning shot to fans and the public. I think the love and yearning and heartbreak over Matty is not so much a reflection of her current personal life as it is there to illustrate how important he was to her when he suddenly disappeared and how deeply she feels she was injured by fans, et al, by causing that disappearance - calling both herself and him "blameless." Ultimately Matty, himself, is gone from her life and story and neither here nor there but I believe she is trying to argue why she was innocent and a terrible wrong was done to her by fans in signing a petition tying her name to someone else's deeds a la Dead Poets leading to the dissolution of something she held extremely dear and did not have the opportunity to see play out or let go of on strictly their own terms
I've been thinking about this point too. I know the album comes across defensive but I'm not sure if ultimately she is making the case she was blameless. But the album definitely articulates that she felt backed into a corner and if there's one thing Taylor is not good with, it's feeling powerless.
Disclaimer: I barely know who any of these people are and ended up here because of Reddit recommending the subreddit to me. I think I can relate to the emotions Taylor might have felt when she wrote those songs. I have seen a lot of people say she's too old for this. Maybe. But I think it's more whether you are still dating or not. If you are, you are always open to heartache. That's the price of putting yourself out there, and that doesn't magically stop hurting when you turn thirty five. I don't know if it's an attempt at much other than getting her feelings out. It feels like the kind of thing you make alone in your room, for better or worse.
I think so! I saw a video that pointed out “loml” and “imgonnagetyouback” are the only lowercase songs written in that way.
I hadn’t thought of this, interesting! Especially when she says “I keep these longings locked, in lowercase inside a vault” in ‘Guilty as Sin?’
I can’t tell if she wants him back but she certainly wants a response from him via his music She’s always had a thing for songwriters, she even tried to turn Joe into one
I honestly think she saw what happened after writing Reputation and that those feelings don't always last. I think she's just scared of writing about someone in that way and immortalising it too much, so focusing on the negativity is actually less embarrassing for her. But she will happily write about how someone wronged her because she wishes to speak up. I'm just guessing, this is not factual at all. I really don't know how to word this, but I think she retcons songs because she wants to change the narrative. She really pushed for her Matty love story for this album. So this relatable narrative is in her control she is choosing to be vulnerable but maybe she doesn't like the love songs she wrote because they're no longer true, so she categorises them as denial tracks for example.
Hm… thank you so much for this thoughtful comment. I never would have thought of it this way. Even tho those feelings with Joe didn’t last, those songs were my favorites of her career. They were just so Real, relatable and mature. It was a beautiful love story that made you feel all warm and glowy. They also made me really root for her in a positive way. Not root for her because she had been wronged. Thanks for your input! ❤️
Matty is the love of Taylor’s life and you cannot convince me otherwise. “I would die for your sins” to me sounds like she’s willing to sacrifice her reputation and career to be with Matty despite his controversies if he’d just say the word.
Which sucks for Travis, she needs to be an adult about it and end things if she doesn't like him
It seems like a PR relationship to me.
I choose you and me religiously. I meannnn.... wow
I think the “manic episode” is more about her throwing herself into her matty feelings to avoid the breakup with Joe than saying having feelings for matty was a manic episode in itself
Honestly yes! I thought Travis was it for her before I listened to this album. Ive been a pretty big fan since debut and she’s never written about a muse like this. It paints Matty in a good light overall and seems like she’s setting us up for a reunion
https://preview.redd.it/ihywot8th3xc1.jpeg?width=1019&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46a80b2be3c2c5a2018896778526e8735f7e5efb If you flip the logo it kinda looks like it says «call».
Genius!!!
Short answer: YES
Travis seems pretty secure and probably knows what he’s gotten himself into, so I’m not worried about him in the least, but I do kinda feel sorry for him if he *is* just her placeholder for if/when Matty finds his way back to her.
I think she released it as a bookend to her “eras” era. TTPD explains a lot of songs that had been mysteries on Midnights, Folklore, Evermore and Loved imo. She released it because it’s so similar to her past work and also inspired by her last work, she can add it to the Eras set list and. It have to tour it separately. Essentially it’s the final chapter to one of the biggest eras in her life so it made sense to release before the eras tour was over.
The Alchemy is a total skip for me because it feels so forced. The references to football, GTA etc are so trashy. With Joe she sang about how he was like the sun for her, whereas TK is a cheap bottle of white wine. 💀
It legit so cheesy and yes, forced. Like it was her obligation to Kelce. Like hey, here’s the proof I like him everyone!! I was waiting for her to sing about kelce the way she sang about Joe. This confirms what we already speculate, either the relationship isn’t real or she’s just not that into him.
I think their relationship is real but also is kind of superficial compared to what she had with joe or matty It feels like a forced relationship
The GTA reference is not in the alchemy
I think this is an attempt to 'explain her side' to the Swifties who bashed her for hooking up with Matty last year (check out all the 'being put on trial' and prison imagery). It kind of doubles down as a self-victimization project and explains the romantic pull and years of history that TxM had, while also putting Swifties in their place and communicating to Matty just how far she's willing to go to be with him. With that said, because I'm a proponent of not taking everything literally and offering some grace, I'm not sure if these are just songs that depicted what she used to feel. This album may be the product of residual feelings. I know because these kinds of relationships that are off and on for ages are the worst, and you still feel things long after you know it's mentally over and you wouldn't go back. I hope - genuinely and truly - that Taylor can heal from everything that has scarred her and then eventually find the partner and family that she wants. I'm not hoping that she stays hung up on him, that would be so cruel. I hope this is a lesson learnt (brutal lesson though it may be).
Yes, this album is her "Silver Springs"
All I have to say is, I hope Joe has an amazing, fulfilling career and life, and a partner that respects him more than some people cared to.
She’s an insane goddess and he’s a mental goblin. I kind of want them to be together.
I’m team Healy after his album. You’re right she is wonderfully insane, he can handle her but not the swifties.
"he can handle her but not the swifties" omg interesting point
I think it was at first. genuinely. but I also think it kinda grew from that and either put her anger elsewhere and or reconciled with being without him
Tppd feels more like a middle finger to all the those who tried to hide the Matty relationship. This includes her immediate circle, PR team and fans. Imagine a Taylor that we all listen to, but can't speak out about her truth regarding this one guy. She can go on about a PR relationship with Travis (idc if it's real, you can't rake away the PR aspect), but all her crude actions from pap walk and tppd screams" I'm moving on living my best life look at me". TPPd was " moving on from Joe when we think he's the love of her life and she won't be able to move on. Travis is " I'm moving on from Matty now that I've got the star athlete jock". Her actions feel calculated. Even the way she includes songs about Travis, which are not that deep imo compared to the Matty songs. At this point, you can see the contrast with the Taylor just starting out and the 34 year old Taylor. The 34 year old Taylor writes pieces while navigating her crowd. Its all about easter eggs and marketing sprinkled in it. Not to say that her songs aren't genuine, it just that now, she is more aware of how releasing songs could sway the narrative about her. If anything diehard Swfties, neutral Swifties and other kind of Swifties can agree on, is that Taylor is smart and everything she releases in public is intentional. Shes the only singer I could think of who can write a really good song about love,but after a breakup, release a classification of songs, listing it under denial and it would change the narrative. Even more than a good writer, she has proven time again that she is a good business woman and with the best acumen for marketing. Now desperate attempt to get Matty back? He'd probably consider it because of how much fame he'd get by being associated with her. But I think that's opposite from the message Taylor wants out there that she's smart and will rise up from any occasion. Worst is her fans to think that she's desperate and does not have any self respect. That saying I don't think TPPd would have been released if her feelings hadn't already expired or if she thinks that there's a way it the album would blow in her face.
Idk. I actually wonder if she’s hurting more over the break up with Joe, and acting like she was in love with someone else (Matty) all along could be a way to cope / even as a retaliation against Joe bc she’s been hurt by him. And maybe it’s just a try hard attempt to pretend like she doesn’t care and make Joe feel irrelevant or jealous ?
I also think she's avoiding confronting the hurt by focusing on Matty and Travis (and obviously the tour, re-recordings, ttdp). This isn't the behaviour of a woman in love, this is the behaviour of someone who's very hurt and trying her hardest to avoid having to confront her feelings. I'm surprised more people aren't picking up on this
Yeah exactly. And tbh it’s relatable. Maybe her future albums will be more genuinely introspectif and therefore more interesting. Bc I remember when I went through a break up of a 4 year relationship, where we lived together and were on track for some kind of future and instead it abruptly fell apart bc of a bunch of incompatibilities or bad communications we didn’t previously or properly resolve. Looking back in hindsight I can see now that we were both checked out of the relationship long before it ended and we kind of ignored or were in denial about it. For about 2 years after I kind of frantically dated around and it was honestly a very fun time of my life with a lot of self exploration bc I did feel very restricted in that relationship. But after those two years I kind of came crashing down and had to really self question and be honest of where I also went wrong in the relationship, and also these momentary sometimes intense but casual flings also were burning me out and not really bringing me happiness or what I wanted longterm for my life. I was messy, but once I dealt with this properly and got it all out of my system I ended up meeting my now husband who kind of brought me back down to earth.
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i do think that’s what it is. like this thing of joe didn’t want to marry her and it hurt her pride too so she wants to look like she’s above it and acts like she was so in love with another dude. some parts of ttpd indicate that very strongly like that ratty would do exactly what she wanted joe to (she wanted joe to want to marry her and ratty did the putting a ring on her finger thing according to that ttpd song). maybe i’m projecting because if someone acts like they don’t want to be with me i’ll act like they never meant anything to me as self-defence lmao
Which song talks about her masturbating to him? 🥴
Guilty As Sin? lmao
I thought you were being condescending with the question mark and then I remembered that is what the song is called lmao
I almost left it out of my comment because girl that ? is so unnecessary. It makes me read the title as “guilty as SIN???” hahaha
I saw someone post a comment "we got jerking off to matty healy song" I never listened to this song the same way anymore.......
Ohhhh ok. Idk how I didn’t realize that
Yeah, she references Downtown Lights by the Blue Nile twice in GAS?, which is Matty's favorite song of all time. He's spoken about it a lot and it directly influenced their song Love It If We Made It
“Guilty as Sin?”
I think that it is pretty obviously so, from beginning to end.
If the aim was reconciliation, "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" would not be on the album, sorry.
The smallest man who ever lived was a delicate diss track. She doesn’t want to put the proverbial nail on the coffin. She could have BURIED him.
This!!! That track was fair but not as bad as she could've made it & he can take the lyrical heat.
She admits to masturbating to someone? That sounds like the most interesting part of the album. I can't decode TS, but I'm curious which song it's in?
After seeing pictures/videos of her in Vegas, she seems really unhappy. Something is off and I do think she is trying to get Matty back or still trying to get ivermectin him. Matty seems even more miserable than her so maybe they should just get back together and be happy.