Lyrics from ‘I Hate It Here’ on Taylor Swift’s ‘The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,’ have drawn attention for the songwriter’s line about living in the 1830s ‘but without all the racists.’

Taylor Swift released a new album Friday, but not all listeners are loving a controversial line from her new song, “I Hate It Here.”

In the track off of “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology,” a deluxe version of her new album, The Eras Tour singer says she wants to return to an era that ended over a century before her career began.

“My friends used to play a game where we would pick a decade we wished we could live in instead of this;I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists and getting married off for the highest bid,” Swift sings in the track.

What we know about Taylor Swift’s‘The Tortured Poets Department’ album so far

In this context, Swift acknowledges that the 1830s, a decade often romanticized for its apparent simplicity and charm, was a period tainted by the institution of slavery. She suggests that nostalgia can deceive, painting a rosy picture of the past while overlooking the harsh realities that existed, making it clear that if she had lived during that era, she would have found it abhorrent.

‘So many wrong things about this:’ Social media users react to Taylor Swift’s ‘I Hate It Here’ lyrics

Swift’s “I Hate It Here” lyrics indeed sparked a heated debate online, with many users expressing their discomfort and criticism of the controversial line. The discussion surrounding Swift’s lyricism highlights the power of music to provoke thought and ignite conversations about sensitive topics like historical context and racial issues.

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The diverse reactions to Taylor Swift’s lyrics demonstrate the complexity of interpreting art and the different perspectives individuals bring to the table. While some criticize the line for its perceived insensitivity, others see it as a thought-provoking commentary on historical nostalgia and the need for critical examination of the past. This debate underscores the importance of engaging with art in a nuanced and reflective manner.

‘The Tortured Poets Department’ features 31 songs

“The Tortured Poets Department,” Swift’s 11th album features 31 songs, when you add in the 15-song deluxe version “The Anthology,” which includes “I Hate It Here.” The album draws on heartbreak and coming of age, traditional themes for one of the world’s most famous people and songwriters.

Its lead single “Fortnight” features rapper and singer Post Malone.

‘I Hate It Here’ lyrics: Why 1 line in the Taylor Swift song is causing backlash

Swift says she wants to escape to “the 1830s.”
The song “I Hate It Here” from Taylor Swift’s bonus album has sparked discussion due to its lyrical content. In the song, Swift expresses a sense of discontent and a desire to escape from her current reality. However, it’s a particular lyric where she references the 1830s that has stirred controversy. Swift sings about a game she used to play with her friends, where they would choose a decade they wished to live in. She mentions the 1830s but specifies that she would want to live in that era without the presence of racism and forced marriages. This line has drawn attention and raised questions about Swift’s portrayal of historical periods and the complexities of addressing sensitive topics through music.

She goes on to complicate the story, saying no era is “fun”: “Nostalgia is a mind’s trick/ If I’d been there, I’d hate it/ It was freezing in the palace.”

Swift’s version of the 1830s might involve palaces but people are pointing out what else it involved. Thirty years before the Civil War took place, slavery still was legal throughout the American South.

One X user wrote, “Pretty astonishing to stipulate that she wants to live in the 1830s, ‘except without the racists,’ and not mention slavery, so slavery still exists but everyone’s chill about it.”

People saw “racism” as a minimization of what actually happened in the 1830s, and before and after.

“There is no way Taylor Swift said she’d like to live in an era where Chattel Slavery was the law of the land and say ‘but without the racists.’ Like it was some casual micro aggressions or something. Is this what we’re doing??” one tweet read.

The whole song seems to rebuke society — any era, 1830s or now. She prefers “lunar valleys in my mind/ When they found a better planet/ Only the gentle survived,”she sings.

She also almost seems to address backlash in the song, too. “I’ll save all my romanticism for my inner life/ And I’ll get lost on purpose/ This place made me feel worthless,” she sings.

Read the lyrics to ‘I Hate it Here’

Quick, quick

Tell me something awful

Like you are a poet

Trapped inside the body of a finance guy

Tell me all your secrets

All you’ll ever be is

My eternal consolation prize

You see I was a debutant

In another life, but

Now I seem to be scared to go outside

If comfort is a construct

I don’t believe in good luck

Now that I know what’s what

I hate it here so I will go to

Secret gardens in my mind

People need a key to get to

The only one is mine

I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child

No mid-sized city hopes and small-town fears

I’m there most of the year ‘cause I hate it here

I hate it here

My friends used to play a game where

We would pick a decade

We wished we could live in instead of this

I’d say the 1830s but without all the racists

And getting married off for the highest bid

Everyone would look down

‘Cause it wasn’t fun now

Seems like it was never even fun back then

Nostalgia is a mind’s trick

If I’d been there, I’d hate it

It was freezing in the palace

I hate it here so I will go to

Lunar valleys in my mind

When they found a better planet

Only the gentle survived

I dreamed about it in the dark

The night I felt like I might die

No mid-sized city hopes and small-town fears

I’m there most of the year ‘cause I hate it here

I hate it here

I’m lonely, but I’m good

I’m bitter, but I swear I’m fine

I’ll save all my romanticism for my inner life

And I’ll get lost on purpose

This place made me feel worthless

Lucid dreams like electricity

The current flies through me and in my fantasies I rise above it

And way up there, I actually love it

I hate it here so I will go to

Secret gardens in my mind

People need a key to get to

The only one is mine

I read about it in a book when I was a precocious child

No mid-sized city hopes and small-town fears

I’m there most of the year ‘cause I hate it here

I hate it here

Quick, quick

Tell me something awful

Like you are a poet

Trapped inside the body of a finance guy