Ahead of its release, Swifties noticed some subtle Joe Alwyn shade in the tracklist for “The Tortured Poets Department,” but is “Fortnight,” Taylor Swift’s lead single featuring Post Malone, about the actor? It would be ironic if this were the case as a fortnight is a period of two weeks and her relationship with Alwyn was her longest.
The biggest hint that the song is about someone else is the lyric, “I touched you for only a fortnight.” This indicates that Swift is singing about a fleeting romance. Before this major clue, Swift reveals that she’s been feeling blue with references to the worst day of the week and month of the year. “All my mornings are Monday stuck in an endless February,” she sings in a breathy voice over a hypnotic, dreamy track that’s evocative of the Cyndi Lauper classic “Time After Time.” Swift seemingly reveals that her short-lived romance is the result of trying to pull herself out of a sorrowful state. It’s a hair-of-the-dog situation, as the cause of her woe is also her remedy. “I took the miracle move on drug, the effects were temporary,” she confesses. So, the guy she’s most likely repeating the cycle of heartbreak with is her rumored ex-boyfriend Matt Healy. Swift’s purported relationship with The 1975’s lead singer was brief, but a source told The Sun that what they had was “something electric.” Interestingly, there’s some electricity used in the teaser footage for the “Fortnight” music video.
Taylor Swift looks the part of a tortured Victorian-era poet
Taylor Swift/Instagram
Taylor Swift opens “Fortnight” by singing, “I was s’posed to be sent away / But they forgot to come and get me.” The striking black-and-white imagery in her “Fortnight” music video teaser makes it obvious that she’s referencing being institutionalized, but it seems she wasn’t forgotten in the video; she’s shown strapped into an electroshock therapy machine like those that were once used on asylum patients. Swift clearly wants fans to focus on the lyric, “I love you, it’s ruining my life,” as it’s repeated over and over again on a typewriter a la “The Shining.” Could these words refer to Matt Healy’s sketchy past and the backlash from Swifties disappointed in their idol for seemingly falling for someone like him?
In the teaser, Swift is dressed in a Victorian-era mourning gown, which is a reminder of the tortured, Victorian-era poet that she’s distantly related to: Emily Dickinson. Another scene shows her with thin eyebrows like those sported by silent film stars. Another track on “The Tortured Poets Department” shares its name with one of these actors, “Clara Bow.” The tragic “It Girl” of her era was once institutionalized. Swifties have also pointed out similarities between the video and the movie “Poor Things,” which stars Swift’s good friend Emma Stone. They can look for more Easter eggs and hidden messages when the full music video drops on April 19 at 8 p.m. ET.
