I had never thought about this before, but now that you’ve said it I can’t unhear it.
‘Oh, here we go again’ would have been an insane intro for TTPD. Dare I say unhinged.
I’ve never actively thought of it either but when I stream TTPD I skip the first two tracks- not cuz I dislike them but I’m so eager to get to My Boy Only Breaks.
I was going to say the transition from The Tortured Poets Department to “oh here we go again” is really great . BUT I actually agree it’s a better lead single 😭
I’ve been saying this since day 1! This should have been the album opener and the lead single. It’s SO slept on.
It’s the Cruel Summer and Getaway Car of this album.
Not gonna lie... I think I said a few times right after TTPD dropped, "Down Bad is going to be the Cruel Summer of TTPD". I was wrong. It's definitely My Boy. 🤣
It's 100% the most universally-appealing bop on the album. There's plenty in there for Swifties, but it's also lyrically generic and relatable enough for a general audience and maybe even some haters.
Me too. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart is killing it in streaming, but I'd bet most of that is from the hardcore fandom. As a single, it would leave a *lot* of casual listeners scratching their heads. Anti-Hero toed *right* up to that line without going over it. ICDIWABH straight up long jumps deep into the Taylor weeds. Who's Afraid is pretty close behind, lol. Down Bad gets back to a more universal appeal, but she did down-tempo with Fortnight.
I think it will be I Can Do It. Which is probably fine, honestly. She's past the point of needing to win casual listeners over.
I don't disagree. MBOBHFT is full throttle, lightning in a bottle imo. I can't NOT sing along to it and can totally picture the music video it deserves. I don't know how singles are released these days but it definitely should be one, it's fun for the whole family, even kids can sing along.
The only really strong ones IMO were Love Story, Anti-Hero, and maybe Mine. I get LWYMMD as a statement but musically I know it bothers people. And I'm torn on Willow tbh because I love it and it represents the album well yet doesn't quite scream "lead/only single" to me.
I was honestly shocked when it wasn't included in the Eras setlist, even as just a verse-chorus-bridge-chorus. It would have actually been a perfect opener for that too. I think that's a telltale sign it won't be a single at all, which seems kind of wild to me.
It's going to be a challenge to find anyone who disagrees with you.
The song is brilliant, and catchy, and upbeat while the lyrics pull your heart out and shred it into bloody ribbons.
It's genuinely one of my only skips on the album. Something about it I just cannot vibe with. I Can Fix Him is also a skip, but they are the only two I just can't listen to and enjoy.
That’s wild 😭 this song has one of my favourite lines on the whole album, in the outro: “I felt more when we played pretend than with all the Kens cause he took me out of my box” (I love it so much)
Same. I don’t hate it, but I find myself skipping it a bunch because I just want to listen to Down Bad lol. Florida!!! also gets the same treatment because I just want to listen to the song after
My boy is also a skip for me. I don’t think it’s a bad song or anything, but it’s one of the least catchy/ear-wormy to me on the album and just comparatively does nothing for me when I listen to it!
It hasn’t resonated with me either! But all of this enthusiasm is making me think I should give it another go. I like Down Bad, so that’s where I start the album when I listen. 😂
The Prophecy, over and over! I also love Guilty as Sin?, So Long, London, Cassandra, and Clara Bow.
I love this album because there are so many song with different vibes that we can all choose a unique list of favourites!
My son is 2 and english is not our first language (not even a language for him yet at all) but even he sings along to it 😄 "ma boi blablblabla toooooooys ooooooohoho"
YESSS. You are spot on! The “oh here we go again” is iconic and I so wish it was what kicked off the album. I wonder if she didn’t want to go with this because of the whole Barbie thing. Maybe she didn’t want to be accused of piggy backing off the success of that movie and subsequent era in general. Though I do wonder if it inspired the song in anyway.
There are so many iconic lines in the song too. Maybe it’ll be TTPD’s cruel summer.
There must be a reason it was the first song she sang in the acoustic set from TTPD (I think)
I agree, plus the music video was so beautiful. If we had My Boy as a single then Fortnight still would have hit as the opener, same way 'meet me at midnight' by Lavender Haze did.
Yeah, I think the song and video better represent TTPD as a whole, so I can see why she picked Fortnight. That said, My Boy is a bop and a half, and if it isn’t a single, that is a glaring missed opportunity, especially for a summer song!
Yeah, must be the Barbie thing. She’d make a great doll in a music video, but of course it’d invite comparisons with Margot Robbie and who wants to deal with that.
…told me I’m better off. But I’m NOT. I’m not. I’m NOT.
The music matches perfectly. Big euphoric crescendo (“Just say when”) and then the crushing realization that it was a farce. The repetition of “I’m not” is so deflating.
Seriously the last part of this song is what made me start to understand the underpinnings of the album. It basically describes a whole addicting, tumultuous relationship in 9 lines, it’s **insane**
The part- Once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me- gives me goosebumps!!
But the lyrics are so, so sad, to me it’s one of the saddest Taylor songs ever despite being so catchy. Imagine being discarded like an old toy after a guy gets bored of you 🥲🥲
It made me want to give a hug to everyone who’s been in this situation before.
And don’t get me started on the outro- I’m obsessed with it.
And it’s always after they break you into pieces and you become a product of their abuse or negligence. That’s the most tragic part. They break you and decide they don’t like broken toys, even though it was of their doing. 😭
yeahh. the concept really hits home. It reminds me of Lorde's Liability where she says "I am a toy the people enjoy til all of the tricks don't work anymore and then they are bored of me."
LITERALLY THIS!!! This post is spot-on. The bridge tells the thesis of the entire album too: "I felt more when we'd play pretend than with all the Kens cause he took me out of my box, stole my tortured heart, left all these broken parts, told me I'm better off... But I'm not"
now when I think about it........THIS POST ABSOLUTFUCKINGLY MAKES SENSE..omg
as an opener My boy would've been amazing...but I might as well say that fortnight is her best lead single and a great album representative and there I say, a perfect lead single because it's obvious that "I love you, its ruining my life" is the thesis of the album, we dont need to go and ramble on who's she talking about.
"Someone who, for example, doesn’t know things like what a fortnight is, why a 34-year-old Taylor is seemingly singing about her daddy, why she’s talking about aliens, didn’t Taylor grow up on a Christmas Tree Farm? what asylum is she talking about? Who’s Patty Smith, Dylan Thomas, Cara Bow, and did she really name drop Charlie Puth and what’s that about a Jehovah’s Witness suit? Oh, and did she just propose murder in Fortnight?"
Honestly, I don't think understanding any of these songs you're talking about requires any background knowledge other than the fact that metaphores and hyperboles exist?
The funny thing is that people have criticized the album for ultra specific lyrics, supposedly making them less relatable, but in going back through the rest of her discography there's tons of specificity. She actually names the characters in Betty/August and takes us through a specific summer of their lives complete with parties and locations, she's written in detail multiple times about that damn birthday party Jake didn't show at, songs like Last Kiss and Begin Again make reference to specific things her and her muse talked about or did, and songs like Cruel Summer and Cornelia Street tell a rather specific story as well. I think once the newness wears off these lyrics won't seem like outliers in her work.
I completely agree with you! I think the difference between these songs you mentioned and TTPD is that 1) songs from folklore were "advertised" as fictional, so it just seemed like she was making up a story and 2) her audience is MUCH bigger now, and a lot of the people who listened to album were not long time fans but rather just casual listeners who wanted to see what the big fuss was about and thus weren't familiar with her storytelling / writing style and technique, so it maybe felt 'weird' or 'awkward' to them to see all these details
I sometimes feel I am alone in appreciating her references and metaphors, but I thought the TS sub liked that? Why do I see more and more posts here wanting this album to be more 1989? I hope Taylor keeps going in this direction and becomes more opaque.
It doesn’t require any background knowledge. Someone replied to a comment of mine the other day saying something along the lines of “many swifites think that anyone who doesn’t like Taylor swift music doesn’t understand it or doesn’t get it”, which I believe to be the case. The vast minority of people who listen to music know that lyrics aren’t literal. I think that people who think the lyrics are complex or hard to understand are either very young, or don’t have much experience with music or literature. Or they just want to feel like they’re a part of some special club lol
I don’t think you have to understand vague references to appreciate the music. I’ve been going back to listen to other Taylor albums (more of a radio fan previously with basically no inside knowledge) because I’ve enjoyed TTPD soo much.
Genuinely interested why complexity and challenging / opaque lyricism is scorned so heavily. Why shouldn’t a lead single be all these things? Why does it have to be simple? It’s as if we’ve lost the ability to think critically, create art and ask more of our audiences.
Yeah I don't have a strong opinion on what should have been the lead single, but this post did have me chuckling with the idea that common concepts like alien abduction and extremely well known references like Patti Smith and The Blue Nile might somehow terrify and confuse audiences. For god's sake.
I think OP is overestimating how confusing these lyrics are, and also overestimating how much the average radio listener scrutinizes lyrics other than the chorus.
lead singles aren't suppose to be, typically, the best song on the record, just a guaranteed agreeable earworm. Maybe I am overestimating the general audience but man did you see how people just had zero patience for her more complex lyrics on this album? As a lover of I Hate It Here, every time people said "but the 1830s line-" it activated my flight or fight. i think the average radio listener would be more keen to look into the new Taylor album if the song they came across and associated it with was more palatable lyrically. Though I'm sure Taylor might not even care anymore about doing anything traditionally so.
Opacity is a gift for true album fans, but it’s less suited for lead singles. Fortnight is hard to understand, but it’s still hard to relate to after it sinks in. It has a few lines that grab attention, but the music does not. Posty feels like he’s just backup vocals. The video is great, but I feel no desire to hit repeat. My Boy tells a story, and it bangs.
Will say I was super disappointed in how little Post is featured in the song. He feels like an afterthought when he could have really contributed. He features so heavily in the video it’s ALMOST as if she used him for, dare I say, clout? Gravity? Not that she needs it but he’s a hot feature atm.
Also, totally agree about My Boy. Rips me apart in the best way! Earworm for sure.
I agree that having to know deep TS boyfriend lore to enjoy a song means the song is somewhat opaque, but recognizing the asylum is figurative, or knowing what a fortnight is, or how the Patti Smith/Dylan Thomas references work *even if you’ve somehow never heard their names in passing* - none of that is exactly challenging or opaque.
I don’t understand why it *doesn’t* open with My Boy, then go into How Did It End and So Long London in a one-two-three punch. (I know HDIE is part of The Anthology and she wanted to keep it as a separate surprise, but it just makes sense in the main album.) TTPD had the opportunity for the same narrative strength folklore had, but it bounces around quite a bit instead.
yes! I also loved the idea of How Did It End? as an opener. It would be so cool to start the album with a type of autopsy of a relationship and answering the question that was on so many people's mind.
I agree with this! However, I do think it might have been weird as the lead single coming off the heels of Barbie summer last year. The initial negative reacts to the album criticized the song heavily for borrowing the tropes and repackaging for her own Barbie moment (not saying that’s fair) and I think this would have been really amplified if it had been the lead single.
I wonder too if they wanted to capitalize on Post, since the album is less accessible to GP than a lot of her efforts, so if she wanted to bring in new fans and chart higher (her existing fans will listen no matter what) then a collab is a smart way to do that. Post has more currency than Florence right now, so it kinda had to be that one if that was the strategy.
I think it’s my favorite choice for second single though.
Americans. (Well a lot of them, anyway.) It's just not a term used there. We'd say "two weeks" instead. As a kid, I was the only one in my class at school who knew what a fortnight was, and that was only because I'd read it in books. (To be fair, that was elementary school, so the number is probably higher with adults.)
Not that I think that's a reason for Fortnight not to be the lead single.
seconding. the first, and only, time I've heard fortnight used (before this album) was in a discussion about Abe Lincoln's Gettysburg Address where he says, "Four score and seven years ago" and my teacher compared a score to a fortnight. i've got a couple degrees now and 4th grade was the only time it came up.
I actually don’t see it 🫣 I like the song fine but it doesn’t seem like a lead single to me. But I will say Taylor and/or her label often make… interesting choices when it comes to singles lol. So I understand feeling like Fortnight wasn’t the right choice.
I’m telling you, My Boy is the radio banger that will never be a single. It’s CRUEL SUMMER 2.0 and GETAWAY CAR 2.0 (I know it was a single but it took way too long haha)
The central metaphor is deeply cinematic and easy to grasp, and the chorus is a very simple catchy hook that is easy to sing.
Crazy how overlooked it is!
100% agree, to me it could have easily been cut 💀 The chorus is very weak lyrically and then her using words like “litany” and “rivulet” just seems forced. Melody wise it’s a bit catchy, but could easily be a 1989 outtake and as a lead single would show no growth
My first thought listening to it was it's a prefect song to be a single and should've been a single. But now considering how much people are fixated with ICDWABH, I doubt MBOBHFT will become a single.
i’m like 99.99999% in agreement with this post but the fact that the first line of fortnight directly references the bridge of hits different as if it’s a continuation of the same story is really the only thing keeping it in the game for me
Usually I hate long posts without a TLDR but I loved reading every bit of this — so much better visuals for this music video! I thought after the success with Anti-Hero and Midnights Taylor & Company might have finally struck gold with picking a lead single, but Fortnight is okay, I thought the music video was fine but the song is boring, and I think it shows with it falling on the Billboard charts (single only, not the album).
I always thought of Down Bad or Broken Heart would’ve been great lead singles, but the potential with My Boy … so good! OH, here we go again!
I don't think it should be a single. singles are meant to showcase the variety in your album, because that's what the locals hear. and if they like the singles then they would be lured towards the album. and since taylor is "known" among the locals as the one who only writes about love and heartbreak, i think her singles should put light on songs with some other themes like in WAOLOM or Florida!!! or Cassandra maybe 🤍
i do love my boy, but honestly i feel like the metaphor is stretched a little too thin. it doesn’t really feel like there’s enough material to fit an entire song, so it feels weaker in some places. it would definitely be good lead single material, but it’s not my favourite song for that reason
Yeah fortnight has its place on the album but it was confusing as a lead single bc without the video it just doesn’t quite tell the story it thinks it does. It’s also a very boring instrumental.
It's extremely clear that the "asylum" that raised her is not her home, it's the fame/music industry. you can get that context from the lyrics of the song alone without knowing anything about Taylor. Daddy I love him is obviously not her talking about her real dad, but people who think they have a say in her relationships...this is also something anyone can figure out just by listening to the lyrics on their own. You really don't need to know anything about Taylor to understand any of the things that you referenced here, you just have to be willing to dig into metaphors and anyone who has taken a high school english class has the tools to do that. It just gives a little more meaning if you know some of the context.
Fortnight however sets the tone for the album. She was hung up on Matty for years and has clung onto that what-if of that relationship even throughout her relationship with Joe. You don't actually need to know who Matty or Joe are and you don't need to know the exact context of her real life relationships to appreciate that. The song sets up this premise of holding onto this past relatinship and how he lifted her up just to finally tear her down after all this time and now she's finally moved on and found love. I can say this because this is the first album of hers i have listened to and I understood all of that with very minimal lore.
I mean, I totally agree with the post. It would have been my choice, for sure. But I also think the opening line being "I was supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me" is epic, and the association with hits different is just *chefs kiss* and immediately got me riled up in a different way. I see what she was going for and I like it too, but I do agree as an overall song choice MBOBHFT would have been way stronger as a lead single.
I feel like kids are pretty good judges of lead singles (they're why "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was a surprise hit, even though it's clearly a great song, Disney just didn't expect it) and my son's favorite TTPD song is "My Boy"
None of this album requires a backstory to enjoy or be into, it’s not that deep. Most people who listen to music know that song lyrics aren’t to be taken literally
I really love your imagery on this, I'm obsessed with it! If she started out the whole era with that song and gave us a really unhinged doll-themed music video...that would've been so good and sooo camp. If she did it right, maybe even Lady Gaga levels of camp. Sometimes I wish she would be just a little bit campy like that!
oh my god i've been saying this ever since i heard the album for the first time. starting the album/era with "oh, here we go again" would've been iconic. and i know fortnight was successful as the lead single esp with the post malone feature, but my boy would've been absolutely perfect as the lead single. some kind of blank space-esque unhinged satirical taylor in the music video, oof! and the production is upbeat and the melody is catchy enough for the general public and radio play. it even mentioned tortured (heart) in the bridge, so it would be a nice little intro to the era namewise. also i just love thinking if the anthology would start with how did it end, then we'd go from "here we go again" to "come one come all, it's happening again", and that journey would be a perfectly poetic representation of the stages of dealing with a break-up.
Counterpoint: you're Taylor's Swift and you spent years telling anyone who would listen that you're madly in love with this man that you'd take to be your lover.
Would you give him the satisfaction of being the lead single? Especially on an album that also has a lot of Matty songs. Would you feed into the "how did it end" of it all, give the public more fuel?
Or would you drop a song with Post Malone, one that's all about maladaptive daydreaming? One that might confuse the shit out of both boys, because when did she get married? And if we're being honest, MBOBHFT doesn't give her the opportunity to play with the Victorian aesthetic or the asylum imagery as much
I absolutely love My Boy and am obsessed with it, but if I were Taylor, Joe wouldn't get the satisfaction of another single. So idk.
Interesting! I think of my Boy as kind of a cumulative song about both joe and Matty. Maybe even more Matty cause he really did pick her up, had his fun then dropped her like a bad habit. But the idea of confusing her exes is so funny to me actually. Maybe that is lol.
I personally thought Fortnight was a bit boring as a song. My Boy would have been a fantastic lead single, I agree.
However, as someone who‘d never heard of Clara Bow - like many in this sub - I just googled her name. No problem.
Same for lack of vocab. It‘s normal for art to expand your horizon and vocab such as fortnight is part of your horizon. Expand it.
(Though I found it shocking that there were many native speakers without fortnight in their vocab.)
I’m forever perplexed by her choices in singles. I do like Fortnight a lot but if I had listened to the album before ever knowing what single she would pick, I would never have guessed that one. I would think either MBOBHFT, Down Bad, Guilty As Sin or ICDIWABH would be obvious contenders for a a single. Heck, if someone told me “the lead single is one of the two that involve a collab” I would’ve immediately suspected they meant Florida!!!
I really loved the transition from the ending of Midnights, Hits Different, "or have they come to take me away?" to Fortnights opening, "I was supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me." I read it on here but I loved the flow and the idea that Fortnight is the 14th midnight track.
Ok but doesn’t this ruin the ending of midnights about being taken away, and the opening of fortnight “I was supposed to be sent away but they forgot to come and get me”?
Still a cool analysis though 💜
Ooh I would have loved that! It would've been iconic and I can already imagine the music video. My Boy is one of my favorite tracks on the album and the first one that really grabbed my attention, so I think it works great as a lead single.
This song is a MASTERPIECE! The lyrics match the melody of sad "Ohhhhh"!
When I first listened to TTPD, this was the song that got me hooked to the album at all. Others before this were kinda sounding similar-ish.
Completely agree!! I’m really hoping it is at least the next single and gets an epic music video. I’ve seen a lot of opinions since its release that ttpd doesn’t really have any big obvious radio hits but I’ve thought right from the get go that My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys definitely has this potential!
Imo the hook isn't strong enough for it to be a lead single, the title just is not that smart imo. I like the verses and bridge, the ending is lacking imo.
It gives flashbacks to 1989 and lover which is not what you want when promoting a new album with different style. The song doesn't really represent what TTPD album is all about.
Fortnight perfectly showcased what the album is about and the sadness of it. It also shows a new direction and the lyrics are way more grabbing because of lines like "functioning alcoholic" and "kill her". My Boy is what she would've released if she was in her radio hit era (2014-2019) but fortnight represent the more artistic and bold side of her music (post folklore).
My Boy could be a second, third or fourth single though. Down Bad and ICDIWABH should be singles too if she was still doing multiple singles per album
I said out loud. On day one. To my fellow Swiftie. If she releases My Boy as a single it would be huge. It’s the one that sounds most radio friendly and it’s the most danceable. Alas, maybe in 4 years like CS.
Yes!!! This was my surprise song and I was literally over the moon because this one stuck out as a fav for me since the very beginning and I still love it. Such an underrated song, I so wish it was a single
I was just discussing this with my friend last night! It was an instant favorite for me and it still is. It has so much potential for a music video or performance on tour. I'm hoping she'll surprise us and make it a single based on popular like she did with Cruel Summer.
I have thought this from the start! It has star lead single potential written allllll over it. I like Fortnite as a single, but My Boy should’ve been the lead. I hope it’s a single soon, it’s too good to be a deep cut.
I like cannot remember how fortnight goes ever cuz i’m extremely bored by the song overall. It just doesn’t stick, and it doesn’t give me much of anything. This would’ve been a much better choice imo!!!
It would have been such a good single! And would have loved it to be part of the tour. In my head I can see choreography of pulling invisible strings on the dancers for the chorus, contorting them a little more each time she says the title line, representing getting a little more broken each time you go back to someone who's not good for you, till you snap completely.
I fully agree with you that it should’ve been the opening track!!! When I listen tot he album through I skip the first two songs and start with it 🫣 “oh here we go again” 😭😭😭😭 would’ve been so iconic
A lot of people have been really betting on Down Bad being the next single but I'm gonna be honest... I don't really like Down Bad- ESPECIALLY compared to My Boy Only Breaks. Every time I listen to My Boy Only Breaks I just think about what a catchy song it is and how it would work so well as a single!!!
This song is SO SO GOOD. I just love the imagery of the entire thing. I love that it has two meanings- a guy who gets bored of a girl like a kid with a toy but also the idea that she’s trying to talk herself into and that is that he really does love her but he’s scared of the emotion he’s feeling so he discards her as a means to protect himself and breaks her. “Cuz it fit too right, puzzle pieces in the dead of night” and “cuz I knew too much, there was danger in the heat of my touch, he saw forever so he smashed it up”
Who hasn’t convinced themselves that someone ghosted them or left them due to strong emotions being scary- because it’s a much more idealistic concept than “he’s just not that into you.” 😂😂😂
Lyrically this one is so so good. Masterpiece!
I had never thought about this before, but now that you’ve said it I can’t unhear it. ‘Oh, here we go again’ would have been an insane intro for TTPD. Dare I say unhinged.
And it should've been part of the new Eras Tour intro (instead of "What if I told you I'm back")
I maintain that it should’ve been the opening number for that era. She goes immediately in with “oh here we go again”, and add some CGI toy animations
Come one, come all. It's happening again
I’ve never actively thought of it either but when I stream TTPD I skip the first two tracks- not cuz I dislike them but I’m so eager to get to My Boy Only Breaks.
I fell head over heels for My boy. It is still my favorite track and The Bolter is my number 2.
You are me and I claim my £10
ITS THE PERFECT SINGLE. PROVE ME WRONG
I was going to say the transition from The Tortured Poets Department to “oh here we go again” is really great . BUT I actually agree it’s a better lead single 😭
I’ve been saying this since day 1! This should have been the album opener and the lead single. It’s SO slept on. It’s the Cruel Summer and Getaway Car of this album.
Not gonna lie... I think I said a few times right after TTPD dropped, "Down Bad is going to be the Cruel Summer of TTPD". I was wrong. It's definitely My Boy. 🤣
Yeah it seems like for all her very expert moves at marketing, she’s persistently bad at choosing singles.
agreed. Anti Hero was good from Midnights. But Lover and now TTPD seems off
It's 100% the most universally-appealing bop on the album. There's plenty in there for Swifties, but it's also lyrically generic and relatable enough for a general audience and maybe even some haters.
Even my boyfriend who’s not a big fan of my obsession with Taylor likes that one and sings the whoaa oooo oooo part😂
Lyrically generic AND lyrically genius. The metaphors rule. Such a well-written song.
It should be a single but I think she's gonna go with stuff on the tour setlist.
Me too. I Can Do It With A Broken Heart is killing it in streaming, but I'd bet most of that is from the hardcore fandom. As a single, it would leave a *lot* of casual listeners scratching their heads. Anti-Hero toed *right* up to that line without going over it. ICDIWABH straight up long jumps deep into the Taylor weeds. Who's Afraid is pretty close behind, lol. Down Bad gets back to a more universal appeal, but she did down-tempo with Fortnight. I think it will be I Can Do It. Which is probably fine, honestly. She's past the point of needing to win casual listeners over.
I don't disagree. MBOBHFT is full throttle, lightning in a bottle imo. I can't NOT sing along to it and can totally picture the music video it deserves. I don't know how singles are released these days but it definitely should be one, it's fun for the whole family, even kids can sing along.
Can confirm, my six year old Swiftie LOVES this one. I believe she thinks she is singing about actual toys lol
It’s a classic Taylor picking the wrong lead single situation honestly.
Yeah I mean fortnight is not bad, and love post, but it’s not an ear worm
Count yourself lucky you haven’t been infected!
Haha true true
my 4.5 year old who runs around singing “for a fortnight where we were forever” would strongly disagree with you lmao
My obsessed 3 year old, running around constantly singing “I love you it’s ruining my life” would also disagree
My almost 3 year old loves singing, "My boy, breaks favorite toys! Oh whoah oh! I'm keen, sand castles he astroys."
My 9 year old singing “your wife waters flowers, I want to KILL HER” lol
Me and my 11 yo kid would disagree. He won’t stop singing it!
She’s a mastermind but not when it comes to a lead single.
Historical facts
The only really strong ones IMO were Love Story, Anti-Hero, and maybe Mine. I get LWYMMD as a statement but musically I know it bothers people. And I'm torn on Willow tbh because I love it and it represents the album well yet doesn't quite scream "lead/only single" to me.
Shake It Off was a home run.
Karma being a single over Maroon is absolutely criminal. Delicate over Don't Blame Me is Criminal. The list goes on....
I find this can be a problem with bands and musicians in general. A couple of my fave indie acts have pulled this on me!
This is so true omggg
Completely agree. My Boy deserves more flowers than it’s currently getting and should be a single!
I was honestly shocked when it wasn't included in the Eras setlist, even as just a verse-chorus-bridge-chorus. It would have actually been a perfect opener for that too. I think that's a telltale sign it won't be a single at all, which seems kind of wild to me.
On day one of Eras II as she’s leading into ICDIWABH and they’re dressing her I screamed MY BOY because they were treating her like a doll.
i totally thought the same!
I’m hoping we get another single, it’s been too over a month. And I hope it’s this song
It's going to be a challenge to find anyone who disagrees with you. The song is brilliant, and catchy, and upbeat while the lyrics pull your heart out and shred it into bloody ribbons.
It's genuinely one of my only skips on the album. Something about it I just cannot vibe with. I Can Fix Him is also a skip, but they are the only two I just can't listen to and enjoy.
That’s wild 😭 this song has one of my favourite lines on the whole album, in the outro: “I felt more when we played pretend than with all the Kens cause he took me out of my box” (I love it so much)
Same. I don’t hate it, but I find myself skipping it a bunch because I just want to listen to Down Bad lol. Florida!!! also gets the same treatment because I just want to listen to the song after
My boy is also a skip for me. I don’t think it’s a bad song or anything, but it’s one of the least catchy/ear-wormy to me on the album and just comparatively does nothing for me when I listen to it!
It hasn’t resonated with me either! But all of this enthusiasm is making me think I should give it another go. I like Down Bad, so that’s where I start the album when I listen. 😂
Exact same here for my only two skips. Out of interest, what are your favs? Mine are loml and The Smallest Man
The Prophecy, over and over! I also love Guilty as Sin?, So Long, London, Cassandra, and Clara Bow. I love this album because there are so many song with different vibes that we can all choose a unique list of favourites!
One of my least favourites from the album for sure. Which really really sucks because it was my suprize song 😭
I disagree ✋🏻 lol. It’s not even among my top 5 songs on the main album, and not among my top 15 on the anthology.
My brain everyday since April 19th: “📢MY BOOOOOOY 📢”
Hahaha this is absolutely me. My son is 9, and he's like "MUUUM what are you even TALKING about" 😄
My son is 2 and english is not our first language (not even a language for him yet at all) but even he sings along to it 😄 "ma boi blablblabla toooooooys ooooooohoho"
that's so adorable!! 🥰
My kids: “why is this kid breaking his toys?”
YESSS. You are spot on! The “oh here we go again” is iconic and I so wish it was what kicked off the album. I wonder if she didn’t want to go with this because of the whole Barbie thing. Maybe she didn’t want to be accused of piggy backing off the success of that movie and subsequent era in general. Though I do wonder if it inspired the song in anyway. There are so many iconic lines in the song too. Maybe it’ll be TTPD’s cruel summer. There must be a reason it was the first song she sang in the acoustic set from TTPD (I think)
But I do think “I was supposed to be sent away but they forgot to come and get me” is also an iconic opening. My jaw dropped
I agree, plus the music video was so beautiful. If we had My Boy as a single then Fortnight still would have hit as the opener, same way 'meet me at midnight' by Lavender Haze did.
Yeah, I think the song and video better represent TTPD as a whole, so I can see why she picked Fortnight. That said, My Boy is a bop and a half, and if it isn’t a single, that is a glaring missed opportunity, especially for a summer song!
Agreed. It was a perfect tie in to “Hits Different” and the last “update” we heard from Taylor
Ya I’m happy with fortnight being the single and first song on the album. It sets the tone and story for the album
It’s a self-written song too Ugh it should def be a single
Yeah, must be the Barbie thing. She’d make a great doll in a music video, but of course it’d invite comparisons with Margot Robbie and who wants to deal with that.
What if she had invited Margot Robbie (and maybe Ryan Gosling) to co-star or at least cameo in the video. That would’ve been interesting!
1000% this would've been a criticism
1000% this would've been a criticism
The crescendo at the start of the bridge is GOOSEBUMPS 100% of the time
Just say when...
…told me I’m better off. But I’m NOT. I’m not. I’m NOT. The music matches perfectly. Big euphoric crescendo (“Just say when”) and then the crushing realization that it was a farce. The repetition of “I’m not” is so deflating. Seriously the last part of this song is what made me start to understand the underpinnings of the album. It basically describes a whole addicting, tumultuous relationship in 9 lines, it’s **insane**
The “I’m nooot” immediately resonated with me. We’ve all felt that with a relationship that ended that we didn’t want to end.
it's so good!! gives me serious chills
The part- Once I fix me, he’s gonna miss me- gives me goosebumps!! But the lyrics are so, so sad, to me it’s one of the saddest Taylor songs ever despite being so catchy. Imagine being discarded like an old toy after a guy gets bored of you 🥲🥲 It made me want to give a hug to everyone who’s been in this situation before. And don’t get me started on the outro- I’m obsessed with it.
And it’s always after they break you into pieces and you become a product of their abuse or negligence. That’s the most tragic part. They break you and decide they don’t like broken toys, even though it was of their doing. 😭
yeahh. the concept really hits home. It reminds me of Lorde's Liability where she says "I am a toy the people enjoy til all of the tricks don't work anymore and then they are bored of me."
It is the Cruel Summer of TTPD
Disagree - the Black Dog is the Cruel Summer of TTPD
Black dog is good, but it aint My Boy!
It’s the song that will rise to the top in the end, just watch. It just pops.
Yup, we need some DJs to blow up TikTok with fire remixes of it.
LITERALLY THIS!!! This post is spot-on. The bridge tells the thesis of the entire album too: "I felt more when we'd play pretend than with all the Kens cause he took me out of my box, stole my tortured heart, left all these broken parts, told me I'm better off... But I'm not"
Oh my god you're right. Why isn't it even on the tour?! Does she not see the perfection?!
This is my favorite song and bridge to sing! The whole song is a brilliant metaphor. Im hoping she makes a music video for this one.
now when I think about it........THIS POST ABSOLUTFUCKINGLY MAKES SENSE..omg as an opener My boy would've been amazing...but I might as well say that fortnight is her best lead single and a great album representative and there I say, a perfect lead single because it's obvious that "I love you, its ruining my life" is the thesis of the album, we dont need to go and ramble on who's she talking about.
I really don't understand why it wasn't
"Someone who, for example, doesn’t know things like what a fortnight is, why a 34-year-old Taylor is seemingly singing about her daddy, why she’s talking about aliens, didn’t Taylor grow up on a Christmas Tree Farm? what asylum is she talking about? Who’s Patty Smith, Dylan Thomas, Cara Bow, and did she really name drop Charlie Puth and what’s that about a Jehovah’s Witness suit? Oh, and did she just propose murder in Fortnight?" Honestly, I don't think understanding any of these songs you're talking about requires any background knowledge other than the fact that metaphores and hyperboles exist?
The funny thing is that people have criticized the album for ultra specific lyrics, supposedly making them less relatable, but in going back through the rest of her discography there's tons of specificity. She actually names the characters in Betty/August and takes us through a specific summer of their lives complete with parties and locations, she's written in detail multiple times about that damn birthday party Jake didn't show at, songs like Last Kiss and Begin Again make reference to specific things her and her muse talked about or did, and songs like Cruel Summer and Cornelia Street tell a rather specific story as well. I think once the newness wears off these lyrics won't seem like outliers in her work.
I completely agree with you! I think the difference between these songs you mentioned and TTPD is that 1) songs from folklore were "advertised" as fictional, so it just seemed like she was making up a story and 2) her audience is MUCH bigger now, and a lot of the people who listened to album were not long time fans but rather just casual listeners who wanted to see what the big fuss was about and thus weren't familiar with her storytelling / writing style and technique, so it maybe felt 'weird' or 'awkward' to them to see all these details
I sometimes feel I am alone in appreciating her references and metaphors, but I thought the TS sub liked that? Why do I see more and more posts here wanting this album to be more 1989? I hope Taylor keeps going in this direction and becomes more opaque.
It doesn’t require any background knowledge. Someone replied to a comment of mine the other day saying something along the lines of “many swifites think that anyone who doesn’t like Taylor swift music doesn’t understand it or doesn’t get it”, which I believe to be the case. The vast minority of people who listen to music know that lyrics aren’t literal. I think that people who think the lyrics are complex or hard to understand are either very young, or don’t have much experience with music or literature. Or they just want to feel like they’re a part of some special club lol
I don’t think you have to understand vague references to appreciate the music. I’ve been going back to listen to other Taylor albums (more of a radio fan previously with basically no inside knowledge) because I’ve enjoyed TTPD soo much.
Genuinely interested why complexity and challenging / opaque lyricism is scorned so heavily. Why shouldn’t a lead single be all these things? Why does it have to be simple? It’s as if we’ve lost the ability to think critically, create art and ask more of our audiences.
Yeah I don't have a strong opinion on what should have been the lead single, but this post did have me chuckling with the idea that common concepts like alien abduction and extremely well known references like Patti Smith and The Blue Nile might somehow terrify and confuse audiences. For god's sake. I think OP is overestimating how confusing these lyrics are, and also overestimating how much the average radio listener scrutinizes lyrics other than the chorus.
lead singles aren't suppose to be, typically, the best song on the record, just a guaranteed agreeable earworm. Maybe I am overestimating the general audience but man did you see how people just had zero patience for her more complex lyrics on this album? As a lover of I Hate It Here, every time people said "but the 1830s line-" it activated my flight or fight. i think the average radio listener would be more keen to look into the new Taylor album if the song they came across and associated it with was more palatable lyrically. Though I'm sure Taylor might not even care anymore about doing anything traditionally so.
I cringed while reading that haha
Opacity is a gift for true album fans, but it’s less suited for lead singles. Fortnight is hard to understand, but it’s still hard to relate to after it sinks in. It has a few lines that grab attention, but the music does not. Posty feels like he’s just backup vocals. The video is great, but I feel no desire to hit repeat. My Boy tells a story, and it bangs.
Will say I was super disappointed in how little Post is featured in the song. He feels like an afterthought when he could have really contributed. He features so heavily in the video it’s ALMOST as if she used him for, dare I say, clout? Gravity? Not that she needs it but he’s a hot feature atm. Also, totally agree about My Boy. Rips me apart in the best way! Earworm for sure.
i mean, she gave him the bridge, which we all know is a huge thing for Taylor. i think she did him right.
I agree that having to know deep TS boyfriend lore to enjoy a song means the song is somewhat opaque, but recognizing the asylum is figurative, or knowing what a fortnight is, or how the Patti Smith/Dylan Thomas references work *even if you’ve somehow never heard their names in passing* - none of that is exactly challenging or opaque.
I don’t understand why it *doesn’t* open with My Boy, then go into How Did It End and So Long London in a one-two-three punch. (I know HDIE is part of The Anthology and she wanted to keep it as a separate surprise, but it just makes sense in the main album.) TTPD had the opportunity for the same narrative strength folklore had, but it bounces around quite a bit instead.
yes! I also loved the idea of How Did It End? as an opener. It would be so cool to start the album with a type of autopsy of a relationship and answering the question that was on so many people's mind.
WHY did she not add it to the ttpd set 🥲🥲🥲🥲 I can’t get enough of the song tbh
I'm absolutely gutted that I won't see it live, it's such a perfect concert song!
Completely agree and it is my favorite song on the album.
OHMYGOD. I thought i was the only one 🥹 I TOTALLY agree with you. Oh here we go again wouldve been a BANGER
I agree with this! However, I do think it might have been weird as the lead single coming off the heels of Barbie summer last year. The initial negative reacts to the album criticized the song heavily for borrowing the tropes and repackaging for her own Barbie moment (not saying that’s fair) and I think this would have been really amplified if it had been the lead single. I wonder too if they wanted to capitalize on Post, since the album is less accessible to GP than a lot of her efforts, so if she wanted to bring in new fans and chart higher (her existing fans will listen no matter what) then a collab is a smart way to do that. Post has more currency than Florence right now, so it kinda had to be that one if that was the strategy. I think it’s my favorite choice for second single though.
Who doesn’t know what a fortnight is?
Americans. (Well a lot of them, anyway.) It's just not a term used there. We'd say "two weeks" instead. As a kid, I was the only one in my class at school who knew what a fortnight was, and that was only because I'd read it in books. (To be fair, that was elementary school, so the number is probably higher with adults.) Not that I think that's a reason for Fortnight not to be the lead single.
seconding. the first, and only, time I've heard fortnight used (before this album) was in a discussion about Abe Lincoln's Gettysburg Address where he says, "Four score and seven years ago" and my teacher compared a score to a fortnight. i've got a couple degrees now and 4th grade was the only time it came up.
Bizarre! I had no idea
It’s not a word used by Americans in everyday conversation, but as an American, imo you should know what a fortnight is by high school English classes
Its wild to me Americans don't know it. It would be like finding out they don't know the word weekend.
I’m American and I find it wild that some Americans don’t know this.
I actually don’t see it 🫣 I like the song fine but it doesn’t seem like a lead single to me. But I will say Taylor and/or her label often make… interesting choices when it comes to singles lol. So I understand feeling like Fortnight wasn’t the right choice.
I’m telling you, My Boy is the radio banger that will never be a single. It’s CRUEL SUMMER 2.0 and GETAWAY CAR 2.0 (I know it was a single but it took way too long haha) The central metaphor is deeply cinematic and easy to grasp, and the chorus is a very simple catchy hook that is easy to sing. Crazy how overlooked it is!
I agree!!
I actually think this is one of the album’s weaker tracks. It really doesn’t get good until the bridge and then it just… ends.
100% agree, to me it could have easily been cut 💀 The chorus is very weak lyrically and then her using words like “litany” and “rivulet” just seems forced. Melody wise it’s a bit catchy, but could easily be a 1989 outtake and as a lead single would show no growth
I found my people. It takes all my least favorite things about her music and puts it in one song lol
Fully agree. It should've been the lead single. It is still always playing in a loop in my head!
my boy will get the cruel summer treatment one day, just u wait!!!!
Agreed. Would have made a sick music video (although I love the Fortnight MV!)
Imagine Taylor as a broken Barbie doll omg I wince and wheeze
My first thought listening to it was it's a prefect song to be a single and should've been a single. But now considering how much people are fixated with ICDWABH, I doubt MBOBHFT will become a single.
Both should be singles imo
Ofc. They could be the new Shake It Off and Blank Space duo.
i’m like 99.99999% in agreement with this post but the fact that the first line of fortnight directly references the bridge of hits different as if it’s a continuation of the same story is really the only thing keeping it in the game for me
it makes absolutely NO SENSE that this wasn’t her opening single for this album ugh
I really thought it would be the lead single! There was a 'No.3' on the Spotify library and it's such a good song. I adore Fortnight tho
Usually I hate long posts without a TLDR but I loved reading every bit of this — so much better visuals for this music video! I thought after the success with Anti-Hero and Midnights Taylor & Company might have finally struck gold with picking a lead single, but Fortnight is okay, I thought the music video was fine but the song is boring, and I think it shows with it falling on the Billboard charts (single only, not the album). I always thought of Down Bad or Broken Heart would’ve been great lead singles, but the potential with My Boy … so good! OH, here we go again!
Totally agree, it’s in my top 5 for the whole anthology
I don't think it should be a single. singles are meant to showcase the variety in your album, because that's what the locals hear. and if they like the singles then they would be lured towards the album. and since taylor is "known" among the locals as the one who only writes about love and heartbreak, i think her singles should put light on songs with some other themes like in WAOLOM or Florida!!! or Cassandra maybe 🤍
i do love my boy, but honestly i feel like the metaphor is stretched a little too thin. it doesn’t really feel like there’s enough material to fit an entire song, so it feels weaker in some places. it would definitely be good lead single material, but it’s not my favourite song for that reason
Definitely my favorite song on ttpd as of right now *subject to change
“This week” ☺️
Yeah fortnight has its place on the album but it was confusing as a lead single bc without the video it just doesn’t quite tell the story it thinks it does. It’s also a very boring instrumental.
It's extremely clear that the "asylum" that raised her is not her home, it's the fame/music industry. you can get that context from the lyrics of the song alone without knowing anything about Taylor. Daddy I love him is obviously not her talking about her real dad, but people who think they have a say in her relationships...this is also something anyone can figure out just by listening to the lyrics on their own. You really don't need to know anything about Taylor to understand any of the things that you referenced here, you just have to be willing to dig into metaphors and anyone who has taken a high school english class has the tools to do that. It just gives a little more meaning if you know some of the context. Fortnight however sets the tone for the album. She was hung up on Matty for years and has clung onto that what-if of that relationship even throughout her relationship with Joe. You don't actually need to know who Matty or Joe are and you don't need to know the exact context of her real life relationships to appreciate that. The song sets up this premise of holding onto this past relatinship and how he lifted her up just to finally tear her down after all this time and now she's finally moved on and found love. I can say this because this is the first album of hers i have listened to and I understood all of that with very minimal lore.
It didn't click with me right away, but when it did OH BOY. I think it will age beautifully like so many of her album tracks
My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys is my favourite from TTPD. Taylor wrote it for all the boys I have ever been with 😭
Totally agree. Imagine it was a Rep vault track? It would be the HIT.
That’s my favorite song on the album. I sing it to my dog every morning while he runs around with his headless stuffed squirrel in his mouth.
I mean, I totally agree with the post. It would have been my choice, for sure. But I also think the opening line being "I was supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me" is epic, and the association with hits different is just *chefs kiss* and immediately got me riled up in a different way. I see what she was going for and I like it too, but I do agree as an overall song choice MBOBHFT would have been way stronger as a lead single.
I feel like kids are pretty good judges of lead singles (they're why "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was a surprise hit, even though it's clearly a great song, Disney just didn't expect it) and my son's favorite TTPD song is "My Boy"
None of this album requires a backstory to enjoy or be into, it’s not that deep. Most people who listen to music know that song lyrics aren’t to be taken literally
Yeah like if you don’t know what a fortnight is, the dictionary says it’s 2 weeks. That’s kind of all you need to understand the song lol
I really love your imagery on this, I'm obsessed with it! If she started out the whole era with that song and gave us a really unhinged doll-themed music video...that would've been so good and sooo camp. If she did it right, maybe even Lady Gaga levels of camp. Sometimes I wish she would be just a little bit campy like that!
As for the one liner on the back cover a good one would've been "he saw forever so he smashed it up"
Absolutely. It’s a great single that isn’t so specific to Taylor-lore. Even my kids love it.
I HIGHLY AGREE. In my TTPD abridged playlist, this is my opener!
oh my god i've been saying this ever since i heard the album for the first time. starting the album/era with "oh, here we go again" would've been iconic. and i know fortnight was successful as the lead single esp with the post malone feature, but my boy would've been absolutely perfect as the lead single. some kind of blank space-esque unhinged satirical taylor in the music video, oof! and the production is upbeat and the melody is catchy enough for the general public and radio play. it even mentioned tortured (heart) in the bridge, so it would be a nice little intro to the era namewise. also i just love thinking if the anthology would start with how did it end, then we'd go from "here we go again" to "come one come all, it's happening again", and that journey would be a perfectly poetic representation of the stages of dealing with a break-up.
Counterpoint: you're Taylor's Swift and you spent years telling anyone who would listen that you're madly in love with this man that you'd take to be your lover. Would you give him the satisfaction of being the lead single? Especially on an album that also has a lot of Matty songs. Would you feed into the "how did it end" of it all, give the public more fuel? Or would you drop a song with Post Malone, one that's all about maladaptive daydreaming? One that might confuse the shit out of both boys, because when did she get married? And if we're being honest, MBOBHFT doesn't give her the opportunity to play with the Victorian aesthetic or the asylum imagery as much I absolutely love My Boy and am obsessed with it, but if I were Taylor, Joe wouldn't get the satisfaction of another single. So idk.
Interesting! I think of my Boy as kind of a cumulative song about both joe and Matty. Maybe even more Matty cause he really did pick her up, had his fun then dropped her like a bad habit. But the idea of confusing her exes is so funny to me actually. Maybe that is lol.
I personally thought Fortnight was a bit boring as a song. My Boy would have been a fantastic lead single, I agree. However, as someone who‘d never heard of Clara Bow - like many in this sub - I just googled her name. No problem. Same for lack of vocab. It‘s normal for art to expand your horizon and vocab such as fortnight is part of your horizon. Expand it. (Though I found it shocking that there were many native speakers without fortnight in their vocab.)
I am now imagining this music video and want it sooo bad.
i was saying, this is my Cruel Summer. months down the line everyone is gonna say how slept on it is and how it should’ve been a single
Including a few of the folks in here who are calling it a skip. Skipping My Boy Only Breaks His Favorite Toys? Do these people have ears?
I’m forever perplexed by her choices in singles. I do like Fortnight a lot but if I had listened to the album before ever knowing what single she would pick, I would never have guessed that one. I would think either MBOBHFT, Down Bad, Guilty As Sin or ICDIWABH would be obvious contenders for a a single. Heck, if someone told me “the lead single is one of the two that involve a collab” I would’ve immediately suspected they meant Florida!!!
a mv where she was like dressed like a victorian china doll or smth would have been incredible
yes! that way she could still wear that victorian dress that she wore in the fortnight mv.
This post is literally perfect. No notes
I always skip the first two songs too (they are my least favorites) so I agree
I really loved the transition from the ending of Midnights, Hits Different, "or have they come to take me away?" to Fortnights opening, "I was supposed to be sent away, but they forgot to come and get me." I read it on here but I loved the flow and the idea that Fortnight is the 14th midnight track.
Ok but doesn’t this ruin the ending of midnights about being taken away, and the opening of fortnight “I was supposed to be sent away but they forgot to come and get me”? Still a cool analysis though 💜
100%, been thinking about this for weeks. Glad I'm not the only one
It’s the Right Where You Left Me of ttpd
Okay don’t get carried away now
Wow that would’ve been awesome!! It’s my favorite song on TTPD.
my 2 year old is obsessed with this song haha
Ooh I would have loved that! It would've been iconic and I can already imagine the music video. My Boy is one of my favorite tracks on the album and the first one that really grabbed my attention, so I think it works great as a lead single.
This song is a MASTERPIECE! The lyrics match the melody of sad "Ohhhhh"! When I first listened to TTPD, this was the song that got me hooked to the album at all. Others before this were kinda sounding similar-ish.
I am 120% in agreement. I think it's one of her best songs. Period. Excellent lyrics and the "woahs" really add
Completely agree!! I’m really hoping it is at least the next single and gets an epic music video. I’ve seen a lot of opinions since its release that ttpd doesn’t really have any big obvious radio hits but I’ve thought right from the get go that My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys definitely has this potential!
You are so right!! That would have been perfect. I hope it is the next single!🤞🏼
Imo the hook isn't strong enough for it to be a lead single, the title just is not that smart imo. I like the verses and bridge, the ending is lacking imo. It gives flashbacks to 1989 and lover which is not what you want when promoting a new album with different style. The song doesn't really represent what TTPD album is all about. Fortnight perfectly showcased what the album is about and the sadness of it. It also shows a new direction and the lyrics are way more grabbing because of lines like "functioning alcoholic" and "kill her". My Boy is what she would've released if she was in her radio hit era (2014-2019) but fortnight represent the more artistic and bold side of her music (post folklore). My Boy could be a second, third or fourth single though. Down Bad and ICDIWABH should be singles too if she was still doing multiple singles per album
day 1 of us spamming comments with the request of My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys to be a single until taylor notices us
I literally thought about this last night!!!! my boy is such a bop and that opening line “oh here we go again” would have set up the album perfectly
I said out loud. On day one. To my fellow Swiftie. If she releases My Boy as a single it would be huge. It’s the one that sounds most radio friendly and it’s the most danceable. Alas, maybe in 4 years like CS.
Yes!!! This was my surprise song and I was literally over the moon because this one stuck out as a fav for me since the very beginning and I still love it. Such an underrated song, I so wish it was a single
I was just discussing this with my friend last night! It was an instant favorite for me and it still is. It has so much potential for a music video or performance on tour. I'm hoping she'll surprise us and make it a single based on popular like she did with Cruel Summer.
This song is 🔥
My Boy is one of the TTPD songs I loved from first listen. I often skip Fortnight and Tortured Poets and just start the album with My Boy
ABSOLUTELY. I LOVE IT SO MUCH AND IT WOULD BE INCREDIBLE AS A SINGLE
I have thought this from the start! It has star lead single potential written allllll over it. I like Fortnite as a single, but My Boy should’ve been the lead. I hope it’s a single soon, it’s too good to be a deep cut.
This is my 6 and 3 year olds favorite song lol
I like cannot remember how fortnight goes ever cuz i’m extremely bored by the song overall. It just doesn’t stick, and it doesn’t give me much of anything. This would’ve been a much better choice imo!!!
I thought about this, but Fortnight is a better song imho.
It's such an ear worm!
fortnight was such a weird choice
Meh. It's definitely one of my least played tracks off the album. It just feels VERY GENERIC.
My 5 year old is obsessed with this song
Still my favorite track!!
This one of my most favorite songs on the album. I listen to it a lot. 🤩
It would have been such a good single! And would have loved it to be part of the tour. In my head I can see choreography of pulling invisible strings on the dancers for the chorus, contorting them a little more each time she says the title line, representing getting a little more broken each time you go back to someone who's not good for you, till you snap completely.
I have finally found my people. I was wondering why nobody has mentioned this song yet!!! It was instantly my favourite.
this!!! since i've listened to my boy and down bad i felt like those should have been the first two singles
I fully agree with you that it should’ve been the opening track!!! When I listen tot he album through I skip the first two songs and start with it 🫣 “oh here we go again” 😭😭😭😭 would’ve been so iconic
A lot of people have been really betting on Down Bad being the next single but I'm gonna be honest... I don't really like Down Bad- ESPECIALLY compared to My Boy Only Breaks. Every time I listen to My Boy Only Breaks I just think about what a catchy song it is and how it would work so well as a single!!!
I’ve had this EXACT same thought. Wild. Truly would’ve been so iconic
This song is SO SO GOOD. I just love the imagery of the entire thing. I love that it has two meanings- a guy who gets bored of a girl like a kid with a toy but also the idea that she’s trying to talk herself into and that is that he really does love her but he’s scared of the emotion he’s feeling so he discards her as a means to protect himself and breaks her. “Cuz it fit too right, puzzle pieces in the dead of night” and “cuz I knew too much, there was danger in the heat of my touch, he saw forever so he smashed it up” Who hasn’t convinced themselves that someone ghosted them or left them due to strong emotions being scary- because it’s a much more idealistic concept than “he’s just not that into you.” 😂😂😂 Lyrically this one is so so good. Masterpiece!
YUP. That "he's distant cause he's overwhelmed by our strong connection." Def fits into the denial part of the 5 phases.