#The Albatross

[midnightsslut]

no one asked, but I’ve been thinking a lot about the albatross and its placement on the bargaining playlist. I have come to the conclusion that the song serves as a warning to anyone who tries to avoid/‘imprison’ her. this man was told that she would kill his garden, tempt him, and eventually destroy him. she was a wild wind instead of a normal, harmless rose. yet, he could neither avoid her nor lock her away in a tower. he was too drunk to think his decision through (‘cross your thoughtless heart / only liquor anoints you’). he chose her despite all the warnings he received. he shot all the messengers who tried to persuade him. he couldn’t fully commit to being with her, either, so he locked her away in a tower. ultimately, she was the only one who could protect him from the same men who once condemned her. he chose to be subjected to that danger by being with her (‘the rain is always gonna come if you’re standing with me’ —> ‘I’m the life you chose, and all this terrible danger’). the two characters in the song seem to finally be at peace. however, the outro switches to third person and makes it clear that she will, in fact, destroy him. she is the albatross in his life. he will wear her around his neck forever. he could try to bargain with her all he wants, but he was delusional to think this would end any other way. she is both the angel and the devil in his life. she could protect him from the media attention she subjected him to, but she could simultaneously destroy him by feeding into the rain of fire through her songwriting.

#the albatross #aaaand now I get why it’s one of the bonus tracks #and white horse/coney island foreshadowed this duality in perspectives #white horse is all about the fairytale ending you envisioned crashing down #and coney island is from the perspective of the person who ignored their lover #in the albatross this person tries to ignore her but she visits in his dreams just as her face is the sight that flashed before his in coney #island #and he will not be able to catch her #bc you can’t catch the albatross either #it kinda flips the story of white horse though it’s still a doomed fairytale #anyway #ttpd #white horse #coney island #evermore

[taylortruther]

Thoughts on The Albatross today?

i think it's a really big song that covers a lot of ground. she discusses her reputation as a curse, a scandal, destruction, but she asserts that she's also salvation. she knows the truth: that the vilification is foolish, hypocritical, and a form of control that is not limited to just her.

i'm thinking of the criticism she's received for her love life, for being an outspoken woman, her experiences being raised up and down the flag pole of public opinion without apology, how she's said other artists will call her when they're "cancelled," how we saw powerful men openly viciously talking down to her when she said she was upset that scooter had purchased her masters, how everyone turned on her after the kim/kanye call, and so on and so forth.

"wise men" are misogynists, powerful execs who want to maintain control... but also the public, fans, the "vipers dressed in empaths clothing" (bdilh.)

as the albatross, she's attempted to warn everyone that no one is truly safe - associating with her is dangerous, but, imo she's also pointing out that she isn't the only 'albatross.' "you couldn't conceive it / you were sleeping soundly / when they dragged you from your bed / and i tried to warn you about them"... she would know, having been figuratively shot multiple times, yet continuing to survive.

#the albatross

[sarcasmiclife]

I mean who else would ever use one less temptress one less dagger to sharpen in their song and make it sound badass?

#the albatross #taylor swift #taylornation #taylorswift #ts 11 #ts11 #tswift #t swift #ts ttpd #taylor swift ttpd #ttpd era #ttpd #the tortured poets department

[alexswift13]

taylor announcing something on the eras tour will always be my favorite thing!!!

#taylor swift #taylorswift #eras tour #ts the eras tour #the eras tour #1989 tv #speak now tv #i can see you mv #i can see you #the tortured poets department #ttpd #the bolter #edited #karma music video #karma #karma mv #midnights #the albatross #ts ttpd #ttpd variants #the black dog #deluxe tracks

[florida3exclamationpoints]

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT

#taylor swift #taylor swift edit #the tortured poets department #ttpd #the manuscript #the bolter #the albatross #the black dog #tswiftedit #ts edit #tsusermeggie #usereris #userelena #userleah #userthelasttime #usercruelstyle

[taylornation]

We’re unsealing THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT files for one last chance to pre-order your favorite special edition vinyl, deluxe CDs, and cassettes before publication on April 19. 🗃️

As the old simile goes, move swift af boi, because the special editions are available for 48 hours, and all editions have limited supply. 🤍

#Taylor Swift #THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT #TS TTPD #The Bolter #The Albatross #The Black Dog #The Manuscript #Vinyl #Cassette #Deluxe CD

[sheisobvious]

the tortured poets department ♡

#taylor swift #the tortured poets department #the albatross #the black dog #the manuscript #the bolter #mine #candy swift #tsedit #tswiftedit #tsedits #tswiftart #tswiftcreatorsnet #tswiftedits #taylor swift lyrics #ttpd

[stillgotscars]

the albatross - taylor swift

#taylor swift #tswiftedit #my edit #typography #the tortured poets department #the albatross

[swiftieinbrazil]

THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT + all editions

#taylor swift #tswiftedit #tsedit #taylorswiftedit #the tortured poets department #ttpd #ts11 #the manuscript #the bolter #the albatross #the black dog #ttpd era #ttpd aesthetic #my edit #tscreators #canva #tswift

[iwanderthroughthesenights]

Something that stood out to me a lot from this album is the intentional de-personalization of extremely personal feelings and stories. She seems to have decided for this project that in order to be free to be completely honest in her art (which tbf she always has been but never as much as this album), she needs to visualize herself, and thus her stories, as a third party, an external entity on which she's conducting a post-mortem examination. Her 2016 self and the hate train she suffered after Snakegate is reimagined as Cassandra, a character from Greek mythology who had visions in her dreams but no one believed her and instead she was punished. Her anxiety of holding her lover's career back is instead described as The Albatross, this girl who everyone has been warned to stay away from bc she causes problems and is a liability. Her sweet, innocent childhood self is depicted as a robin, a feisty little bird full of life, dreams, and potential who has yet no clue of the cruelty of the world.

Consequently, the characters in her life are, too, bestowed upon fictional characters from stories that have been told before and/or are familiar in some way to the listener (aIMee the girl from this allegorical high school which is actually Kim Kardashian, Peter the boy who never grew up and stayed forever in Neverland who actually is her long-term ex partner, both her and her lover's separate romantic involvements imagined as Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus, her real life therapist referred to as The Professor etc). By using the representation of well-known characters from widely popular stories and myths with names and all, she creates an even deeper line of emotional connection with the listener. Then, the 4th wall is delightfully broken in Clara Bow, where she refers to Clara Bow and Stevie Nicks as the inherent precedents to Taylor Swift. But what's even more brilliant about this is that in this way, she is making Taylor Swift into a character in and of itself. She is actually attempting to externalize Taylor Swift from Taylor the real-life woman. By narrating her stories through tangible entities presented as completely external to herself, she is inhibited by the safety of this fictional/allegorical lense through which she's allowing her stories to be consumed, and as a result, she has unlimited freedom to be more personal than she has ever been in her art before.

#this gives protection to not only her privacy and her right to a personal life but also the privacy of the real ppl in her life #without her needing to restrain from telling stories that real life ppl are inevitably a part of #it's also just a genuis move as an artist and creator #ttpd #taylor swift #allegory #clara bow #peter pan #robin #The Albatross #thanK you aIMee

[the-wyzer]

Full Albatrio! I already miss them 😭

#wyzer art #jrwi #just roll with it chip #just roll with it gillion #just roll with it jay #just roll with it riptide #just roll with it fanart #just roll with it #jrwi gillion #jrwi jay #jrwi chip #jrwi riptide #jrwi fanart #albatrio #the albatross #gillion fanart #gillion tidestrider #chip fanart #chip jrwi #jay ferin fanart #jay ferin

[ourstaturestouchtheskies]

The Tortured Poets Department (Art History Version) – The Complete Collection

#taylor swift eras (art history version) #the bolter #the albatross #the black dog #rabbit #rabbits #albatross #black dog #dog #dogs #dogs in art #the tortured poets department #tortured poets department #ts ttpd #ttpd #taylor swift #ttpd taylor swift #taylor swift ttpd #ts edit #tsedit #tswiftedit #tswift edits #art #art history

[evermoredeluxe]

i think the albatross on TTPD makes so much sense. we saw taylor talking about feeling like a burden and that she can’t bring peace in the last couple of albums, and then with matty, she saw how much backlash there was because she put him in the light (the fact that people are valid in their criticism of him is a different topic). she’s the devil, but she talks about also being an angel because she will stand by you throughout it and rescue you. and her head-on taking the full responsibility of being the destroyer and the savior simultaneously is her saying “at least im self-aware about the storm i bring.” i think 2023 really brought forth all this dark perception she has of herself (we also see this in how she talks about her being fucked up in the same way as matty), and maybe writing and talking about it is the first step to deconstructing that.

#the albatross #the tortured poets department #ttpd #taylor swift #arshia takes #arshia talks

[sombrewoodlandfairy]

the tortured poets department wallpapers

part 1 | part 2

#taylor swift #taylornation #tswiftlyrics #tswiftnation #tswiftedits #tswiftedit #tswiftdaily #tsusermeggie #tsuserella #tsuserbella #tsuserlaura #tsusermels #tsuserjen #tsuserclaire #tsuserannie #the tortured poets department #ttpd #i can fix him (no really i can) #loml #i can do it with a broken heart #the smallest man who ever lived #the alchemy #clara bow #the manuscript #the bolter #the albatross #the black dog #phone wallpaper #wallpapers #wallpaper

[4ktaylor]

The Tortured Poet Department Variants

#taylor swift #ttpd #ts ttpd #the tortured poets department #the albatross #the black dog #the manuscript #the bolter #4k #taylor swift 4k #album cover

[taylornation]

Minutes from Friday’s meeting:

✍️ THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT is out Apr 19.

✍️ You can nickname it TORTURED POETS if you hate long album titles.

✍️ New album edition The Albatross with an exclusive bonus track is available to pre-order until Feb 26 at 2pm ET (or while supplies last)!

#THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT #TSTTPD #Taylor Swift #The Albatross #The Eras Tour #TSTheErasTour #Sydney #SyndeyTSTheErasTour