Every Reference Taylor Swift Makes to Joe Alwyn in The Tortured ...

Taylor Swift’s eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department, is finally here. After surprise-announcing the album at the Grammy Awards back in February, the singer-songwriter dropped 16 new tracks at midnight last night, before then dropping another 15 two hours later, as part of a secret double album she deemed The Anthology. And in classic Swift fashion, these 31 songs are bursting with confessional lyrics, headline-grabbing anecdotes, and heartbreaking imagery.

Leading up to the album’s release, Swifties were certain the record would focus mainly on the chart-topper’s six-year relationship with Joe Alwyn, who she split from in early 2023. However, following the couple’s separation, Swift quickly entered into a whirlwind relationship with The 1975 frontman, Matty Healy, before eventually becoming involved in a high-profile relationship with NFL tight end Travis Kelce—and both these men play a considerable part in the Tortured Poets Department tracks as well.

But back to Alwyn, we’ve seen him be the focus of many of Swift’s LPs, from Lover to Reputation, and the Conversations with Friends actor is certainly all over The Tortured Poets Department too. Of course, we can’t know for sure which songs are about him, but there’s lots of damning evidence. Here, we break down all the clues, allusions, and Easter eggs that seem to point to Alwyn. Listen to each track and read the full lyrics below.

Acting as a sort of mournful sister song to Swift’s Lover-era ode to Alwyn, “London Boy,” the fifth track on TTPD continues the singer’s streak of emotional track number fives. In this song, Swift seems to be singing to Alwyn (AKA “London”) following their breakup, telling him that he’ll find the right person even if things didn’t work out for them. “Oh, the tragedy / So long, London / You'll find someone.”

In the song, Swift expresses certain insecurities that she felt in her relationship with Alwyn, like when she says, “And my friends said it isn't right to be scared / Every day of a love affair / Every breath feels like rarest air / When you're not sure if he wants to be there.”

Swift also seems to suggest that she was waiting for Alwyn to propose after their many years together. “You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waitin' for the proof.” (Throughout their time together, there were multiple instances where fans thought the couple had secretly gotten engaged.)

So (So) long (Long), London (London)So (So) long (Long), London (London)So (So) long (Long), London (London)

I saw, in my mind, fairy lights through the mistI kept calm and carried the weight of the riftPulled him in tighter each time he was driftin' awayMy spine split from carrying us up the hillWet through my clothes, weary bones got the chillI stopped tryin' to make him laugh, stopped tryin' to drill the safe

Thinkin', how much sad did you think I hadDid you think I had in me?Oh, the tragedySo long, LondonYou'll find someone

I didn't opt in to be your odd man outI founded the club she's heard great things aboutI left all I knew, you left me at the house by the HeathI stoppеd CPR, after all, it's no useThe spirit was gonе, we would never come toAnd I'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free

For so long, LondonStitches undoneTwo graves, one gunI'll find someone

And you say I abandoned the shipBut I was going down with itMy white-knuckle dyin' gripHolding tight to your quiet resentmentAnd my friends said it isn't right to be scaredEvery day of a love affairEvery breath feels like rarest airWhen you're not sure if he wants to be there

So how much sad did you think I hadDid you think I had in me?How much tragedy?Just how low did youThink I'd go 'fore I'd self-implode?'Fore I'd have to go be free?

You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues?I died on the altar waitin' for the proofYou sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest daysAnd I'm just getting color back into my faceI'm just mad as hell 'cause I loved this place for

So (so) long (long), London (London)Had (had) a (a) good (good) run (run)A moment (moment) of warm sun (sun)But I'm (I'm) not (not) the (the) one (one)So (so) long (long), London (London)Stitches (stitches) undone (undone)Two (two) graves (graves), one gun (gun)You'll (you'll) find (find) someone

The seventh track on The Tortured Poets Department is a slinking number where Swift seemingly compares the end of her relationship with Alwyn to serving time in jail. But once she’s “free” from the slammer, Swift is eager to rebound.

In the chorus, Swift relates how she felt trapped in her previous relationship. “Gray and blue and fights and tunnels / Handcuffed to the spell I was under / For just one hour of sunshine / Years of labor, locks and ceilings / In the shade of how he was feeling / But it's gonna be alright, I did my time.”

Now, she’s found a man who is helping her to escape the heartbreak and those feelings of helplessness (seemingly Matty Healy, who she started dating not long after she and Alwyn called it quits). “Now, pretty baby / I'm runnin' back home to you / Frеsh out the slammer / I know who my first call will be to.”

Interestingly, the line about “runnin' back home” may imply that Healy and Swift were romantically linked before the singer ended her relationship with Alwyn, as fans have previously speculated.

Now, pretty babyI'm runnin' back home to youFresh out the slammerI know who my first call will be to(Fresh out the slammer, oh)

Another summer, takin' cover, rolling thunderHe don't understand meSplintered back in winter, silent dinners, bitterHe was with her in dreams

Gray and blue and fights and tunnelsHandcuffed to the spell I was underFor just one hour of sunshineYears of labor, locks and ceilingsIn the shade of how he was feelingBut it's gonna be alright, I did my time

Now, pretty babyI'm runnin' back home to youFrеsh out the slammerI know who my first call will be to(Frеsh out the slammer, oh)

Camera flashes, welcome bashes, get the matchesToss the ashes off the ledgeAs I said in my letters, now that I know betterI will never lose my baby again

My friends tried, but I wouldn't hear itWatch me daily disappearingFor just one glimpse of his smileAll those nights, he kept me goin'Swirled you into all of my poemsNow we're at the starting line, I did my time

Now, pretty babyI'm runnin'

To the house where you still wait up and that porch light gleams (Gleams)To the one who says I'm the girl of his American dreamsAnd no matter what I've done, it wouldn't matter anywayAin't no way I'm gonna screw up now that I know what's at stake hereAt the park where we used to sit on children's swingsWearing imaginary rings

But it's gonna be alright, I did my time

In this pulsing collaboration with Florence + the Machine, Swift describes Florida as a haven that she escapes to amid the death of a relationship. Tampa, Florida also happens to be the first city that she performed in for the Eras Tour after the news of her split from Alwyn went public. She sings, “I need to forget, so take me to Florida / I've got some regrets, I'll bury them in Florida.”

Elsewhere in the track, Swift describes her home as being “really only a town you're just a guest in”—perhaps referencing her departure from London after intermittently living across the pond to be with Alwyn.

You can beat the heat if you beat the charges tooThey said I was a cheat, I guess it must be trueAnd my friends all smell like weed or little babiesAnd this city reeks of driving myself crazy

Little did you know your home's really onlyA town you're just a guest inSo you work your life away just to payFor a time-share down in Destin

FloridaIs one hell of a drugFloridaCan I use you up?

The hurricane with my name when it cameI got drunk and I dared it to wash me awayBarricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wineWell, me and my ghosts, wе had a hell of a timeYes, I'm hauntеd, but I'm feeling just fineAll my girls got their lace and their crimesAnd your cheating husband disappearedWell, no one asks any questions here

So I did my best to lay to restAll of the bodies that have ever been on my bodyAnd in my mind, they sink into the swampIs that a bad thing to say in a song?

Little did you know your home's really onlyThe town you'll get arrestedSo you pack your life away just to wait outThe shitstorm back in Texas

FloridaIs one hell of a drugFloridaCan I use you up?

I need to forget, so take me to FloridaI've got some regrets, I'll bury them in FloridaTell me I'm despicable, say it's unforgivableAt least the dolls are beautiful, fuck me up, FloridaI need to forget, so take me to FloridaI've got some regrets, I'll bury them in FloridaTell me I'm despicable, say it's unforgivableWhat a crash, what a rush, fuck me up, FloridaIt's one hell of a drugIt's one hell of a drugLove loves me like this and I want to resistSo take me to Florida

Little did you know your home's really onlyA town you're just a guest in (Florida)So you work your life away just to payFor a time-share down in Destin (Take me to Florida)Little did you know your home's really onlyThe town you'll get arrested (Florida)So you pack your life away just to wait outThe shitstorm back in Texas

FloridaIs one hell of a drug(Take me to) FloridaCan I use you up?FloridaIs one hell of a drugFloridaGo on, fuck me up

In a classic Swiftian turn of phrase, the wordsmith takes an acronym typically meaning “love of my life” and gives it a tragic twist, to refer to the “loss of her life,” seemingly Alwyn.

Throughout the song, Swift sings of a great love lost: “If you know it in one glimpse, it's legendary / You and I go from one kiss to getting marriеd / Still alive, killing time at the cеmetery / Never quite buried / And you suit and tie in the nick of time / You low-down boy, you stand-off guy / You holy ghost, you told me I'm the love of your life / You said I'm the love of your life / About a million times.”

But despite the love and hopes they had for this relationship, it wasn’t meant to last. “If you know it in one glimpse, it's legendary,” she sings. “What we thought was for all time was momentary.”

In the past, Swift often sang about how she thought her relationship with Alwyn would last forever, from “Lover” to “New Year’s Day.” However, this song digs into those feelings when you realize you were wrong.

Who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flamesIf we know the steps anyway?We embroidered the memories of the time I was awayStitching, "We were just kids, babe"I said, "I don't mind, it takes time"I thought I was better safe than starry-eyedI've felt a glow like this never before and never since

If you know it in one glimpse, it's legendaryYou and I go from one kiss to getting marriеdStill alive, killing time at the cеmeteryNever quite buriedAnd you suit and tie in the nick of timeYou low-down boy, you stand-off guyYou holy ghost, you told me I'm the love of your lifeYou said I'm the love of your lifeAbout a million times

Who's gonna tell me the truth when you blew in with the winds of fateAnd told me I reformed you?When your impressionist paintings of heaven turned out to be fakesWell, you took me to hell tooAnd all at once, the ink bleedsA calm man sells a fool a get-love-quick schemeI've felt a hole like this never before and ever since

If you know it in one glimpse, it's legendaryWhat we thought was for all time was momentaryStill alive, killing time at the cemeteryNever quite buriedYou cinephile in black and whiteAll those plot twists and dynamiteMr. "Steal your girl, then make her cry"You said I'm the love of your life

You shit-talked me under the tableTalkin' rings and talkin' cradlesI wish I could unrecallHow we almost had it allDancing phantoms on the terraceAre they second-hand embarrassedThat I can't get out of bed'Cause something counterfeit's dead?It was legendaryIt was momentaryIt was unnecessaryShould I let it stay buried?

Oh, what a valiant roarWhat a bland goodbyeThe coward claimed he was a lionI'm combing through the braids of liesI'll never leave, never mindOur field of dreams engulfed in fireYour arsons match your somber eyesAnd I'll still see it until I dieYou're the loss of my life

While fans around the globe were cheering and singing along with Swift at her sold-out Eras Tour shows, the singer gets candid about what it was like to perform through the heartbreak in this deceptively upbeat track.

“I can read your mind / ‘She's having the time of her life / There in her glittering prime / The lights refract sequin stars off her silhouette every night’ / I can show you lies,” she sings at the beginning of the song, setting the scene at one of her tour stops following her split from Alwyn.

The pair reportedly called it quits right as Swift embarked on her tour, which is currently the highest-grossing concert tour of all time and is set to continue with the European leg in May.

However, Swift reveals that when the shows began, she was secretly struggling. “Cause I'm a real tough kid / I can handle my shit / They said, ‘Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it’ and I did / Lights, camera, bitch, smile / Even when you wanna die / He said he'd love me all his life.”

I can read your mind"She's having the time of her lifeThere in her glittering primeThe lights refract sequin stars off her silhouette every night"I can show you lies(One, two, three, four)

'Cause I'm a real tough kidI can handle my shitThey said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I didLights, camera, bitch, smileEven when you wanna dieHe said he'd love me all his lifeBut that life was too shortBreaking down, I hit the floorAll the piеces of me shatterеd as the crowd was chanting, "More"I was grinnin' like I'm winnin'I was hittin' my marks'Cause I can do it with a broken heart(One, two, three, four)

I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every dayI'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plagueI cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an artYou know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart

I can hold my breathI've been doin' it since he leftI keep finding his things in drawersCrucial evidence I didn't imagine the whole thingI'm sure I can pass this test(One, two, three, four)

'Cause I'm a real tough kidI can handle my shitThey said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I didLights, camera, bitch, smileIn stilettos for milesHe said he'd love me for all timeBut that time was quite shortBreaking down, I hit the floorAll the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting, "More"I was grinnin' like I'm winnin'I was hittin' my marks'Cause I can do it with a broken heart(One, two, three, four)

I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every dayI'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me (He avoids me) like the plague (He avoids me like the plague)I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an artYou know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart

You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heartYou know you're good, haha, good'Cause I'm miserable (Haha)And nobody even knowsAh, try and come for my job

In this soft piano ballad, Swift hauntingly recalls the aftermath of a breakup (“We hereby conduct / This post-mortem”), revealing that she and her ex planned to keep the intimate knowledge of their split between them and their inner circle of close friends. Still, she knows that won't stop the public from speculation about the relationship's downfall, even as she is dealing with the throes of romantic grief. “Come one, come all / It's happenin' again / The empathetic hunger descends / We'll tell no one / Except all of our friends / We must know / How did it end?”

The former couple's decision to keep the details of their breakup private is reminiscent of Alwyn's known desire to stay out of the spotlight throughout the duration of their relationship. In an April 2024 interview with Elle UK, the actor reflected on this reputation: “It's not really [because I] want to be guarded and private, it's more a response to something else. We live in a culture that is so increasingly intrusive… The more you give–and frankly, even if you don't give it–something will be taken.”

Indeed, Swift expresses a contempt for the public's inevitable reaction to their split. In one verse, she speculates what people will say upon hearing the news: “Guess who we ran into at the shops? / Walking in circles like she was lost / Didn't you hear? / They called it all off / One gasp and then / How did it end?”

We hereby conductThis post-mortemHe was a hot house flower to my outdoorsmenOur maladies was suchWe could not cure themAnd so a touch that was my birthright became foreign

Come one, come allIt's happenin' againThe empathetic hunger descendsWe'll tell no oneExcept all of our friendsWe must knowHow did it end?(Uh-oh, uh-oh)

We were blind to unforeseen circumstancesWe learn the right steps to differеnt dances (Oh, oh-oh)And fell victim to interlopеr's glancesLost the game of chance, what are the chances?Soon, they'll go home to their husbandsSmug 'cause they know they can trust himThen feverishly calling their cousins (Oh, oh)

Guess who we ran into at the shops?Walking in circles like she was lostDidn't you hear?They called it all offOne gasp and thenHow did it end?

Say it once again with feelingHow the death rattle breathingSilenced as the soul was leavingThe deflation of our dreamingLeaving me bereft and reelingMy beloved ghost and meSitting in a treeD-Y-I-N-G

It's happenin' againHow did it end?I can't pretend like I understandHow did it end?

Come one come allIt's happenin' againThe empathatic hunger descendsWe'll tell no oneExcept all of our friendsBut I still don't knowHow did it end?