Taylor Swift go old school with her The Department of Tortured Poets Easter eggs, dropping subtle clues via Apple Music.
The music platform subtly edited its X bio on Saturday, April 13 to read: “A word a day until the @taylorswift13 album drops.”
Swifties immediately began scrolling through their Apple playlists, soon discovering that the lyrics page for Midnights The song “Glitch” featured a set of capital letters in seemingly random places. However, fans know it’s never by chance when the hitmaker, 34, starts randomly putting capital letters.
Word #1: Hereby
The letters H, E, Y, E, R, and B were found in the lyrics page for “Glitch”, which spells “hereby” when deciphered.
Once the word was revealed, Swift fans began theorizing how “hereby” connects to The Department of Tortured Poets.
“Taylor Swift here looks like the author of The Bridgerton Chronicles. I grass [sic] release this album,” one fan wrote via X on Saturday.
Others realized that the word is defined as “with these words or with this action” and speculated that it might be a TTP lyrical.
Swift’s official fan account weighed in later that night, writing via @AppleMusic, same time tomorrow?
Word #2: Driving
Clue #2 came in the one-liners for “Peace,” a 2020 track by Folklore. The official Taylor Nation Instagram account informed fans at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 14, that a new clue had appeared (and hereby confirmed “” as the first word). In just a few moments, Swifties found the capital letters and deciphered them.
One X user noted that they might correlate with Swift’s recent Apple Music playlists, taking one for each phase. “First she went to the denial playlist with a problem and we got HERE today, it was a negotiation playlist with peace and we got CONDUCT,” the fan wrote.
Another thinks there is a connection with her ex Joe Alwyn. “Hereby, in glitch and in peace…both songs about Joe too,” the Swiftie said.
Swift confirmed at the Grammys earlier this year that The Department of Tortured Poets, his 11th studio album, will be released on April 19. The LP, which she wrote after 2022 Midnights was completed, helped her cope with a seemingly difficult time.
“I needed to do [TTPD]. It was really a lifesaver for me,” Swift said during a February concert in Australia. “It kind of reminded me why songwriting is something that guides me in life and I’ve never had an album where I needed to write songs as much as on Tortured poets.”
Swift, a longtime champion of dishing out complex musical cues for her fans, posted another one via Instagram on Sunday, April 14.
“I wish I could forget how we almost had everything,” read a post on her Instagram, as she promoted Target’s clear vinyl phantom edition of TTP.
The Instagram quote, coupled with clues in the album’s tracklist, led fans to believe that The Department of Tortured Poets traces Swift’s emotions following her breakup with Alwyn, 33.
Swift and Alwyn dated for six years between 2016 and early 2023. The pop star has since moved on with a football player Travis Kelcewho was delighted with a first copy of TTP.
“I’ve heard about it, yeah, and it’s amazing,” Kelce, 34, exclaimed at a February press conference ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. “I can’t wait for her to turn the world upside down when it finally falls.”
The Department of Tortured Poets releases Friday, April 19.
Taylor Swift go old school with her The Department of Tortured Poets Easter eggs, dropping subtle clues via Apple Music.
The music platform subtly edited its X bio on Saturday, April 13 to read: “A word a day until the @taylorswift13 album drops.”
Swifties immediately began scrolling through their Apple playlists, soon discovering that the lyrics page for Midnights The song “Glitch” featured a set of capital letters in seemingly random places. However, fans know it’s never by chance when the hitmaker, 34, starts randomly putting capital letters.
Word #1: Hereby
The letters H, E, Y, E, R, and B were found in the lyrics page for “Glitch”, which spells “hereby” when deciphered.
Once the word was revealed, Swift fans began theorizing how “hereby” connects to The Department of Tortured Poets.
“Taylor Swift here looks like the author of The Bridgerton Chronicles. I grass [sic] release this album,” one fan wrote via X on Saturday.
Others realized that the word is defined as “with these words or with this action” and speculated that it might be a TTP lyrical.
Swift’s official fan account weighed in later that night, writing via @AppleMusic, same time tomorrow?
Word #2: Driving
Clue #2 came in the one-liners for “Peace,” a 2020 track by Folklore. The official Taylor Nation Instagram account informed fans at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 14, that a new clue had appeared (and hereby confirmed “” as the first word). In just a few moments, Swifties found the capital letters and deciphered them.
One X user noted that they might correlate with Swift’s recent Apple Music playlists, taking one for each phase. “First she went to the denial playlist with a problem and we got HERE today, it was a negotiation playlist with peace and we got CONDUCT,” the fan wrote.
Another thinks there is a connection with her ex Joe Alwyn. “Hereby, in glitch and in peace…both songs about Joe too,” the Swiftie said.
Swift confirmed at the Grammys earlier this year that The Department of Tortured Poets, his 11th studio album, will be released on April 19. The LP, which she wrote after 2022 Midnights was completed, helped her cope with a seemingly difficult time.
“I needed to do [TTPD]. It was really a lifesaver for me,” Swift said during a February concert in Australia. “It kind of reminded me why songwriting is something that guides me in life and I’ve never had an album where I needed to write songs as much as on Tortured poets.”
Swift, a longtime champion of dishing out complex musical cues for her fans, posted another one via Instagram on Sunday, April 14.
“I wish I could forget how we almost had everything,” read a post on her Instagram, as she promoted Target’s clear vinyl phantom edition of TTP.
The Instagram quote, coupled with clues in the album’s tracklist, led fans to believe that The Department of Tortured Poets traces Swift’s emotions following her breakup with Alwyn, 33.
Swift and Alwyn dated for six years between 2016 and early 2023. The pop star has since moved on with a football player Travis Kelcewho was delighted with a first copy of TTP.
“I’ve heard about it, yeah, and it’s amazing,” Kelce, 34, exclaimed at a February press conference ahead of Super Bowl LVIII. “I can’t wait for her to turn the world upside down when it finally falls.”
The Department of Tortured Poets releases Friday, April 19.