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The Albatross
Taylor Swift

Lyrics About Tracklist Comments

“The Albatross” is a bonus track from Swift’s 11th studio album,

The Tortured Poets Department.…
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The Albatross Lyrics Translations

[Verse 1]
Wise men once said
"Wild winds are death to the candle"
A rose by any other name is a scandal
Cautions issued, he stood
Shooting the messengers
They tried to warn him about her

[Chorus]
Cross your thoughtless heart
Only liquor anoints you
She's the albatross
She is here to destroy you

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[Verse 2]
Wise men once said
"One bad seed kills the garden"
"One less temptress, one less dagger to
sharpen"
Locked me up in towers
But I'd visit in your dreams
And they tried to warn you about me

[Chorus]
Cross your thoughtless heart
Only liquor anoints you
She's the albatross
She is here to destroy you
Devils that you know
Raise worse hell than a stranger
She's the death you chose
You're in terrible danger

[Bridge]
And when that sky rains fire on you
And you're persona non grata
I'll tell you how I've been there too
And that none of it matters

[Verse 3]
Wise men once read fake news
And they believed it
Jackals raised their hackles
You couldn't conceive it
You were sleeping soundly
When they dragged you from your bed
And I tried to warn you about them

[Chorus]
So I crossed my thoughtless heart
Spread my wings like a parachute
I'm the albatross
I swept in at the rescue
The devil that you know
Looks now more like an angel
I'm the life you chose
And all this terrible danger
(This terrible danger)

[Outro]
So cross your thoughtless heart
She's the albatross
She is here to destroy you

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About
Genius Annotation 2 contributors

“The Albatross” is a bonus track from Swift’s 11th

studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.
The track was announced on February 23, 2024,
while she was performing in Sydney, Australia, for
The Eras Tour.

An albatross is a large sea bird that spends its

first six years without touching the land, due to
them being so well-adapted to their oceanic
existence. In a metaphorical sense, an albatross is

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+73 1 Share

Q&A
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How did the song perform commercially?

Genius Answer 1 contributor

“The Albatross” debuted at #30 on the

Billboard Hot 100 during the chart week
ending of May 4, 2024.

Who produced “The Albatross” by Taylor

Swift?

When did Taylor Swift release “The

Albatross”?

Who wrote “The Albatross” by Taylor

Swift?

THE TORTURED POETS

DEPARTMENT: THE
ANTHOLOGY (2024)
Taylor Swift

1. Fortnight
16. Clara Bow

2. The Tortured Poets

Department 17. The Black Dog

3. My Boy Only Breaks His 18. imgonnagetyouback

Favorite Toys
19. The Albatross
4. Down Bad
20. Chloe or Sam or
5. So Long, London Sophia or Marcus

6. But Daddy I Love Him 21. How Did It End?

7. Fresh Out The Slammer 22. So High School

8. Florida!!! 23. I Hate It Here

9. Guilty as Sin? 24. thanK you aIMee

10. Who’s Afraid of Little 25. I Look in People’s

Old Me? Windows

11. I Can Fix Him (No Really 26. The Prophecy

I Can)
27. Cassandra
12. loml
28. Peter
13. I Can Do It With A
Broken Heart 29. The Bolter

14. The Smallest Man Who 30. Robin

Ever Lived
31. The Manuscript
15. The Alchemy

Expand

Credits
Producers Writers
Aaron Dessner & Taylor Taylor Swift & Aaron
Swift Dessner

Violin Viola
Galya Bisengalieva, Eloisa- Morgan Goff, Elisa
Fleur Thom, Sophie Mather, Bergerson, Amy Swain,
Agata Daraskaite, Anna de Matthew Kettle & Nicholas
Bruin, Akiko Ishikawa, Bootiman
Nicole Crespo O’Donoghue,
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“The Albatross” by Taylor Swift

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