"The Albatross" Lyrics

"The Albatross" Lyrics (The Tortured Poet’s Department: The Anthology)

Written by Taylor Swift and Aaron Dessner

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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