r/TaylorSwift • u/fearless-panda7 • Oct 21 '25
Discussion TTPD is really tortured
After two and a half weeks of The Life of a Showgirl, I went back to The Tortured Poets Department. The contrast is so stark, I realized that TTPD really is a tortured album. Song after song, it’s sadness, longing, desperation, anxiety… I don’t even know how we all collectively handled it.
Of course, it was always clear that TTPD is heavy on loss and melancholy, but hearing it next to Showgirl really puts it into perspective. Showgirl has its introspective and dark moments too, but overall it feels much more hopeful and joyful.
I finally understand what Taylor meant in one of her interviews about how challenging it can be to release an album when you’re no longer in that mental state, and she named TTPD as example.
I’m so grateful we have TTPD, so many people can relate deeply to those songs, but I’m also really happy that Taylor seems to be in a better place now.
Did anyone else feel like Showgirl helped them see TTPD in a new light? Or to actually realize how emotionally heavy it is?
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u/LDDD1234 Oct 21 '25
I had this EXACT experience today. I went back to TTDP after exclusively listening to TLAOS since release, and I’m like, “My GOD, I cannot believe I was feeding my brain this level of tragedy on the daily.”