April 20, 2024
**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.
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Calaugashawk Media. Hi, and welcome
to Taylor Swift Today. In part two
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of our Insider's Guide to the songs
on the Tortured Poets Department, we're looking
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at tracks seventeen through thirty one.
Bonus tracks on the Tortured Poet's Department the
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Anthology at seventeen The Black Dog.
The black Dog is also a reference to
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depression and lack of energy, based
on a demonic hell hound acting as an
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omen of death in English folklore and
literature, as well as the eerie lyrical
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meaning to the title. The Black
Dog is a bar in Vauxhall, London,
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her ex Matt's city of birth and
just a stone's throw away from Joe's
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hometown of Royal Tunbridge, Wells and
Kent. In the song, she belts
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out, I am someone who until
recent events you shared your secrets with and
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your location you forgot to turn it
off, And so I watch as you
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walk into some bar called the Black
Dog. I just don't understand how you
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don't miss me in the Black Dog
when someone plays the starting line and you
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jump up. But she's too young
to know. This song that was intertwined
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in the magic fabric of our dreaming. The eighteenth track is I'm Gonna Get
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You Back. Taylor is torn between
calling things off for good or rekindling with
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an X. In I'm Gonna Get
You Back, emotions are clearly running high
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as she sings whether I'm gonna be
your wife or smash up your bike.
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I haven't decided yet. She appears
to reference her new romance with Travis as
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the song goes on, sharing I
can feel it coming in the way you
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move. Push the reset button.
We're becoming something new. See you got
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somebody else, Say I got someone
else too, even if it's him.
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I'm leaving here with you. Nineteen
The Albatross It Seems London watering holes are
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a theme of the album, with
the black Dog and the Bolter joining the
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Albatross as a parent references to venues. The Albatross Club is a pub in
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Farringdon, London, but also has
particularly ear significance in its meaning as a
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word alone. Albatross is defined in
the Britannica Dictionary as a continuing problem that
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makes it difficult or impossible to do
or achieve something. Fame has become an
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albatross that prevents her from leading a
normal and happy life. Additionally, and
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albatross is a large white ocean bird
that has very long and often black wings,
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which many liken to her outfit from
the Grammys. Taylor is taking no
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prisoners in this track, referring to
herself as one of the largest seabirds on
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earth, famed for their giant wingspan
and ability to glide seamlessly. She sings
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about taking revenge with the lyrics she
is here to destroy you. Devils that
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you know raise worse hell than a
stranger. Track twenty is Chloe or Sam
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or Sophia or Marcus. Taylor tells
the story of a rocky relationship in which
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their partner betrays them and focuses on
drugs more than her. She hints at
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infidelity on their part by singing,
your hologram stumbled into my apartment, hands
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in the hair of somebody in darkness
named Chloe or Sam, or Sophia or
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Marcus, and I just watched it
happen as the decade would play us for
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fools. Taylor goes on to reference
singing, you said some things that I
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can't unabsorb. You turn me into
an idea of sorts. You needed me,
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but you needed drugs more and I
couldn't watch it happen? Twenty one
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How did it End? Taylor appears
to reference the speculation over her relationship with
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Joe, as she details in the
chorus, Come one, Come all,
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it's happening again. The empathetic hunger
descends. We'll tell no one except all
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of our friends. We must know
how did it end? Accusing people of
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conducting their own post mortems. In
the opening sentence, Taylor also accuses people
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of being smug. Soon they'll go
home to their husbands because they know they
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can trust him, then feverishly calling
their cousins. She later admits that while
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everyone is questioning how did it end, she doesn't know herself. But I
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still don't know how did it end? Twenty two So High School. While
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many tracks are bold aims at her
exes Matt and Joe, happiness does reign
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in her track So High School,
where she discusses current boyfriend Travis. She
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sings, you know how to ball, I know Aristotle, Brand New,
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full Throttle, Touch me while your
bros play Grand Theft Auto. It's true
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swear Scout's honor. You knew what
you wanted, and boy you got her.
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Taylor the directly references a resurfaced video
in which Travis was asked who Mary
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kiss or kill? Between Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Taylor. She
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sings, are you gonna marry kiss
or kill me? Kill me? It's
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just a game, but really,
really, I'm betting on all three For
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US two twenty three, I hate
it Here, Taylor relies in escapism to
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distract herself from the issues plaguing her
real life, describing herself as going to
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secret gardens in my mind. She
appears to be dealing with the fallout of
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being lied to, singing tell me
something awful like you are a poet trapped
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inside the body of a finance guy. Tell me all your secrets. All
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You'll ever be is my eternal consolation
prize. She appears to be between relationships,
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musing I'm lonely but I'm good.
I'm bitter, but I swear I'm
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fine. Fans are convinced. The
twenty fourth track, thank You Amy,
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is aimed at Kim Kardashian, as
the letters k, y and M are
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capped up to spell out her name. Taylor sings in one line, there's
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a bronze spray tand statue of you
and a plaque underneath it that threatens to
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push me down the stairs at our
school. All that time you were throwing
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punches, I was building something.
And I can't forgive the way you made
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me feel. Screamed f you,
Amy to the night sky as the blood
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was gushing. But I can't forget
the way you made me heal. She
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goes on to add, and it
wasn't a fair fight or a clean kill
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each time that Amy stomped across my
grave. And then she wrote headlines in
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the local paper, laughing at each
baby step I'd take. Taylor concludes by
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confirming she's changed the name of the
woman she's singing about, further fueling speculation
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the track is about Kim. She
also seems to reference Kim's ten year old
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daughter Northwest dancing to her twenty fourteen
singles Shake It Off on TikTok, Finding
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it ironic as the song is about
you, she sings, and so I
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changed your name and any real defining
clues, And one day your kid comes
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home singing a song that only us
two is gonna know is about you.
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Twenty five, I look in people's
windows. While she may have the ultimate
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girl squad around her, Taylor admits
she can't help but feel lonely when chasing
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a man. She sings, I
look in people's windows transfixed by rose golden
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glows. They have their friends over
to drink nice wine. I look in
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people's windows in case you're at their
table. What if your eyes looked up
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and met mine one more time?
Twenty six the prophecy Taylor seems to be
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pained by the thought of trying to
find an intimate love when her life is
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so public. The singer who found
fame as a teenager reveals that being in
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the spotlight and adored by millions of
fans can't measure up to being loved by
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a partner. She shares, please
change the prophecy, let it once be
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me. Who do I have to
speak to about? If they can redo
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the prophecy. Taylor has previously revealed
how fame changed her life for the worst,
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explaining it's a social situation. Every
time I go out, I just
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have to wake up in the morning
and say, how am I feeling today?
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If someone asks for a picture?
Am I going to feel imposed upon
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today? Because I'm dealing with my
own stuff? Am I going to take
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my own stuff out on some innocent
fourteen year old today and be in a
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bad mood. Okay, maybe not, Maybe I won't leave the house more
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in a moment. The twenty seventh
song is Cassandra, Thank You. Amy
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might not be the only song issuing
shots at Kim Kardashian, with Cassandra also
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seeming to be filled with veiled digs. Greek god Cassandra entangled men and was
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punished with a curse where no one
would believe what she had to say.
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In her chorus, Taylor sings,
when the first stone's thrown, they're screaming
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in the streets. There's a raging
riot. When it's burned the bitch,
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they're shrieking. When the truth comes
out, it's quiet. This could be
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in reference to Kim sparking a social
media firestorm when she shared a snapchat video
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of then husband Kanye West during a
phone call with Taylor, where she seemingly
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gave the rapper to include lyrics about
her in his new song. While Taylor
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insisted that she hadn't consented to,
Kanye labeled her a bitch in his track.
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Many accused her of being a snake. Kardashian fans and swifties went to
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war with one another by posting snake
emojis. Taylor references snakes in her song
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Sharing So they killed Cassandra first because
she feared the worst and tried to tell
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the town. So they filled my
cell with snakes. I regret to say,
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do you believe me now? Twenty
eight Peter Taylor reflects on her childhood
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and pleads for forgiveness as she reflects
on losing a past love. It could
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be in reference to Maddie, who
she was first linked to in twenty fourteen
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and their subsequent breakup, as she
sings said you were going to grow up
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slash, then you were gonna come
find me words from the mouths of babes,
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promises oceans deep, but never to
keep, never to keep. It
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could also be a follow up to
her song Cardigan, where she sang tried
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to change the ending Peter losing Wendy. The twenty ninth song is The Bolter.
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Fans have made many interpretations of The
Bolter, with links to a London
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pub in the form of Mansion Houses
bar of the same name, while also
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alluding to a suitor running into the
night, something fans insisted was about Joe.
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Some Twitter users claimed the location is
where the former couple enjoyed their first
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date, Yet the claims were quickly
disputed by devoted followers. The initial claim
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came from a fan writing the Bolter
is a bar in London where Taylor and
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Joe went on their first outing.
I'm done by Others followed up writing apparently
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that's not the bar they were publicly
first seen together. But there is indeed
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this bar in London, which is
crazy anyway, guys, it's not real.
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It was different place. She sings, started with a kiss. Oh,
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we must stop meeting like this,
But it always ends with a town
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car speeding out the drive. One
evening ended with the slam of a door.
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But she's got the best stories,
you can be sure. All her
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effing lives flashed before her eyes,
and she realized it feels like the time
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she fell through the ice then came
out alive. Thirty Robin. Her penultimate
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track is also reflective of her youth, as she reflects on how innocence is
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ripped away with she sings, you
get the dragonflies above your bed, you
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have a favorite spot on the swing
set. You have no room in your
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dreams for regret. You have no
idea the time will arrive for the cruel
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and the mean. You'll learn to
bounce back just like your trampoline. Despite
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this, there's an element of hope
involved as she sings, but now we'll
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curtail your curiosity in sweetness. Way
to Go Tiger, Way to Go Tiger,
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Higher and higher, Higher and higher, wilder and lighter. The last
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song is the Manuscript, the only
bonus track on the first physical versions of
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Taylor's album, seems to be a
follow up to All Too Well, her
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song about Jake Jillenhall. She reflects
on a past romance as she sings Now
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and then she rereads the manuscript of
the entire torrid affairs. He said that
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if the sex was half as good
as the conversation was, soon they'd be
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pushing strollers. But soon it was
over. In a nod to All Too
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Well ten minute version and its music
video directly, Taylor continues, the professor
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said, to write what you know
looking backwards might be the only way to
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move forward. Then the actors were
hitting their marks. The Tortured Poets Department
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is a deeply personal and introspective album
that delves into the intricacies of Taylor Swift's
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past relationships, feuds, and personal
struggles. With its clever wordplay, hidden
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easter eggs, and raw emotional honesty, the album is sure to resonate with
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fans and solidify Taylor's status as one
of the most talented and influential singer songwriters
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of her generation. Join us for
more bonus episodes as we break down the
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fan feedback from Taylor's new album,
That's It. For part two of the
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song breakdown from the Tortured Poet's Department, I'm Annalise's idel and this is Taylor
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Swift Today. My thanks to Mark
Francis and John McDermott. This has been
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00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:58.799
a production of Calarugus Shark Media.
Some portions may have production assistants by Ai
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Calaugashawk Media. Hi, and welcome
to Taylor Swift Today. In part two
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00:00:12.919 --> 00:00:16.719
of our Insider's Guide to the songs
on the Tortured Poets Department, we're looking
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00:00:16.719 --> 00:00:22.039
at tracks seventeen through thirty one.
Bonus tracks on the Tortured Poet's Department the
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Anthology at seventeen The Black Dog.
The black Dog is also a reference to
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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,
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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
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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
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00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:57.640
your location you forgot to turn it
off, And so I watch as you
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00:00:57.719 --> 00:01:02.640
walk into some bar called the Black
Dog. I just don't understand how you
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00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:04.799
don't miss me in the Black Dog
when someone plays the starting line and you
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jump up. But she's too young
to know. This song that was intertwined
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in the magic fabric of our dreaming. The eighteenth track is I'm Gonna Get
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You Back. Taylor is torn between
calling things off for good or rekindling with
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00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:23.519
an X. In I'm Gonna Get
You Back, emotions are clearly running high
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as she sings whether I'm gonna be
your wife or smash up your bike.
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I haven't decided yet. She appears
to reference her new romance with Travis as
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the song goes on, sharing I
can feel it coming in the way you
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move. Push the reset button.
We're becoming something new. See you got
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somebody else, Say I got someone
else too, even if it's him.
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I'm leaving here with you. Nineteen
The Albatross It Seems London watering holes are
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00:01:49.319 --> 00:01:52.640
a theme of the album, with
the black Dog and the Bolter joining the
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00:01:52.680 --> 00:01:57.079
Albatross as a parent references to venues. The Albatross Club is a pub in
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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
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00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:15.639
albatross that prevents her from leading a
normal and happy life. Additionally, and
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albatross is a large white ocean bird
that has very long and often black wings,
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which many liken to her outfit from
the Grammys. Taylor is taking no
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prisoners in this track, referring to
herself as one of the largest seabirds on
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earth, famed for their giant wingspan
and ability to glide seamlessly. She sings
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about taking revenge with the lyrics she
is here to destroy you. Devils that
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you know raise worse hell than a
stranger. Track twenty is Chloe or Sam
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00:02:45.520 --> 00:02:50.319
or Sophia or Marcus. Taylor tells
the story of a rocky relationship in which
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their partner betrays them and focuses on
drugs more than her. She hints at
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00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:59.919
infidelity on their part by singing,
your hologram stumbled into my apartment, hands
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in the hair of somebody in darkness
named Chloe or Sam, or Sophia or
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Marcus, and I just watched it
happen as the decade would play us for
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00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:13.439
fools. Taylor goes on to reference
singing, you said some things that I
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can't unabsorb. You turn me into
an idea of sorts. You needed me,
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but you needed drugs more and I
couldn't watch it happen? Twenty one
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How did it End? Taylor appears
to reference the speculation over her relationship with
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00:03:27.840 --> 00:03:30.319
Joe, as she details in the
chorus, Come one, Come all,
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it's happening again. The empathetic hunger
descends. We'll tell no one except all
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00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:42.800
of our friends. We must know
how did it end? Accusing people of
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conducting their own post mortems. In
the opening sentence, Taylor also accuses people
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of being smug. Soon they'll go
home to their husbands because they know they
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can trust him, then feverishly calling
their cousins. She later admits that while
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everyone is questioning how did it end, she doesn't know herself. But I
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still don't know how did it end? Twenty two So High School. While
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many tracks are bold aims at her
exes Matt and Joe, happiness does reign
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in her track So High School,
where she discusses current boyfriend Travis. She
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sings, you know how to ball, I know Aristotle, Brand New,
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00:04:19.879 --> 00:04:24.759
full Throttle, Touch me while your
bros play Grand Theft Auto. It's true
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00:04:25.079 --> 00:04:28.839
swear Scout's honor. You knew what
you wanted, and boy you got her.
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Taylor the directly references a resurfaced video
in which Travis was asked who Mary
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kiss or kill? Between Ariana Grande, Katy Perry, and Taylor. She
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00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.839
sings, are you gonna marry kiss
or kill me? Kill me? It's
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just a game, but really,
really, I'm betting on all three For
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US two twenty three, I hate
it Here, Taylor relies in escapism to
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distract herself from the issues plaguing her
real life, describing herself as going to
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secret gardens in my mind. She
appears to be dealing with the fallout of
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being lied to, singing tell me
something awful like you are a poet trapped
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inside the body of a finance guy. Tell me all your secrets. All
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00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:15.199
You'll ever be is my eternal consolation
prize. She appears to be between relationships,
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00:05:15.319 --> 00:05:18.720
musing I'm lonely but I'm good.
I'm bitter, but I swear I'm
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00:05:18.720 --> 00:05:25.120
fine. Fans are convinced. The
twenty fourth track, thank You Amy,
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is aimed at Kim Kardashian, as
the letters k, y and M are
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capped up to spell out her name. Taylor sings in one line, there's
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a bronze spray tand statue of you
and a plaque underneath it that threatens to
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push me down the stairs at our
school. All that time you were throwing
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punches, I was building something.
And I can't forgive the way you made
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me feel. Screamed f you,
Amy to the night sky as the blood
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was gushing. But I can't forget
the way you made me heal. She
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goes on to add, and it
wasn't a fair fight or a clean kill
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each time that Amy stomped across my
grave. And then she wrote headlines in
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the local paper, laughing at each
baby step I'd take. Taylor concludes by
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00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:13.600
confirming she's changed the name of the
woman she's singing about, further fueling speculation
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00:06:13.720 --> 00:06:16.360
the track is about Kim. She
also seems to reference Kim's ten year old
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00:06:16.439 --> 00:06:21.279
daughter Northwest dancing to her twenty fourteen
singles Shake It Off on TikTok, Finding
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00:06:21.279 --> 00:06:26.480
it ironic as the song is about
you, she sings, and so I
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changed your name and any real defining
clues, And one day your kid comes
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home singing a song that only us
two is gonna know is about you.
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Twenty five, I look in people's
windows. While she may have the ultimate
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girl squad around her, Taylor admits
she can't help but feel lonely when chasing
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a man. She sings, I
look in people's windows transfixed by rose golden
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glows. They have their friends over
to drink nice wine. I look in
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people's windows in case you're at their
table. What if your eyes looked up
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and met mine one more time?
Twenty six the prophecy Taylor seems to be
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00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:05.920
pained by the thought of trying to
find an intimate love when her life is
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00:07:05.920 --> 00:07:11.399
so public. The singer who found
fame as a teenager reveals that being in
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00:07:11.439 --> 00:07:15.639
the spotlight and adored by millions of
fans can't measure up to being loved by
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a partner. She shares, please
change the prophecy, let it once be
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00:07:19.439 --> 00:07:24.079
me. Who do I have to
speak to about? If they can redo
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the prophecy. Taylor has previously revealed
how fame changed her life for the worst,
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explaining it's a social situation. Every
time I go out, I just
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have to wake up in the morning
and say, how am I feeling today?
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If someone asks for a picture?
Am I going to feel imposed upon
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today? Because I'm dealing with my
own stuff? Am I going to take
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my own stuff out on some innocent
fourteen year old today and be in a
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bad mood. Okay, maybe not, Maybe I won't leave the house more
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in a moment. The twenty seventh
song is Cassandra, Thank You. Amy
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00:08:05.160 --> 00:08:09.519
might not be the only song issuing
shots at Kim Kardashian, with Cassandra also
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00:08:09.560 --> 00:08:15.639
seeming to be filled with veiled digs. Greek god Cassandra entangled men and was
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punished with a curse where no one
would believe what she had to say.
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In her chorus, Taylor sings,
when the first stone's thrown, they're screaming
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in the streets. There's a raging
riot. When it's burned the bitch,
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they're shrieking. When the truth comes
out, it's quiet. This could be
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in reference to Kim sparking a social
media firestorm when she shared a snapchat video
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00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:41.679
of then husband Kanye West during a
phone call with Taylor, where she seemingly
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00:08:41.720 --> 00:08:46.840
gave the rapper to include lyrics about
her in his new song. While Taylor
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insisted that she hadn't consented to,
Kanye labeled her a bitch in his track.
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Many accused her of being a snake. Kardashian fans and swifties went to
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00:08:56.480 --> 00:09:01.480
war with one another by posting snake
emojis. Taylor references snakes in her song
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00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:05.080
Sharing So they killed Cassandra first because
she feared the worst and tried to tell
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00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:09.360
the town. So they filled my
cell with snakes. I regret to say,
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00:09:09.720 --> 00:09:15.679
do you believe me now? Twenty
eight Peter Taylor reflects on her childhood
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00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:18.960
and pleads for forgiveness as she reflects
on losing a past love. It could
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00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:22.080
be in reference to Maddie, who
she was first linked to in twenty fourteen
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00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:26.039
and their subsequent breakup, as she
sings said you were going to grow up
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00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:31.679
slash, then you were gonna come
find me words from the mouths of babes,
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00:09:31.080 --> 00:09:35.399
promises oceans deep, but never to
keep, never to keep. It
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00:09:35.440 --> 00:09:39.240
could also be a follow up to
her song Cardigan, where she sang tried
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00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:46.759
to change the ending Peter losing Wendy. The twenty ninth song is The Bolter.
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00:09:46.559 --> 00:09:50.919
Fans have made many interpretations of The
Bolter, with links to a London
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pub in the form of Mansion Houses
bar of the same name, while also
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00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:00.799
alluding to a suitor running into the
night, something fans insisted was about Joe.
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00:10:01.159 --> 00:10:05.519
Some Twitter users claimed the location is
where the former couple enjoyed their first
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00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:09.879
date, Yet the claims were quickly
disputed by devoted followers. The initial claim
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00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:15.399
came from a fan writing the Bolter
is a bar in London where Taylor and
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00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:20.360
Joe went on their first outing.
I'm done by Others followed up writing apparently
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00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:24.279
that's not the bar they were publicly
first seen together. But there is indeed
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00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:28.200
this bar in London, which is
crazy anyway, guys, it's not real.
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00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:33.039
It was different place. She sings, started with a kiss. Oh,
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00:10:33.120 --> 00:10:35.200
we must stop meeting like this,
But it always ends with a town
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00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:39.240
car speeding out the drive. One
evening ended with the slam of a door.
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00:10:39.559 --> 00:10:43.240
But she's got the best stories,
you can be sure. All her
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00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:48.320
effing lives flashed before her eyes,
and she realized it feels like the time
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00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:54.919
she fell through the ice then came
out alive. Thirty Robin. Her penultimate
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00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.240
track is also reflective of her youth, as she reflects on how innocence is
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00:10:58.320 --> 00:11:03.799
ripped away with she sings, you
get the dragonflies above your bed, you
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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
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00:11:11.879 --> 00:11:16.679
and the mean. You'll learn to
bounce back just like your trampoline. Despite
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00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:20.159
this, there's an element of hope
involved as she sings, but now we'll
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00:11:20.159 --> 00:11:26.519
curtail your curiosity in sweetness. Way
to Go Tiger, Way to Go Tiger,
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00:11:26.720 --> 00:11:31.679
Higher and higher, Higher and higher, wilder and lighter. The last
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00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:35.639
song is the Manuscript, the only
bonus track on the first physical versions of
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00:11:35.679 --> 00:11:39.120
Taylor's album, seems to be a
follow up to All Too Well, her
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00:11:39.240 --> 00:11:45.679
song about Jake Jillenhall. She reflects
on a past romance as she sings Now
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00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:48.759
and then she rereads the manuscript of
the entire torrid affairs. He said that
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00:11:48.799 --> 00:11:52.039
if the sex was half as good
as the conversation was, soon they'd be
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00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:56.840
pushing strollers. But soon it was
over. In a nod to All Too
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00:11:56.879 --> 00:12:03.039
Well ten minute version and its music
video directly, Taylor continues, the professor
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00:12:03.080 --> 00:12:07.000
said, to write what you know
looking backwards might be the only way to
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00:12:07.039 --> 00:12:13.759
move forward. Then the actors were
hitting their marks. The Tortured Poets Department
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00:12:13.840 --> 00:12:18.399
is a deeply personal and introspective album
that delves into the intricacies of Taylor Swift's
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00:12:18.440 --> 00:12:24.399
past relationships, feuds, and personal
struggles. With its clever wordplay, hidden
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00:12:24.440 --> 00:12:30.240
easter eggs, and raw emotional honesty, the album is sure to resonate with
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00:12:30.360 --> 00:12:35.639
fans and solidify Taylor's status as one
of the most talented and influential singer songwriters
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00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:39.759
of her generation. Join us for
more bonus episodes as we break down the
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00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:45.200
fan feedback from Taylor's new album,
That's It. For part two of the
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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
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00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:54.799
Swift Today. My thanks to Mark
Francis and John McDermott. This has been
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00:12:54.799 --> 00:12:58.799
a production of Calarugus Shark Media.
Some portions may have production assistants by Ai
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