The Patriot Post® · Taylor Swift and Her Troubling Latest Album

Taylor Swift has clearly entered a new era with her music. “The Tortured Poets Department,” the pop singer’s latest contribution to the musical pantheon, has received some pushback from fans and haters alike.

Swift’s latest (double) album has 31 tracks. It features not only sacrilegious lyrics but also explicit language, self-harm allusions, violence, and sex, drug, and alcohol abuse. As Business Insider explains: “Swift frames ‘Poets’ as a debrief of an ill-fated love affair, ‘a mutual manic phase’ in the wake of a breakup — torrid, brief, yet creatively fruitful. ‘A smirk creeps onto this poet’s face,’ she writes. ‘Because it’s the worst men that I write best.’”

Though none of these features should be newsworthy for a secular artist, it has shaken the deep fan base to the core. Mothers who have been “Swifties” since her first country album and have shared that love with their young daughters are now having to seriously comb through each song for one that might be appropriate for their 10-year-old to listen to.

Several lyrics use license to attack sanctimonious Christians and trivialize the death of Christ. This, of course, has offended many Christians, as it should. (Though, admittedly, some of the criticism is a little over the top.)

Is the album demonic? No. Is it sacrilegious, offensive, and overly dramatic? Yes. Using Christian imagery to talk about lust or to make yourself out to be an even greater martyr for love is not in the best taste. And while this is relatively tame compared to the likes of Sam Smith at the Oscars or Lil Nas X’s song “Montero,” the bottom line is that Swift is clearly following a disturbing trend in the pop music scene by having lyrics that are intended for shock value.

Swift’s lyrics clearly show that she doesn’t want to grow up. She seemingly wants love and marriage, but she is in a vicious cycle as long as she isn’t willing to grow up. She sees any criticism of her as sanctimonious. She also explores what it’s like to be famous and the sexualization of successful women in the public eye. Her offering, “Clara Bow,” is particularly interesting in this respect.

Musically, the album sounded a little stale. Many of the tracks sounded the same, and exciting surprises were rare. “So Long, London” was one of those rare exceptions and honestly gave some Enya vibes.

Though I’m not much more than a casual Taylor Swift listener, what can be stated for certain is that Swift is a genius at making money off of the same old tropes. She writes love songs (although in this album, they were more lust than love), then hate songs. It feels like this is just another iteration of her perpetual victimhood, only now it’s edgy because it talks about sex, drugs, alcohol, and violence.

In a culture that is warped by a victimhood hierarchy, it’s hardly surprising that Swift can capitalize on her particular brand of self-inflicted martyrdom. Her fans soak up the blind item-style diary entries that are her songs and eagerly decipher which man wrecked her life (spoiler alert: it was two different guys this time).

Swift is the most recognizable female singer-songwriter of this generation. She has a huge fan base. What’s more disappointing isn’t the dark themes of her latest musical offering but the perpetual victimhood that she wears like a cardigan and the promotion of sacrilege. As an influencer, Swift is not being a good role model for her younger fans and is driving away her older fans. Perhaps it’s time for the 34-year-old to reexamine herself, her music, and her lyrics before writing another album.