Taylor Swift mentions Patti Smith and Dylan Thomas’ names in her new song. Here’s why

The chorus of the title song from Taylor Swift’s 11th Century album mentions two literary legends and one of the places that connect them: Patti Smith, Dylan Thomas, and the Chelsea Hotel.

Swift sings in “The Tortured Poets Department”: “I laughed in your face and said, ‘You’re not Dylan Thomas. I’m not Patti Smith. This isn’t the Chelsea Hotel. We’re modern-day idiots.'”

Dylan Thomas is a Welsh poet and writer, famous for “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night”, “Under Milk Wood” and “Fern Hill”. Thomas was born in 1914 and died in 1953.

Patti Smith is a famous poet, author, songwriter, singer, and painter born in 1947. Her Instagram bio reads: “Writer. We’re all in this together.” Smith is still an active writer. On Thursday morning, she held a book signing in New York City.

Live updates on the release of “Tortured Poets”: Taylor Swift’s new album is out

The Chelsea Hotel (or Hotel Chelsea or The Chelsea) is located in Manhattan. Built in the late 19th century, the 12-story hotel is a New York landmark that has hosted writers, painters, authors, and the who’s who of the fashionable social classes – and continues to do so today.

Stephanie Burt, a Harvard professor who teaches a course on Swift, explained the complexity of the lyrics.

“Swift isn’t just telling (the guy in the song) that he’s not that talented,” Burt says. “She’s saying let’s not be the kind of artists who make their self-destructive, tortured nature the focus of their art, inviting everyone to come and look at what a mess we are.”

Both Smith and Thomas stayed at the hotel. According to John Brinnin’s 1955 biography Dylan Thomas in America, Thomas was considered a “violent, drunken, doomed poet.” Smith produced albums and toured the world. She sang and performed with Bruce Springsteen.

“Patti Smith is the one you call when you want to talk about a woman onstage who is absolutely magnetic and a poet with a capital ‘P,'” says Burt. “Dylan Thomas is the one you call when you want to talk about a romantic, self-destructive poet who had the talent to back it up but had absolutely no skills at taking care of herself, who made everything too much.”

Swift says let’s not be self-destructive artists and leave that to the “modern idiots”.

“Department for Tormented Poets”

In case you missed the memo from the department head, Tortured Poets is Swift’s 11th-era album with 16 tracks and four bonus songs (four versions of the album each have a different bonus track).

Swift announced the project at the Grammys, where she won her 13th Grammy for Pop Album of the Year. The pop album features artists such as Post Malone and Florence and The Machine.

The titles of the songs are brutal. Fans speculated that the album was about Swift’s six-year relationship with English actor Joe Alwyn and their breakup. Both stars kept the relationship out of the public eye. The back cover of the first version of the album reads “I love you, it’s ruining me,” which feels like a stab in the chest.

The album was released during Swift’s two-month break from her hugely popular and financially successful Eras Tour. “Tortured Poets” is an exclamation point on the enormous success the billionaire has experienced over the past year since the three-hour-plus show premiered in Glendale, Arizona. Swift will return to the stage on May 9 in Paris, France. Fans expect her latest Eras to be included in the show.

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This article originally appeared in the Nashville Tennessean: Taylor Swift mentions Patti Smith and Dylan Thomas in a song. Here’s why