“I can do it with a broken heart” (track 13 on “TTPD”)
Taylor Swift, the new poet of pop, has released her eleventh album and with it a song that is so typical Taylor.
Swift is an expert at Trojan Horse songs: sharp-tongued lyrics hidden beneath a harmless, upbeat melody.
Enter “I Can Do it With a Broken Heart,” the 13th track on The Tortured Poets Department.
With fluttering synths and an electropop beat, it’s constructed like one of Swift’s signature, shiny pop gems. But the lyrics find Swift taking the most haunting psychological journey on “The Show Must Go On” since Smokey Robinson and The Miracles described “The Tears of a Clown” in 1967.
Swift reveals the pain she hid during her historic, globe-trotting Eras Tour last year while remaining very visible: “I’m a real tough kid,” Swift sings, defiant as ever. “They said, baby, you got to fake it ’til you make it… and I did.”
But the song gains momentum through the dichotomy between Swift’s honeyed voice and her spoken word, “I’m so depressed, I act like every day is my birthday.”
It’s a clever entry into the complexities of mental health, and Swift, who has limitless ambition, turns her grief into something constructive – a superwoman who doesn’t let pesky things like grief get her down.
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“I cry a lot, but I’m so productive,” she chirps with a wink. “It’s an art… you know you’re good when you can make it through a broken heart.”
Read on to find out the full lyrics of the song that is guaranteed to be Swift’s next signature track.
Lyrics to “I can do it with a broken heart”
I can read your thoughts
She is having the time of her life
There in her glittering bloom
The lights break sequin stars
From her silhouette every night
I can show you lies
Because I’m a really tough guy
I can handle my shit
They said, “Baby, you have to pretend until you make it”
And I did
Light, camera, bitchy smile
Even if you want to die
He said he would love me all his life
But this life was too short
I collapse and land on the floor
All parts of me broke
While the crowd chanted “MORE!”
I grinned as if I was going to win
I have achieved my goals
Because I can do it with a broken heart
I’m so depressed that I pretend it’s my birthday
Daily
I am so obsessed with him but he avoids me
Like the plague
I cry a lot, but I am so productive
It is an art
You know you are good if you can do it at all
With a broken heart
I can hold my breath
I’ve been doing this since he left
I always find his things in drawers
Decisive proof that I did not imagine the whole thing
I am sure I can pass this test
Because I’m a really tough kid
I can handle my shit
They said, “Baby, you have to pretend until you make it”
And I did
Light, camera, bitchy smile
In stilettos for miles
He said he would love me forever
But this time was quite short
I collapse and land on the floor
All parts of me broke
While the crowd chanted “MORE!”
I grinned as if I was going to win
I have achieved my goals
Because I can do it with a broken heart
I’m so depressed that I pretend it’s my birthday
Daily
I am so obsessed with him but he avoids me
Like the plague
I cry a lot, but I am so productive
It is an art
You know you are good if you can do it at all
With a broken heart
You know you are good if you can do it at all
With a broken heart
You know you are good
And I am fine
Because I am unhappy
And nobody knows
Try to come for my job
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The most quintessential Taylor Swift song of all time: “I Can Do it With a Broken Heart”
Taylor Swift