Brutal signs Taylor Swift’s album is about ex Joe Alwyn from tracklist to timing

06 February 2024 , 14:08

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Taylor's fans have warned Joe Alwyn to 'take cover' ahead of her new album release

Taylor Swift’s new album is shaping up to be a breakdown of her six-year relationship with ex-boyfriend Joe Alwyn, and Swifties couldn’t be more excited.

The Cruel Summer hitmaker stunned fans on Sunday when she announced her 11th studio album as she accepted the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammys. “I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I’ve been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out on 19 April,” Taylor revealed. But it was the name of her upcoming album that drove her fans wild.

She told the audience it would be called The Tortured Poets Department, which was the first in a series of digs at her ex-boyfriend. Back in 2022, Joe and fellow actor Paul Mescal revealed during an interview with Variety that they, as well as Andrew Scott, had a group chat on WhatsApp called The Tortured Man Club.

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Taylor and Joe were together for six years (NBCU Photo Bank)

And it didn’t stop there. Swifties were delirious when Taylor posted the full tracklist of her upcoming album, as it became clear The Tortured Poets Department was aimed directly at her actor ex. Side A kicks off with Fortnight (feat. Post Malone), before launching into The Tortured Poets Department, My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys and Down Bad. Side B begins with the biggest hint the album is about their break-up, as the first track is So Long, London, followed by But Daddy I Love Him, Fresh Out the Slammer, and Florida!!! (feat. Florence + the Machine).

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Side C suggests the tracks could detail the aftermath of their relationship breakdown, with tracks Guilty as Sin? Followed by Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?, I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) and loml. Side D is another hint at the bitter collapse of their love affair, kicking off with I Can Do It With a Broken Heart, The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, The Alchemy and Clara Bow, plus a bonus track titled The Manuscript.

It was announced last April that Taylor and Joe had parted ways (Blitz Pictures/REX/Shutterstock)

Swifties are awaiting juicy details of their break-up thanks to the epic track titles (GC Images)

“Every song title from The Tortured Poets Department is bad for Joe Alwyn,” one fan posted on X/Twitter. “He needs to just enter witness protection now,” another quipped. “The titles for taylor’s new album? oh joe alwyn,” one fan joked.

While his name didn’t directly appear in any of the tracks, it is widely assumed So Long, London will be about her relationship with Joe as her 2019 song London Boy was about her romance with the Conversations with Friends actor. Tracks such as I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can) and But Daddy I Love Him hint at the devastating final few months of their relationship, with fans anticipating heartbreaking lyrics about their love ending.

Taylor's 11th studio album will be released in April (AFP via Getty Images)

But she appears defiant with tracks including Who's Afraid of Little Old Me? and The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived, which Swifties have deduced will be about Joe. Many have suggested it could also be about her ex’s reaction to her brief fling with The 1975 singer Matty Healy, who she was spotted enjoying dates with just weeks after breaking up with the British actor. While one diehard fan believes Fresh Out the Slammer is about her new-found singledom after six years with Joe, another suggested Clara Bow is “giving William Bowery”, which was the actor’s pseudonym when working on Taylor’s 2020 album Folklore.

Others noted that Florida!!! could be about her first performance following the news of her break-up with Joe, as she took to the stage in Tampa on April 13 last year, just days after it was announced they had parted ways. Her track loml, which stands for love of my life, has also been linked to the actor, with one tweeting: “Joe Alwyn will pay for his crimes.”

Emma Wilson