Continuing the tracklist of my version of Taylor Swift’s latest album…
Taylor Swift’s Asylum
Track #2: ‘The Black Dog’
When I first heard this song, the opener of the second half of The Tortured Poets Department, I immediately thought it was better than most of the “official” album. So I’m giving it a prime spot in my Asylum edit.
The chorus of ‘The Black Dog’ owes a bit too much to the excellent ‘Betty,’ but I really like the turn it takes at the end with the “old habits die screaming” line, giving a jolt of energy to a batch of songs that are often quite sleepy.
One of Swift’s greatest songwriting gifts is the specificity of her lyrics. This song, with her ex’s forgotten ‘find my location’ setting and the song that’s no longer theirs, is a great example.
I am someone who until recent events
You shared your secrets with
And your location, you forgot to turn it off
And so I watch as you walk
Into some bar called The Black Dog
And pierce new holes in my heart
You forgot to turn it off
And it hits me
[Chorus]
I just don’t understand
How you don’t miss me in The Black Dog
When someone plays “The Starting Line”
And you jump up, but she’s too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the magic fabric of our dreaming
Old habits die screaming
[Verse 2]
I move through the world with the heartbroken
My longings stay unspoken
And I may never open up thе way I did for you
And all of those best laid plans
You said I needed a bravе man
Then proceeded to play him
Until I believed it too
And it kills me
[Chorus]
I just don’t understand
How you don’t miss me in the shower
And remember how my rain-soaked body
Was shakin’, do you hate me?
Was it hazing? For a cruel fraternity
I pledged and I still mean it
Old habits die screaming
[Bridge]
Six weeks of breathin’ clean air
I still miss the smoke
Were you makin’ fun of me
With some esoteric joke?
Now I wanna sell my house
And set fire to all my clothes
And hire a priest to come and exorcise my demons
Even if I die screaming
And I hope you hear it
[Chorus]
And I hope it’s shitty in The Black Dog
When someone plays “The Starting Line”
And you jump up, but she’s too young to know this song
That was intertwined in the tragic fabric of our dreaming
‘Cause tail between your legs, you’re leavin’
[Outro]
I still can’t believe it
‘Cause old habits die screaming
Meet Me In Montauk 
I felt the same way as you when this song came on – the extra tracks are different and better than almost everything on the original album.
huge props to the Antonoff/Swift collab here – this is such a standout of the album.
Love this one, too, though I’d suggest waiting a bit longer into a relationship before sharing one’s location.
this one’s for ole Joe
That’s what I originally thought but was corrected because “The Starting Line” is a 1975 song…. I’m sure I confused far too much analysis with far too little investment on my part. 😉
Regardless, it makes much more sense that way, so I’m glad to hear it.
The Starting Line is actually a band, but one The 1975 covered in concert while Healy and Swift were together.
One theory is that Swift shared the song with Healy after enjoying it with Alwyn.
so I read after doing a mini dive. Yikes there are theories upon theories about all of this.