What Are Taylor Swift's 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' Lyrics About? The Meaning Explained

22 April 2024, 11:53 | Updated: 22 April 2024, 12:02

Taylor Swift 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' Lyrics Meaning Explained. Picture: John Shearer/Getty Images for TAS, John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management

By Sam Prance

Taylor Swift opens up about touring amid her Joe Alwyn and Matty Healy splits in her 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' lyrics.

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Swifties can't get enough of Taylor Swift's brand new song 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart'. Who's the track about though? Is it about Matty Healy? Is it about Joe Alwyn? In the immortal words of Maddy from Euphoria, "Is this f---ing play about us?"

As soon as Taylor Swift announced 'The Tortured Poets Department', many fans expected the album to cover her split from Joe Alwyn. And, while there are multiple references to her relationship with Joe throughout the project ('So Long, London'), it's since become clear that the record is also about her relationship with Matty Healy and the weight of fame.

So where does 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' fit into this narrative? Well, we're here to break down the meaning for you.

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Who is Taylor Swift's 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' about?

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In 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart', Taylor sings about the difficulty of having to perform while experiencing personal trauma and heartbreak. Alluding to her reality on The Eras Tour, Taylor explains: I can read your mind / 'She's having the time of her life' / There in her glittering prime / The lights refract sequin stars off her silhouette every night / I can show you lies.

Taylor then makes a direct reference to a split she experienced while on tour by singing: Lights, camera, bitch, smile / Even when you wanna die / He said he'd love me all his life / But that life was too short / Breaking down, I hit the floor / All the piеces of me shatterеd as the crowd was chanting, 'More'.

In the chorus, Taylor adds: I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every day / I'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague / I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an art / You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart.

In contrast with the dark lyrics, the song is an upbeat sing-along-anthem playing into the fact that Taylor was emotionally bereft all while singing on stage.

Taylor Swift - I Can Do It With a Broken Heart (Official Lyric Video)

Fans initially assumed the man in the song was Joe Alwyn but others are convinced that it's actually about Matty. The song comes after 'loml' in which Taylor appears to sing about her split from Matty in the wake of all the criticism she faced while dating him. As it stands, Taylor has not spoken about the meaning or inspirations behind the song.

In reality though, the song is probably less about the men in question and more about the fact that, as a global superstar, Taylor has to perform no matter what she's personally going through. Taylor ends the song singing: Cause I'm miserable (Haha) / And nobody even knows / Ah, try and come for my job.

'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' is a song for anyone who's had to go to work while their personal life is a mess and a reminder that people need to remember that Taylor's fame doesn't shield her from those experiences. If anything, it magnifies them.

Taylor Swift - 'I Can Do It With a Broken Heart' lyrics

VERSE 1
I can read your mind
"She's having the time of her life"
There in her glittering prime
The lights refract sequin stars off her silhouette every night
I can show you lies
(One, two, three, four)

PRE-CHORUS
'Cause I'm a real tough kid I can handle my shit
They said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I did
Lights, camera, bitch, smile
Even when you wanna die
He said he'd love me all his life
But that life was too short
Breaking down, I hit the floor
All the piеces of me shatterеd as the crowd was chanting, "More"
I was grinnin' like I'm winnin'
I was hittin' my marks
'Cause I can do it with a broken heart
(One, two, three, four)

CHORUS I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every day
I'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me like the plague
I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an art
You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart

VERSE 2
I can hold my breath
I've been doin' it since he left
I keep finding his things in drawers
Crucial evidence I didn't imagine the whole thing
I'm sure I can pass this test
(One, two, three, four)

PRE-CHORUS
'Cause I'm a real tough kid
I can handle my shit
They said, "Babe, you gotta fake it 'til you make it" and I did
Lights, camera, bitch, smile
In stilettos for miles
He said he'd love me for all time
But that time was quite short
Breaking down, I hit the floor
All the pieces of me shattered as the crowd was chanting, "More"
I was grinnin' like I'm winnin'
I was hittin' my marks
'Cause I can do it with a broken heart
(One, two, three, four)

CHORUS I'm so depressed, I act like it's my birthday every day
I'm so obsessed with him, but he avoids me (He avoids me), like the plague
I cry a lot, but I am so productive, it's an art
You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart

OUTRO
You know you're good when you can even do it with a broken heart
You know you're good
And I'm good
'Cause I'm miserable (Haha)
And nobody even knows
Ah, try and come for my job