All the Celebrities Taylor Swift Name-Drops in 'The Tortured Poets Department'

Unexpectedly, Matty Healy was indeed mentioned in Swift's latest album. In the song "But Daddy, I Love Him," Swift unleashes buried feelings she has for her brief summer fling.

The song's title is meant to reference the fury her fans had for the singer regarding her relationship with Healy. For context, in 2016 Healy told Q Magazine that dating Swift would be "emasculating." 

“It’s just interesting to me how interested the world is about Taylor Swift,” he said. “The reason I mention that is because if I had (properly) gone out with Taylor Swift, I would’ve been, ‘F----- hell, I am not being Taylor Swift’s boyfriend. You know, ‘F---. That.’ That’s also a man thing, a demasculinating, emasculating thing," Healy reportedly said about Swift. 

Healy also made controversial comments about Ice Spice, which further confused Swifties as to why the singer would date Healy, as Swift and Ice Spice are friends and artistic collaborators. 

The verse in "But Daddy, I Love Him," goes as such: 

“I’ll tell you something right now / I’d rather burn my whole life down than listen to one more second of all this bitching and moaning / I’ll tell you something about my good name, it’s mine alone to disgrace / I don’t cater to all these vipers dressed in empaths’ clothing.”

These lyrics seemingly communicate Swift's vitriol towards her fans and maybe even the press about the controversy surrounding this summertime relationship. 

There's speculation that "The Alchemy" is about the current boyfriend and the Kansas City Cheif's star tight end, Travis Kelce. This theory comes as no surprise, as the song's lyrics feature quite a few football references.

Below are the aforementioned lyrics in the chorus and bridge, respectively : 
"So when I touch down / Call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team / Ditch the clowns, get the crown / Baby, I'm the one to be / 'Cause the sign on your heart / Said it's still reserved for me / Honestly, who are we to fight the alchemy." 

"Shirts off, and your friends lift you up, over their heads / Beer stickin' to the floor, cheers chanted 'cause they said / 'There was no chance trying to be the greatest in the league' / Where's the trophy? He just comes, running over to me," 

The latter series of lyrics is an obvious reference to Kelce's star-studded status in the NFL and his big Super Bowl win with the Cheifs.

It's being said that one of the many "poets" who inspired this body of work from Swift is Patti Smith. For those of you who haven't read Just Kids by Patti Smith or listened to her numerous hits from the '70s including Gloria and Dancing Barefoot, Smith is somewhat of a poetic genius in the American literary and musical landscape. 

In her title track “The Tortured Poets Department,” the singer's lyrics name drop Smith. 

The lyrics are as such: 

“I laughed in your face and said, ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith’ / This ain’t the Chelsea Hotel / We’re modern idiots.”

Okay but as per the lyric "You’re not Dylan Thomas, I’m not Patti Smith," you may be wondering who Dylan Thomas is. Being a famous Welsh poet, much of Swift's audience may not be privvy to Thomas's history as a tortured artist. As per USA Today, a friend of Thomas said the poet was a " "roistering, drunken and doomed poet."

"Dylan Thomas is who you invoke if you want to talk about a romantic, self destructive poet who had the talent to back it up, but had absolutely no self-care skills who made everything too much,” Smith added.

Thomas's most famous collections of poetry are Under Milk Wood and Do not go gentle into that good night. 

Joe Alwyn's presence in Swift's lyrics has appeared to reach its closing chapter in “So Long London." 

The lyrics read: "Oh the tragedy/So long London/You’ll find someone."

Perhaps these lyrics serve as a goodbye to the chapter of her life where she met the Londoner. 

With regards to Charlie Puth's name drop, here's what Swift sang in the title track, "The Tortured Poets Department."

"You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate/ We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist," sings Swift. 

While it's unclear who might have said this to Swift or if she was just saying this to herself in a sort of meta manner, Swift and Puth have shared a longstanding admiration for each other. 

During a performance in 2021, Puth reportedly sang Swift's classic Teardrops On My Guitar. Puth praised Swift by saying, "This is why she's such a genius, man," followed by, "These are the chord changes. It's wonderful. I think it's wonderful."

The final track of The Tortured Poets Department, titled "Clara Bow," serves as an ode to the silent film star herself. 

“You look like Clara Bow in this light, remarkable all your life; did you know you’d be picked like a rose?” sing Swift. 

Bow is known for being the original it-girl in the film world. 

In addition to Bow, Stevie Nicks is also mentioned in the final track. "You look like Stevie Nicks in ‘75, the hair and lips/Crowd goes wild at her fingertips, half moonshine, a full eclipse," reads the lyrics. In the past, Nicks has vocally admired Swift for her vulnerability and honesty as a songwriter and wrote a poem for Swift to include in The Tortured Poets Department's prologue. 

The lyrics, “Sometimes I wonder if you’re gonna screw this up with me/But you told Lucy you’d kill yourself if I ever leave/And I had said that to Jack about you, so I felt seen." appear in the title track and even though last names weren't dropped, many seem to believe these lyrics reference Swift's good friends Jack Antonoff and Lucy Dacus.