THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT , the eleventh album release from international sensation Taylor Swift was released on April 19th. While many expected the album to detail her breakup with Joe Alwyn, her now ex partner of six years. The album seems to instead detail her intense whirlwind relationship with a different man.
Fitting this bill is 1975 front man Matty Healy who Swift was linked with in May of 2023.
While many songs on the album are speculated to be about Healy, the one that sticks out most is track six But Daddy I Love Him.
Taking its name from a line in 1989s The Little Mermaid, it appears to detail Swift’s difficulty navigating a relationship which was widely disapproved of and how she felt about these calls.
Swift and Healys Relationship
The couples relationship with one another started nine years before this, with Healy wearing a t-shirt of Swift’s new release 1989 on stage. Swift then came back, being seen wearing a 1975 t-shirt just a few days later.
The two have been sighted together through the years and as of 2022 shared the same producer, Jack Antonoff. Who has been a frequent collaborator of Swifts since 2013. He also helped produce the 1975s album Being Funny In A Foreign Language.
Healy himself also discussed a collaboration for Swift’s tenth album Midnights which went unused. In January, Swift appeared at the third night of The 1975 stay in London to perform Anti Hero and a cover of The City. This is all to say, the relationship between the two was not completely out of left field for anyone that had followed the two artists for a few years.
They were seen together in May of 2023, just a month after Swift’s split from Alwyn was announced, with Healy attending every night of her sell out Eras tour when it was in Nashville. When photos of the pair holding hands came out, it appeared to be too much for Swifties, who were quick to dig up Healys’ long list of controversies.
The two called it quits in June, after just a month together and ten months later, Swift seems ready to address the media, her management and even her own fans with how they treated the brief fling on But Daddy I Love Him.
“But Daddy I Love Him”
Swift opens the song saying: “I learnt these people only raise you/ To cage you”. Making an open statement about how stardom can feel like being trapped in a cage, having every move you make criticised. It’s an interesting perspective of how fans and media will frequently put artists on a pedestal only to crucify them when they do something the public doesn’t agree with.
In Swift’s case this is clearly a call to her relationship with Healy. She then goes on to sing: “Now i’m running with my dress unbuttoned.” Which appears to be a call back to the Love Story music video. She also makes a sarcastic comment of “I’m having his baby/ no, i’m not, but you should see your faces”. Mocking how everyone around her would panic at the announcement given their clear disapproval for her relationship with Healy.
Swift then sings: “The elders have convended/ Down at city hall.” Making reference to how her parents and management disapproved of her new relationship. This also ties into the title with “the elders”, also referencing “Daddy” who she appears to be addressing the song to.
The “Speak Up Now” campaign
The most scathing lyrics however, address her fans. Who upon dragging up Healy’s’ past controversies started the “Speak Up Now” campaign. To try and persuade Swift to call off her relationship with Healy.
While Swift didn’t respond to this at the time, she has made her feelings clear. Referring to the “Vipers dressed in empaths clothing” and stating: “I’d rather burn my whole life down/ than listen to another second of all this bitching and moaning.” Making it clear that she didn’t support the actions taken by her fans at this time.
She also states “God save the most judgmental creeps/ who say they only want what’s best for me”. Followed by “You aint gotta pray for me”. These together paint the image of Swift starting to become sick of fans being intertwined with her personal life. Going as far as demanding the end of the relationship. While the song ends on a positive note, its conveying a very clear message from Swift. Her relationships are at her own discretion and while she may write about her life, it is no ones place to tell her who she can and can’t date.
The Tortured Poets Department is available to stream now:
https://open.spotify.com/album/1Mo4aZ8pdj6L1jx8zSwJnt?si=pxEFWPkJRjCVMT1wjMdVQw
Feature Image Credit: Taylor Swift
A second year student studying Journalism and film, with a love for all things music and horror
