Taylor Swift‘s eleventh studio album ‘The Tortured Poets Department‘ will be out in two months and fans are excited to see the tracklist and the album’s aesthetics, which is quite unlike anything Swift has released before.
While scavenging for more clues regarding details of the new album, fans found some references and easter eggs of Joe Alwyn and his relationship with Taylor of six years; which drops the question: is ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ an ode to Joe Alwyn? Here are all the indicators that say yes.
Related: Is Taylor Swift’s Ex Joe Alwyn Now Dating Paul MesCal?
Everything In Swift’s New Album That Screams ‘Joe Alwyn’
To begin with, the title itself. In 2022, Joe Alwyn revealed on a WhatsApp group he has with his fellow actor friends- which they called ‘The Tortured Man Club.’ Sounds familiar?
Fans have speculated that Swift must have used this reference to name her album- which is an indicator that the album is about him.
Furthermore, the track list seems to have an awful lot of Joe Alwyn references.
Taylor Swift – The Tortured Poets Department Tracklist pic.twitter.com/0ehuJRK9X5
— Walty (Taylor's version) (@LeVraiWalty) February 6, 2024
Track 5 ‘So Long London’ seems to be an allusion to Alwyn, who’s from London. Previously Swift had released a song called ‘London Boy’ dedicated to him.
Track 8 ‘Florida!!!’ seems to be a reference to him as well. Taylor’s show in Florida was the first time she had faced the public after her breakup with him was confirmed.
Taylor Swift returned to the stage on Thursday night in Tampa, Florida, for her first show since news broke of her breakup with Joe Alwyn. The "Anti-Hero" singer performed at Raymond James Stadium as part of her sold-out Eras Tour and was in highhttps://t.co/GC668Ie0N4
— Entertainment Avenue! (@crunchysandasmr) April 15, 2023
Track 15 ‘The Alchemy’ is also speculated to be dedicated to him. Previously she has referred to him in songs like ‘Gold Rush‘ and a lyric in ‘Daylight‘ where she sings ‘I once believed love would be burning red/ but it’s golden’
okay so the alchemy could possibly be her trying to hold on to joe and see him in a better light than he really is pic.twitter.com/ol7g6h7igA
— jary 💚 (@latenghttalkrry) February 6, 2024
she's made a lot of references to gold and golden with respect to joe and now 'the alchemy' being a track title here is so interesting. she's always build him up in her mind and her songs, what we know of him is through the good light she's shone on him in all those songs.
— taylore (@salltairr) February 6, 2024
It really does seem like the album is dedicated to their relationship and will reveal inside details on why they had to break up. But then again, Swift is known to surprise people so it would be interesting to see the lyricism behind these songs.
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How Has Joe Alwyn Reacted To Taylor’s New Album?
Joe Alwyn isn’t really that happy about the album and the potential of it being a diss album dedicated to him. Some of his sources spoke to Daily Mail and confirmed that the actor is just hoping that the songs on the album aren’t dissing him.
“Joe has not said one word about Taylor or their breakup and has been completely respectful of her,” the insider said, “Joe has no reason to believe yet that she is going to diss him or their relationship. She writes about her past using code and points of reference. It may just be that she is reflecting on their time together and he is hoping it is nothing more. If it is a diss album, that is shady. He helped her with song writing on her past album so it will really come as a shock to him if she talks about their breakup, as it is something he has not spoken of at all.”
The insider also confirmed that the title of the album really might be a reference to Alwyn’s group chat.
“It’s undeniable that the name of her upcoming album is in reference to Joe’s WhatsApp group chat,” they said, dding, “Taylor knocked him for the name of this when they were together. She didn’t want people to think that it had anything to do with her, so when he spoke out about it, she was, of course, bothered.”
‘The Tortured Poets Department’ comes out on 19th April.
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