#5 stages of heartbreak

[taylornation]

We have exactly a fortnight to go through the five stages of heartbreak before THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT arrives. 💔 Thankfully, Taylor and Apple Music made these playlists to prepare us.

Press play and let us know what stage you’re in. 🥲

[lovelornlovethorn]

denial at every table, I'll save you a seat

anger now I'm begging for footnotes in the story of your life

bargaining is it really your anxiety that stops you from giving me everything? or do you just not want to?

depression but when I walked up to the podium, I think that I forgot to say your name

acceptance you're on your own kid, you always have been

[veinsglisten]

The folklore love triangle

as the ultimate folklore girl, I refuse to believe the folklore love triangle is indeed taylor, joe and potential “augustine”, whoever that is…

I’m in denial

I mean taylor has changed how we view her discography over the past few days

but this just subverts my worldview and hits my core

my mind is fucked, my heart is broken

watching some videos of the long pond session gives you so much context now

like how taylor explained betty and james would end up together despite the cheating but “james really put her through it” and the side eye from aaron dessner says it all, as if he knew what she was going through and was empathizing with her

she genuinely believed they could sustain the relationship at that time but now betty is in the denial playlist…

and in another video she emphasized that james was a fool

and a line from it’s time to go: “or that moment again, he’s insisting that friends look at each other like that”

that speaks volume as to what possibly happened…

and hoax

if you don’t count the lakes, hoax is the closing track

and it is just the saddest

“my best laid plan, your sleight of hand”

“sleight of hand”

“you knew it still hurts underneath my scars

from when they pulled me apart

but what you did was just as dark

darling, this was just as hard”

I can’t…

[taytaysteps]

Going through the 5 stages of grief playlists and it looks like this time I just might get over the person I was so in love attached to once and for all.

I can't wait for TTPD. I feel like it's going to be cataclysmic for all the stale feelings that have been festering for so long.

[0ver-thinker]

So Long, London is part of the Acceptance stage ?

so we all know that TTPD goes through the 5 stages of heartbreak that are denial/anger/bargaining/depression/acceptance.

Now, So Long, London is track 5, and is supposed to be a particularly deep, emotional song. I was expecting something truly heartbreaking, full of angst, of aching, sadness etc., (like Dear John, or My Tears Ricochet) and I thought it was what it was at first, but when you actually lean into the lyrics, I feel like it’s actually more between anger and acceptance. 

okay so, the song is about a relationship in which her lover seems indifferent, or distant to her, something she mentions in many songs in Midnights, like « how can you say you love someone you can’t tell is dying », « don’t you ignore me » etc. in You’re Losing Me, but also in High Infidelity (« killing the one you love » by « never loving them enough »), which is interesting as she writes « every day-old affair » in So Long, London.

I feel like it's a real continuation of You’re Losing Me, as she feels like dying : she uses this metaphor with the sea: her relationship is a « ship » she’s been trying to save all that time, all while trying to prevent her lover from « drifting away » (+ « rift », « wet », « ferry »…). she’s desperately clinging to this relationship to work : she’s always « trying to make him laugh », and she accuses him of giving her false hopes, as she was waiting for a proposal (« dying at the altar » « give you all that youth »). 

Just like in You’re losing me both her and her partner « are sick » (the relationship isn’t healthy): on one side, the man holds a « quiet resentment » for her, he "doesn't want to be there" and on her side, it feels like DBAC « gave you too much but it wasn’t enough », as she’s self-destructing (« my spine split from carrying us », and she says she’s struggling to breath, like she’s drowning while refusing to let go (« I was going down with it » « every breath feels like rarest air »). 

I just love the parallels there are with You’re losing me, and the few differences that there are between the two is actually what I think makes So Long, London part of the Acceptance stage. In YLM Taylor is still clinging to this one-sided relationship, she’s still begging her partner to look at her and to lover her more. She says her « heart won’t start anymore for you », and you hear behind the music a heart pulse, but in So Long, London she said « I stopped CPR after all it’s no use », acknowledging the unhealthy aspect of her relation : she stops blaming herself (« I wouldn't marry me either »). She accepts that the relationship is hopeless (« we would never come to ») and that she has to let it go.

Even if the song shows that she is still longing for that person/relationship, as she shows signs of anger, resentment for letting him hurt her, and for trusting him, she also shows some signs of acceptance, of moving on: « I’ll find someone », « you’ll find someone », « had a good run » and « I’m just getting color back into my face » (as opposed to « my face was gray » in You’re Losing Me). 

[brissyswiftie]

Am I Allowed To Cry? Yes, yes I am!!

Forever in the bargaining stage…. I’m always trying….. This Is Me Trying… all the time 😭😭😭

[13lifewasawillow]

Only 13 days to go … 🤍🪶

[niceboyeds]

the bridge of loml is absolutely soul crushing and it doesn’t get the acknowledgment it deserves

[tsvioletrex]

#The5StagesOfHeartbreak & #TSTTPD 

Playlists on Spotify @taylornation @taylorswift

I love you it’s ruining my life: Denial Link

You don’t get to tell me about sad: Anger Link

Am I allowed to cry: Bargaining Link

Old Habits Die Screaming: Depression Link

I can do it with a broken heart: Acceptance Link

[jordynlwymmd]

11 days until TS11🥹🪶🤍🕯️ @taylorswift @taylornation

[newromantickristen]

the tortured poets department is for the people that put YEARS into a relationship, ignored red flags, spent many nights anxious about what the future holds, had so much anger, then eventually had to end the relationship, scared they made the wrong decision, and recovered or is trying to recover from it

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as someone who recently ended my 8 year relationship I don’t think i’m going to recover nicely from this album😅🥲

[rivenantiqnerd]

i just speedran the 5 stages of grief in an hour. Not the fastest anyone’s done it but pretty dang fast for getting my heart broken.

[clawsomebeats]

finished fleabag btw. i kinda hope i die

[wiiildflowerrr]

The Old Song Selector Dice in action on night 1 in Buenos Aires

(The size of this thing, next to our "6'2, at best" lead singer!)

[valerielovestaylorswift]

The Am I Allowed to Cry playlist is about bargaining and I think it’s so heartbreaking. 🥺 I feel like these songs are about holding onto hope and trying to justify when people wrong you.

@taylorswift @taylornation

#The5StagesOfHeartbreak #TSTTPD

[valerielovestaylorswift]

These playlists are all I’ve been listening to. It’s making me so excited for TTPD! 🤍

@taylorswift @taylornation

FIVE STAGES OF GRIEF ⸺ Playlists curated by Taylor Swift