Taylor Swift, the new pop poet laureate, released her 11th album and with it a song so typical Taylor.
Swift is an expert on Trojan horse songs: lyrics hidden beneath an innocuous, upbeat melody.
Enter “I Can Do it With a Broken Heart,” the 13th track from “The Tortured Poets Department.”
With floating synths and an electro-pop beat, it’s structured like one of Swift’s sparkling pop gems. But lyrically, Swift journeys through the most powerful psychological exploration of “the show must go on” since Smokey Robinson and The Miracles described “Tears of a Clown” in 1967.
Swift reveals the angst she’s been hiding while remaining highly visible last year during her historic Eras tour around the world: “I’m a real tough kid,” Swift sings, as defiant as ever. “They said baby, you have to fake it till you make it…and I did.”
But the song takes off with the dichotomy between Swift’s honeyed vocals and her 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, her limitless ambition, transforms her grief into something constructive, a Superwoman insensitive to pesky things like misery.
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“I cry a lot but I’m so productive,” she coos, tongue firmly on 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 to what is 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 at its shimmering peak
Lights refract glitter stars
Out of his figure every night
I can show you lies
Because I’m a really tough kid
I can handle my shit
They said, “Baby, you gotta fake it till you make it”
And I did
Lights, camera, slutty smile
Even when you want to die
He said he would love me all his life
But this life was too short
As I collapsed, I hit the ground
All the pieces of me have broken
As the crowd chanted “MORE!” »
I smiled like I was winning
I hit my marks
Because 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’m so productive
It’s an art
You know you’re good even though you 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 proof, I hadn’t imagined everything
I’m sure I can pass this test
Because I’m a really tough kid
I can handle my shit
They said, “baby, you gotta fake it till you make it”
And I did
Lights, camera, slutty smile
In stilettos for miles
He said he would love me forever
But this time was quite short
As I collapsed, I hit the ground
All the pieces of me have broken
As the crowd chanted “MORE!” »
I smiled like I was winning
I hit my marks
because 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’m 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 fine
Because I’m unhappy
And no one even knows it
Try to come for my work