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imgonnagetyouback

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

“imgonnagetyouback” is track eighteen on THE ANTHOLOGY, the double album edition of Taylor’s eleventh studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (2024). Co-written by Taylor and Jack Antonoff, the song describes her confusion over a situationship; she is unsure whether she wants this person back, or wants to get back at them.

Background and Release

Taylor started working on THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT immediately after she submitted her tenth studio album, Midnights (2022) for release and continued working on it in secrecy throughout the first US leg of “The Eras Tour” in 2023. She reflected on the creation of the record as a “lifeline” for her, as it took place amidst countless media reports on her personal life and her relationships with Joe Alwyn, Matty Healy, and Travis Kelce:

«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

“imgonnagetyouback” is part of the surprise double-album, THE ANTHOLOGY, which was released on April 19, shortly after the album’s standard edition.

Lyrical Theme

Breakups are rarely clean-cut. In “imgonnagetyouback”—stylized in all lowercase without spaces—Taylor wrestles with conflicting emotions: does she want revenge on her ex for the pain he caused, or does she want to forgive him and reconcile? She captures this inner turmoil in the chorus:

“Whether I’m gonna be your wife or / Gonna smash up your bike, I haven’t decided yet / But I’m gonna get you back / Whether I’m gonna curse you out or / Take you back to my house, I haven’t decided yet / But I’m gonna get you back.”

The song’s unconventional title stylization may nod to The 1975’s “fallingforyou” (2013), a track sung to Taylor by her ex-boyfriend Matty Healy during a 2014 concert she attended.

Ultimately, “imgonnagetyouback” emerges as a playful, sultry anthem for exes with unfinished business, perfectly capturing the emotional whiplash of post-breakup indecision.

Live Performances

“imgonnagetyouback” received its first live performance on July 5, 2024, during one of Taylor’s shows on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). She played it together with “Dress” (2017) in Amsterdam. On July 28, she paired it up with “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever” (2016) in Munich.

Critical Reception

“imgonnagetyouback” received a range of critical responses. Some reviewers praised its catchy composition, while others noted similarities to existing tracks. Rolling Stone Australia described the song as “a catchy oddity that resembles Olivia Rodrigo’s ‘Get Him Back,’ except Taylor does not meet this guy’s mom just to tell her her son sucks.”

Commercial Performance

Upon the album’s release, “imgonnagetyouback” debuted and peaked at No. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100, during the chart week ending on May 4, 2024.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Lilac short skirt
The one that fits me like skin
Did your research
You knew the price going in
And I’ll tell you one thing
Honey, I can tell when somebody still wants me, come clean
Standing at the bar like something’s funny
Bubbly
Once you fix your face
I’m going in

[Chorus 1]
Whether I’m gonna be your wife or
Gonna smash up your bike
I haven’t decided yet
But I’m gonna get you back
Whether I’m gonna curse you out or
Take you back to my house
I haven’t decidеd yet
But I’m gonna get you back

[Post-Chorus]
I hear thе whispers in your eyes
I’ll make you wanna think twice,
You’ll find
That you were never not mine

[Verse 2]
Small talk, big love
Act like I don’t care what you did
I’m an Aston Martin that you steered straight into the ditch
Then ran and hid
And I’ll tell you one thing
Honey, I could take the upper hand and touch your body
Flip the script and leave you like a dumb house party
Or I might just love you ’til the end

[Chorus 2]
Whether I’m gonna be your wife or
Gonna smash up your bike
I haven’t decided yet
But I’m gonna get you back
Whether I’m gonna flip you off or
Pull you into the closet
I haven’t decided yet
But I’m gonna get you back

[Post-Chorus]
I hear the whispers in your eyes
I’ll make you wanna think twice,
You’ll find
That you were never not mine
You’re mine

[Bridge]
I can feel it coming
Humming in the way you move
Push the reset button
We’re becoming something new
Say you got somebody I’ll say I got someone too
Even if it’s handcuffed I’m leaving here with you
Bygones will be bygone eras
Fading into gray
We broke all the pieces, but still want to play the game
I told my friends I hate you but I love you just the same
Pick your poison, babe
I’m poison either way

[Final Chorus]
Whether I’m gonna be your wife or
Gonna smash up your bike
I haven’t decided yet
But I’m gonna get you back
Whether I’m gonna curse you out or
Take you back to my house
I haven’t decided yet
But I’m gonna get you back

[Post-Chorus]
I hear the whispers in your eyes
I’ll make you wanna think twice,
You’ll find
That you were never not mine

[Outro]
I’m gonna get you back