What's The Real Meaning Behind Taylor Swift's Loml? Here's Our Thoughts
Taylor Swift seems to be addressing her split with Joe Alwyn in "loml," one of the tracks from her latest album, "The Tortured Poets Department," which dropped on April 19. Since the country singer-turned-superstar announced the musical project in February, many have speculated the upcoming record would contain references to her six-year relationship with Alwyn and her short-lived romance with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy. And it did. For starters, the album title appears to be a sly reference to Alwyn's WhatsApp group chat with Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott named "The Tortured Man Club." That's way too spot-on to be just a coincidence, right Swifties?
Co-written with Aaron Dessner, "loml" — short for "loss of my life" — is the poignant 12th track out of 16 on Swift's album, weaving through themes of love, loss, longing, and betrayal. With lyrics like "You low-down boy, you stand-up guy / Holy ghost, you told me I'm the love of your life" and "What we thought was for all time was momentary," we think the track sheds light on her romantic past with Alwyn and what really led to their split. Perhaps the highlight of the song was the bridge, where Swift sings about feeling betrayed by the person she loved and wishing she could forget about him. "You s**t-talked me under the table / Talking rings and talking cradles / I wish I could unrecall / How we almost had it all." Ouch!
Fans had varied reactions to 'loml'
The reactions to "loml" from Taylor Swift's new album "The Tortured Poets Department" were, well, swift. On X, formerly Twitter, fans of the singer were eager to offer their two cents on the devastating track, with one rather emotional Swiftie writing, "LOML is breaking my heart!!!!! loss of my life?! TAYLOR!!!! JOE!!! What did you do!" Another described the track as one of the saddest songs ever to be written by Swift. "I can't even fully put together how loml made me feel. That song is heartbreak personified," offered a third commenter. "I've never heard anything so tragically beautiful and haunting." While many thought 'loml' would be a sweet tribute to Swift's current boyfriend, Travis Kelce, it has now become clear this isn't the case. "loml is definitely joe," said another fan on X.
That being said, 'loml' isn't the only track from the album fans think is about Alwyn. We also have "So Long, London," where Swift sings about walking away from a relationship after growing tired of trying to salvage it. "I saw in my mind ferry lights through the mist / I kept calm and carried the weight of the rift / Pulled him in tighter each time he was drifting away / My spine split from carrying us up the hill." If there's one thing Swift does best, it's capturing her feelings and experiences into a poignant, evocative song such as "loml."