Guilty as Sin?
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (2024)
Table of Contents
Background
«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.»
Taylor Swift
Lyrical Theme
Taylor has not said who inspired the song. However, as is the case with most of the songs on the album, there are links between the lyrics and British singer Matty Healy. In the first verse, Taylor makes a reference to the Scottish band The Blue Nile and their single “The Downtown Lights” (1989): “Drowning in the Blue Nile/ He sent me ‘Downtown Lights’/ I hadn’t heard it in a while”. In an interview with Vulture in 2016, Matty called The Blue Nile his “favourite band of all time.”
The track notably incorporates rich Christian religious imagery, a recurring motif throughout THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT. Taylor reflects on public perception with the poignant lyrics, “What if I roll the stone away? / They’re gonna crucify me anyway,” showcasing her awareness of how others perceive her.
Production
Live Performances
«Thank you for being this kind of a crowd! You know, it just makes me want to play one of my favorite songs from TORTURED POETS that I’ve never played live before.»
Taylor Swift
Critical Reception
Commercial Performance
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Drowning in the Blue Nile
He sent me ‘Downtown Lights’
I hadn’t heard it in a while
My boredom’s bone-deep
This cage was once just fine
Am I allowed to cry?
I dream of cracking locks
Throwing my life to the wolves
Or the ocean rocks
Crashing into him tonight
He’s a paradox
I’m seeing visions, am I bad?
Or mad? Or wise?
[Chorus 1]
What if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh
Only in my mind?
One slip and falling back into the hedge maze
Oh what a way to die
I keep recalling things we never did
Messy top lip kiss
How I long for our trysts
Without ever touching his skin,
How can I be guilty as sin?
[Verse 2]
I keep these longings lockеd
In lowercase inside a vault
Somеone told me
There’s no such thing as bad thoughts
Only your actions talk
These fatal fantasies
Giving way to labored breath
Taking all of me
We’ve already done it in my head
If it’s make believe
Why does it feel like a vow
We’ll both uphold somehow?
[Chorus 2]
What if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh
Only in my mind?
One slip and falling back into the hedge maze
Oh what a way to die
My bed sheets are ablaze
I’ve screamed his name
Building up like waves
Crashing over my grave
Without ever touching his skin
How can I be guilty as sin?
[Bridge]
What if I roll the stone away?
They’re gonna crucify me anyway
What if the way you hold me
Is actually what’s holy?
If long suffering propriety
Is what they want from me
They don’t know how you’ve haunted me
So stunningly
I choose you and me
…Religiously
[Final Chorus]
What if he’s written ‘mine’ on my upper thigh
Only in my mind?
One slip and falling back into the hedge maze
Oh what a way to die
I keep recalling things we never did
Messy top lip kiss
How I long for our trysts
Without ever touching his skin,
How can I be guilty as sin?
[Outro]
He sent me ‘Downtown Lights’
I hadn’t heard it in a while
Am I allowed to cry?
Artist | Taylor Swift | |||
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Album | THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT | |||
Released | April 19, 2024 | |||
Recorded | 2022–2023 | |||
Studios | Conway (Los Angeles) Electric Lady (New York City) Prime Recording (Nashville) Sterling Sound (Edgewater) | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 4:14 | |||
Label | Republic Records | |||
Songwriters | Taylor Swift Jack Antonoff | |||
Producers | Jack Antonoff Taylor Swift | |||
THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT CHRONOLOGY | ||||
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