Five songs to prepare you for Taylor Swift's 'The Tortured Poets Department'

No. 3 - "the lakes" - folklore

While the flavor of The Tortured Poets Department has yet to be determined, that has yet to stop Swifties from speculating the possible genre of the album. Given the album’s title, track list, and cover art, Swifties seem to be in agreement that The Tortured Poets Department will likely have melancholy undertones. 

Much like Swift’s twin albums, folklore and evermore, The Tortured Poets Department is believed to fall in the indie-pop genre. Given this fact, I recommend the track “the lakes” which is a bonus track on the deluxe version of folklore. The references to poetry are unmissable on this track with Swift dreamily singing the lyrics “Take me to the lakes where all the poets went to die/I don't belong, and my beloved, neither do you” as well as the line “​​I want auroras and sad prose.”

No. 4 - "London Boy" - Lover

Appearing on Swift’s 2019 album Lover, “London Boy” is believed to be an ode to Swift’s ex-boyfriend of six years, Joe Alwyn who hails from the U.K.  When reports surged last April that the pair broke up, the Swiftie community was rocked to its core. Swift and Alwyn’s relationship was a fixture of her album lore, with Swifties speculating that Alwyn was Swift’s muse for songs dating back to the Reputation album.

Given this fact, The Tortured Poets Department has a track called “So Long, London” which is likely Swift’s reflection on the culmination of their relationship. It is also unmissable that “So Long, London” is the fifth track on the album. Swift has historically made each album’s fifth song her saddest, such as Speak Now’s “Dear John” or Red’s “All Too Well,” therefore we can predict that this latest addition will likely be a tearjerker.