Part 1: The Set-up

Fortnight - This is a letter written to someone’s obsession. It’s what you would write for someone who you’ve only had a brief relationship with, that ended way too early and now you can’t get them out of your mind. And, to make matters worse, they live right next door. It’s about constantly watching the love of your life through open windows and remembering what you had, what could’ve been. The daydream is what keeps this song going. It’s important to note that, in the song, both main characters have other spouses, implying there’s a forbidden love element to their story.

the tortured poets department - this is arguably the most lucid song on the album. clearheaded, focused, but not above taking the piss out of the characters a little. “We’re modern idiots” seems like a tragic miscalculation in the context of the rest of the album. The story is of two artists falling in love, their love is deeper due to the connection through their work. They understand one another, where others might find them strange. They’re alike, they can weather the storms together. However this song is also setting up their challenges: his mental state seems precarious. It’s the first time we hear talk of the level at which they’re operating; they’re talking rings.

My boy only breaks his favorite toys - the inevitable happens; our hero lets down our narrator. He apparently called time on their relationship and destroyed her expectations. It’s not entirely clear why he does this. The narrator believes it’s because of the danger her life presents to people who become associated with her OR that he just isn’t ready for the real deal (“saw forever and he smashed it up”). We already know from the previous song he has self-destructive tendencies, and the narrator’s own personal opinion seems to be that this is a pattern of behavior she’s not unfamiliar with, it’s happened before. But she’s also hopeful that it may still come to fruition someday. She’s annoyed in this song, but she hasn’t entirely lost her faith yet.

Down bad - someone otherworldly takes our narrator out of her comfort zone, shows her what could be, and then just takes her back to where she was before. Except the encounter has left her changed, she fell in love. She wants that love, not whatever her tepid life is offering her. It’s implied in the song that her lover left her where he felt like she belonged (“leaving me safe and stranded”). But maybe the narrator feels like she’s ready to move planets anyway.

So long, London - This is a narrative pit stop in the story we were seeing in the first few songs. In this song, our narrator is the one doing the leaving. She’s laying out the reasons for her departure, which all seem to boil down to: she no longer loves the guy. The “rift” between them was something that she got tired of bridging. Sometimes you just feel like you are done trying, for your own sanity. There don’t seem to be any score-settling lines in this song. Doesn’t seem like a crying, screaming sort of break-up. More that the car simply ran out fuel, and air…and drivers. If there are any hard feelings, it’s the sense of bitterness at the time and effort wasted trying to make things right. Trying so hard for someone who ultimately wasn’t actually the one.

“You’d be surprised how quickly the mind goes soggy in the absence of other people. One person alone is not a full person: we exist in relation to others. I was one person: I risked becoming no person.”

— Margaret Atwood, The Testaments

like, it’s clearly laying out that this is someone she HAS to forget, not wants to forget. he’s “ruining” her life by showing her what love is supposed to feel like, she doesn’t know what to do with that because she’s unhappy and hasn’t felt that love in a long time. She HAS to forget her daydream, not her own long-term relationship

I feel like I’m going crazy because I have seen yet another take which posits that in the fortnight video, Taylor took the “forget him” pill to….forget Joe….her long-term boyfriend….that she was living with….what….

upon further inspection, I am also adding Peter and the alchemy to the playlist. The evidence is too compelling. Also forgot loml, which always belonged on there.

For me, this is the one.

What lyric on ttpd does this remind you of

Pls

Look up the video of the 1975 singing this must be my dream in concert

I’ll look that up, thanks!

Can a 1975 stan confirm that Matty said this must be my dream is hard for him to sing or he hates the song

any fans out there know?

Do we know who the triangle is w for be my mistake is? I believe Ezra said it was possibly Taylor (makes him weak ans Halsey but idk if that’s true.

hmmm the lyrics are interesting 🧐

What lyric on ttpd does this remind you of

The beginning of I always wanna die (sometimes) sounds like the beginning of a TS song. Ask your followers bc I can’t remember what song (maybe red or fearless)

interesting. Lemme go have a listen too

I wanted to put in she’s American but I firmly believe there is nothing there despite the fan lore, it’s not a part of the story. Even though Taylor does reference the American dream…dammit I think I gotta go back and add her now

I think I finished it…thoughts?

Mary Ruefle, on poem endings, from Madness, Rack, and Honey: Collected Lectures

alright I’m getting the itch to do a track-by-track analysis. where’s my typewriter