Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus

Bonus Track | THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT: THE ANTHOLOGY (2024)

“Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” is track twenty on THE ANTHOLOGY, the double album edition of Taylor’s eleventh studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (2024). Co-written by her and Aaron Dessner, it was released on April 19, 2024, through Republic Records. It is a lyrically dense track, as Taylor is tortured by the “what ifs” of a past romance and the ghost of that person haunting her.
Table of Contents

Background

Taylor announced THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT on February 4, 2024 at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards during her acceptance speech for the “Best Pop Vocal Album” award, which she won for her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022). “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” appears on THE ANTHOLOGY version of the record, as track twenty-two.

According to Taylor, she developed THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT immediately after submitting Midnights, and worked on it for two years. She significantly further developed the album during the first US leg of “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). During one of stadium tour’s shows in Melbourne, she described writing the album was a “lifeline” for her:

«TORTURED POETS is an album that I think, more than any of my albums that I’ve ever made, I needed to make it. It was really a lifeline for me, just the things I was going through, and the things I was writing about. It kind of reminded me of why songwriting is something that actually gets me through my life. And I’ve never had an album where I needed songwriting more than I’d needed it on TORTURED POETS

Lyrical Theme

Taylor co-wrote “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” with frequent collaborator Aaron Dessner. The song reflects on a past relationship, describing the passage of time and contrasting the significance of that particular relationship compared to all the people who just float in out of our lives in a blurr. The first verse includes a reference of a “hologram” stumbling into the narrator’s apartment, followed by the lines, “Hands in the hair of somebody in darkness/ Named Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus.” It is unclear who these people could be, though perhaps Taylor is simply saying this “somebody” could be anybody with any name. Listing this many possibilities in the song title alone seems to be an indicator of the endless “what if?” scenarios that seem to plague the narrator. Notably, the lyrical protagonist states that she has had significant relationships over the years as well, but that she was pining for the subject all this time.

Taylor’s songs are often autobiographical, though she never shared her inspiration for this song in particular. Still, it seems most likely that she is referencing her romance with singer-songwriter Matty Healy. Assuming so, “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” could be the one song on the album that explains Taylor’s innermost feelings about her failed relationship with him. Producer Aaron Dessner shared on Instagram in April 2024:

«I believe these songs are some of the most lyrically acute, intricate, vulnerable and cathartic Taylor has ever written and I am continually astonished by her skills as a songwriter and performer.»

According to the narrator, over a decade has past since the two lovers first met. Following the initial breakdown of the relationship, caused by his struggle with addition, she changed many times over, hoping to become a suitable partner for him once again. Ultimately though, she realizes that she can never be the same person that she was once was again, and that nothing would be more heartbreaking than knowing that her lover liked her better before. The songs ends with her wondering if she will ever be able to move on from this pain.

Another song that seems to connect to “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” and its theme of constant wondering and reminiscing is “Maroon“, a song of off Midnights. Here, she sings: “So if I sell my apartment/ And you have some kids with an internet starlet/ Will that make your memory fade from this scarlet maroon?”

Live Performance

“Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” received its first live performance acoustically on piano on June 3, 2024, in Lyon during one of Taylor’s shows on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024).

Commercial Performance

Upon the release of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, “Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus” debuted at No. 36 on the Billboard Hot 100 during the chart week ending of May 4, 2024.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Your hologram stumbled into my apartment
Hands in the hair of somebody in darkness named Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus
And I just watched it happen
As the decade would play us for fools
And you saw my bones out with somebody new
Who seemed like he would’ve bullied you in school
And you just watched it happen

[Chorus]
If you want to break my cold, cold heart
Just say, ‘I loved you the way that you were’
If you want to tear my world apart
Just say you’ve always wondered

[Verse 2]
You said some things that I can’t unabsorb
You turned me into an idea of sorts
You needed me, but you needed drugs more
And I couldn’t watch it happen
I changed into goddesses, villains and fools
Changed plans and lovers and outfits and rules
All to outrun my desertion of you
And you just watched it

[Chorus]
If you want to break my cold, cold heart
Just say, ‘I loved you the way that you were’
If you want to tear my world apart
Just say you’ve always wondered

[Bridge]
If the glint in my eye traced the depths of your sigh
Down that passage in time
Back to the moment I crashed into you
Like so many wrecks do
Too impaired by my youth
To know what to do

[Verse 3]
So if I sell my apartment
And you have some kids with an internet starlet
Will that make your memory fade from this scarlet maroon
Like it never happened
Could it be enough to just float in your orbit
Can we watch our phantoms like watching wild horses
Cooler in theory but not if you force it to be
It just didn’t happen

[Final Chorus]
So if you want to break my cold, cold heart
Say you loved me
And if you want to tear my world apart
Say you’ll always wonder

[Outro]
Cause I wonder
Will I always
Will I always wonder?

General Information
ArtistTaylor Swift
AlbumTHE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT
ReleasedApril 19, 2024
Recorded2023
StudiosLong Pond (Hudson Valley)
Prime Recording (Nashville)
GenreAlternative
Length3:33
LabelRepublic Records
SongwritersTaylor Swift
Aaron Dessner
ProducersAaron Dessner
Taylor Swift
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT CHRONOLOGY
The AlbatrossChloe or Sam or Sophia or MarcusHow Did It End?
Song Artwork
Live Performance
Lyric Video
Official Audio