Fresh Out The Slammer

Album

Tortured Poets Department, The

Label

Republic Records

Genre

Folk-pop

Composer(s)

Taylor Swift;Jack Antonoff

Entered Chart

May 4, 2024

Peak Date

May 4, 2024

This song finds Taylor Swift throwing open the gates on a relationship that felt more like Alcatraz than a walk on the beach. Fresh out of the slammer, she emerges blinking in the sunlight. Years of labor, locks, and ceilings In the shade of how he was feeling But it's gonna be alright, I did my time Their union was devoid of warmth, a place where conversation had curdled and passion replaced by frost. Swift describes being "handcuffed to a spell," a powerful metaphor for the emotional confinement she endured. The song seems to delve into the reasons behind the demise of Swift's long-term relationship with actor Joe Alwyn, offering a glimpse into the emotional claustrophobia that may have contributed to the split. Looking back at a lyric from "Bejeweled," a track from Swift's previous album, Midnights, a connection emerges. In that song she sings, "Don't put me in the basement." This line, when viewed alongside the prison imagery of "Fresh Out the Slammer," suggests a feeling of being stifled or restricted by Alwyn. The song doesn't dwell on the past. Thankfully, Swift doesn't linger in the wreckage. The song pivots to the prospect of a rebound, a bright light at the end of the tunnel. "Now, pretty baby, I'm runnin' back home to you," she declares. This "pretty baby" is most likely Matty Healy, the frontman of The 1975, the recipient of Swift's post-Alwyn affections. In a poem accompanying The Tortured Poets Department, Swift sheds further light on the relationship's demise. She refers to her time with Joe Alwyn as a "slammer," echoing the song's prison metaphor. The poem also reveals a detail about the rebound with Matty Healy. Swift describes it as a "tidal wave" that ultimately fell apart. This suggests an intense but short-lived connection. Out of the slammer and into a tidal wave How gallant to save the empress from her gilded tower Swinging a sword he could barely lift. But loneliness struck at that fateful hour Low hanging fruit on his wine stained lips He never even scratched the surface of me None of them did Swift co-wrote and co-produced "Out Of The Slammer" with her regular collaborator Jack Antonoff. The production incorporates crashing cymbals and guitars reminiscent of a spaghetti western. This choice creates a dramatic soundscape that underscores the emotional turmoil of the lyrics.

Now, pretty baby, I'm running back home to you
Fresh out the slammer, I know who my first call will be to
(Fresh out the slammer, oh)

Another summer taking cover, rolling thunder
He don't understand me
Splintered back in winter, silent dinners, bitter
He was with her in dreams

Gray and blue and fights and tunnels
Handcuffed to the spell I was under
For just one hour of sunshine
Years of labor, locks and ceilings
In the shade of how he was feeling
But it's gonna be alright, I did my time

Now pretty baby, I'm running back home to you
Fresh out the slammer, I know who my first call will be to
(Fresh out the slammer, oh)

Camera flashes, welcome bashes
Get the matches, toss the ashes off the ledge
As I said in my letters, now that I know better
I will never lose my baby again

My friends tried, but I wouldn't hear it
Watch me daily disappearing
For just one glimpse of his smile
All those nights you kept me going
Swirled you into all of my poems
Now we're at the starting line, I did my time

Now, pretty baby, I'm running
To the house where you still wait up, and that porch light gleams
To the one who says I'm the girl of his American dreams
And no matter what I've done, it wouldn't matter anyway
Ain't no way I'm gonna screw up now that I know what's at stake
Here, at the park where we used to sit on children's swings
Wearing imaginary rings

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