A Formal Guide To All The ‘Tortured Poets Department’ Songs About Matty Healy

It turns out, Matty Healy is by far the main character of The Tortured Poets Department. Tortured Poet No. 1 if you will. Now, many of us would say that’s giving him too much credit — this man is literally famous for being toxic. But evidently, Taylor sees (or saw) a lot in him that we don’t. Apparently, what we thought was a one-month fling was actually the most serious and intense relationship ever, and it kind of ruined Blondie. She gets more honest than she’s ever been on this album, so stans are really getting a window into that romance.

It’s the question on every Swiftie’s mind, so we might as well address it now: Which TTPD songs are about Matty Healy? I’ve listened to the album about 5,000 times so far and have done a lot of reflecting on the subject. These are my thoughts… you might wanna prepare yourself. Sure, it’s all speculation, but a lot of these lyrics are extremely telling.

Which Tortured Poets Department Songs Are About Matty?

That would be most of the album, to everyone’s surprise. I’m just beginning to process that information. These are the songs that certainly seem to be about the 1975 frontman:

“But Daddy I Love Him”

This the most obvious one! Taylor’s PISSED at the Matty haters. She sings: “I’ll tell you something right now / I’d rather burn my whole life down / Than listen to one more second of all this bitchin’ and moanin’.” She admits that he’s “crazy” but the one that she wants. Can’t argue with that, I s’pose.

“Down Bad”

Taylor’s also mad at Matty haters in this song. “They’ll say I’m nuts if I talk about the existence of you,” she sings. This tune is an absolute fucking bop. So thank you, Matty.

“Guilty As Sin?”

The drama! The scandal! This is Taylor’s Ariana Grande moment on TTPD. She admits that she’s fantasizing about someone else while she’s still in a committed relationship (with Joe): “I keep these longings locked / In lowеrcase inside a vault / Someonе told me, “There’s no such thing as bad thoughts / Only your actions talk.”

“The Tortured Poets Department”

Maybe the craziest Taylor song of all time. She writes about his typewriter, compares him to a “tattooed Golden Retriever,” references his smoking habit, and admits she chose a “cyclone” with him. It’s a lot.

“Fresh Out The Slammer”

Here, Taylor gets real about feeling like she was trapped with Joe (“Gray and blue and fights and tunnels / Handcuffed to the spell I was under“), and Matty is the first person she called when she was “fresh out the slammer.” She sings to him: “Now, pretty baby

I’m runnin’ back home to you.”

“I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)”

An iconic title and an iconic song. Once again, smoking makes an appearance: “The smoke cloud billows out his mouth / Like a freight train through a small town.” Taylor writes about how everyone disapproves of this relationship, but she maintains a delusional belief that she’s the one who can fix the man who tells “revolting” jokes.

“loml”

I would’ve been so sure this was a Joe one, but no. In “loml,” Taylor’s “waltzing back into rekindled flames.” She opens up about “reforming” Matty (it’s giving “I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can).” Apparently, he was the “loss” of her life.

“Fortnight”

Perhaps “Fortnight” references the short amount of time Taylor and Matty were actually together. She also references a “miracle move-on drug,” which would make sense in the context of the Joe breakup.

“The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived”

This might be the one negative song about Matty. She sings about him “rusting [her] sparkling summer” — they dated in summer 2023. “You said normal girls were “boring” / But you were gone by the morning,” Taylor accuses. Oof.