Taylor Swift fans are already anticipating the singer's new album The Tortured Poets Department. And they have theories.
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Fans believe the album will be an ode to feelings Swift had about her relationship with Joe Alwyn. Swift alluded that the relationship was the inspiration of the album, with the title pointing towards Alywn. However, fans have been digging deeper on the album and its tracks.
They believe Swift felt trapped by the relationship.
"From 'he can be my jailor' to 'fresh out the slammer' is crazy," one fan wrote via X, referencing lyrics from Swift's "Ready for It?"
"If the first word is hereby could that mean that 'fresh out of the slammer' is like a storyline of being prosecuted to go to jail and it ends with her getting out???" another social media user wrote via X.
Yet another person wrote, "@e know taylor is using the theme of a court case & legal speak to roll out this album. "hereby conduct..." only adds to this. add "hereby conduct" to "so i enter into evidence...," artifacts files, and the paw prints we keep seeing, and we've got quite the court case building up." They're referencing clues that Swift's social media has dropped about the album.
One fan speculated, "What if she's not the one fresh out the slammer but him??? What if she felt he was a prisoner to her fame and when they broke up he felt relieved instead of hurt?"
Taylor Swift Talks Previous Relationship
Previously, Swift shaded her relationship and having to stay so private. "Life is short. Have adventures. Me locking myself away in my house for a lot of years — I'll never get that time back," Swift told TIME in her Person of the Year profile. "I'm more trusting now than I was six years ago."
Swift officially announced the album at the Grammys. She teased the album as a passion project that dealt with heartbreak.
"This is my 13th Grammy, which is my lucky number. I don't know if I've ever told you that. I want to say thank you to the members of the Recording Academy for voting this way, but I know that the way that the Recording Academy voted is a direct reflection of the passion of the fans," Swift said
"So I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I have been keeping from you for the last two years, which is that my brand-new album comes out April 19. It's called 'The Tortured Poets Department,'" she continued.