Acceptance Songs from TTPD (My List)

I know Taylor made lists categorizing the new songs from TTPD within the Stages of Grief.  I haven’t looked at those so that I could get my own sense of the feelings within each song.  It’s helpful to ascertain the vibe of each song by deciding the main emotion behind it.  Of course songs convey more than one emotion at a time, especially braided lyrics with different character and story strands mixed in one song.  But I tried to decide the primary stage of grief for each one, and learned a lot by pulling lyrics that back-up my opinion.  Let me know if you agree in the comments!

Acceptance

TTPD

The Tortured Poets Department-

Track 2

Stage of grief- acceptance 

Self-sabotage

I chose this cyclone w/you

It's meant to be bc we're crazy

Taylor chooses fame even though it’s hectic and crazy and can undermine who she wants to be as a person. Acceptance.

Florida-

Track 8

Stage of grief- acceptance

They said I was a cheat, I guess it must be true…/And this city reeks of driving myself crazy [She’s not arguing.  The city reminds her of everything.  Escape.  Sad.]

I need to forget, so take me to Florida/I've got some regrets, I'll bury them in Florida [Running away from all the bad.  Moving on.  Acceptance.]

So I did my best to lay to rest/All of the bodies that have ever been on my body/And in my mind, they sink into the swamp [Moving past it.  Acceptance.]

I got drunk and I dared it to wash me away/Barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine/Well, me and my ghosts, we had a hell of a time/Yes, I'm haunted but I'm feeling just fine [Acceptance]

Fresh Out the Slammer-

Track 7

Stage of grief- acceptance

Another summer taking cover, running thunder/He don't understand me/Splintered back in winter's silent dinners/Bitter, he was with her in dreams [This is not good-times.  Taylor is scared. Sad.]

My friends tried but I wouldn't hear it/Watch me daily disappearing/For just one glimpse of his smile [Anger at how this person had her bargaining]

Bright and blue and fights in tunnels/Handcuffed to the spell I was under/For just one hour of sunshine/Years of labor, ducts and ceilings/In the shade of how he was feeling [So Long London, Taylor doing all the emotional work and is resentful about it. Anger.]

Get the matches,/toss the ashes off the ledge [She’s finished with this chapter and moving on. Acceptance.]

But it's gonna be alright, I did my time [Acceptance]

As I said in my letters,/now that I know better/I will never lose my baby again [She’s learned her lesson. Acceptance.]

Now we're at the starting line,/ I did my time [She’s starting anew.  Hope for the future. Acceptance.]

The Anthology

The Albatross

Track 3/19

Stage of grief- Acceptance of the burden (that surprisingly provides contentment).

Jackals raised their hackles/You couldn't conceive it [Taylor can’t believe how everyone piled on with indignation. They can’t be serious, this can’t be real. Denial.]

Locked me up in towers [Taylor was caged and closeted.  Sad.]

Cautions issued, he stood/Shooting the messengers [She tried to tell them and they didn’t listen.  Anger.]

Wise men once read fake news/And they believed it [She’s insinuating maybe they’re not so wise if they believe nonsense.  Anger.]

And I tried to warn you about them/…Spread my wings like a parachute [The albatross seemed deadly and something to avoid, but ended up saving Taylor. Unexpected amelioration. Acceptance.]

And when that sky rains fire on you/And you're persona non grata/I'll tell you how I've been there too/And that none of it matters [She’s been through viciousness and she’s been stigmatized, which are both distressing and perturbing.  But here in the present, she says she’s worked through those negative feelings and they don’t have power over her anymore.  Acceptance.]

I'm the albatross/I swept in at the rescue/The devil that you know/Looks now more like an angel [The bad thing actually helped.  It’s a surprising twist, but Taylor’s accepted that appeasement.]

I'm the life you chose/And all this terrible danger [The albatross was seen as trouble.  But the albatross is when provided the salve to heal Taylor’s wounds.  Even though she’s chose the dangerous, devilish thing, she’s more at peace.  Acceptance.]

Peter

Track 12/28

Stage of grief- acceptance

And I didn't want to come down [Denial.]

And I won't confess that I waited/But I let the lamp burn [She’s denying the reality that Peter isn’t coming back.]

As the men masquerade/I hoped you'd return [She’s faking it with other people, but waiting for Peter.]

But life was always easier on you/Than it was on me [Her life was harder, she has more pain. Sad.]

She said she was trying/Peter, was she lying?/My ribs get the feelin' she did [Pain, hurt, Sad.]

Promises oceans deep/But never to keep/Oh, never to keep [Sad.]

And the shelf life of those fantasies has expired/Lost to the Lost Boys chapter of your life [Taylor is moving on even though it’s sad. The last verse changes the whole tone of the song to a reminisce rather than a fantasy (denial).  Taylor is sad at the loss, but she knows it will never be. Acceptance.]

The Manuscript

Track 15/31

Stage of grief- acceptance 

In the age of him, she wished she was thirty [denial? bargaining?]

She thought about how he said since she was so wise beyond her years/Everything had been above board/She wasn't sure [anger? sadness?]

She rolled her eyes [anger, annoyance, banter]

And the tears fell/In synchronicity with the score [removed from; detached; staged = acceptance]

She knew what the agony had been for/The only thing that's left is the manuscript/One last souvenir from my trip to your shores/Now and then I reread the manuscript/But the story isn't mine anymore [her pain becomes her art released to the world = acceptance]