On April 19, 2024, Taylor Swift released a new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” The album quickly reached popularity with songs like “Fortnight,” “But Daddy, I Love Him,” and “So High School.” One song that gained popularity as a TikTok sound was “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart,” especially the line “I cry a lot, but I am so productive; it’s an art.”
I finally got the chance to sit down and listen to the song. Initially, I loved it; it was catchy, and I walked around singing, “I’m so depressed; I act like it’s my birthday… every day.” But, when my mom gave me a look from singing that line, I realized that maybe the line wasn’t exactly positive.
After that, I sat down and really listened to the lyrics.
From what I can understand, Taylor Swift wrote this song right after her breakup when she was on tour. She expresses her pain in lines like, “I’m a real tough kid, I can handle my shit; they said, ‘babe, you gotta fake it ‘til you make it,’ and I did.” These lyrics tell her fans that she was at her lowest point while she performed, acting like nothing was wrong in public.
The more I listened to the song, the worse I felt for liking it. Taylor Swift was clearly going through a rough time when on tour at this time, and here the audience was chanting “more!” as she was trying to avoid breaking down in front of her audience.
As I think about this song, we need to discuss something important.
We all go through hard times and moments, but not everyone shows it. Sometimes, it’s obvious that the person is hurting, and other times, it’s not, as in Swift’s case. As friends, family, coworkers, and the like, we need to check on our people. And we should especially watch people who always seem cheerful. Even if you have the biggest smile, that doesn’t mean your world isn’t crashing down.
There’s no way to know if someone’s suffering unless we ask or they tell us.
I’m not saying that we have to tell everyone everything or that we have to demand our friends tell us what’s wrong. But a simple smile or asking, “How are things going?” can go a long way. Sometimes, people smile through the pain because it’s easier to do on the outside, but it damages us inside. The mental anguish we face, especially when we act like everything’s okay, causes a lot more hurt than we might realize.
So just remember to keep an eye on the ones who feel you don’t need to as much. Because sometimes they are the ones who need the most love.
Featured image via “Taylor Swift Speak Now Tour” by Eva Rinaldi Celebrity Photographer / CC BY-SA 2.0
I was really impressed with the song “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart” by Taylor Swift. The melody is great. I especially like Taylor Swift’s voice.