Celebrate the release of Swift’s 11th studio album with 11 of our favorite quotes from Taylor Swift: In Her Own Words.
To celebrate the latest additions to Swift’s nearly twenty-year long career, cleverly dropping in National Poetry Month, here are eleven of our favorite quotes from Taylor Swift and how they may hint at what’s to come in The Tortured Poets Department. You can find these quotes and many more in our title Taylor Swift: In Her Own Words.
Swift emerged into the country music scene with her 2006 self-titled debut album as a diaristic writer, encoding her own relationships and struggles into the lyrics of her music. The Tortured Poets Department is speculated to chronicle the last few years of Swift’s life with former beau Joe Alwyn, spanning the stages of grief one endures at the end of a relationship.
“The Tortured Poets Department” features black and white album art, moody track titles like “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” and seven songs labeled explicit, leading many fans to speculate this might be the most ‘mature’ sounding of Swift’s albums so far.
The singer-songwriter has told fans several times since she announced The Tortured Poets Department that this was an album she “needed” to write, hinting at tracks that helped her parse through the emotional highs and lows of the last two years. Many of Swift’s previous works also play with the many facets of concepts like love, heartbreak, and late-night angst.
“Midnights,” Swift’s 10th studio album released in October, 2022, brought Swift back into the spotlight after the singer went quiet on social media and reduced her public appearances leading up to her 6th album, “Reputation,” and time spent quarantining during the COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout her record-breaking Eras tour, Swift has been vocal about missing her fans and the detriments of maintaining that level of privacy to her mental health.
More recent songs such as Reputation’s “Getaway Car” and Midnight’s “Anti-Hero” hint at times when Swift may have seen herself as a villain or playing a part in the breakdown of previous relationships. Her newest track, “Guilty as Sin?” may continue to play off these ideas.
The relatability of many of her songs is what helped launch Swift into the spotlight, catering to a younger audience, many of whom have grown up with Taylor and turned to her music for validation and inspiration. Swift has maintained a close relationship with her fans throughout her career, interacting on social media and inviting fans to “secret sessions” to preview her music. Like many artists, Swift often cites her fans as the biggest motivators for her to keep writing.
These quotes, along with hundreds of others discussing her career, life, business, and even politics, can be found in Taylor Swift: In Her Own Words, a compilation of quotes spanning Swift’s career. Catch up on all of Swift’s milestones and life lessons before the release of The Tortured Poet’s Department and see how Swift has transformed into the cultural icon she is today.
Educators and young readers may also enjoy Taylor Swift: In Her Own Words: Young Reader Edition, which includes thought-provoking educational materials and resources perfect for students in grades 6-12.