What Does "The Black Dog" Mean? Decoding Taylor Swift's Latest Bonus Track
Attention everyone who spiraled yesterday when Taylor didn't announce another Tortured Poets Department edition despite her site going down: the moment you've been waiting for has ARRIVED.
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Taylor announced the final edition of Tortured Poets in Singapore with bonus track "The Black Dog," teasing the line "Old habits die screaming…”
So, what does it mean? Apparently "the black dog" can be a metaphor for depression/sadness:
📲| “The ‘black dog’ metaphor can represent the gradual overtaking of enjoyable activities you once loved, the person you once recognized in the mirror, or the life you once lived.” pic.twitter.com/wcWGGPXIho
— Taylor Swift Updates 🤍 (@swifferupdates) March 3, 2024
And Taylor announced it right before playing "Clean" and "Evermore," which fans note are about healing:
EVERYONE "THE BLACK DOG" IS A METAPHOR FOR DEPRESSION
AND THEN SHE SANG TWO SONGS ABOUT HEALING FROM DEPRESSION
I AM NOT READY FOR THIS ALBUM pic.twitter.com/sIAx1bmyu2— My Tweets Ricochet (@tweetsricochet) March 3, 2024
she announced the black dog which represents depression and then she sung clean and evermore, two songs about finally getting over your pain and reaching acceptance. she is insanely genius. pic.twitter.com/tejCwvuNCf
— Lea ⸆⸉ (@taylenarare) March 3, 2024
Announces "The Black Dog"
And then plays Clean and Evermore, two songs about healing from a sky that "turned black like a perfect storm" and a "gray November."
This album is about heartbreak, but also about healing 🥹🥹🥹 pic.twitter.com/mVDqsxTf84— My Tweets Ricochet (@tweetsricochet) March 3, 2024
Oh, and there's also the meaning of "The Black Dog" in English folklore (which Swifties are leaning into for obvious reasons that may or not have to do with Joe Alwyn being English):
the black dog in english folklore is a death omen and in the back cover of the variant she's holding flowers
i have such a gut feeling the black dog will be a song about the death of her relationship or who she was in it, and she saw this omen so she lets go and moves on pic.twitter.com/MaDE32Jr6E— niamh (tortured poet version) (@niamhm05) March 3, 2024
And as an alternate interpretation (given that the back cover alludes to "old habits die screaming,") a Black Dog is also a symbol (in folklore!) of impending death.
In this case, she saw the signs that this relationship was going to end--and she put up a screaming resistance. pic.twitter.com/X5iAQ1OdQh— My Tweets Ricochet (@tweetsricochet) March 3, 2024
ICYMI, Taylor announced the track saying "If you wanna look at the main screen I want to show you something. So this is the final edition of The Tortured Poets Department, it's the final cover. And it's called The Black Dog Edition, there's an exclusive song on this edition called 'The Black Dog.' I cannot wait for you to hear it."
Last variant + ‘The Black Dog’ pic.twitter.com/5x0dhnOrPX
— ana (taylor’s version) (@invisibleasu) March 3, 2024
Taylor's other album variants are "The Manuscript," "The Bolter," and "The Albatross," and fans have also been busy analyzing them. And yes, the theories are definitely leaning Joe Alwyn. Oh, and there's the fact that Tay fully dressed as an Albatross at the Grammys, in case you want proof of just how next-level her easter eggs are getting!
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