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The Prophecy

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

“The Prophecy” is track twenty-six on THE ANTHOLOGY, the double album edition of Taylor’s eleventh studio album, THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT (2024). It was released on April 19, 2024, through Republic Records.

Background

Taylor released her tenth studio album, Midnights, on October 21, 2022, to widespread commercial and critical success, becoming the biggest album of the year. Midnights was eventually nominated for six Grammy Awards at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards on February 4, 2024. The morning of the ceremony, Taylor teased the release of an album by changing her profile picture across all social media platforms to a black and white version of the already existing cover artwork of Midnights. This led to her fans speculating online that she was preparing to release reputation (Taylor’s Version), a forthcoming re-recording of her sixth studio album, reputation (2017). Taylor’s website also appeared to have crashed, replaced with the non-existent HTTP status code 321, as well as error code “hneriergrd”, which fans deciphered to be an anagram spelling “red herring”. They also analyzed the source code of her website and found hidden, foreign-language words, which they then translated into English. The words found would be revealed to be words in Taylor’s handwritten note for the album.

Taylor won the Grammy Awards for “Best Pop Vocal Album” and “Album of the Year” for Midnights a few hours later. In her acceptance speech for the former, she revealed a new studio album, titled THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT, and announced its release date of April 19, 2024, which she had been keeping secret for nearly two years. Its cover artwork was subsequently posted on her social media accounts, along with a photograph of a handwritten note.

Live Performance

“The Prophecy” received its first live performance acoustically on guitar on June 2, 2024, in Madrid during one of Taylor’s shows on “The Eras Tour” (2023-2024). She mashed it up with “long story short” (2020).

Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Hand on the throttle
Thought I caught lightning in a bottle
Oh, but it’s gone again
And it was written
I got cursed like Eve got bitten
Oh, was it punishment?
Pad around when I get home
I guess a lesser woman would’ve lost hope
A greater woman wouldn’t beg
But I looked to the sky and said

[Chorus]
Please
I’ve been on my knees
Change the prophecy
Don’t want money
Just someone who wants my company
Let it once be me
Who do I have to speak to
About if they can redo the prophecy?

[Verse 2]
Cards on thе table
Mine play out like fools in a fablе
Oh, it was sinking in
Slow is the quicksand
Poison blood from the wound of the pricked hand
Oh, still I dream of him

[Chorus]
Please
I’ve been on my knees
Change the prophecy
Don’t want money
Just someone who wants my company
Let it once be me
Who do I have to speak to
About if they can redo the prophecy?

[Bridge]
And I sound like an infant
Feeling like the very last drops of an ink pen
A greater woman stays cool
But I howl like a wolf at the moon
And I look unstable
Gathered with a coven around a sorceress’ table
A greater woman has faith
But even statues crumble if they’re made to wait
I’m so afraid I sealed my fate
No sign of soulmates
I’m just a paperweight in shades of greige
Spending my last coin so someone will tell me
It’ll be okay

[Final Chorus]
Please
I’ve been on my knees
Change the prophecy
Don’t want money
Just someone who wants my company
Let it once be me
Who do I have to speak to
About if they can redo the prophecy?
Who do I have to speak to
To change the prophecy?

[Outro]
Hand on the throttle
Thought I caught lightning in a bottle
Oh, but it’s gone again
Pad around when I get home
I guess a lesser woman would’ve lost hope
A greater woman wouldn’t beg
But I looked to the sky and said
Please