Current:Home > MyThe most Taylor Swift song ever: 'I Can Do it With a Broken Heart' (track 13 on 'TTPD') -Quantum Growth Learning
The most Taylor Swift song ever: 'I Can Do it With a Broken Heart' (track 13 on 'TTPD')
View
Date:2025-04-22 15:53:13
Taylor Swift, the new poet laureate of pop, released her 11th album and with it a song that is so quintessentially Taylor.
Swift is an expert at Trojan horse songs: Lyrics that cut hidden beneath an innocuous, upbeat melody.
Enter “I Can Do it With a Broken Heart,” the 13th track of “The Tortured Poets Department.”
With fluttering synths and an electro-pop beat, it’s structured as one of Swift’s trademark glistening pop gems. But in the lyrics, Swift travels through the most potent psychological exploration of “the show must go on” since Smokey Robinson and The Miracles described “The Tears of a Clown” in 1967.
Swift unfurls the anguish she hid while remaining very visible the past year during her historic, world-spanning Eras Tour: “I’m a real tough kid,” Swift sings, defiant as ever. “They said baby, gotta fake it til you make it … and I did.”
But the song achieves liftoff with the dichotomy of Swift’s honeyed voice and her chant-singing, “I’m so depressed, I act like it’s my birthday every day.”
It’s a clever entry into the complexity of mental health, and Swift, she of limitless ambition, flips her sorrow into something constructive, a Superwoman unbowed by pesky things like misery.
More:Taylor Swift name-drops Patti Smith and Dylan Thomas on new song. Here’s why
“I cry a lot but I am so productive,” she chirps, tongue firmly in cheek. “It’s an art … you know you’re good when you can do it with a broken heart.”
Read on for the full lyrics in what’s sure to be Swift's next signature song.
'I Can Do it With a Broken Heart' lyrics
I can read your mind
She’s having the time of her life
There in her glittering prime
The lights refract sequin stars
Off her silhouette every night
I can show you lies
'Cause I’m a real tough kid
I can handle my shit
They said, “Babe you gotta fake it til you make it”
And I did
Lights, camera, bitch smile
Even when you want to die
He said he’d love me all his life
But that life was too short
Breaking down I hit the floor
All the pieces of me shattered
As the crowd was chanting, “MORE!”
I was grinning like I’m winning
I was hitting my marks
‘Cause I can do it with a broken heart
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
I cry a lot but I am so productive
It’s an art
You know you’re good when you even can do it
With a broken heart
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
I’m sure I can pass this test
Cause I’m a real tough kid
I can handle my shit
They said, “babe you gotta fake it til you make it”
And I did
Lights, camera, bitch smile
In stilettos for miles
He said he’d love me for all time
But that time was quite short
Breaking down I hit the floor
All the pieces of me shattered
As the crowd was chanting, “MORE!”
I was grinning like I’m winning
I was hitting my marks
‘cause I can do it with a broken heart
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
I cry a lot but I am so productive
It’s an art
You know you’re good when you can even do it
With a broken heart
You know you’re good when you can even do it
With a broken heart
You know you’re good
And I’m good
‘Cause I’m miserable
And nobody even knows
Try and come for my job
veryGood! (6594)
Related
- Meet the volunteers risking their lives to deliver Christmas gifts to children in Haiti
- Why Women Everywhere Love Kim Kardashian's SKIMS
- California sues Amazon, alleging its policies cause higher prices everywhere
- Why Women Everywhere Love Kim Kardashian's SKIMS
- The White House is cracking down on overdraft fees
- Savannah Chrisley Reveals She's Dating Again 2 Years After Calling Off Nic Kerdiles Engagement
- Memphis police say a man who livestreamed shootings that killed 4 has been arrested
- Outer Banks' Madelyn Cline Shares Birthday Message for Her Love Jackson Guthy
- FACT FOCUS: Inspector general’s Jan. 6 report misrepresented as proof of FBI setup
- XXXTentacion’s Fatal Shooting Case: 3 Men Found Guilty of Murdering Rapper
Ranking
- Taylor Swift Eras Archive site launches on singer's 35th birthday. What is it?
- Biden has $52 billion for semiconductors. Today, work begins to spend that windfall
- 75 years after India's violent Partition, survivors can cross the border — virtually
- Charmed’s Brian Krause and Drew Fuller Give Update on F--king Warrior Shannen Doherty
- McConnell absent from Senate on Thursday as he recovers from fall in Capitol
- Stewart Brand reflects on a lifetime of staying hungry and foolish
- King Charles III's coronation includes no formal roles for Princes Harry or Andrew
- Ulta 24-Hour Flash Sale: Take 50% Off Estée Lauder, Kiehl's, Anastasia Beverly Hills, and IT Brushes
Recommendation
Bodycam footage shows high
Who was behind the explosions in Crimea? Ukraine and Russia aren't saying
Dream Kardashian and True Thompson Twin in Cute St. Patrick's Day Photos
Goofy dances and instant noodles made this Japanese executive a TikTok star
Nearly half of US teens are online ‘constantly,’ Pew report finds
Elon Musk says he's willing to buy Twitter after all
Silicon Island
Outer Banks' Madelyn Cline Shares Birthday Message for Her Love Jackson Guthy