On first listen, there seem to be a lot of mid-tempo songs about heartbreak on Taylor Swift’s new album THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, and that’s understandable, given what she’s been through in recent years. But at least one song functions as a danceable celebration of resilience, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s track 13, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart.”
Co-written and co-produced by Jack Antonoff, “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” is a best-of-times, worst-of-times jam about the hugely triumphant Eras Tour and the emotional pain Swift was suppressing to put on a three-hour show every night. The tour kicked off in March 2023, about a month before Taylor announced her split from English actor Joe Alwyn after six years together. The opening verse reflects the staggering dichotomy of this period.
There in her glittering prime
The lights refract sequin stars off her silhouette every night
I can show you lies
In the chorus, Taylor describes just how dreadful she felt behind the scenes.
They said, “Babe, you gotta fake it till you make it” and I did
Lights, camera, bitch, smile
Even when you wanna die
He said he’d love me all his life
But that life was too short
Taylor’s brave face was a coping mechanism, as she explains in the post-chorus. If this song is about the aftermath of the Alwyn breakup, Joe apparently gave Taylor the cold shoulder as she incinerated stadiums across America.
I’m so depressed, I act like it’s my birthday, every day
I’m so obsessed with him, but he avoids me, like the plague
For Taylor, relationships can be measured by things left in drawers. (Remember that scarf that someone still has, even now?) Following this breakup, she did some romantic archaeology of her own and found little artifacts that proved their time together was real. It’s unclear whether this made things harder or easier.
I can hold my breath
I’ve been doing it since he left
I keep finding his things in drawers
Crucial evidence, I didn’t imagine the whole thing
In the outro, Taylor brags that she’s the queen of smiling through her tears. She’s certainly got the box-office receipts to back that claim.
’Cause I’m miserable (Haha)
And nobody even knows
Try and come for my job
You can read all the lyrics to “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” on Genius now.
