Breaking Down Taylor Swift’s Travis Kelce References in ‘The Tortured Poets Department’

Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce appears to have his place in Taylor Swift’s new album, “The Tortured Poets Department.”

Taylor Swift, the superstar musician who took Chiefs Kingdom and the NFL by storm this past year, released her new album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” on Friday, April 19.

The 16-song album had been highly anticipated since Swift announced its release date during her acceptance speech at the Grammys in February. Not only did Swift do a great job teasing the album leading up to its release, she also dropped a surprise 15-track bonus album that is directly connected to “The Tortured Poets Department.” The additional tracks on the release are labeled “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology” and can be listened to on all of the major music streaming platforms

The big question surrounding the release of this new set of songs from Swift was about the subject matter of the lyrics. Would the new songs be all about her ex-lovers or would she make room for a song about her current relationship with Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce? We have our answer, and it should make Chiefs fans-turned-Swifties very happy.

It appears that one song in the initial 16-song release of “The Tortured Poets Department” and one song in “The Anthology” references football and her relationship with Kelce. While not directly naming names, the Chiefs and Kelce are seemingly subject matter in the lyrics. Without getting answers directly from Swift, these songs will be interpreted by fans and listeners without knowing their meaning with certainty. Most times when songs are released, artists don’t delve too much into their lyrics and let people take what they want from them. With that in mind, here’s what I see.