Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department tracklist teases Joe Alwyn connections

New York, New York - Taylor Swift sent shockwaves through her entire fandom with the tracklist for her upcoming album, The Tortured Poets Department, and Swifties are convinced the titles have confirmed what – and who – inspired the record.

Taylor Swift's tracklist for The Tortured Poets Department has all but confirmed the record was inspired by her split from Joe Alwyn after six years of dating.
Taylor Swift's tracklist for The Tortured Poets Department has all but confirmed the record was inspired by her split from Joe Alwyn after six years of dating.  © Collage: IMAGO / Landmark Media & REUTERS

So long, London boy!

The 34-year-old pop star dropped the plot twist of a lifetime at Sunday's 2024 Grammy Awards by announcing her 11th studio album, shifting gears from her recent re-recording drops.

On Monday evening, Taylor gave fans a look at the album's tracklist and its seriously telling tagline: "I love you, it's ruining my life."

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The reveal also confirmed the two collaborators of The Tortured Poets Department era as Post Malone and Florence + the Machine, but it's the song titles that have sparked the most Swiftie chatter online.

Namely, the album's track 5: So Long, London. The fifth spot has consistently hosted Taylor's most emotional songs on each record – think All Too Well, Dear John, my tears ricochet, and so on.

Of course, it doesn't take a mastermind to figure out what it may be about, as the Anti-Hero artist famously split from her London Boy, Joe Alwyn, last April, so the title has all but confirmed this will be a proper breakup album.

But So Long, London isn't the only song at the center of fan theories surrounding the split, as plenty of the other titles seem to allude to what went wrong in the six-year romance.

Did Taylor Swift's split from Joe Alwyn inspire The Tortured Poets Department?

Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department will released on April 19.
Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department will released on April 19.  © MATT WINKELMEYER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

Many have speculated that Joe's desire to be as private as possible with their relationship led to the split as Taylor's star power began to grow astronomically in late 2022.

The Karma songstress has since alluded to her regrets about hiding for so long, and titles like Fresh Out the Slammer and Clara Bow have stirred theories that these thoughts will hold a notable presence in The Tortured Poets Department.

Fresh Out the Slammer has led many to recirculate a quote from Taylor's TIME Person of the Year profile in December, where she told the magazine, "Me locking myself away in my house for a lot of years – I'll never get that time back."

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Clara Bow, presumably titled after the iconic actor and first-ever "It Girl," has sparked similar connections, with some pointing to her transition from silent films to "talkies" as a metaphor for Taylor getting her voice back and readopting a more public persona.

Fans have made similar observations about But Daddy I Love Him, likely borrowed from Disney's The Little Mermaid when Ariel defends her decision to give up her voice to be with Prince Eric.

But that's not all fans are speculating when it comes to that song, as the vast intersection between Swifties and Harries has reminded everyone on social media that Harry Styles, who briefly dated Taylor between 2012 and 2013, once famously wore a t-shirt bearing the same quote.

Could that mean anything? Probably not, but a girl can dream!

The Tortured Poets Department (and all of its glorious lore) drops on April 19.

Cover photo: Collage: IMAGO / Landmark Media & REUTERS

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