What does “The black dog” mean? Decoding Taylor Swift’s latest bonus track

Attention everyone who spiraled yesterday (March 2) when Taylor didn’t announce another Tortured Poets Department edition despite her site going down: The moment you’ve been waiting for has ARRIVED.

Taylor announced the final edition of Tortured Poets in Singapore with the bonus track “The Black Dog” and teased the line, “Old habits Ԁie screaming…”

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So, what does it meаn? Apparently, “the black dog” can be a metaphor for depression/sadness:

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And Taylor announced it right before playing “Clean” and “Evermore,” which fans note are about healing:

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Oh, and there’s also the meaning of “the black dog” in English folklore (which Swifties are leaning into for obvious reasons that may or may not have to do with Joe Alwyn being English):

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ICYMI, the singer announced the track at her March 3 Singapore concert and noted, “If you wanna look at the main screen I want to show you something. So this is the final edition of The Tortured Poets Department, it’s the final cover. And it’s called The Black Dog Edition, there’s an exclusive song on this edition called ‘The Black Dog.’ I cannot wait for you to hear it.”

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Taylor’s other album variants are The Manuscript, The Bolter, and The Albatross, and fans have been busy analyzing those, too. And, yes, the theories are definitely Joe Alwyn-coded. Oh, and in case you want proof of just how next-level her Easter eggs are getting, there’s the fact that Tay fully dressed as an albatross at the Grammys!