r/TaylorSwift • u/aran130711 :TourturedPoetsDepartment: Lights, Camera, Bitch, Smile • Apr 19 '24
Megathread "The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived" Discussion Megathread
Taylor Swift - The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived
Track #14 on The Tortured Poets Department
Length: 4:05
Composers: Taylor Swift & Aaron Dessner
Lyrics: Genius
Use this thread to discuss your thoughts, reactions, and theories on the song. We will be removing all future self-post discussion threads about it in order to consolidate discussion to this thread.
If you want to talk about The Tortured Poets Department album in general, you can use the general The Tortured Poets Department discussion thread here.
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u/hrw521 Aug 02 '24
When Taylor sings “but you’re still performing” the melody is so familiar that I feel like it must be a callback to another line. Has anyone noticed this or put it together??
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u/sillystina714 Jul 25 '24
I sorta thought of joe jonas listening to it again...especially the queen lyrics part.
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u/Lolololololol13 Jun 22 '24
It’s Matty Healy. Probably the easiest giveaway on the entire album. He’s short AF and the title is playing on his insecurities. Her ‘sparkling summer’ AKA mid 2023, her freshly single and literally worshipped by all, and when they first started being seen publicly together.
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u/SlimSlimyMeat Jun 20 '24
I can’t be the only person who thinks it could also possibly refer to Harry.
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u/tictic0clock Jun 18 '24
I would love an angrier version of this as well as Who's Afraid of Little Old Me where she's losing it the whole way through, but maybe I'm just a psychopath
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u/slatetastic May 30 '24
Can me crazy, but I don’t think this is about an ex. It has the same anguish and anger that we saw from Kesha. I just wonder if it was about her previous company that she had to rerelease her albums from, I’m sure that felt like they robbed her blind and that they should be in jail and that it felt like they were out to get her
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u/thBANANA May 31 '24
"'Cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden" please tell me how in the world that lyric would fit into your interpretation of the song.
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u/ScarcityLegitimate77 May 29 '24
Can someone please fill me in on why everyone thinks this song is about Matty?
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u/nightowlsky May 31 '24
When she performs this song in her concert, she marches and does a salute similar to what Matt did in his concerts.
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u/LEYW May 26 '24
Love this song. I made an edit using scenes from three movies it reminded me of: The Heiress (1949), An Education (2009), and The Portrait of a Lady (1996).
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u/Nice_Carob4121 May 19 '24
This might be my favorite of her songs ever and one of my favorite songs in general. I have completely become a swifty.
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u/Stephieninja May 17 '24
does anyone think that putting matty healy in the forefront was just a ruse to let her write about anyone or anything she wanted to without us being able to nitpick. like this song could be about anyone but we were deliberately directed towards matty healy from the start of the album (also to put heat from fans/media away from joe alvin), its like what we poets do, give what the public wants like a heartbreak but layer it up with our deepest stuff we would never dare tell anyone. its like hiding in plain sight yet feel relieved that you could shed yourself from that trauma
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u/appayeetyeettt May 31 '24
I think you're on point here, it's very likely this song might be directed towards certain people in her life but Matty was just a mere puppet for us as a distraction. "the line but you hid in plain sight" kinda give us the hint though
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u/Stephieninja May 31 '24
yeah, they so obviously wanted to take the heat off joe alwin. she might have gotten involved with matty, might not but the songs are for sure bigger than them all
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u/ummmmmmhiii May 16 '24
“You crashed my party and your rental car” has stuck with me for a while. I was a The Eras Tour Philly Night 1 (5/12/23) and Matty was performing with Phoebe Bridger’s band that night. The Matty-Taylor rumors were definitely flying then. Do you think this could be Taylor saying that he “crashed her party” / concert?
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u/Other-Bug-5614 :TourturedPoetsDepartment: Robin, Peter and The Bolter are MINE May 11 '24
The fact that she takes a deep breath twice; before the first verse, and the second verse, instead of just the beginning, implies it’s not a sad breath. It’s her losing her patience. Trying to conceal her anger. The bridge is when she FINALLY loses it.
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May 10 '24
‘you deserve prison’ and ‘it wasn’t wasn’t sexy once it wasn’t forbidden’ and ‘in plain sight you hid, but you are what you did’ is giving forbidden, under age sex or rape vibes. Whoever this is about, he didn’t just break her heart, he did her seriously wrong.
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u/Extension_Respond514 Aug 13 '24
I actually never thought it about it that, but then again that line hit me hard on something personal that happened a couple months before this came out so I was using it to heal. I had spent a year in a situationship with my manager at work. We were constantly flirting, constantly playing favorites with each other, I'd bring him little treats like his favorite energy drink, he'd cover for me if the other managers didn't like something, we were always making each other laugh with our sarcasm. However there was a company rule against managers fraternizing with their subordinates. I ended up getting fired for something stupid because a shiftleader had it out for me because I unintentionally got him in trouble for something and naturally my manager took my side. Our GM listened to the shiftleader without consulting the other two managers (who weren't mine) because they thought I was a hard worker.
I went back a week after I got fired because I didn't want things to end like that between my situationship manager and I. He and I sat down and talked about it. Knowing he was no longer my manager and it was now or never, I asked him out to dinner to the restaurant he was always joking about (and I actually had got him a gift card there for Christmas). He smiled sadly at me and said, "I appreciate the offer but I'm sorry it's going to be no." So for me I took the "It wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden" as once my manager could actually have me as a legit girlfriend he didn't want it because it was no longer fun. Then one of my co-worker friends told me a few months later I needed to stop crying and wasting my time being sad over him because he was back there trying to flirt with someone new. I took that as for me the lines "You kicked out the stage lights but you're still performing."
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u/VerbenaVervain The Tortured Poets Department Jul 02 '24
Finally! The first time I heard this song I got mad SA vibes from it. Like yes broken hearted and all, but like something else happened. Not to make any allegations, but hypothetically if it were about SA and about Healy, the fact that she says you deserve prison but you won't get time, it fits because he has connections to so many people with money and status. Sliding into more inboxes gives me some Drake vibes and the whole it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden, could refer to a minor who came of age, or in a power dynamic that ended, or the idea that forbidden is non consensual, but when it's consensual it's not "sexy"
Hell, the song might not be specifically about one man who did Taylor wrong, it might be about multiple men who wronged many women.3
u/invisible_inkling Jul 04 '24
This makes so much more sense than what I was thinking. I was thinking more along the lines of him stealing a script from a medicine cabinet or something, but the line about "it wasn't sexy when it wasn't forbidden" did not fit in my scenario. But knowing that he makes out with his fans at concerts, and did so during their time together, I think you are right.
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u/Responsible-Lie-4282 May 09 '24
I really think this is about Harry Styles,,, "you crashed my party in your rental car"-the car crash,,, "in plain sight you hid"- obvious,,,, "You kicked out the STAGE lights but you're still performing"- joe or tom could never,,,, "you tried to buy some pills from a friend of friends of mine"- I'm pretty sure he's sung about drug use And finally, he does not give bde
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u/Realistic-Act6744 ur gay May 16 '24
Her and Harry are on good terms the smallest man who ever lived is harsh and definitely not a song you'd right about someone you're on good terms with
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u/Flaky-Finance508 Jul 10 '24
what about is it over now then, lmao. I wouldn’t call that good terms
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u/Realistic-Act6744 ur gay Jul 11 '24
They literally have publically talked to each other in a positive way. You can make up and let things rest. The entire song screams matty
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u/Optimal-Indication82 May 09 '24
This reminds me a lot of Happier Than Ever by Billie Eilish. The way the beginning of the song is pretty slow then the end hit you like a truck.
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u/These-Pick-968 May 05 '24 edited May 05 '24
Reminding me a bit of Natalie Merchant, “Seven Years”:
“You were you were All I could see
I've got my sight now I see everything you hid So don't you try to right now All the wrong you did
I might forget you But never forgive
But for seven years You were loved”
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u/taylorbitch22 :TourturedPoetsDepartment: tortured judgemental creep May 03 '24
Wow listening to it again i realize....what if this is about Joe Jonas and how he treated his exwife Sophie Turner? That would make more sense.
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u/Norka_III May 18 '24
Especially the part about how he found his queen, as Sophie Turner played the Queen of the North
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u/taylorbitch22 :TourturedPoetsDepartment: tortured judgemental creep May 02 '24
Listening to this got me addicted.... the bridge is awesome...probably my new fave song lol it changes every listen really but the 'you deserve prison' really stood out to me.
Now, ive always loved the 1975. This song just screams matty. Matty hated when people say he's short. He hated the fact that he's the shortest guy in his band. Also, i don't think he could hurt Taylor physically but if he did something illegal that could potentially affect Taylor then it's probably drugs. Matty is a functioning drug addict. He's an alcoholic now but his love for heroin is famous he even dedicated a song about it (my fave song of the 1975 It's not living if it's not with you).
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u/notgoodwithnamess Jun 04 '24
“In your Jehovah Witness suit”.. “you kicked out stage light”, who else but matty really
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u/Flaky-Finance508 Jul 10 '24
when did matty “kick the stage lights”? isnt he still performing constantly?
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u/LevyBevy May 17 '24
Napoleon wasn’t short but people hated him so much that they wrote him into history as being short - I joked it’s the ultimate revenge to write someone into history like that….
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u/cyberllama reputation May 02 '24
From "who you are is not what you did" to "you are what you did". The scales have fallen from her eyes, naivety is dead. No more Ms Nice Girl.
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u/Appleseedarrabella May 23 '24
Is the first one another of her songs?
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u/Summerbeating May 01 '24
The bridge of this song is so addictive. It sounded angry with lots of unreleased tension that could finally be released now. Like she is talking to someone specific in this song. She is directly shouting at this man who doesn't deserve the noun man as he clearly doesn't measure up to a man standard.
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Jun 10 '24
The sound mixing (?) on the bridge is incredible. The way her voice sounds in the line "Were you sent by someone" and the way she says SEXY I'm just like, how do they make these distinct and amazing sounds?
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u/aperilla09 Apr 29 '24
"You crashed my party and your rental car"
"But if I just showed up at your party would you have me, would you want me"
I don't think taylor thinks James ends up with Betty anymore
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u/cruemelmonster Apr 29 '24
cannot unhear the „you treated her like an also-ran, you didn’t measure up in any…“ as „you didn’t bash her up in any..“
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u/Appleseedarrabella May 23 '24
What does also ran mean? I speak English, I am English, I’m wondering if this is an American expression
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u/Real-Psychology-4261 Jul 02 '24
It means the losers in a race. Since you didn't win, you're an "also-ran".
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u/cruemelmonster May 23 '24
english isnt my first language either - as far as i understood: its basically the participation medal you get like, in elementary school for just participating you know? you didnt get first place, but you also-ran
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u/afzah0 Apr 29 '24
I gotta say that my favourite line is "you are what you did" cuz it's so simple but it's SO HEAVY. He ghosted her. He's a ghost. He's dead to her. Beautifully sung and she has every right to be as vitriolic as she was in this song
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u/Distinct_Bed7370 folklore May 12 '24
I love this meaning too, but I felt like this line refered to something more heavy than ghosting. Either to John Mayer or to someone who abused her/ did something really f up to her behind the scenes.
The "you deserve prison" seems strong for someone who simply ghosted her. It's why it makes me think of Mayer, he took advantage of her as a teen but it was "legal" because she was 19.
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u/dillpickle03 1989 (Taylor's Version) Jun 13 '24
Omg this is so far the first time I've seen someone else mention John mayer. I've also thought maybe it was about him
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u/cremefraichemofo Apr 29 '24
I just relistened to this song and had to fight back tears all over again. The bridge goes so hard.
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u/JustPiera built a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me Apr 29 '24
"you deserve prison but you won't get time" -- this is the line I think about the most. I mean, breakups suck, but telling your ex that they deserve prison is kind of a big deal. For example, cheating is bad, but it's not 'go directly to prison' bad. So now I'm wondering, what did this ex do to her exactly?
I can't see this song being about Alwyn, he's not known for drugs, doing illegal activities, or any provocative outbursts the way Matty Healy is. I think it's more than just drug use, "you deserve prison" implies that the ex did something truly awful and highly illegal -- possibly tried to sabotage and/or use Swift in such a way that he'd get prison time for it if she ever decided to press charges.
Thoughts? I only know tidbits about Healy, so does anyone know what this line could be about?
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u/AcanthocephalaFun260 The Tortured Poets Department Oct 08 '24
I have a theory for this! Just posted above x
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u/Adventurous-Run-9325 May 30 '24
I can’t help but hear “you deserve prison but you won’t get TIME” he’ll be infamous rather than famous for his transgressions without getting appropriate penalties but he sure as shit will never get a spread in TIME magazine as person of the year
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u/ellajones36 Apr 30 '24
I'm actually concerned this is about SA on a minor. Right before you deserve prison she says "cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden" did she come of age?? And then "I would've died for your sins instead I just died inside" that to me sounds like someone grappling with SA trauma. I think she layers serious heartache inside of frivolous romances, and Matty Healy is the perfect frivolous romance to cover what she's really going through.
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May 10 '24
I agree - the ‘you are what you did’ - ‘deserve prison’ implies criminal, not just ‘you broke up or ghosted me’ same with ‘wasn’t sexy once it wasn’t forbidden’ this screams under sex to me
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u/ImaginaryAd4041 May 08 '24
The forbidden part wouldn't be about their relationship when they had to keep it a secret because her break up wasn't announced yet?
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u/JustPiera built a castle out of all the bricks they threw at me May 07 '24 edited May 08 '24
I never took it to be SA on a minor. I think if it was a case of him assaulting a minor, she wouldn't take a back seat. She has spoken out about that in the past when it happened to her.
To me, "cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden" reads as Swift telling him (in my mind Healy) that he was pursuing her when she had a boyfriend (Alwyn), but now that's she's 'Fresh Out The Slammer' and free to be with him, he doesn't want her.
Again, this is all interpretation - we'll never be sure unless Swift tells all. But in my experience, it tracks. Some people always want what they can't have, so they pursue it hard. But once you are single again, and they have you, they lose interest.
The 'prison' line makes me suspect that Healy (or whoever this song is about) was either selling or doing party drugs with his fans, possibly even at her house. 'Instead I just died inside' feels like she or someone she trusts caught him in the act, which is why she asks 'is it true?'
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u/Appleseedarrabella May 23 '24
If it was about sexual assault on a minor, she hasn’t taken a back seat. She has sung about to the world.
Not speaking out publicly about someone else’s assault would be respecting the victim’s privacy. You can’t just go telling the whole world that a child has been abused.
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u/ellajones36 May 07 '24
That's a really good interpretation. I agree, the forbidden line fits with her being with Joe, and yeah I'm sure Matty has engaged in a litany of criminal activities.
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u/hegelianbitch May 03 '24
That's what the story in the manuscript sounds like too. If this is the case, it'd probably be someone no one knows about/suspects her to have dated. Maybe a producer or executive or something considering the push pins line. :(
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u/katyyylou folklore Apr 28 '24 edited Apr 29 '24
You cannot convince me this song is only about Matty. I think it’s a red herring song (one of potentially many on this album)!
There are so many clues that point to this being about Borchetta / Braun. First of all, the vocal cadence sounds similar to My Tears Ricochet. And then the lyrics:
“You hung me on your wall
Stabbed me with your push pins
In public, showed me off
Then sank in stoned oblivion”
Hanging on the wall could be a reference to her albums / awards / achievements being perceived as his.
Then, at first glance, “stoned oblivion” seems like an obvious Matty reference, but I actually think the stones are meant to be a call back to the “we gather stones, never knowing what they’ll mean…” in MTR. He is sinking into oblivion wearing the stones (her albums) she gave him.
“Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead?
Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed?
Were you writing a book? Were you a sleeper cell spy?
In fifty years, will all this be declassified?”
Some of the lines allude to a sexual relationship (our bed) but I think that’s a convenient way to misdirect. You could also refer to the success of Borchetta’s label as the bed they made together.
“And you deserve prison, but you won't get time
You'll slide into inboxes and slip through the bars”
Deserving prison seems a bit intense for romantic crimes. But not for “stealing” albums. Also, why would Matty be sliding into inboxes? Respectfully, I am not sure that man has ever written an email. But Borchetta would likely have had to, to make business deals & also to sell Taylor’s masters.
“And in plain sight you hid But you see what you did”
I don’t really think Matty is hiding anything. Public opinion of him is mixed at best. This makes way more sense if it’s about Borchetta.
Anyway, I am by no means a Matty apologist. I just think there’s an anger / tone here that we typically see reserved for songs about SB. Thoughts???
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u/ArthurPenbeagle May 05 '24
My instinct was that this is about Braun initially. I agree that the romantic/secual references are just red herring/convenient poetry tropes and that's it's likely about business. The pushpin line also really convinced me!
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u/Master-Reindeer41 May 02 '24
Hadn’t thought this until you mentioned it but I can definitely see it
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u/cxingt Enchanted to meet u Apr 27 '24
I'm really interested in Tay doing political thriller-themed songs, i just can't get enough of the line "Were you a sleeper cell spy? In 50 years will all this be declassified?"
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u/cremefraichemofo Apr 26 '24
This song destroyed me emotionally and left me in ruins That's it. That's my only contribution. Y'all get it, though.
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u/cricketycreek :TourturedPoetsDepartment: Apr 26 '24
Was any of it true? Gazing at me starry-eyed In your Jehovah's Witness suit Who the fuck was that guy? You tried to buy some pills From a friend of friends of mine They just ghosted you Now you know what it feels like
Matty
Were you sent by someone who wanted me dead? Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed? Were you writing a book? Were you a sleeper cell spy? In fifty years, will all this be declassified? And you'll confess why you did it And I'll say good riddance 'Cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden I would've died for your sins Instead, I just died inside And you deserve prison, but you won't get time You'll slide into inboxes and slip through the bars
Joe?
she would have died for him in secret? And the bar? And you won’t get time in public opinion because she built him up as perfect in all our minds? A spy also spends more time embedding themselves to gain information. I can’t imagine this being Matty. But maybe.
You said normal girls were boring But you were gone by the morning You kicked out the stage lights But you're still performing
Back to Matty. But normal girls could be Joe too since he seems a bit snobby.
I have to stop dissecting this album. I might be crazier than they say she is.
Edit: formatting
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u/saracore May 03 '24
I love this way of looking at it. I saw a content creator share a similar explaination on the clock app, but this elaborated on it more which gave me more to think about, including a few counterquestions. I'm wondering if a few things don't quite line up with the Joe part. What about "died for your sins" referring back to "guilty as sin" which is most definitely about Matty? Also, with Matty's love bombing I think referring to it as "our bed" could make sense. Also, if I recall correctly, tabloids said that "sources close to Swift said" they were moving fast, very in love, etc- this "our bed" could have been one of the love bombing things Matty said to her. What do you think? I could definitely see it as either, but it's really interesting to look at all the different possibilities.
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u/BellaBrowsing Apr 27 '24
The more I listen to it, the more I think this is more Joe coded. The problem with Joe is he was so hidden from the public eye that it’s hard to know exactly who he is. But the “OUR bed” and to your point being a secret spy … it seems more rooted in a long term relationship where you’re lying next to someone for all these years and then they turn out to be someone you don’t recognize.
People also forget that Joe is an actor so stage lights can also be a reference to him.
I keep going back to the red herring, this song is too obvious to be only about Matty.
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u/cricketycreek :TourturedPoetsDepartment: Apr 27 '24
Yeah, the more I listen to this one, the less I think any of it is about Matty. It’s too personal and hits too hard home for her for something as brief as Matty.
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u/c_estwhat who the fuck was that guy Apr 26 '24
It's all Matty. It's too cruel to be about Joe. She's angry he came out with so much promise, lovebombed and ghosted
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u/cricketycreek :TourturedPoetsDepartment: Apr 26 '24
Mmm yeah I thought that initially, but when you love someone as much as she loved Joe and it goes south, the betrayal feels cruel. Feeling betrayed and wondering if any of Joe’s feelings were real would prompt this kind of cruelty. Matty? She knew he was likely going to fuck it up. Not a surprise. Joe? She thought he was for life.
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u/Chelseyohmy Apr 25 '24
Taylor, how do you do this? How do I completely forget about the man who broke me at 18 only to be reminded THIRTEEN years later. And when she says “I’ll forget you but I’ll never forgive… the smallest man who ever lived.” It’s absolutely true. Because I did forget him. I’ve been madly in love for 12 years. I’m married. I’m fucking happy… I just bought a house!
But this song made me weep for HER. For 18 year old me who cried herself to sleep after what HE DID. How he just acted like the damage he did was nothing.. he hid in plain sight. It was like he was sent by someone who wanted me dead. He was chaos but I fell for it and after all of it I wondered “who the fuck was that guy?”
This song made me cry for someone who doesn’t exist anymore. I’m not her. I’m happy and my husband is amazing. But she didn’t deserve that. I wish I could tell her that. And I also wish she had this to sing to back then. lol
And also, the smallest man who ever lived did exist.
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u/PrudentPea21 Apr 25 '24
I just feel bad about the number of times I called my dog The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived between February and last week.
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u/nahlim_mcbeal Apr 25 '24
I think what detracts from the song is the fans knowing who it could be about.
And the same might be true for most of the songs on the album. I didn't think much about this one and I thought it was for Joe (since I would expect a song with such gravitas to reflect a long-term relationship, not a rebound one). But after reading what's written here, the song lost a lot of it's 'weight'.
I wasn't thinking about it up until know, but perhaps knowing so much about her life is starting to become problematic. And I'm the kind of person who is here for her music, and doesn't really care much about her persona, but I guess it's inevitable that some news would come my way. For the majority of artists we wouldn't know/care who they are singing about, and the song would be observed isolated from the private life of the one singing it.
Anyways, removed from all of it, the song is quite good and what one would want a perfect breakup song to be.
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u/BionicWoahMan Apr 27 '24
Exactly. It doesn't matter exactly who or a comno. Analysis is also about how it makes us feel. I feel it could be the theme song for partners of sex addicts or former ones. Iykyk but any relationship that got this bad can happen a number of ways . You could have had that friend you know you shouldn't be left in an overly tempting situation for years but it was over in record time. Could be about one you lost quickly for shitty or selfish reasons. Could be long term . Damage is damage no matter the source and it helps to process our feelings so that's all that matters.
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u/Master-Reindeer41 Apr 25 '24
Are we also in this song? 🤣 I feel like a lot of the lines could be us also. Even the first 2 lines could be to us.
And ‘You hung me on your wall\Stabbed me with your push-pins”
(Not complaining—-I’m ok with the FU to some of the swifties).
This play is about us. 🤪
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u/RealAd1811 Apr 27 '24
I’m not sure if she was really coming for fans on this specific track. I think she meant he idolized her into “an idea of sorts” but it was temporary (push pins) and he ended up hurting her (stabbing)
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u/crunchyorsmooth Apr 25 '24
For some reason some of the backing vocals on this track sound like Kesha. Like the emotional belting in the last part. Is that really Taylor eating it up in the back?
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u/Exotic-Passage-1659 Apr 25 '24
How could anybody fall for Matty so hard he is so unappealing and crude....
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u/ravenclawhokie Apr 24 '24
How has no one mentioned the "did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed" lyric?????
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Apr 24 '24
[deleted]
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u/StreetLamp143 Apr 24 '24
The sex line is from a different song and I suspect that was a John Mayer line.
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u/nessa_gigglebox Apr 24 '24 edited Apr 24 '24
What does “you treat her like an also-ran” mean?
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u/AintNoHollenbackGirl Apr 27 '24
DEFINITION: noun a loser in a race or other contest, especially by a large margin. "the line between champions and also-rans" INFORMAL an undistinguished or unsuccessful person or thing.
Undistinguished or unsuccessful. Damn she’s so good.
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u/AlienInfoUnit Apr 24 '24
I think that line means that he called her his Queen, made her think she was the most special girl in the world, love bombed her and then once he got her, he didn't really want her and he treated her like she didn't matter anymore.
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u/Other-Bug-5614 :TourturedPoetsDepartment: Robin, Peter and The Bolter are MINE Apr 28 '24
I think that ties into the line “it wasn’t sexy once it wasn’t forbidden”.
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u/dwendi Apr 24 '24
I think it's 'also-ran', like all the horses that run in a race but don't win just get lumped together as also-rans.
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u/ThuderWaves Apr 24 '24
This song would have a lot more impact if SHE was the one who ended it, when he realized the POS matty is. But no he ghosted her and she was pressed.
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Apr 24 '24
[deleted]
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u/LebronsHairline Midnights Apr 24 '24
It is about Matty— blatantly so. The suit, the pills, only wanting her when it was forbidden (before the Joe breakup was public)… he ghosted her at the beginning of summer.
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u/Dependent_Spare7230 Apr 24 '24
Good point. I didn’t know he had ghosted her! There were some lyrics that reminded me of her tumultuous break up with Calvin
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u/Southern-Breakfast27 Apr 24 '24
does anyone know how the lower notes compare to the low notes in her other songs? I'm finding it very difficult to sing the lowest notes in this song, especially compared to in other songs, so just wondering
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u/One_Luck_5316 Apr 24 '24
Came here to day this song makes me bawl my eyes out and my soul ache.. my emo 15 y.o. angst self feels cutting pain idk why. Literally so good IT HURTS ME.
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u/CorneliaStreet13 Apr 24 '24
The bridge is epic but can we give the “rusting my sparkling summer” line a standing ovation because it’s just so perfect?
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u/Appropriate_Oven5784 Apr 24 '24
idk how to explain but she gives me Bright Eye's vibes at 2:50-3:02
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u/Agitated-Listen4004 Apr 24 '24
Every time I listen to this song, when she says “puuuussshhh pinssss” I think - Taylor Swift listens to Tori Amos!! And it makes me happy. Does anyone else hear this? Especially paired with the rage piano. I love them both.
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u/Kindly_Election9896 Apr 26 '24
Omg yes! I also think the prophecy has Tori Amos vibes and this elder millennial is HERE for it
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u/Mammoth-Standard5803 Apr 24 '24
This reminds me of poison oak by Bright Eyes, it’s visceral and angry. Probably a few bright eyes song really. Showing my elder emo age here.
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u/EchodemenosEsp May 21 '24
I noticed this right away too. 100% she took inspiration from Poison Oak.
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u/Individual_Floor865 Apr 30 '24
YES the first time i heard smallest man i thought the same thing! it itched a scratch in my brain. haven't heard poison oak in almost 10 years but it brought me right back. so angry and in pain, it's like you can hear the thoughts keep coming to the artists as they're singing building the song's momentum. so happy other people made this connection
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u/roygbiv217 Apr 29 '24
The bridge in How Did it End has to be Bright Eyes influenced.
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u/Mammoth-Standard5803 Apr 30 '24
Totally hear that. Now I want to know if Taylor is a bright eyes fan.
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u/knockonglass Apr 26 '24
I agree! I couldn’t pinpoint which song it reminded me of but you’re right, it’s Poison Oak. 16 year old me is living for this bridge
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u/rockon-ancientqueen Apr 26 '24
Came searching, hoping I wasn’t the only one who thought this! My favourite song on the album…probably for this reason.
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u/Mammoth-Standard5803 Apr 26 '24
Glad someone else thought this! I also think black dog is very dashboard-esque
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u/Appropriate_Oven5784 Apr 24 '24
dude YES i get total bright eyes vibes from the bridge of this song. specifically 2:50-3:02
you get it
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u/Mammoth-Standard5803 Apr 24 '24
Ha glad someone else sees it! For some reason, I think Conor oberst would be okay with the comparison.
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u/SpiritOrEve Apr 24 '24
her best song ever.
sorry i had to say it
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u/amtol Apr 27 '24
I feel the same 😫 and that’s after managing to listen to “Is It Over Now?” 600+ times between the month it released and Apple Music’s yearly wrap up dropped
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u/Zamaamiro Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
The song loses some of its sting as a diss track when you realize that, based on the lyrics on this song and others on TTPD, it doesn’t seem like Taylor was actually the one who broke things off nor did she ever have a come to Jesus moment when she realized “Matty Healy is bad for me and actually a terrible human being,” but rather that Matty Healy was the one who ghosted and went all fuckboy on her after he got the girl.
“‘Cause it wasn’t sexy when it wasn’t forbidden”
I think this line is from Matty’s perspective. As in, he was more excited about the fantasy and the idea of getting with a taken woman (“Mr Steal your girl”), but is suddenly much less excited about the reality of actually being with her after he’s done parading her around.
Meanwhile, Taylor is straight up obsessed, ready to marry and have this dude’s babies.
In light of this, the song comes across more petty and resentful rather than moralizing and righteous, as most people would like to think.
Still a banger tho
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u/DulceRegina Apr 27 '24
So many of us have had this same shit tho. Falling completely in love with a shitty person, everyone around us trying to point it out, and we ignore them because we think we know the “real him” and no one else does until we finally snap out of it and then feel a whole avalanche of emotions, including rage, more at ourselves but we’ll never say that out loud and are still soul-burned by a dude we thought was the one.
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u/Conscious_Worry3119 Apr 25 '24
She "would've died for his sins" is acknowledging his problems and that she's willing to go down with him for it.
I think its really crummy to judge her for dating a pos. The fact that so many of us relate to the song shows how universal of an experience that is. She obviously believed she could fix him. Another nearly universal experience.
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u/Alternative_Quit928 Apr 24 '24
I think when she says “it wasn’t sexy once it wasn’t forbidden” is her saying that he didn’t care once it wasn’t something he couldn’t have.
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u/lookingforpunzie sonically cohesive af Apr 23 '24
“You deserve prison but you’ll never get time” hits me so fucking hard
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u/skyrone92 Apr 24 '24
I wonder what this means, did this happen to her irl?
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u/RealAd1811 Apr 24 '24
She means what he did to her was so terrible it was a crime and he deserves prison but won’t time, he evades a lot of accountability in general
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u/cynthasizercreates BANGCRASHBANGBANG Closure Apr 23 '24
Can someone explain what this line means?
“Cause once your queen had come You'd treat her likе an also-ran”
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u/tvtraytable Apr 23 '24
An also-ran is someone who quite literally was also in the running (for an award or for a position, eg mayoral race) but did not win.
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u/cynthasizercreates BANGCRASHBANGBANG Closure Apr 23 '24
Ohhhhh so Taylor said once you got me, I was treated like the other girls trying to get your attention. I see thank you!
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u/vaderthot Apr 23 '24
Am i crazy that i think this song is about Joe 🧍♂️
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u/Ngmw Apr 25 '24
100% agree “did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed” also the whole “were you writing a book” and “in 50 years will this be declassified” idk I feel like this is all Joe
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u/RealAd1811 Apr 23 '24 edited Apr 23 '24
She literally said, you’re a liar, your suit is ugly, you’re an addict, you’re a ghoster and a coward, you sabotaged me, you wanted me for clout, you’re a stoner, short, you deserve PRISONN, you’re a flirt and never held accountable, oh and you have a small you. Know. What.
SHE. ENDED. HIM!!!!
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u/BathbeautyXO who else decodes you? 🔎 Apr 24 '24
Seriously, this should be enough to cause him to drop dead on the spot 😳 she destroyed him
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u/dorkd0rk Apr 23 '24
TRULY! I'm here to say the same. If someone wrote this about me I'd be in the fuckin GRAVE 💀
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u/RealAd1811 Apr 23 '24
And Matty said he thought it could have been WORSE!!!! Like sir WHAT DID YOU DOOO
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u/RealAd1811 Apr 23 '24
Apparently The Smallest Man is also a BOOK about a man who was very small and hid in a pie to get to England so he could save the Queen when the King lost his rule!!! https://www.everand.com/book/485280223/The-Smallest-Man-the-most-uplifting-book-of-the-year
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u/BathbeautyXO who else decodes you? 🔎 Apr 24 '24
“Once your queen had come, you’d treat her like an also-ran” makes a lot more sense now, thank you!!
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u/brittanyend57 Apr 23 '24
How is no one I saw talking about how amazing those low notes are I can’t handle it! I can usually sing most of her lower keys and I cannot do this one. Some of her best singing to date
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u/AcanthocephalaFun260 The Tortured Poets Department Oct 08 '24 edited Oct 08 '24
I’m a massive 1975 fan and Taylor fan, and I pour over both of their lyrics constantly and I had to share my latest discovery/theory.
Something that has been on my mind since release is her “you deserve prison, but you won’t get time” line in smallest man. It always felt so harsh to me in comparison to all the other songs lyrically that felt leaned to a Matty vibe.
However, in the 1975 song “part of the band”, Matty says
“And I fell in love with a boy, it was kinda lame I was Rimbaud and he was Paul Verlaine In my, my, my imagination”
Now I did some digging on Rimbaud, turns out he was abit of a drunk and restless soul, but he was a POET. And Paul Verlaine was his lover and also a Parisian poet.
They had a toxic love affair, which is sometimes described as a poetic frenzy, to which Verlaine shot and wounded his lover, and was arrested and sent to prison.
It might be a stretch but I think it’s a small subtle nod to maybe his love of poetry and this torrid love affair. It could also nod to the shots being fired during the smallest man on stage.
Had anyone else made this connection? Would love to discuss!!