Untangling Taylor Swift’s Heartbreaking Goodbye to Joe Alwyn in “So Long, London”

London bridge was falling down, and Taylor Swift felt every minute. 

The Tortured Poets Department is here and, much like fans anticipated, part of the new album is dedicated to Taylor's split from Joe Alwyn in spring 2023. In fact, the 34-year-old has penned a heartbreaking tribute to the end of their six years together in "So Long, London," a poignant part two to Taylor's 2019 Lover track "London Boy."

In addition to the songs' titles, Taylor has drawn a clear parallel between the two tracks by placing each as the fifth song on their respective albums. But whereas "London Boy" tells the uplifting story of a burgeoning romance—and where Midnights' "You're Losing Me" covers the beginning of the end—"So Long, London" brings the journey home by chronicling the relationship's painful demise.

In the moving track, not only does Taylor say goodbye to England's capital—Joe's hometown and where the two spent much time during their six years together—but she also describes trying to keep the relationship together even as she could see it coming apart. 

"I saw in my mind fairy lights through the mist / I kept calm and carried the weight of the rift," she sings in the first chorus, alluding to still seeing hope in their relationship despite the growing distance. "Pulled him in tighter each time he was drifting away / My spine split from carrying us up the hill."

But as her "weary bones caught the chill," she began to give up her efforts: "I stopped trying to make him laugh, stopped trying to drill the safe."

And whereas "London Boy" describes a joyous jaunt through London, a kind of getting-to-know the city, "So Long, London" instead shows Taylor's feelings of growing isolation—especially in a city that is not her own. 

"I didn't opt in to be your odd man out," she sings. "I founded the club she's heard great things about / I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath."

The Grammy winner goes on to chronicle the relationship's "death," of a sort, in an echo of "You're Losing Me."

Where Taylor sings "I can't find a pulse / My heart won't start anymore" on Midnights, now she sings, "I stoppеd CPR, after all, it's no use / The spirit was gonе, we would never come to."

Taylor also appears to allude to the time she spent with Joe—six years from when she was 27 to 33—throughout the song. 

"And I'm pissed off you let me give you all that youth for free," she sings in verse two, later adding in the bridge, "You swore that you loved me but where were the clues? / I died on the altar waiting for the proof."

And while Taylor sang in "You're Losing Me" that her face had gone gray, she again alludes to color on TTPD with, "You sacrificed us to the gods of your bluest days / And I'm just getting color back into my face." 

But despite her efforts to "go down with the ship"—or as she puts it, "My white-knuckle dying grip holding tight to your quiet resentment"—"So Long, London" comes to a close with the acknowledgement that the pair weren't right for each other. 

"So long, London / Had a good run," she sings, "A moment of warm sun / But I'm not the one."

And though she describes the end of the relationship with a dramatic, "Two graves, one gun," Taylor—who has since moved on with boyfriend Travis Kelce—also promises, "You'll find someone."

For more on the many easter eggs and allusions in The Tortured Poets Department, keep reading for a full breakdown of the new album. 

"Fortnight" (featuring Post Malone): In the first track of TTPD, Taylor Swift and Post Malone team up to sing about a "temporary" romance that lasted for a fortnight (two weeks).

"And I love you, it's ruining my life," the lyrics tease. "I touched you, for only a fortnight."

It appears the song is a reference to Taylor's rekindled romance with The 1975's Matty Healy, which first began in 2014 and revived a decade later in the spring of 2023 following her breakup with Joe Alwyn. 

And although the revival of Taylor and Matty's relationship was brief, it was jam-packed with emotion, according to these lyrics. 

"The Tortured Poets Department": While fans previously pointed out the connection between the album's name TTPD and Joe's WhatsApp group chat called "The Tortured Man Club," the titular song actually includes references to Matty.

Even the track's opening lyrics, "You left your typewriter at my apartment," gives a nod to Matty, who noted he "really" likes typewriters in a 2019 interview with GQ.

Later on in the song, the lyrics offer more insight into Taylor and Matty's strong bond. Taylor even recalls, "At dinner you take my ring off my middle finger and put it on the one people put wedding rings on. And that’s the closest I’ve come to my heart exploding."

Taylor's lyrics also include shoutouts to poet Dylan Thomas—"you're not Dylan Thomas"—and singer-songwriter Patti Smith—"I'm not Patti Smith." As well as Charlie Puth. "You smoked then ate seven bars of chocolate / We declared Charlie Puth should be a bigger artist."

"My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys": "I'm queen of sandcastles he destroys," Taylor sings on the third song on the album, in which she recalls a partner who ran away from their relationship. 

"Cause I knew too much / There was danger in the heat of my touch," the lyrics note. "Saw forever so he smashed it up."

"Down Bad": In the lyrics to this song, Taylor reflects on being ghosted by a guy, who she calls her "twin," after being infatuated by him.

"How dare you think it's romantic / Leaving me safe and stranded," she sings. "Cause f--k it, I was in love / So f--k you if I can't have us."

The "stranded" lyric may sound familiar to Swifties, given that Taylor uses it in the 1989 song "New Romantics": "Please leave me stranded / It's so romantic."

"So Long, London": Taylor has been known to reserve track five for her most heartbreaking songs, and, yes, "So Long, London" definitely fits the bill.

In this track, Taylor reflects on the end of her relationship with Joe and the memories they shared in the city together over the years. She also alludes to what led to the demise of their relationship. 

"I didn't opt in to be your odd man out," she sings. "I founded the club she's heard great things about / I left all I knew, you left me at the house by the Heath."

"But Daddy I Love Him":  Taylor raised eyebrows when she spent time with Matty, who's been called out for his controverisal comments over the years. In "But Daddy I Love Him," she addresses a similar theme of wanting a relationship to work despite criticism from the outside world.

"No I'm not coming to my senses," she declares. "I know it's crazy but he's the one I want."

"Fresh Out the Slammer": After getting out of a long relationship with Joe, Taylor seemingly knew who she wanted to call: Matty. 

"I did my time," she sings. "Now pretty baby I'm running back home to you."

"Florida!!!" (featuring Florence and the Machine): What to do when you need an escape? Head to Florida. At least, that's what Taylor and Florence Welch advise in this track. 

"You can beat the heat if you beat the charges too / They said I was a cheat, I guess it must be true," Taylor sings, referencing speculation about her personal life. "And my friends, all smell like weed or little babies / And the city reeks of driving myself crazy."

"I need to forget, so take me to Florida," the lyrics later continue. "I've got some regrets, I'll bury them in Florida."

"Guilty as Sin?": In another apparent nod to Matty, Taylor starts "Guilty as Sin?" with the lyrics, "Drowning in the Blue Nile / He sent me downtown lights." Well, it just so happens that, back in 2022, Matty named The Blue Nile's Hats as one of his favorite albums of the 1980s.

"Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?": Taylor tackles her critics in this passionate track.

"Is it a wonder I broke? Let’s hear one morе joke," she sings. "Then we could all just laugh until I cry."

"I Can Fix Him (No Really I Can)": As Taylor notes in this song, she believed she could help change someone, despite any naysayers.

"The smoke cloud billows out his mouth like a freight train through a small town," she sings. "The jokes that he told across the bar were revolting and far too loud."

"Thеy shake their heads saying, 'God, help her' when I tell 'em he's my man," the lyrics continue. "But your good lord doesn't need to lift a finger / I can fix him, no, really, I can / And only I can."

"Loml": In this moving track, Taylor first sings about being called the love of someone's life "about a million times." However, the dynamic soon changed. 

"If you know it in one glimpse, it's legendary," she notes. "What we thought was for all time was momentary."

She ends the song by letting the person know, "You're the loss of my life."

"I Can Do It With a Broken Heart": Though this song is upbeat, it's filled with lyrics of unrequited love. 

"I'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague / I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an art," she sings. "You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart."

"The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived": Taylor has a few questions for "the smallest man who ever lived," who seemingly left their relationship out of nowhere.

"You kicked out the stage lights, but you're still performing," she sings. "And in plain sight you hid / But you are what you did."

"The Alchemy": After ditching "the clowns," Taylor found the guy on the Chiefs. In "The Alchemy," an apparent nod to her NFL player boyfriend Travis Kelce, Taylor makes several sports references.

"I haven't come around in so long / But I'm coming back strong," Taylor sings. "So when I touch down, call the amateurs and cut 'em from the team."

She later references her past "blokes," who "warm the benches," noting "we been on a winning streak."

"Clara Bow": The lyrics to the final song on the album address the connection between Taylor and the late actress Clara Bow, whose life, similar to Taylor's, was subjected to much speculation and scrutiny.

"It's hell on earth to be heavenly," Taylor sings. "Them's the brakes, they don't come gently."

The lyrics also put a spotlight on the comparisons of women in the public eye, with the mention of Clara, Stevie Nicks and Taylor herself.

And, as if being told to the next star in line, "You look like Taylor Swift / In this light, we're loving it," the lyrics state. "You've got edge, she never did / The future's bright, dazzling."

"thanK you aIMee": After surprising fans at 2 a.m. with a double album, featuring 15 additional Tortured Poet songs, Swifties were quick to spot Kim Kardashian's name in the title of "thanK you aIMee."

"And it wasn't a fair fight, or a clean kill / Each time that Aimee stomped across my gravе," Taylor sings, seemingly referencing the infamous phone call between her and Kanye West that Kim posted online in 2016. "And then she wrote hеadlinesIn the local paper, laughing at each baby step I'd take."

But, as the lyrics note, Taylor is stronger now: "All that time you were throwin' punches, I was buildin' somethin' / And I couldn't wait to show you it was real / Screamed "F--k you, Aimee" to the night sky, as the blood was gushin' / But I can't forget the way you made me heal."