the alyssa-sis: The Tortured Poets Department
an analysis by me (alyssa) on the tortured poets department (song)!
And so I enter into evidence my analysis on The Tortured Poets Department. It feels like the best place to start with our deep dives is the title track of this album (if you want to read into the significance of the album title, read here).
You left your typewriter at my apartment
Matty Healy notoriously writes on a typewriter. He was seen entering Taylor Swift’s apartment carrying a bag that looked mysteriously like it had a typewriter in it… was this the typewriter that was left in her apartment?
Also, he said this in 2018 about typewriters:
“It's not that there's any kind of like, romance to having a notebook, but I really like typewriters, as well. I don't have one with me because that is really impractical, but the thing is with typewriters and writing on pen to paper, there's kind of an element of like commitment that goes with the ceremony of it. Therefore, it requires you to concentrate a bit better."
See the below video at 3:07 for the quote above (also stick around at 3:27 of the video for a special surprise about Matty Healy dreaming about being in love with popstars, we’ll revisit this on a different deep dive. Please note, Matty Healy I will give you $500 for the contents of that notebook).
Straight from the tortured poets department
As much as some people may want to deny it, Matty Healy is a poet. And he’s definitely tortured. The 1975’s music is both lyrically and sonically prolific and you simply cannot deny that fact.
I think some things I never say
Like, "Who uses typewriters anyway?"
Matty Healy does.
But you're in self-sabotage mode
Throwing spikes down on the road
But I've seen this episode and still loved the show
This can allude to many things. The one that stands out to me the most is the premise, that Taylor Swift has seen Matty Healy at his worst in 2014 and loved him regardless. Additionally, Matty Healy’s online username has always been TrumanBlack, an ode to Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. One of the most famous films with “Truman” in the title is the Truman Show (which was filmed in Seaside, Florida - about 20 miles away from Destin, FL… the rabbit holes are endless). Further, this could be a reference to The 1975’s most recent tour (Still At Their Very Best) which is a glimpse into the mind of Matty Healy, in which Matty Healy finds himself crawling into a television screen at one point.
Who else decodes you?
And who's gonna hold you like me?
And who's gonna know you, if not me?
I laughed in your face and said
"You're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith
This ain't the Chelsea Hotel, we're modern idiots"
Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith in the Chelsea Hotel. Let’s get into it.
Dylan Thomas is an esteemed Welsh poet, but a character trait often discussed about him is that he was known to be a heavy drinker. His close friends would share that he exaggerated the effect alcohol had on him for the shock value. Thomas is known to be a romantic at heart, but was extremely self-destructive. He was undoubtedly talented, but would sometimes take things a step too far. Does that remind you of a certain British someone?
Patti Smith is one of the greatest American poets (in my opinion), who has fused her love of rock music and poetry into her art. She changed the landscape of rock music, and was an absolute pioneer in her day. Does that remind you of a certain American someone?
The Chelsea Hotel is known as a creative hub in New York. It has housed the likes of music legends such as Bob Dylan, Patti Smith, Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley, Joni Mitchell, and Mick Jagger. The Chelsea Hotel is where Jack Kerouac created On The Road. The Chelsea Hotel is where Leonard Cohen met Janis Joplin. There is so much history in the walls of that hotel.
But they aren’t Dylan Thomas and Patti Smith. This is not The Chelsea Hotel. They’re just modern idiots.
And who's gonna hold you like me?
Nobody
No-fucking-body
Nobody
You smoked, then ate seven bars of chocolate
One of the most famous The 1975 songs is Chocolate. There are 8 bars in the chorus of this song, but one is a rest. Matty Healy quite literally sings for seven bars in the song Chocolate. He is (metaphorically) eating up the performance of Chocolate. Matty Healy is also a heavy smoker. He will forever be remembered as the Tumblr cigarette indie rockstar boyfriend of every girl’s dreams (or at least mine).
The song itself is also about smoking weed, so maybe they’re smoking weed and he’s humming the chorus to her.
We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist
Matty Healy and Taylor Swift both love Charlie Puth. It’s the millennial in them.
I scratch your head, you fall asleep
In The 1975’s song Nana, Matty talks about the passing of his grandmother and how it’s been hard on him and his family. There’s a lyric from Nana that is reminiscent of this line:
It's not the same when I scratch my own head
I haven't got the nails for it
In a literal sense, Matty misses his grandmother scratching his head. But it’s also about missing the smaller, more intimate moments that you spend with someone you love. Taylor referencing this intimate moment with Matty…. makes me so sad.
Like a tattooed golden retriever
Need I say more than this photo?
But you awaken with dread
Pounding nails in your head
Matty Healy has talked extensively about how he has nightmares and his dreams are horrible. In an interview with Fader he shared:
“I have a really bad relationship with dreams. Part of my whole relationship with opiates is to avoid dreaming. I have dreadful dreams. They're normally repetitions of stuff… I fuckin' hate it. Honestly, man, if I could never dream again...I'm terrified of dreaming.”
But I've read this one where you come undone
Not sure if this is actually related, but The 1975 has a song called Undo. The song talks about a relationship that never works out because the timing of their love is never aligned.
This could also just mean, Matty Healy is quite literally coming undone.
I chose this cyclone with you
Cyclone = Media frenzy, “fans” writing open letters to get them to stop dating…
And who's gonna hold you like me?
(Who's gonna hold you? Who's gonna hold you?)
And who's gonna know you like me?
(Who's gonna know you?)
I laughed in your face and said
"You're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith
This ain't the Chelsea Hotel, we're modern idiots"
And who's gonna hold you like me?
(Who's gonna hold you? Who's gonna hold you?)
No-fucking-body
(Who's gonna hold you? Who's gonna hold you?)
Nobody
(Who's gonna hold you? Gonna know you? Gonna troll you?)
Matty Healy is the biggest internet troll. I would L O V E to see internet troll Taylor Swift emerge.
Nobody
Sometimes, I wonder if you're gonna screw this up with me
But you told Lucy you'd kill yourself if I ever leave
Lucy Dacus.
Also, The 1975 has a song Oh Caroline, which I think is about Taylor Swift, in which the lyrics are:
I've been suicidal
You've been gone for weeks
This song was released in 2022. When Taylor Swift was with Joe Alwyn. I’ll just leave this here.
And I had said that to Jack about you, so I felt seen
Everyone we know understands why it's meant to be
'Cause we're crazy
Yes. They are.
So tell me, who else is gonna know me?
At dinner, you take my ring off my middle finger
And put it on the one people put wedding rings on
People often say there is no way this could be about Matty because they can’t imagine him ever getting married, but that just proves they don’t keep up with The 1975. In the video below, Matty discusses how he just wants a family at the end of the day, just like Adam.
Also, in the song About You by The 1975, which I think is about Taylor Swift, there is a line about dreaming about being married to someone:
We get married in our heads
Him and Taylor have spent nearly a decade fantasizing about each other. They write each other into their poems. It makes sense why he’d take her ring and promise her the world… because he’s been fantasizing about it for the past decade.
And that's the closest I've come to my heart exploding
Who's gonna hold you? (Who?)
Me
Who's gonna know you? (Who?)
Me
And you're not Dylan Thomas, I'm not Patti Smith
This ain't the Chelsea Hotel, we're two idiots
Who's gonna hold you?
Who's gonna hold you?
Who's gonna hold you?
Who's gonna hold you?
Who's gonna hold you?
Who's gonna hold you?
Who's gonna hold you?
Who's gonna hold you?
Gonna know you? Gonna troll you?
You left your typewriter at my apartment
Straight from the tortured poets department
Who else decodes you?
And that’s the end of our very first deep dive! I’ll be doing so many more, so click the button below to keep in touch :)