Caloroga Shark Media
April 20, 2024

**BONUS** Part 2 - The insider's guide to every track on Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department"

**BONUS** Part 2 - The insider's guide to every track on Taylor Swift's "The Tortured Poets Department"

Join us for an in-depth look at Taylor Swift's explosive new album, The Tortured Poets Department. Our expert analysis uncovers the hidden meanings, shocking revelations, and clever Easter eggs in each of the 31 tracks, as Taylor fearlessly explores...

Join us for an in-depth look at Taylor Swift's explosive new album, The Tortured Poets Department. Our expert analysis uncovers the hidden meanings, shocking revelations, and clever Easter eggs in each of the 31 tracks, as Taylor fearlessly explores her past relationships, celebrity feuds, and personal struggles. Don't miss this thrilling journey into the mind and music of one of the world's biggest superstars.This episode is part 2 of 2 covering tracks 17-31.

WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:12.919
Calaugashawk Media. Hi, and welcome
to Taylor Swift Today. In part two

2
00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:16.719
of our Insider's Guide to the songs
on the Tortured Poets Department, we're looking

3
00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:22.039
at tracks seventeen through thirty one.
Bonus tracks on the Tortured Poet's Department the

4
00:00:22.160 --> 00:00:29.120
Anthology at seventeen The Black Dog.
The black Dog is also a reference to

5
00:00:29.160 --> 00:00:33.079
depression and lack of energy, based
on a demonic hell hound acting as an

6
00:00:33.079 --> 00:00:37.520
omen of death in English folklore and
literature, as well as the eerie lyrical

7
00:00:37.560 --> 00:00:41.119
meaning to the title. The Black
Dog is a bar in Vauxhall, London,

8
00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:44.920
her ex Matt's city of birth and
just a stone's throw away from Joe's

9
00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:48.840
hometown of Royal Tunbridge, Wells and
Kent. In the song, she belts

10
00:00:48.840 --> 00:00:53.079
out, I am someone who until
recent events you shared your secrets with and

11
00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:57.640
your location you forgot to turn it
off, And so I watch as you

12
00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:02.640
walk into some bar called the Black
Dog. I just don't understand how you

13
00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:04.799
don't miss me in the Black Dog
when someone plays the starting line and you

14
00:01:04.959 --> 00:01:10.000
jump up. But she's too young
to know. This song that was intertwined

15
00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:15.079
in the magic fabric of our dreaming. The eighteenth track is I'm Gonna Get

16
00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:19.599
You Back. Taylor is torn between
calling things off for good or rekindling with

17
00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:23.519
an X. In I'm Gonna Get
You Back, emotions are clearly running high

18
00:01:23.599 --> 00:01:26.599
as she sings whether I'm gonna be
your wife or smash up your bike.

19
00:01:26.959 --> 00:01:32.480
I haven't decided yet. She appears
to reference her new romance with Travis as

20
00:01:32.519 --> 00:01:34.799
the song goes on, sharing I
can feel it coming in the way you

21
00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:38.640
move. Push the reset button.
We're becoming something new. See you got

22
00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:42.640
somebody else, Say I got someone
else too, even if it's him.

23
00:01:42.680 --> 00:01:49.319
I'm leaving here with you. Nineteen
The Albatross It Seems London watering holes are

24
00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.640
a theme of the album, with
the black Dog and the Bolter joining the

25
00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:57.079
Albatross as a parent references to venues. The Albatross Club is a pub in

26
00:01:57.120 --> 00:02:00.560
Farringdon, London, but also has
particularly ear significance in its meaning as a

27
00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:06.840
word alone. Albatross is defined in
the Britannica Dictionary as a continuing problem that

28
00:02:06.920 --> 00:02:10.400
makes it difficult or impossible to do
or achieve something. Fame has become an

29
00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:15.639
albatross that prevents her from leading a
normal and happy life. Additionally, and

30
00:02:15.719 --> 00:02:21.520
albatross is a large white ocean bird
that has very long and often black wings,

31
00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:24.919
which many liken to her outfit from
the Grammys. Taylor is taking no

32
00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:29.960
prisoners in this track, referring to
herself as one of the largest seabirds on

33
00:02:30.000 --> 00:02:35.840
earth, famed for their giant wingspan
and ability to glide seamlessly. She sings

34
00:02:35.879 --> 00:02:39.039
about taking revenge with the lyrics she
is here to destroy you. Devils that

35
00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:45.400
you know raise worse hell than a
stranger. Track twenty is Chloe or Sam

36
00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:50.319
or Sophia or Marcus. Taylor tells
the story of a rocky relationship in which

37
00:02:50.360 --> 00:02:53.759
their partner betrays them and focuses on
drugs more than her. She hints at

38
00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:59.919
infidelity on their part by singing,
your hologram stumbled into my apartment, hands

39
00:02:59.919 --> 00:03:04.719
in the hair of somebody in darkness
named Chloe or Sam, or Sophia or

40
00:03:04.800 --> 00:03:07.759
Marcus, and I just watched it
happen as the decade would play us for

41
00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:13.439
fools. Taylor goes on to reference
singing, you said some things that I

42
00:03:13.520 --> 00:03:16.719
can't unabsorb. You turn me into
an idea of sorts. You needed me,

43
00:03:17.000 --> 00:03:22.800
but you needed drugs more and I
couldn't watch it happen? Twenty one

44
00:03:23.199 --> 00:03:27.759
How did it End? Taylor appears
to reference the speculation over her relationship with

45
00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:30.319
Joe, as she details in the
chorus, Come one, Come all,

46
00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:37.360
it's happening again. The empathetic hunger
descends. We'll tell no one except all

47
00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:42.800
of our friends. We must know
how did it end? Accusing people of

48
00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:47.360
conducting their own post mortems. In
the opening sentence, Taylor also accuses people

49
00:03:47.400 --> 00:03:53.400
of being smug. Soon they'll go
home to their husbands because they know they

50
00:03:53.400 --> 00:03:58.879
can trust him, then feverishly calling
their cousins. She later admits that while

51
00:03:58.960 --> 00:04:02.639
everyone is questioning how did it end, she doesn't know herself. But I

52
00:04:02.680 --> 00:04:09.240
still don't know how did it end? Twenty two So High School. While

53
00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:13.599
many tracks are bold aims at her
exes Matt and Joe, happiness does reign

54
00:04:13.639 --> 00:04:16.160
in her track So High School,
where she discusses current boyfriend Travis. She

55
00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:19.720
sings, you know how to ball, I know Aristotle, Brand New,

56
00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:24.759
full Throttle, Touch me while your
bros play Grand Theft Auto. It's true

57
00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:28.839
swear Scout's honor. You knew what
you wanted, and boy you got her.

58
00:04:30.360 --> 00:04:34.199
Taylor the directly references a resurfaced video
in which Travis was asked who Mary

59
00:04:34.360 --> 00:04:39.399
kiss or kill? Between Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Taylor. She

60
00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.839
sings, are you gonna marry kiss
or kill me? Kill me? It's

61
00:04:42.920 --> 00:04:45.720
just a game, but really,
really, I'm betting on all three For

62
00:04:45.800 --> 00:04:49.959
US two twenty three, I hate
it Here, Taylor relies in escapism to

63
00:04:49.959 --> 00:04:55.759
distract herself from the issues plaguing her
real life, describing herself as going to

64
00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:59.920
secret gardens in my mind. She
appears to be dealing with the fallout of

65
00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:04.199
being lied to, singing tell me
something awful like you are a poet trapped

66
00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:09.279
inside the body of a finance guy. Tell me all your secrets. All

67
00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:15.199
You'll ever be is my eternal consolation
prize. She appears to be between relationships,

68
00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:18.720
musing I'm lonely but I'm good.
I'm bitter, but I swear I'm

69
00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:25.120
fine. Fans are convinced. The
twenty fourth track, thank You Amy,

70
00:05:25.480 --> 00:05:29.240
is aimed at Kim Kardashian, as
the letters k, y and M are

71
00:05:29.319 --> 00:05:32.439
capped up to spell out her name. Taylor sings in one line, there's

72
00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:38.480
a bronze spray tand statue of you
and a plaque underneath it that threatens to

73
00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:42.920
push me down the stairs at our
school. All that time you were throwing

74
00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:46.600
punches, I was building something.
And I can't forgive the way you made

75
00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:49.639
me feel. Screamed f you,
Amy to the night sky as the blood

76
00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:54.360
was gushing. But I can't forget
the way you made me heal. She

77
00:05:54.480 --> 00:05:58.680
goes on to add, and it
wasn't a fair fight or a clean kill

78
00:05:59.199 --> 00:06:02.759
each time that Amy stomped across my
grave. And then she wrote headlines in

79
00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:08.680
the local paper, laughing at each
baby step I'd take. Taylor concludes by

80
00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:13.600
confirming she's changed the name of the
woman she's singing about, further fueling speculation

81
00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.360
the track is about Kim. She
also seems to reference Kim's ten year old

82
00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:21.279
daughter Northwest dancing to her twenty fourteen
singles Shake It Off on TikTok, Finding

83
00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:26.480
it ironic as the song is about
you, she sings, and so I

84
00:06:26.600 --> 00:06:30.920
changed your name and any real defining
clues, And one day your kid comes

85
00:06:30.959 --> 00:06:33.319
home singing a song that only us
two is gonna know is about you.

86
00:06:34.519 --> 00:06:39.959
Twenty five, I look in people's
windows. While she may have the ultimate

87
00:06:39.959 --> 00:06:44.680
girl squad around her, Taylor admits
she can't help but feel lonely when chasing

88
00:06:44.680 --> 00:06:48.839
a man. She sings, I
look in people's windows transfixed by rose golden

89
00:06:48.920 --> 00:06:53.480
glows. They have their friends over
to drink nice wine. I look in

90
00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:57.439
people's windows in case you're at their
table. What if your eyes looked up

91
00:06:57.480 --> 00:07:02.879
and met mine one more time?
Twenty six the prophecy Taylor seems to be

92
00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:05.920
pained by the thought of trying to
find an intimate love when her life is

93
00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:11.399
so public. The singer who found
fame as a teenager reveals that being in

94
00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:15.639
the spotlight and adored by millions of
fans can't measure up to being loved by

95
00:07:15.639 --> 00:07:19.319
a partner. She shares, please
change the prophecy, let it once be

96
00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:24.079
me. Who do I have to
speak to about? If they can redo

97
00:07:24.120 --> 00:07:29.360
the prophecy. Taylor has previously revealed
how fame changed her life for the worst,

98
00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.959
explaining it's a social situation. Every
time I go out, I just

99
00:07:33.079 --> 00:07:35.959
have to wake up in the morning
and say, how am I feeling today?

100
00:07:36.360 --> 00:07:40.560
If someone asks for a picture?
Am I going to feel imposed upon

101
00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:43.759
today? Because I'm dealing with my
own stuff? Am I going to take

102
00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.920
my own stuff out on some innocent
fourteen year old today and be in a

103
00:07:46.920 --> 00:07:51.639
bad mood. Okay, maybe not, Maybe I won't leave the house more

104
00:07:51.680 --> 00:08:05.079
in a moment. The twenty seventh
song is Cassandra, Thank You. Amy

105
00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:09.519
might not be the only song issuing
shots at Kim Kardashian, with Cassandra also

106
00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:15.639
seeming to be filled with veiled digs. Greek god Cassandra entangled men and was

107
00:08:15.720 --> 00:08:18.759
punished with a curse where no one
would believe what she had to say.

108
00:08:18.439 --> 00:08:22.959
In her chorus, Taylor sings,
when the first stone's thrown, they're screaming

109
00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:28.279
in the streets. There's a raging
riot. When it's burned the bitch,

110
00:08:28.439 --> 00:08:33.440
they're shrieking. When the truth comes
out, it's quiet. This could be

111
00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:37.320
in reference to Kim sparking a social
media firestorm when she shared a snapchat video

112
00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:41.679
of then husband Kanye West during a
phone call with Taylor, where she seemingly

113
00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:46.840
gave the rapper to include lyrics about
her in his new song. While Taylor

114
00:08:46.879 --> 00:08:50.320
insisted that she hadn't consented to,
Kanye labeled her a bitch in his track.

115
00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:56.399
Many accused her of being a snake. Kardashian fans and swifties went to

116
00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:01.480
war with one another by posting snake
emojis. Taylor references snakes in her song

117
00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:05.080
Sharing So they killed Cassandra first because
she feared the worst and tried to tell

118
00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:09.360
the town. So they filled my
cell with snakes. I regret to say,

119
00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:15.679
do you believe me now? Twenty
eight Peter Taylor reflects on her childhood

120
00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:18.960
and pleads for forgiveness as she reflects
on losing a past love. It could

121
00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.080
be in reference to Maddie, who
she was first linked to in twenty fourteen

122
00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:26.039
and their subsequent breakup, as she
sings said you were going to grow up

123
00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:31.679
slash, then you were gonna come
find me words from the mouths of babes,

124
00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:35.399
promises oceans deep, but never to
keep, never to keep. It

125
00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:39.240
could also be a follow up to
her song Cardigan, where she sang tried

126
00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:46.759
to change the ending Peter losing Wendy. The twenty ninth song is The Bolter.

127
00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:50.919
Fans have made many interpretations of The
Bolter, with links to a London

128
00:09:50.960 --> 00:09:56.039
pub in the form of Mansion Houses
bar of the same name, while also

129
00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:00.799
alluding to a suitor running into the
night, something fans insisted was about Joe.

130
00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:05.519
Some Twitter users claimed the location is
where the former couple enjoyed their first

131
00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:09.879
date, Yet the claims were quickly
disputed by devoted followers. The initial claim

132
00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:15.399
came from a fan writing the Bolter
is a bar in London where Taylor and

133
00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:20.360
Joe went on their first outing.
I'm done by Others followed up writing apparently

134
00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:24.279
that's not the bar they were publicly
first seen together. But there is indeed

135
00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:28.200
this bar in London, which is
crazy anyway, guys, it's not real.

136
00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:33.039
It was different place. She sings, started with a kiss. Oh,

137
00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:35.200
we must stop meeting like this,
But it always ends with a town

138
00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:39.240
car speeding out the drive. One
evening ended with the slam of a door.

139
00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:43.240
But she's got the best stories,
you can be sure. All her

140
00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:48.320
effing lives flashed before her eyes,
and she realized it feels like the time

141
00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:54.919
she fell through the ice then came
out alive. Thirty Robin. Her penultimate

142
00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.240
track is also reflective of her youth, as she reflects on how innocence is

143
00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:03.799
ripped away with she sings, you
get the dragonflies above your bed, you

144
00:11:03.840 --> 00:11:07.320
have a favorite spot on the swing
set. You have no room in your

145
00:11:07.399 --> 00:11:11.799
dreams for regret. You have no
idea the time will arrive for the cruel

146
00:11:11.879 --> 00:11:16.679
and the mean. You'll learn to
bounce back just like your trampoline. Despite

147
00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.159
this, there's an element of hope
involved as she sings, but now we'll

148
00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:26.519
curtail your curiosity in sweetness. Way
to Go Tiger, Way to Go Tiger,

149
00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:31.679
Higher and higher, Higher and higher, wilder and lighter. The last

150
00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:35.639
song is the Manuscript, the only
bonus track on the first physical versions of

151
00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:39.120
Taylor's album, seems to be a
follow up to All Too Well, her

152
00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:45.679
song about Jake Jillenhall. She reflects
on a past romance as she sings Now

153
00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:48.759
and then she rereads the manuscript of
the entire torrid affairs. He said that

154
00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.039
if the sex was half as good
as the conversation was, soon they'd be

155
00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:56.840
pushing strollers. But soon it was
over. In a nod to All Too

156
00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:03.039
Well ten minute version and its music
video directly, Taylor continues, the professor

157
00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:07.000
said, to write what you know
looking backwards might be the only way to

158
00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:13.759
move forward. Then the actors were
hitting their marks. The Tortured Poets Department

159
00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:18.399
is a deeply personal and introspective album
that delves into the intricacies of Taylor Swift's

160
00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:24.399
past relationships, feuds, and personal
struggles. With its clever wordplay, hidden

161
00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:30.240
easter eggs, and raw emotional honesty, the album is sure to resonate with

162
00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:35.639
fans and solidify Taylor's status as one
of the most talented and influential singer songwriters

163
00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:39.759
of her generation. Join us for
more bonus episodes as we break down the

164
00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:45.200
fan feedback from Taylor's new album,
That's It. For part two of the

165
00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:50.240
song breakdown from the Tortured Poet's Department, I'm Annalise's idel and this is Taylor

166
00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:54.799
Swift Today. My thanks to Mark
Francis and John McDermott. This has been

167
00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:58.799
a production of Calarugus Shark Media.
Some portions may have production assistants by Ai