Taylor Swift Sings ‘My Husband Is Cheating’ on ‘Fortnight’ with Post Malone

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Read Taylor Swift’s ‘Fortnight’ LyricsNeilson Barnard - Getty Images

The Tortured Poets Department is now open. Taylor Swift begins her long-awaited new album with a Post Malone collaboration, “Fortnight,” which not only kicks off the track list but also serves as the lead single.

Swift wrote on Instagram announcing the news, “I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation, and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever. I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight. Honestly can’t wait for you guys to hear this song at Midnight TONIGHT and see the video at 8 P.M. ET TOMORROW.” Yes, this will also mark the first music video from Swift’s TPD era, too.

In the lyrics, Swift sings about a romance that was short-lived but affected her deeply (and continues to, as her former lover moves on). She sings, “And I love you it’s ruining my life / I touched you for only a fortnight” in one line, and “Your wife waters flowers. I wanna kill her,” in another.

While fans are anticipating Swift will reflect on her past relationships with Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy on this project, it’s possible she and Malone are taking artistic license here as she sings about a wayward spouse. “My husband is cheating. I wanna kill him,” one lyric goes. As Swift said while writing folklore, “The lines between fantasy and reality blur and the boundaries between truth and fiction become almost indescribable.” Is that the case here?

She also seems to reference the fact that she stopped drinking ahead of the Eras Tour with the lyric, “I was a functioning alcoholic / ’Til nobody noticed my new aesthetic.” Swift told TIME last year, “Doing that show with a hangover, I don’t want to know that world.”

Swift later revealed what inspired “Fortnight” to Amazon Music. “‘Fortnight’ is a song that exhibits a lot of the common themes that run throughout this album,” she began. “One of which being fatalism—longing, pining away, lost dream. I think that it’s a very fatalistic album in that there are lots of very dramatic lines about life or death. ‘I love you, it’s ruining my life.’ These are very hyperbolic, dramatic things to say. It’s that kind of album.”

Listen to “Fortnight” and read the full lyrics below, courtesy of Genius.

I was s’posed to be sent away
But they forgot to come and get me
I was a functioning alcoholic
’Til nobody noticed my new aesthetic
All of this to say, I hope you’re okay
But you’re the reason
And no one here’s to blame
But what about your quiet treason?

And for a fortnight there we were forever running
’Til you sometimes ask about the weather
Now you’re in my backyard turned into good neighbors
Your wife waters flowers, I want to kill her

All my mornings are Monday stuck in an endless February
I took the miracle move on drug, the effects were temporary
And I love you, it’s ruining my life
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I touched you for only a fortnight
I touched you, but I touched you

And for a fortnight there we were forever runnin'
’Til you sometimes ask about the weather
Now you’re in my backyard, turned into good neighbors
Your wife waters flowers, I want to kill her
And for a fortnight there we were together running
’Til you sometimes come and tug my sweater
Now you're at the mailbox turned into good neighbors
My husband is cheating, I want to kill him

I love you, it’s ruining my life
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I touched you for only a fortnight
I touched you, I touched you
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I love you, it’s ruining my life
I touched you for only a fortnight
I touched you, I touched you

I call you up but you won’t pick up
Another fortnight lost in America
Move to Florida, buy the car you want (Car you want)
But it won't start up ’til you touch, touch, touch me
I call you up but you won’t pick up
Another fortnight lost in America
Move to Florida, buy the car you want
But it won’t start up ’til I touch, touch, touch you

This post has been updated with Swift’s comments on what inspired “Fortnight.”

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