Current:Home > MarketsThe most Taylor Swift song ever: 'I Can Do it With a Broken Heart' (track 13 on 'TTPD') -Financium
The most Taylor Swift song ever: 'I Can Do it With a Broken Heart' (track 13 on 'TTPD')
View
Date:2025-04-13 08:44:26
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! (6)
Related
- Federal appeals court upholds $14.25 million fine against Exxon for pollution in Texas
- 3 dead, several injured in early morning shooting in Jonesboro, Arkansas
- Chelsea Peretti on her starring role and directorial debut in First Time Female Director
- Josh Hartnett and Wife Tamsin Egerton Have a Rare Star-Studded Date Night at Pre-Oscars Party
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- France enshrines abortion as a constitutional right as the world marks International Women’s Day
- We Won't Be Quiet Over Emily Blunt and John Krasinski's Cutest Pics
- Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó Stars Offer the Sweetest Moment at the 2024 Oscars Red Carpet
- Why we love Bear Pond Books, a ski town bookstore with a French bulldog 'Staff Pup'
- Judge rejects Texas lawsuit against immigration policy central to Biden's border strategy
Ranking
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Oscars 2024: Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves Have a Stellar Date Night
- Theft of cheap gold-chain necklace may have led to fatal beating of Arizona teen, authorities say
- Ashley Tisdale Reveals Where She and Vanessa Hudgens Stand Amid Feud Rumors
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- TikToker Dylan Mulvaney Has a Simple Solution for Dealing With Haters on Social Media
- West Virginia Legislature ends session with pay raises, tax cut and failure of social issue bills
- Mega Millions winning numbers for March 8 drawing: Did anyone win $680 million jackpot?
Recommendation
Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
Chris Jones re-signs with Chiefs on massive five-year contract ahead of NFL free agency
Don't Look Down and Miss Jennifer Lawrence's Delightfully Demure 2024 Oscars Look
Becky G's Sultry 2024 Oscars Ensemble Is One You Need to See
Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
Hawaii officials aim to help Lahaina rebuild after wildfires ravaged historic town
The Wild Case of Scattered Body Parts and a Suspected Deadly Love Triangle on Long Island
Da’Vine Joy Randolph wins her first Oscar after being a favorite for her work in ‘The Holdovers’