We all know Taylor Swift’s new album, The Tortured Poets Department, is a hit, but what lies beneath the surface of its enchanting melodies?
Many Swifties have been trying to decode these ballads, but one in particular has stood out to fans – “The Albatross.” The overarching message points to the public shouting warnings to men about Taylor (‘the albatross’) and her so-called ‘scandalous dating history. ’But what is an Albatross? Symbolising a source of frustration and guilt, an Albatross is amongst the largest flying birds known to seek out a one-lifetime mate for a long-term bond. People are often called ‘an albatross,’ meaning they’re a psychological burden, or someone who causes great problems for others that they can’t escape. We can see how this metaphor resonates with Taylor and how critics and the media portray her.
Wise men once said
“Wild winds are death to the candle”
A rose by any other name is a scandal
Cautions issued, he stood
Shooting the messengers
They tried to warn him about her
Opening the song by mentioning ‘wise men’, referring to the critics, shows the theme of the song, essentially showing men warning others about ‘destructive’ women. This is shown through comparing free-spirited women like herself to ‘wild winds’, something powerful enough to easily kill the flame of a candle, which here represent men. She goes on to reference Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet in the next line; in act two, scene two, Juliet confesses her profound love for Romeo and says “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”, meaning his ancestral origins don’t change who he is, and she would love him regardless. Taylor takes a darker meaning with her line, saying that it won’t matter who she dates, it will always be a scandal in their eyes. ‘Wise men’ are also mentioned in Romeo and Juliet. The verse then also shows the response of the man being cautioned, he’s said to have defended and stood by her despite this, implying that this song is about NFL player Travis Kelce, her current boyfriend, and his response to the public outrage of their relationship.
Cross your thoughtless heart
Only liquor anoints you
The phrase ‘cross my heart (and hope to die)’ is used to emphasize sincerity and good faith. While he’s being sweet, he’s also being unmindful and ignoring the danger. In the next line, Taylor cleverly uses a juxtaposition of holy and profane things, through ‘liquor’ and ‘anoints’ – the latter refers to making someone holy in a religious ceremony, typically a baptism, using holy oils, however liquor, something profane, is being used instead.
Wise men once said
“One bad seed kills the garden”
“One less temptress, one less dagger to sharpen”
Locked me up in towers
But I’d visit in your dreams
And they tried to warn you about me
This verse starts by addressing the outcry of NFL fans and critics who were trying to get her to stay away, saying she was bad luck when the Chiefs lost games, and that she was ruining football. They tried to keep her away from Travis, and the games in general, but they stayed together regardless.
Devils that you know
Raise worse hell than a stranger
She’s the death you chose
You’re in terrible danger
She goes on to tell him that people you know are more dangerous than strangers, as they know your secrets and fears, she’s warning him that he can’t trust anyone now, like she isn’t able to. Taylor warns him of the rumours and complications with being with her.
And when the sky rains fire on you
And you’re persona non grata
I’ll tell you how I’ve been there
And none of that matters
In the next verse, she emphasizes the fact that, yes, they will have these issues mentioned before, but she’ll be there for him and help him get through it. The first line illustrates a picture of the sky raining fire is a Biblical concept and is known as a divine punishment for not heeding warnings like he didn’t in the first verse. There’s also a Latin term in the next line, meaning ‘unwelcome person.’
Wise men once read fake news
And they believed it
Jackals raise their hackles
Jackals are wild canines, when they ‘raise their hackles’, hair bristles rise along their backs to fend off predators. In this metaphor, Taylor refers to the wise men as Jackals, implying that they try to fend off anyone who gets close to her by warning them of her.
You couldn’t conceive it
You were sleeping soundly
When they dragged you from your bed
And I tried to warn you about them
In previous verses, Taylor had warned him about the consequences of being with her, and now it’s showing how those things have happened and affected him.
So I crossed my thoughtless heart
Spread my wings like a parachute
I’m the Albatross
I swept in at the rescue
The devil that you know
Looks now more like an angel
She’s embracing being the Albatross, by switching to first person, and coming to help him get through it and rescue him from the ‘jackals’ or ‘wise men.’ By saying the devil is an angel now refers to how she’s trying to change people’s perspective of her, while also pledging to protect him from the dangers, even though she’s the cause of it.
I’m the life you chose
And all this terrible danger
So cross your thoughtless heart
She’s the albatross
She is here to destroy you
She switches a previous verse to be more positive, reflecting their acceptance of the difficulties in their relationship. The outro reflects conformity, closure, and catharsis. Overall, the song shows how difficult relationships, and just general privacy, for celebrities can be because of the media, paparazzi, and constant criticism. Taylor entails how such things affected her relationship with Travis was affected by this, but also how they’ve dealt with and resolved it.
Other context notes:
Something I wanted to point out to give a better understanding of the metaphor of the albatross is the poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” written by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, an English poet. It follows the story of a sailor who shoots a friendly Albatross, that was there to bring luck, cursing himself and his crew. He then wears the dead bird around his neck, as a symbol of regret, whereas a Christian would usually wear a crucifix. Taylor uses this metaphor for herself and women in general, highlighting the idea that ‘wise men’ think that these women will bring a curse or burden to them, but this is only because they were shot down first when they were there to bring peace. Furthermore, ‘wild winds’ (like Taylor also mentioned) sent the crew into uncharted waters where they became stranded and tormented by thirst; here, the blame for this is pointed to the albatross for cursing them, when in reality, the fault lies with the men for shooting the one thing that was there to help them – just how men mistreat women, and then blame it on them. Another poem, relatively linked to the story mentioned above, also piqued my interest: “The Albatross” by Charles Baudelaire, in which he compares an albatross to a poet, and his concerns for the fate of poets. He uses the symbolism of the cruel treatment of the albatross from the sailors, to that of the poet’s plight in a culture that ridicules them, which reminds me of how Taylor is shot down by cynics like an albatross by soldiers, and like a poet by others. I felt these stories were important to understand the full meaning of the metaphor of the albatross and how it resonates with Taylor, others in fame, and women in general.
I hope this analysis helped, and feel free to leave your interpretations. Let me know what other analysis you’d like to see. Thank you for reading and have an amazing day, my loves.
All my love, Betty <3
That’s really interesting, I love how Taylor references to things like Romeo and Juliet in her songs, it just proves that a lot of research and thought goes into her songs, highlighting why she is so deserving of respect. I really love the way you related her song to different poems, it’s something that not many singers do, singers usually don’t even write their own songs, but Taylor, on the other hand, writes them and writes them with references to other poems. I definitely think you should look more into poetry, and may even consider writing some yourself, considering you like books and analysing songs. If you do write poems, do post them on substack, I would love to read them 🫶