The Albatross

Track 19 on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY

Producers

“The Albatross” is a bonus track from Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. The track was announced on February 23, 2024, while she was performing in… Read More

Apr. 19, 20241 viewer865.8K views

The Albatross Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Wise men once said
"Wild winds are death to the candle"
A rose by any other name is a scandal
Cautions issued, he stood
Shooting the messengers
They tried to warn him about her

[Chorus]
Cross your thoughtless heart
Only liquor anoints you
She's the albatross
She is here to destroy you

[Verse 2]
Wise men once said
"One bad seed kills the garden"
"One less temptress, one less dagger to sharpen"
Locked me up in towers
But I'd visit in your dreams
And they tried to warn you about me

[Chorus]
Cross your thoughtless heart
Only liquor anoints you
She's the albatross
She is here to destroy you
Devils that you know
Raise worse hell than a stranger
She's the death you chose
You're in terrible danger

See Taylor Swift Live

Get tickets as low as $177

[Bridge]
And when that sky rains fire on you
And you're persona non grata
I'll tell you how I've been there too
And that none of it matters

[Verse 3]
Wise men once read fake news
And they believed it
Jackals raised their hackles
You couldn't conceive it
You were sleeping soundly
When they dragged you from your bed
And I tried to warn you about them

[Chorus]
So I crossed my thoughtless heart
Spread my wings like a parachute
I'm the albatross
I swept in at the rescue
The devil that you know
Looks now more like an angel
I'm the life you chose
And all this terrible danger
(This terrible danger)

[Outro]
So cross your thoughtless heart
She's the albatross
She is here to destroy you

Embed

About

“The Albatross” is a bonus track from Swift’s 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department. The track was announced on February 23, 2024, while she was performing in Sydney, Australia, for The Eras Tour.

An albatross is a large sea bird that spends its first six years without touching the land, due to them being so well-adapted to their oceanic existence. In a metaphorical sense, an albatross is usually referred to as “something that causes anxiety or guilt or that burdens and encumbers.”

Like many tracks on Swift’s 11th studio album, “The Albatross” seems to be a metaphorical reference to Swift’s six-year long relationship with British actor, Joe Alwyn.

Many fans also believe that Taylor’s outfit for the 2024 Grammys (a white dress with long black gloves) was an easter-egg to this song, since albatrosses are white birds with black wings.