Taylor Swift is only cryptic and machiavellian because she cares.
On Monday, the 34-year-old singer perfectly timed up her Instagram Story — complete with a link to download her upcoming 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Society — with the solar eclipse to reveal one of the first lyrics from the highly anticipated April 19 release.
In the video, a typewriter is seen with its keys typing out the words to the unidentified song, revealing three lines, including one with an on-the-nose reference to Monday’s activity in the sky.
“Crowd goes wild at her fingertips / Half moonshine, Full eclipse,” the sheet of paper reveals.
Taylor Swift posts lyrics to 'The Tortured Poets Department' to her Instagram Story – @TaylorSwift on Instagram
The Instagram Story comes as Swift is in the midst of the European leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour and less than two weeks out from the album’s drop.
As Swifties eagerly await the new drop, here’s everything she’s revealed about the project (so far). We’ll continue to monitor as the new updates roll in.
The AnnouncementTaylor Swift accepts her 13th Grammy Award – VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Swift dropped the news of her impending release onstage at the GRAMMYs on Feb. 4 while accepting her 13th trophy from the Recording Academy. The announcement came amid ongoing red herrings from the star, who many fans believed had been hinting at an imminent Reputation (Taylor’s Version) drop.
“OK, this is my 13th GRAMMY, which is my lucky number. I don’t know if I’ve ever told you that,” Swift quipped while accepting the Best Pop Vocal Album award for her last original album, Midnights. “I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans.”
Swift continued, “I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand new album comes out April 19th. It’s called The Tortured Poets Department. I’m gonna go post the cover right now backstage. Thank you, I love you.”
The Covers
Moments later, Swift took to social media to share the main cover image for the album.
Shot by Beth Garrabrant, the black-and-white pic shows Swift lying on a bed, surrounded by pillows. The second slide of her Instagram post featured a handwritten page of what appeared to be lyrics, which read, “And so I enter into evidence / My tarnished coat of arms / My muses, acquired like bruises / My talismans and charms / The tick, tick, tick of love bombs / My veins of pitch black ink.”
At the bottom of the page, Swift wrote, “All’s fair in love and poetry – sincerely, The Chairman of The Tortured Poets Department.”
It was the first of four covers to be unveiled. On the album’s back cover, the songstress looks forlorn as she rests her head on her hand. Text splashed across the image reads, “I love you, it’s ruining my life.”
The first edition is labeled “The Manuscript,” as a reflection of the album’s bonus track title. Swift has gone on to share additional versions of the LP including bonus tracks called “The Bolter,” “The Albatross” and “The Black Dog.” Each one features a cohesive black and white or sepia toned aesthetic.
The Track List + Collaborations
Featured on the track list are collaborations with Post Malone (“Fortnight”) and Florence + the Machine (“Florida!!!”).
Check out the full list of songs below:
SIDE A:
“Fortnight” feat. Post Malone”The Tortured Poets Department” “My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys” “Down Bad”
SIDE B:
“So Long, London” “But Daddy I Love Him” “Fresh Out the Slammer” “Florida!!!” feat. Florence + the Machine
SIDE C:
“Guilty as Sin?” “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?””I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)””loml”
SIDE D
“I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived” “The Alchemy” “Clara Bow” “The Manuscript” OR “The Bolter” OR “The Albatross” (Bonus Track) The TimelineTaylor Swift during the 'Reputation' setlist at the Eras Tour – Christopher Jue/TAS24/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
When announcing The Tortured Poets Department in February, Swift teased that the project had been in the works for two years. Then, during a tour stop in Tokyo, Japan, Swift further elaborated on the timeline.
“I’ve been working on Tortured Poets since right after I turned in Midnights,” she told the audience at the Tokyo Dome, clarifying that albums are submitted “months in advance” so they can be finalized.
Midnights was released in October 2022, and went on to make history when it was selected as the Album of the Year winner at the 2024 GRAMMYs.
In the time since Midnights dropped, Swift has also notably released two rerecorded albums: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and the record-breaking 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
“I’ve been working on it for about two years,” she confirmed of Tortured Poets. “I kept working on it throughout the U.S. tour and when it was perfect, in my opinion, when it was good enough for you, I finished it.”
She continued, “I am so, so excited that soon you’ll get to hear it, soon we’ll get to experience that together, and I’m just like, I’m over the moon about the fact that you guys care about my music. It still blows my mind. I love doing this, I know I keep saying that, but that’s because it’s true.'”
Swift joked that she’s been asked on numerous occasions, “Why do you make so many albums?” She replied, “Man, because I love it. I love it so much.”
She added, “I’m having fun, leave me alone.”
The Inspiration
While many fans expected Swift to announce a release date for Reputation (Taylor’s Version) at the GRAMMYs, news that Swift had already finished a completely original album took many by surprise — and sent Swiftie sleuths into overdrive to uncover clues about its origin and inspiration.
Quickly, a 2022 video of Swift’s ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, resurfaced in which he revealed that he was in a group chat with friends called “The Tortured Mans Club.” The former couple was in a relationship for six years before ET broke the news of their split in April of last year.
The track “So Long, London” also caught many eyes, with Swifties wondering if it might also be a reference to Alwyn, who is English.
Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn. The couple split in 2023 after more than five years together – Christopher Polk/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank
The celebrated songwriter is, of course, well known for her deeply personal lyrics and storytelling.
During a tour stop in Australia, Swift told the audience that creating Tortured Poets was a necessary outlet during a tumultuous time.
“This album, this new one, Tortured Poets, is an album that I think more than any of my albums that I’ve ever made — I needed to make it,” she said.
“It was really a lifeline for me, just the things I was going through, the things I was writing about,” she continued. “It kind of reminded me of why songwriting is something that like actually gets me through my life.”
She added, “I’ve never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I needed it on Tortured Poets.”
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce following his win at Super Bowl LVIII – Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
It’s not yet clear if any of the Tortured Poets songs will include references to her current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The couple first connected after Kelce famously called her out on his podcast, New Heights, in July for refusing to meet him during her tour stop at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. In a later interview with Time, Swift said she thought the move was “metal as hell.”
The duo went public with their romance in September, when the musician made her first of many appearances at her beau’s NFL games. The rest, as they say, is history
Taylor Swift on stage during the Eras Tour – Fernando Leon/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
In an Instagram Story on April 8, she revealed some of the very first lyrics from the album as a tease from the album’s upcoming release.
“Crowd goes wild at her fingertips / Half moonshine, Full eclipse,” she shared. It’s unclear which song the lyrics come from.
Taylor Swift – @TaylorSwift on Instagram
For more on The Tortured Poets Department leading up to its April 19 release, follow ET’s latest Swift coverage here.
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