What’s the Florida mystery in Taylor Swift’s just-released album? Let us try to unravel it
does Taylor Swift think of Florida?
As the world devours the music on Taylor Swift’s new “The Tortured Poets Department” album hoping to glean insight into Swift’s psyche, Floridians no doubt are intrigued by the eighth track that appears on all versions of “TTPD.”
On “Florida!!!”, Swift and duet partner Florence Welch swap verses that portray the Sunshine State as the ultimate getaway destination, but along with the allure is plenty of mystery.
Like Florida.
Florida’s tourism leaders are going to love adopting Swift’s rapturous lyrics such as “I need to forget, so take me to Florida.”
Other lines — “I’ve got some regrets, I’ll bury them in Florida” and “Florida is one hell of a drug/Can I use you up?” — sure sound as apt antidotes of the the real South Florida as the infamous local sun-and-sex ad campaign, “Miami. See It Like a Native,” sounded in 1978.
So why is Swift rhapsodizing about tapping Florida’s rejuvenating qualities?
IS IT ABOUT A FORMER BOYFRIEND?
Fans speculate “Florida!!!” — with its breathless use of three exclamation points — could revolve around her split with longtime paramour Joe Alwyn. The breakup happened during her Eras Tour last spring. The first tour stop following the decoupling was in Tampa, Elle magaWhat zine notes. The Tampa Bay Times references allegations of Alwyn cheating on Swift in Orlando.
If the savvy singer-songwriter sought salvation in the state, it worked. Travis Kelce, anyone?
Swift’s also a swift learner about other aspects of the state.
“You can beat the heat if you beat the charges too” is the opening line of “Florida!!!” “They said I was a cheat, I guess it must be true/And my friends all smell like weed or little babies. And this city reeks of driving myself crazy.”
She specifically cites Destin, which is in the Panhandle and is known for its beaches and golf courses.
Swift and Welch also sing: “The hurricane was my name when it came/I got drunk and I dared it to wash me away/Barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine/Well, me and my ghost, we had a hell of a time/Yes, I’m haunted but I’m feeling just fine/All my girls got their lace and their crimes and your cheating husband disappeared/Well, no one asks any questions here.”
Hurricane Florence was a Category 4 beast that led to two storm-related deaths in Florida in September 2018.
So far, no Hurricane Taylor, unless you count the reaction to just about everything that the superstar does.
A ‘SURPRISE’ VERSION
Swift, the savviest of marketers, dropped a “surprise” version of her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” two hours after its midnight release. At 2 a.m. Friday, “The Anthology” version with its 15 added songs — which brings “TTPD” to a whopping two hours and 31 tracks — popped into streamers’ platforms.
“So I did my best, to lay to rest/All of the bodies that have ever been on my body/And in my mind, they sink into the swamp/ Is that a bad thing to say in a song?”