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The Bolter

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

“The Bolter” is track twenty-nine 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, the song narrates the story of a woman who, after a near-drowning incident in her youth, develops a thrill-seeking and self-protective demeanor. As she matures, she engages in relationships that start with passion but inevitably end with her retreating, unable to confront the vulnerability of lasting intimacy.

Background

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. The album’s “Bolter” deluxe edition along with the song was announced during her show in Melbourne on February 16, 2024. Taylor 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:

«This album, this new one, 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. And I wanted to show you something tonight, because we’ve got an alternate cover to THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT that nobody has seen, and there’s an exclusive song on this vinyl called 'The Bolter.' So this is called 'The Bolter Edition.' Look at that cover! It’s so tortured, so poetic.»

Taylor Swift

Since it is a bonus track, “The Bolter” is part of the double-album edition of the record, THE ANTHOLOGY, which was released digitally on April 19, shortly after the standard edition.

Lyrical Theme

The protagonist in “The Bolter” is someone who has been shaped by past traumas, often fleeing from relationships when things begin to feel too intimate or vulnerable. The song’s title refers to a “bolter,” someone who flees from situations—particularly relationships—at the first sign of emotional commitment. She also explored this theme on “Mine“, the lead single from her third album, Speak Now, in 2010.

In “The Bolter,” Taylor paints a portrait of herself a woman whose past has shaped her tendency to abandon love before it can deepen, driven by the fear of intimacy and a desire to protect herself from heartache. She draws a parallel between her emotional flight and an incident from her childhood in which she almost drowned. This near-death experience acts as a catalyst for her thrill-seeking and self-protective behavior, prompting her to seek intense but fleeting connections that allow her to avoid vulnerability. As she matures, she finds herself entering relationships full of passion, only to retreat when the emotional stakes become too high. Despite her initial enthusiasm, she cannot face the deeper emotional exposure that lasting love requires.

Live Performances

Taylor first performed “The Bolter” on June 8, 2024, while on the “The Eras Tour” in Edinburgh. She sang it as a mashup with “Getaway Car” (2017). The live audio was released on August 8, 2024. In Indianapolis on November 3, 2024, she paired it with “Cornelia Street” (2019).

Critical Reception

Critics praised “The Bolter” for its introspective lyrics and compelling narrative. For instance, Stay Free Radio described it as “a powerful ballad that explores the complexities of escaping destructive relationships and the addictive pull of toxic patterns.” Additionally, Ms. Magazine highlighted the song’s empowerment theme, noting that Taylor “gives the bolter a voice—one that until now had been silent.”

Commercial Performance

Upon the album’s release, “The Bolter” debuted and peaked at No. 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100, during the chart week ending on May 4, 2024.

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
By all accounts, she almost drowned
When she was six in frigid water
And I can confirm she made
A curious child, ever reviled
By everyone except her own father
With a quite bewitching face
Splendidly selfish, charmingly helpless
Excellent fun til you get to know her
Then she runs like it’s a race
Behind her back, her best mates laughed
And they nicknamed her “The Bolter”

[Chorus 1]
Started with a kiss,
“Oh, we must stop meeting like this”
But it always ends up with a town car speeding
Out the drive one evening
Ended with the slam of a door,
Then he’ll call her a ‘whore’
Wish he wouldn’t be sore
But as she was leaving
It felt like breathing
All her fuckin lives
Flashed before her eyes
It feels like the time
She fell through the ice…
Then came out alive

[Verse 2]
He was a cad, wanted her bad
Just like any good trophy hunter
And she liked the way it tastes
Taming a bear, making him care
Watching him jump then pulling him under
And at first blush, this is fate
When it’s all roses, portrait poses
Central Park Lake in tiny rowboats
What a charming Saturday!
That’s when she sees the littlest leaks
Down in the floorboards
And she just knows.
She must bolt.

[Chorus]
Started with a kiss,
“Oh, we must stop meeting like this”
But it always ends up with a town car speeding
Out the drive one evening
Ended with the slam of a door,
Then he’ll call her a ‘whore’
Wish he wouldn’t be sore
But as she was leaving
It felt like breathing
All her fuckin lives
Flashed before her eyes
It feels like the time
She fell through the ice…
Then came out alive

[Bridge]
She’s been many places with
Men of many faces
First they’re off to the races
And she’s laughing drawing aces
But none of it is changing
That the chariot is waiting
Hearts are hers for the breaking
There’s escape in escaping

[Final Chorus]
Started with a kiss,
“Oh, we must stop meeting like this”
But it always ends up with a town car speeding
Out the drive one evening
Ended with the slam of a door
But she’s got the best stories,
You can be sure
That as she was leaving,
It felt like freedom.
All her fuckin lives
Flashed before her eyes
And she realized
It feels like the time
She fell through the ice
Then came out alive